Tag: Book Review

Book Review: Knitted Hearts (Poplar Falls #6) by Amber Kelly

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 234 pages
Author: Amber Kelly
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: June 29th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

An emotional, passionate second-chance romance in the Poplar Falls series from Amber Kelly

Sometimes you have to lose control to have it all…

I’ve always longed to start a family of my own. I throw everything I have into every relationship. Too bad I seem to attract the fixer-uppers. You know the type—the boys with all the potential but none of the drive. I thought Ricky was different, the one who would finally step up and be the man I’d been dreaming about all these years—ever since I lost my father when I was a little girl. I didn’t realize the dream would turn out to be a nightmare.

So here I am. Twenty-four years old, on the verge of divorce, and trying not to think about what my daddy would say while I hold on to the last threads of my life to keep it all from unraveling.

It’s all going fine until Foster Tomlin swaggers into my life. The sexy-as-sin former soldier works on my best friend’s family ranch, and there’s no getting around him or what I’m feeling. He doesn’t need fixing up. He’s perfect the way he is. The way he looks at and treats me makes me feel things I’ve sworn off for good. And when he wraps his arms around me, I find myself letting go of all the things I thought I wanted and needed.

The question is…can I take a risk and put my heart on the line again?

POPLAR FALLS FOREVER.

I can’t believe I finished this series! Or maybe I can because I loved it that much. A small town romance series you need in your life y’all!!

Getting Sonia’s story last was the best. I loved her romance with Foster and the second chance love between them was perfect. Sonia and Foster both had pasts that they needed to repair in their hearts as they also learned to lean on their new love and each other. It was all sorts of sweet and a little spicy.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about the relationship conflict because it’s usually not a trope I love, but the more I sat on it the more I liked it in the end. It worked for this story and I’m fine with that!

Sometimes the plot focused too much on the previous couples in the series when I just wanted more Sonia and Foster. That was my only complaint. Otherwise all of the dates and romancing under the moonlight was fantastic.

Another quick read I flew through in one morning because I needed to know how everything worked out. It was emotional and tender and I can’t wait to see what Kelly writes next.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: kisses to open door scenes (2-3)
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent (on page), divorce and separation

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ARC Book Review: Set on You by Amy Lea

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Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5)
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Amy Lea
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Release Date: May 10th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A gym nemesis pushes a fitness influencer to the max in Amy Lea’s steamy debut romantic comedy.

Curvy fitness influencer Crystal Chen built her career shattering gym stereotypes and mostly ignoring the trolls. After her recent breakup, she has little stamina left for men, instead finding solace in the gym – her place of power and positivity.

Enter firefighter Scott Ritchie, the smug new gym patron who routinely steals her favorite squat rack. Sparks fly as these ultra-competitive foes battle for gym domination. But after a series of escalating jabs, the last thing they expect is to run into each other at their grandparents’ engagement party.

In the lead up to their grandparents’ wedding, Crystal discovers there’s a soft heart under Scott’s muscled exterior. Bonding over family, fitness, and cheesy pick-up lines, she just might have found her swolemate. But when a photo of them goes viral, savage internet trolls put their budding relationship to the ultimate test of strength.

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for an eARC.

SLOW BURN SWOON.

This was an amazing debut!! Incredibly heart warming and full on grin inducing. Crystal and Scott will bring the house down.

I loved Crystal. I loved so many of the conversations and topics she spoke about in regards to her identity, fitness, health and more. It was like the author was in my mind reminding me and telling me things I needed to hear. As someone who struggles (and I mean who doesn’t?) with many of the themes I loved the way this was approached.

Now, the ROMANCE. Ohhhh my gosh. SWOON. I didn’t know how much I would adore a love story primarily set-up around a gym. It was the best. I loved the instant charged connection and the subtle ways these two clearly showed their growing feelings. It wasn’t quite as angsty as I was thinking it would be, but it was gosh dang sweet. I loved the development and the banter. All of these tiny moments amounting into tender confessions. Scott Ritchie is the kind of love interest I will never tire of seeing in a romance.

A lot of the ending scenes were wonderful. I had a minor issues with some aspects, but I am all for a grand gesture so I was able to look past [most] of it. Not to mention, throwing in an it’s always been you trope had to be the icing on the cake. I can not handle another moment with Crystal and Scott because I will be in a puddle on the floor.

Please tell me Amy Lea has more books coming??

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: very mild
  • Romance: a few open door with low explicitness
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: fatphobia, cyber bullying, racism, fitness/diet culture, cancer

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Book Review: We Free the Stars (Sands of Arawiya #2) by Hafsah Faizal

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 592 pages
Author: Hafsah Faizal
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Release Date: January 19th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The battle on Sharr is over. The dark forest has fallen. Altair may be captive, but Zafira, Nasir, and Kifah are bound for Sultan’s Keep, determined to finish the plan he set in motion: restoring the hearts of the Sisters of Old to the minarets of each caliphate, and finally returning magic to all of Arawiya. But they are low on resources and allies alike, and the kingdom teems with fear of the Lion of the Night’s return.

As the zumra plots to overthrow the kingdom’s darkest threat, Nasir fights to command the magic in his blood. He must learn to hone his power into a weapon, to wield not only against the Lion but against his father, trapped under the Lion’s control. Zafira battles a very different darkness festering in her through her bond with the Jawarat—a darkness that hums with voices, pushing her to the brink of her sanity and to the edge of a chaos she dare not unleash. In spite of the darkness enclosing ever faster, Nasir and Zafira find themselves falling into a love they can’t stand to lose…but time is running out to achieve their ends, and if order is to be restored, drastic sacrifices will have to be made.

Lush and striking, hopeful and devastating, We Free the Stars is the masterful conclusion to the Sands of Arawiya duology by New York Times–bestselling author Hafsah Faizal. 

FANTASTIC CONCLUSION.

Some dulogies really hit with that second book. This is without a doubt the case here. LOVED IT. Everything I needed. Especially since I gave the first book 3.5 stars and wasn’t convinced to pick this up for awhile. It took the audio coming to my library (which by the way, is AMAZING. Highly recommend the audio) for me to read it and I’m so happy I did!!

I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS. I probably will forget to name them all, but the main characters and supporting cast are well thought out and flow into the story perfectly. I loved Zafira and her fiery, determined nature. Nasir who is clearly the biggest cinnamon roll alive. Altair who I just want to be best friends with and Kifah who rounds out this crew with her loyalty and sharp wit. There’s many more I could mention. I loved the balance between plot and character drive.

The rooooomance. Oh it picked up beautifully. Anytime Zafira and Nasir were in the same location I got all of the giddy heart flutters waiting for them to connect. The impassioned kisses and utterly tender words whispered. MY HEART. And I’m pretty sure that ending added years to my life.

My only tiny complaint was that it took me a minute to get into and understand how the magic system was connecting with the larger plot. Since the WHtF was a travelling story I felt like I didn’t get a lot of explanations. Grateful that WFtS spread that out without info dumping. The world building and magic system are intricate and well plotted.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy + Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses / heated make-outs
  • Violence: battle scenes, weapons violence, magical and physical altercations

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ARC Book Review & Blog Tour: The Dachshund Wears Prada (Paws in the City #1) by Stefanie London

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Stefanie London
Publisher: HQN
Release Date: May 3rd, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

How do you start over when the biggest mistake of your life has more than one million views?

Forget diamonds—the internet is forever. Social media consultant Isla Thompson learned that lesson the hard way when she went viral for all the wrong reasons. A month later, Isla is still having nightmares about the moment she ruined a young starlet’s career and made herself the most unemployable influencer in Manhattan. But she doesn’t have the luxury of hiding until she’s no longer Instagram poison. Not when her fourteen-year-old sister, Dani, needs Isla to keep a roof over their heads. So, she takes the first job she can get: caring for Camilla, a glossy-maned, foul-tempered hellhound.

After a week of ferrying Camilla from playdates to pet psychics, Isla starts to suspect that the dachshund’s bark is worse than her bite—just like her owner, Theo Garrison. Isla has spent her career working to make people likable and here’s Theo—happy to hide behind his reputation as a brutish recluse. But Theo isn’t a brute—he’s sweet and funny, and Isla should not see him as anything but the man who signs her paychecks. Because loving Theo would mean retreating to his world of secluded luxury, and Isla needs to show Dani that no matter the risk, dreams are always worth chasing.

Thank you to the publisher for an eARC.

CHARMING.

I gratefully enjoyed this more than I hoped for, even if a few things took it down here and there.

I really liked Isla as one of the main points of view. She was optimistic and full of light. I was willingly cheering her on through the ups and downs of trying to be a good caretaker and parent to her sister and finding a new path after losing her job. Isla’s resilience knew no bounds and I was proud of what she accomplished.

Theo was the other point of view (YAY for double points of view in a romance!). More gruff around the edges and unwillingly to see past his own walls, he took some warming up to see his soft side. I ADORE the grump/sunshine trope and thought this was an excellent execution of that.

Mixed thoughts towards some of the plot. I think there was almost too much focus on other things and at times I noticed a repetitiveness to the inner dialogue about varying situations. It took me awhile to feel invested in the romance because I thought things jumped off too quickly since the focus kept turning to other matters.

The conflict had me shaking my head a bit as well. It was heavily hinted throughout buuuut still. I guess I just hoped it would work a bit differently or there’d be a spin on it that I could get behind. While that wasn’t the case, I did absolutely LOVE the grand gesture at the end and the sweetness that followed. FYI this was steamier than I expected and there’s a few scenes, easily skippable if you prefer that like me!

Also yes, the dog, Camilla, is feisty and lovable and played a good sized roll. I loved her spunky vibe and how incredibly touching she could be. Pulls at your heart strings for fellow animal lovers!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: a little strong
  • Romance: multiple open door
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: recounting loss of parents (car wreck), parental abandonment, grief, brief mention of suicide ideation, loss of a grandparent

AUTHOR BIO:

Stefanie London is a USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. Her books have been called “genuinely entertaining and memorable” by Booklist, and her writing praised as “elegant, descriptive and delectable” by RT Magazine. Originally from Australia, she now lives in Toronto with her very own hero and is doing her best to travel the world. She frequently indulges her passions for lipstick, good coffee, books and anything zombie related.

Author Website
Instagram: @stefanielondon
Facebook: @London’s Lovelies

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