Tag: Book Review

ARC Book Review: Eloise and the Grump Next Door (Oakley Island Romcom #1) by Emma St. Clair and Jenny Proctor

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Emma St. Clair and Jenny Proctor
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: August 15th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I’m not sure which is worse–the lawyer handling my grandmother’s estate or the attack pelican living on the screened-in porch. Just kidding–I’ll take the pelican any day.

After graduation, I thought I’d be off to grad school, doing research on my favorite poet. Instead, I’m renovating my late grandmother’s home and posting about the process on Instagram. Talk about a detour …

But here I am. Turning Gran’s beach house into a bed and breakfast–a process that would be a lot easier if I didn’t have to deal with the grumpy lawyer living next door. It doesn’t help that the night Jake and I met, I got a little tipsy, and he had to carry me back to my hotel.

But the longer I stay on Oakley Island, the more I feel a connection to my childhood and to my grandmother. This isn’t the life I dreamed of, but dreams can change. Especially when new dreams include a future with Jake. On the outside, he might be pricklier than a puffer fish, but I catch glimpses of a delicious, cinnamon roll center.

Did I mention the tattoos he hides underneath those crisp button-down shirts? Yowza.

When I’m suddenly presented with the academic opportunity of my dreams (former dreams?), my picturesque life on Oakley starts to unravel.

A part of me wants to stay. If only a certain tattooed grump didn’t seem so determined to send me away …

Eloise and The Grump Next Door is a grumpy sunshine, closed door romantic comedy. The Oakley Island Romcom series follows three very different sisters as they renovate the house they inherited and find love on the island along the way. Each book will have sizzling chemistry but no spice.

Thank you to the authors for an eARC!

ABSOLUTELY LOVED.

I expected nothing less from this duo. It is the pairing I didn’t know I needed and now want ALL THE TIME. Bless them for giving us a full series together.

The chemistry between Lo and Jake was off the charts. I am hit or miss on age gap and this one HIT. It was played so well and I loooooooooved it. And the forced proximity? THE BEST. I LIVE FOR FORCED PROXIMITY. Add in a house that needed renovated and a grandmother who has passed away and still subtly matchmaking. The rest of the charming side characters (like Jake’s nephew) won me over too.

And the KISSING SCENES? THE SIZZLING HEAT Y’ALL. This is what I love about an amazing closed door romance. The heat can still be brought with without actual spice. I loved all of the little moments watching these two fall in love.

I couldn’t put this down and easily read it in a day. I just loved everything about it. It made me feel good, happy, light. And those are the kind of reads I often reach for. I’m so excited to continue this series and can’t wait for more.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a grandmother, divorced parents

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Book Review: Making the Marquess (Brotherhood of the Black Tartan #4) by Nichole Van

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Rating: ★★★★
Genre: Historical Romance
Length: 351 pages
Author: Nichole Van
Publisher: Fiorenza Publishing
Release Date: March 3rd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lady Charlotte Whitaker is devoted to her family, particularly her sister’s son, Freddie. Her late father, the Marquess of Lockhead, died without a male heir. But on his deathbed, her father requested that Freddie inherit the title. Consequently, Lottie’s family has petitioned the Crown to recreate the title with Freddie as the new heir. Lottie wants nothing more than to honor her late father’s wishes. But she unwittingly reveals a wrinkle to this plan.

Dr. Alexander Whitaker is dedicated to his work as a physician in Edinburgh, Scotland. He dislikes surprises—disruptions to his daily schedule, interferences with his ability to care for his patients, and events that might alter his future. He particularly abhors things that threaten to do all three. So when a solicitor calls with news that Alex might be heir to an English marquisate, Alex wants nothing to do with the claim. But the law is the law, and a man cannot revoke his lineage, can he?

Alex does not want to be the new marquess.

Lottie is determined to honor her late father’s wishes.

Their goals should be simple enough to accomplish, right?

But when two kindred souls crash into one another, the resulting conflagration may have consequences neither can anticipate. And Lottie and Alex soon face a difficult truth—sometimes, life makes us choose between two loves, and in order to have one, we must forsake the other.

MY HEART.

I am utterly addicted to this series. I will finish reading all five books within a month and I can’t tell you the last time I did that. I CAN’T STOP. The writing is incredible and continually draws me in. I don’t even notice that the pages are moving by or that anything is around me. I am too involved in these characters lives and will mourn the loss at the final book.

Alex and Lottie were such a sight. I love snarky banter and this book had it in spades. But what built from that was genuine friendship that turned into a soul binding love. I will say, I struggled with the cousins aspect. I KNOW I KNOW, they’re super distant and all of that, but every time they used the moniker I cringed just a tiny bit. When I put that aside, this romance was utterly sweet.

Alex gave Lottie the chance to grow because she was stuck in one mindset about her life and her family. Thank heavens also for Grandmere who truly saved the day. I LOVED her perfectly placed moments that weren’t overbearing, but eye-opening. There’s a lot of deep conversations and meaning throughout about what it means to be loyal to your family, and also choosing someone to be your family. Made my heart flutter countless times. The endings always get me and the swoony kisses got me good.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Overall audience notes: childbirth, severe leg injury, mention (with method) of suicide (a loved one in the past), mentions of substance abuse

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Book Review: Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

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Rating: ★★★☆ (3.5)
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: August 23rd, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a new STEMinist rom-com in which a scientist is forced to work on a project with her nemesis—with explosive results.

Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project – a literal dream come true – Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school – archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.

But when her equipment starts to go missing and the staff ignore her, Bee could swear she sees Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas… devouring her with those eyes. The possibilities have all her neurons firing.

But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there’s only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?

DISAPPOINTED.

Yeah, probably my biggest let down of 2022 in regards to contemporary romances I was excited for.

Why the super heavy agenda dumping? I could write an entire list of everything that was shoved in my face over and over again. It’s cool to have opinions and to incorporate those, but I don’t want to feel like it’s overtaking the fact that I picked up a romance to read. Not the news.

When Levi and Bee were talking and hanging out in those very few rare moments, I LOVED IT. Give me more of that please. I liked them as a couple when I actually got to see the development of their relationship. There was a substantial focus on the physicality of their relationship over everything else and those scenes were plain awkward.

Bee’s friend Rocio was fun. I did like her Wednesday Addams vibes. She added the right kind of touch to the story over everything else that was happening.

The MISCOMMUNICATION. It made me think about putting it down during the first half. Some is fine, it happens. But flagrant use of eh, I’ll tell him later, when you have a chance to clear the air annoy me beyond belief.

And the end???? Did I miss what genre I was reading and we jumped into romantic suspense? That was wildly left field and clearly out of place. I had to flip the last page back and forth a few times because of the abrupt ending too.

Clearly I have (and can continue) a lot of thoughts of this one. TLH is still my golden child favorite and I’ll continue to reread that one. LOTB on the other hand convinced me to no longer pre-order Hazelwood’s books.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: three open door; med-high explicit
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: sexism, workplace sexual harassment mentioned, death of a parent recounted, attempted murder, gun violence

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Book Review: The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5) by Rick Riordan

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 516 pages
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: October 7th, 2014
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Nico had warned them. Going through the House of Hades would stir the demigods’ worst memories. Their ghosts would become restless. Nico may actually become a ghost if he has to shadow-travel with Reyna and Coach Hedge one more time. But that might be better than the alternative: allowing someone else to die, as Hades foretold.

Jason’s ghost is his mother, who abandoned him when he was little. He may not know how he is going to prove himself as a leader, but he does know that he will not break promises like she did. He will complete his line of the prophecy: To storm or fire the world must fall.

Reyna fears the ghosts of her ancestors, who radiate anger. But she can’t allow them to distract her from getting the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood before war breaks out between the Romans and Greeks. Will she have enough strength to succeed, especially with a deadly hunter on her trail?

Leo fears that his plan won’t work, that his friends might interfere. But there is no other way. All of them know that one of the Seven has to die in order to defeat Gaea, the Earth Mother.

Piper must learn to give herself over to fear. Only then will she be able to do her part at the end: utter a single word.

Heroes, gods, and monsters all have a role to play in the climactic fulfillment of the prophecy in The Blood of Olympus, the electrifying finale of the best-selling Heroes of Olympus series.

FINISHED.

Another good series is through! What a ride this one has been and wow do I adore this audiobooks.

I can’t get enough of all of the characters. There were a lot to keep up with in the finale and it was a great accomplishment to not feel like anyone truly overshadowed another. Some characters were meant to have more of the spotlight and others not as much and that all worked out as it made sense to the plot.

Plenty of action and enjoyable commentary. I liked the soft moments (PERCABETH) and deep conversations that these teens are having. I love that these books cover many topics but at an approachable and appropriate level for younger audiences.

To me something is missing that makes me want to give it all the stars. These books are wonderful and I’ll recommend them easily, there’s just something that I want more of in the end.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: many physical altercations, large scale battles and war themes, loss of life and many near death moments

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