ARC Book Review: Happily Never After by Lynn Painter

March 14, 2024March 13, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 304 pages
Author: Lynn Painter
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 12th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Their name? The objectors.

Their job? To break off weddings as hired.

Their dilemma? They might just be in love with each other.

When Sophie Steinbeck finds out just before her nuptials that her fiancé has cheated yet again, she desperately wants to call it off. But because her future father-in-law is her dad’s cutthroat boss, she doesn’t want to be the one to do it. Her savior comes in the form of a professional objector, whose purpose is to show up at weddings and proclaim the words no couple (usually) wants to hear at their ceremony: “I object!”

During anti-wedding festivities that night, Sophie learns more about Max the Objector’s job. It makes perfect sense to her: he saves people from wasting their lives, from hurting each other. He’s a modern-day hero. And Sophie wants in.

The two love cynics start working together, going from wedding to wedding, and Sophie’s having more fun than she’s had in ages. She looks forward to every nerve-racking ceremony saving the lovesick souls of the betrothed masses. As Sophie and Max spend more time together, however, they realize that their physical chemistry is off the charts, leading them to dabble in a little hookup session or two—but it’s totally fine, because they definitely do not have feelings for each other. Love doesn’t exist, after all.

And then everything changes. A groom-to-be hires Sophie to object, but his fiancée is the woman who broke Max’s heart. As Max wrestles with whether he can be a party to his ex’s getting hurt, Sophie grapples with the sudden realization that she may have fallen hard for her partner in crime.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the eARC.

HILARIOUS.

This book made me LAUGH and I love when that happens. Lynn Painter hands down writes some of the BEST banter and that was still prevalent here. I really loved the chemistry between Max and Sophie. And the shenanigans they found themselves wrapped up in were charming.

I did think this book had a LOT of language (especially for it being only 300 pages). It started to take me out of the story, as did the extra romance scenes towards the end. I would have rather seen more relationship development other than physical because Sophie made me want to shake her a few times.

I love how fast these books are and that they bring joy to my day. I thought the objector idea was hilarious. And I adored Sophie’s roommates. They were the perfect snarky addition. There were a lot of fantastic swoony moments and the kissing scenes were some of my favorite. There was plenty of goodness here and I will keep waiting to hear about Painter’s next book.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: very high
Romance: 3+ open door; moderate explicit
Trigger/Content Warnings: cheating

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ARC Book Review: A Feather So Black (Fair Folk #1) by Lyra Selene

March 13, 2024March 7, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 496 pages
Author: Lyra Selene
Publisher: Orbit Books
Release Date: March 12th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Set in a world of perilous magic and moonlit forests, this seductive romantic fantasy tells the story of a defiant changeling, her cursed sister, and the dangerous fae lord she must defeat to save her family.

In a kingdom where magic has been lost, Fia is a rare changeling, left behind by the wicked Fair Folk when they stole the High Queen’s daughter and retreated behind the locked gates of Tír na nÓg.

Most despise Fia’s fae blood. But the queen raises her as a daughter and trains her to be a spy. Meanwhile, the real princess Eala is bound to Tír na nÓg, cursed to become a swan by day and only returning to her true form at night.

When a hidden gate to the realm is discovered, Fia is tasked by the queen to retrieve the princess and break her curse. But she doesn’t go with her is prince Rogan, Fia’s dearest childhood friend—and Eala’s betrothed.

As they journey through the forests of the Folk, where magic winds through the roots of the trees and beauty can be a deadly illusion, Fia’s mission is complicated by her feelings for the prince…and her unexpected attraction to the dark-hearted fae lord holding Eala captive. Irian might be more monster than man, but he seems to understand Fia in a way no one ever has.

Soon, Fia begins to question the truth of her mission. But time is running out to break her sister’s curse. And unraveling the secrets of the past might destroy everything she has come to love.

Thank you to Orbit Books for the ARC and Hachette Audio for the audiobook.

MIXED THOUGHTS.

This one kind of ran me around a bit.

Audio thoughts first: LOVED. I loved the narrator. I was really swept away by this story listening and highly recommend this avenue for trying A Feather So Black out.

Back to bookish thoughts: At first, I was really into it. I loved the set up and the plot. I liked the main character and alllll the fae things. This had all of those hallmark fantasy + fae aspects that I love about this genre.

