Tag: contemporary romance

Book Review: Later On We’ll Conspire (Christmas Escapes #6) by Kortney Keisel

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 338 pages
Author: Kortney Keisel
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 22nd, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Everyone loves a Christmas surprise––just not when it’s a spy in disguise.
Lacee:

I’ll be home for Christmas…alone was the plan, but everything changes when I bump into a handsome stranger who always seems to be in the right place at the right time. So there’s a new plan, a plan that involves a casual holiday fling. Merry Christmas to me.

But spending the holidays with Park Bradshaw in my charming hometown turns into Mission Impossible when I find out his knife skills go way beyond carving the Christmas ham.

Now I’m on the run, living out my own Christmas version of Die Hard, where making it home in time for Christmas is the least of my worries. I just want to make it home alive ––and hopefully not lose my heart to the one man I’m not sure I can trust.

Because as the countdown to Christmas ticks on like a bomb, I’m left wondering which side he’s on.

◆ Later On We’ll Conspire is a laugh-out-loud, closed-door romance full of sizzle, chemistry, and witty banter that might require you to suspend a little disbelief.

A LOT OF FUN.

If you’re looking for a unique holiday romance, this is it. Read this book. I’ve been waiting for this one since it was announced and it did not disappoint.

I loved the hidden identities spy mystery plot. It’s still kept light and humorous, but adds that bit of an intense edge that plays off of everything else beautifully. Lacee and Park end up having to work together and you wouldn’t believe the sparks that fly off of these two.

The plot meandered just a bit for me and I think that’s why I’m feeling closer to a four star. Don’t get me wrong, LOVED this book, but there’s something holding me back.

The story itself had me speeding through it and I liked the level of Christmas feels it gives. There’s plenty of fiery banter (and faaantastic) kisses that I love, especially in categorically sweet romances. The twists are easy to guess yet so entertaining to watch unfold. I laughed out loud quite a bit and think this is one of the better Christmas books I’ve ever read. I love when things feel fresh!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, gun violence, physical altercations

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ARC Book Review: Do I Know You? by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
Publisher: Berkley Books
Release Date: January 24th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When a couple starts to feel like they’re married to a stranger, a flirtatious game of pretend becomes the spark they need to reignite their relationship.

Eliza and Graham are anticipating an anything-but-sexy, weeklong getaway to celebrate their five-year anniversary. Nestled on the Northern California coastline, the resort prides itself on being a destination for those in love and those looking to find it. For Eliza and Graham, it might as well be a vacation with a roommate.

When a well-meaning guest mistakes Eliza and Graham for being single and introduces them at the hotel bar, they don’t correct him. Suddenly, they’re pretending to be perfect strangers and it’s unexpectedly…fun? Eliza and Graham find themselves flirting like it’s their first date, and waiting with butterflies in their stomach for the other to text back.

Everyone at the retreat can sense the electric chemistry between Eliza and Graham’s alter egos. But when their scintillating game of roleplaying ends, will they still feel the heat?

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the eARC.

ABSOLUTELY LOVED.

You know what got me off on the perfect foot with this book? That Graham and Eliza weren’t two bitter, mean characters where you didn’t even want to cheer them on to fix their marriage. These two LOVE each other and WANT deeply to make things work and that made me love them immediately and want the best for them.

I thought it was a fun idea to kind of “role play” to get out of their own way. It led to some good banter and to some moments that truths could be revealed. For a book set at only a resort I thought there were ample opportunities for activities that didn’t feel forced and allowed major character development.

Side note to David? CAN HE HAVE HIS OWN BOOK PLEASE? I loved him so much and how good of a friend he was! He was the perfect side character touch that brought some lightness and helped Graham by being someone he could talk too.

Eliza took the most time to really break down some barriers. What I loved though is that Graham talked and approached things with such love. There was no condemning and call outs. He voiced his thoughts and Eliza started to truly reflect on how she handles conflict and tough situations. Same went for Graham’s growth. Once Eliza was aware of what was happening for him, she went out of her way to make obvious remarks to build his confidence. I LOVE THAT SO MUCH.

There’s a beautiful focus on the fact marriages aren’t perfect, but two people who want badly enough to try and work together and stay open to communicating can make it perfect. I loved many of the dialogue surrounding communication and asking questions and finding new ways to keep loving the person that changes over time with you.

This is there best adult book yet.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: two brief open; low explicit
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: strained familial relations

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Book Review: Mr. HOA (Fake It #1) by Carina Taylor

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 216 pages
Author: Carina Taylor
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: June 30th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Bane Fox knows exactly what he wants in life: financial stability.

He does not want to be homeless.
He does not want to be the president of an HOA.

It’s rather unfortunate he is both of those things.

Oh, and did I forget to mention he has a fake wife?
Yeah, that’s me.

MOSTLY CHARMING.

All signs pointed to this being my kind of read, fake marriage, forced proximity, and more. And I did enjoy a lot of it, just had some missed connections.

Bane and Nola were super sweet together. Definitely had the instant chemistry. The banter really held the torch between them. I loooove that they were stuck in a house together and the slow movements that brought them to a real relationship. While all of that was good, I also felt like I never fully got on board with them. Maybe a lack of more moments between them or a bit more angst, I’m not sure, but something was missing.

The plot was fun too! I liked the setup. Different scenarios made me laugh. Though, SO MANY of the neighbors really irked me. I did not like their antics and it seemed really forced.

Not my favorite of Taylor’s, hoping to try another at some point.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

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Book Review: The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Ashley Poston
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: June 28th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A disillusioned millennial ghostwriter who, quite literally, has some ghosts of her own, has to find her way back home in this sparkling adult debut from national bestselling author Ashley Poston.

Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead.

When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won’t give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father.

For ten years, she’s run from the town that never understood her, and even though she misses the sound of a warm Southern night and her eccentric, loving family and their funeral parlor, she can’t bring herself to stay. Even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. And she hates it.

Until she finds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is.

Romance is most certainly dead . . . but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories.

GREW ON ME.

I spent the first 30-40% of this book wondering if I had made a mistake in picking it up. Not that it was bad, just thinking it might not be for me? It was a tad slow and I wasn’t sure when the romance was going to come into play.

BUT. I ate some of my words because past that point I fell in love with so much of this book. There were beautiful conversations surrounding loss, grief, and life. My heartstrings were pulled continually as these characters wrapped themselves around my heart. The power that words have over us is incredible and many of these statements weaved there way into me.

The romance was so sweet!!! The paranormal ghost aspects played out exactly as I hoped (blessed be or I might have thrown my book at anyone who told me I should read it). I thought Florence and Ben clicked. The chemistry was undeniable and the slow burn of watching them get to know each other was precious.

Lots to love about this one. It made good on the hype surrounding it and I look forward to future books by this author.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Paranormal Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: brief open door
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent, grief depiction, bullying (mentioned)

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