Tag: contemporary romance

Book Review: Oxford Star (Oxford Wild #2) by Laura Bradbury

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 338 pages
Author: Laura Bradbury
Publisher: Grape Books
Release Date: March 6th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A Harry-Styles-famous rock star takes refuge from crippling panic attacks at Oxford University, only to find himself face to face with the crush whose life he ruined.

JACK
Rock stars shouldn’t suffer from debilitating panic attacks, but I’m barely hanging on by my famous fingernails. That’s why I leverage the name I despise to study my childhood love of astronomy. Just one term at Oxford? Problem solved.

Too bad my pre-stardom life reappears to haunt me in the form of Lucy Snow, the sharp-tongued, opulent-bodied woman I can’t seem to forget. This would be the perfect opportunity to make amends for stealing her fantasy four years ago, except Lucy’s love for me has turned to loathing.

When she refuses my financial help, I have a wonderful, dangerous idea…

LUCY
Jack Seary stole my dream of a singing career and made it his reality. When he trampled my heart, he also taught me a lesson: being selfless and hardworking makes me Cinderella without the goddamn glass slipper.

Now this infuriating thief of a man thinks I’ll pretend to be his girlfriend to dispel tabloid rumors? Ha!

Oxford Star is an enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, second chance, celebrity / rock star romance with a plus sized heroine and panic / anxiety rep. Brace yourself for a SLOW-BURN (but steamy!) romance that explores the complexity of love, dreams, and redemption under the dreaming spires of Oxford University.

Thank you to the author for a gifted ecopy!

I WANT TO GO TO OXFORD NOW.

This was an enjoyable read! Easily binge worthy and very romantic. I loved the second chance romance and the unique twist on a rockstar and old friend.

I struggled a little with their connection at first, but the second half was reallllly strong in those aspects. I liked that Lucy and Jack got to talk a lot of things out and hash over some of the issues they needed to communicate to move forward. I LOVED Jack’s anxiety and panic disorder rep. It hit home in a lot of ways and I love that Lucy was always a listening and helpful partner in those matters.

Lucy’s growth was a little slower (which was fine). I liked that she learned that it was okay to take something for herself. After having to give and give for years, and finally being able to follow the career path you want? That’s monumental and the strides to that destination were great.

The Oxford setting was so fun!! I thought there was just enough of the history and dynamics I didn’t know about the school without overwhelming the fact that it was a romance book. There were maaany swoony moments (the dress scene? YES). I loved the body positivity and the way that was woven into Lucy’s story. There’s plenty of good things to be found in this read!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 2-3 open door; med-high explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: panic attacks (on page), depictions of anxiety, loss of a father (recounted), comments on weight and body image, brief gun violence (the gun is never fired)

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Book Review: Just Go With It (Just Us #1) by Madison Wright

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 243 pages
Author: Madison Wright
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: April 25th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

My life is, to put this delicately, a hot mess right now. I’ve lost my job and my home all in one summer. To top it all off, I have a chronic illness and no health insurance.

Did I mention that the world now thinks I’m dating one of the Internet’s hottest stars—all because someone snapped a photo of us at our friend’s wedding? Seriously, guys? One dance, and now we’re in love? HA! Isn’t that funny? Weston King, famous YouTuber, would never date me. In fact, when given the chance six years ago, he moved two thousand miles away.

Dating Wes is off the table, but…is marrying him? He might just be the only one who can help me get my life together, and after getting hit with some really bad press, he needs me just as much. 

Marrying Wes just might be the answer to my prayers, but it also opens the door to a whole mess of problems—a door I’d rather keep tightly shut.

The whole thing would probably be a huge mistake and end in disaster. 

Should I just go with it?

I LOVE THE COVER.

Smitten for a book that draws me in by the cover and this one had that, what it didn’t have was enough substance to call this book a romance.

The first 40% started off really strong, I’m a sucker for marriage of convenience tropes and this one had all of that critical things I’m looking for in that kind of plot. I wish it would have happened sooner so that there was more interaction between the main love interests. There were so many plot holes related to the entire story that I don’t know where I’d begin.

Wes was a gem. I loved him. A good love interest with an even better heart. I enjoyed every moment he was on the page and he carried a lot of this book for me. I wish Lo had been more…*something*. I loved the own rep for fibromyalgia and learning more about the day to day effects of this disease. What I didn’t love is how she handled everything related to Wes. At times it felt high schoolish and I especially think the drama at the end had me wanting to be done reading.

So a mixed bag, but not a bad debut. I’m curious about future books from this author.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: closed door
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: fibromyalgia (own voices)

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ARC Book Review: The Love Wager (Mr. Wrong Number #2) by Lynn Painter

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Lynn Painter
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 14th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Two people make a wager on who can find love first, not realizing what they should be betting on is each other, in this new romantic comedy by Lynn Painter, author of Mr. Wrong Number.

Hallie Piper is turning over a new leaf. After belly-crawling out of a hotel room (hello, rock bottom), she decides it’s time to become a full-on adult. She gets a new apartment, a new haircut, and a new wardrobe, but when she logs onto the dating app that she has determined will find her new love, she sees none other than Jack, the guy whose room she snuck out of.

After the joint agreement that they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie become partners in their respective searches for The One. They text each other about their dates, often scheduling them at the same restaurant so that if things don’t go well, the two of them can get tacos afterward.

Spoiler: they get a lot of tacos together.

Discouraged by the lack of prospects, Jack and Hallie make a wager to see who can find true love first, but when they agree to be fake dates for a weekend wedding, all bets are off. As they pretend to be a couple, lines become blurred and they each struggle to remember why the other was a bad idea to begin with.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the eARC.

ON FIRE.

That’s how this book made me feel. The banter was immaculate perfection and every single interaction made me giddy and weak in the knees. While I was initially hesitant from the one night stand starting point, I LOVE the way Lynn Painter turned this. One of the best strangers to friends to lovers book I have read to date.

Hallie is my favorite type of contemporary main character. A little rough around the edges but wholly understanding of who she is and being that person always. She was pure fun and light, while maintaining that sense of realness. JACK, stop right now, he was the swooniest and sweetest guy EVER. I loved how he just there. The texts, phone calls, showing up to help, traveling, you name it, Jack made an effort to be apart of Hallie’s life. I thought they had fantastic chemistry and I could feel the tension from miles away. The slow burn will absolutely put you in a chokehold. Everything was ramped up in harmony waiting for that final breaking point and ohhhh how I loved it.

There’s a small dash of miscommunication that surprisingly didn’t bug me all that much. It’s moved through pretty quickly and is overall reasonably dealt with. I actually thought it made those last few scenes even more rom-com magnificent.

THIS BOOK WAS JUST SO GOOD. READ IT.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: strong throughout
  • Romance: light innuendo; 2-3 brief scenes (low-medium explicit)
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: brief mentions of a loss of a loved one

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ARC Book Review: Betting on the Boy Next Door (Betting on Love #1) by Melanie Jacobson

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 308 pages
Author: Melanie Jacobson
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: March 7th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I’m a nurse who wants to be a rock star—a secret I don’t even tell my best friends and roommates. So when one of them—Ruby—gets it into her head to find me a man, I can’t explain why I don’t have time for her matchmaking. Ruby turns it into a bet to make sure I go along with it. I say yes, but won’t matter. My ex taught me the most important thing about men: you can’t count on them.

When Ruby picks the worst possible guy for me, I know I’ve got this in the bag. Sure, our brand-new neighbor, Josh, is hot, but he’s the privileged scion of an Austin family whose money is so old, it’s dusty. Been there, done that, and I’m not going back.

The thing is, Josh isn’t easy to shake, especially not after he discovers my secret double-life. With the help of a fake dating scheme, a cursing parrot, and our late-night balcony talks, I’m starting to think he’s a risk worth taking—even when all the evidence says I better run.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

JUST WHAT I NEEDED.

I enjoyed this book so much. It turned out to be what I needed when it dropped in my inbox and I stayed up way too late to finish it because I was loving every page.

Josh and Ruby has great chemistry from the get-go. I looooved the banter. I found myself smiling and swooning and when a few fake dating antics got thrown in I was INVOLVED. Little heated glances, the small touches, leaning in to whisper in someone’s ear? GIMME ALL OF IT. This had a very natural flow to the relationship with some push and pull, but ultimately realizing a HEA is in front of you.

Even when I found myself a little frustrated with how Sami was allowing past issues to completely fuel her decisions in the present I did see a lot of growth. Sami allowed herself to be open about her fears, spoke to others and even did some big gestures of her own to show Josh she’s as invested as he is. Josh definitely fell first (my fav) and I adore a guy who shows up, regardless of what that means.

And I thought the plot was fun. I’m hit/miss on music themes and I thought this was wonderfully written. I wanted to see the best for Sami and loved her level headedness about following her dreams and making those happen. It’s a great book. It’s super swoony, it’s on the lighter side and it’s perfect for spring time.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a grandparent, multiple mentions of older people passing away (Sami works as a nurse at a care facility), brief mention of going to rehab, absent father

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