And then the love triangle came into play. NOW. I knew it was a love triangle and was perfectly fine with that fact. I honestly didn’t mind the bones of it. There’s good push and pull between characters. Conflict of interest and wondering where Fia was going to land. But I didn’t love that she slept with both men throughout the story. It took away from the emotional connection by focusing so heavily on the physical connection instead. I liked both of the guys for different reasons and I am curious where things will go in the second book.

Some scenes did drag on a bit and there’s a lot of hurry up and wait. And there’s a more young adult writing style, but very adult content. The vibes are there and the ending had my attention enough that I plan to continue the series.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: low
Romance: 3+ open door
Violence: moderate-high

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Book Review: The Heir and the Spare by Kate Stradling

March 13, 2024March 2, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 300 pages
Author: Kate Stradling
Publisher: Eulalia Skye Press
Release Date: February 19th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

An evil princess, a ruthless persecutor, a wretched match.

Tormented at home and bullied during her studies abroad, second-born Iona of Wessett hides in the quiet corners of her father’s castle. Her art and music provide refuge, but her cruel sister Lisenn ever lurks like a monster stalking its prey.

Such has been her life for twenty years.

However, a promise of reprieve and retribution arrives when the neighboring kingdom of Capria proposes an alliance between their new crown prince and Wessett’s heir to the throne. The treaty will rid Iona of the toxic Lisenn, and the potential groom is none other than her erstwhile bully, Jaoven of Deraval. The marriage could not be more poetic: each deserves the misery the other might inflict.

Except that Jaoven, humbled by the war that elevated his rank, appears to have reformed, and the fate of both kingdoms now hinges on the disastrous union he’s about to make.

A GOOD STANDALONE.

After a friend’s recommendation I found an audio copy ready to download and here we are. A quick romantasy standalone that I very much enjoyed! It’s got your classic vibes and tropes for the spare ending up with the prince, but it was a good time nonetheless. I liked Jaoven and Iona. There was good banter and I easily saw the chemistry between them. I appreciated how often they ended up in the same location to build those interactions because that can be tricky in a standalone fantasy.

There’s no magic system and I found the world building easy to follow. It’s an uncomplicated fantasy that heavily focuses on the romance (no complaints, jus commentary). I liked being whisked away to this setting and got through this quickly.

What did bother me was why in the world Lisenn was so terrible? I hate when there’s an antagonist with no backstory. Or any obvious reason for why they’re awful. Lisenn does a bunch of crap and I wish I just knew WHYYY.

Otherwise, good book.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: a little
Romance: kisses
Violence: medium
Trigger/Content Warnings: abusive sister relationship, torture

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ARC Book Review: A Grave Robbery (Veronica Speedwell #9) by Deanna Raybourn

March 12, 2024March 8, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Mystery
Length: 336 pages
Author: Deanna Raybourn
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 12th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Veronica and Stoker discover that not all fairy tales have happy endings, and some end in murder, in this latest historical mystery from New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

Lord Rosemorran has purchased a wax figure of a beautiful reclining woman and asks Stoker to incorporate a clockwork mechanism to give the Rosemorran Collection its own Sleeping Beauty in the style of Madame Tussaud’s. But when Stoker goes to cut the mannequin open to insert the mechanism, he makes a gruesome discovery: this is no wax figure. The mannequin is the beautifully preserved body of a young woman who was once very much alive. But who would do such a dreadful thing, and why?

Sleuthing out the answer to this question sets Veronica and Stoker on their wildest adventure yet. From the underground laboratories of scientists experimenting with electricity to resurrect the dead in the vein of Frankenstein to the traveling show where Stoker once toured as an attraction, the gaslit atmosphere of London in October is the perfect setting for this investigation into the unknown. Through it all, the intrepid pair is always one step behind the latest villain—a man who has killed once and will stop at nothing to recover the body of the woman he loved. Will they unmask him in time to save his next victim? Or will they become the latest figures to be immortalized in his collection of horrors?

Thank you to Berkley Pub #BerkleyPartner for the free book.

CHARMED.

I have consistently been enjoying this series over the year and this was another good installment. I absolutely adore Veronica and Stoker. The banter and love between them has clearly grown over the course of multiple dangerous mysteries and I very much love where they are now.

This was a good mystery! I didn’t figure things out right away and I liked the progression of the story. The quirky side characters were in full force and I loved seeing a few old favorite friends too. Filled with the classic snark and inner dialogue that I’ve come to love from Veronica I look forward to seeing more books continue to come!

Overall audience notes: