Book Review: A Convenient Christmas (Isn’t It Sweet #1) by Jody Holford

October 9, 2022August 25, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 211 pages
Author: Jody Holford
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 1st, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Abigail Smith loves Christmas so much she made it her business. Whether it’s simple gift wrapping or arranging a sit-down feast, clients of A Convenient Christmas can count on Abby to meet all of their holiday needs. When her oldest and dearest client hires her to add a little cheer to her son’s life, Abby is up for the challenge.

Until he fires her.

Finn Edenbury is too busy trying to get through the holiday season to enjoy it. The divorced dad is not looking forward to spending this year alone since his daughter, Melody, will be with his ex. Which might be why he overreacted when he found a beautiful, tree trimming woman in his living room.

An unexpected change of plans mean Finn will spend the holidays with his little girl after all. Finn turns to Abby with an apology and a request: help him make Melody’s Christmas magic.

The Queen of Christmas can hardly say no even if she still thinks he’s a bit of a Scrooge. That is, until they spend time together. These two opposites end up wanting something for Christmas that neither of them expected: each other.

RATHER UNCONVENIENT.

This was heading towards a strong three star. I wouldn’t say memorable, but I was enjoying the holiday spirit, the single Dad romance was pretty cute and I’m always here for a sunshine/grump trope.

Enter in, the dreaded conflict. We all know they arise each romance read, and sometimes they work out great, other times I turn into a rage monster over the ridiculousness nature of it all. This one was the latter. If a 5 year-old has to tell her Dad he’s being silly because he blew up at the heroine without a good enough reason, something is wrong with that picture. It was laughable and extended the book unnecessarily. Really wish it just had skipped over the conflict and went to the sappy ending.

I liked that the Abby owned her own event business. It was fun to see a different angle to holiday romances with this. Abby and Finn got along together well and I love a cute kid to boot. There’s some goodness here overall, even if things weren’t clicking for me.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: none
Romance: closed door
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a grandparent (prior to book, but discussed often), divorce

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Book Review: Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez

October 6, 2022April 25, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Abby Jimenez
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: April 19th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The New York Times bestselling author of Life’s Too Short delivers a refreshingly modern fairy tale perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Emily Henry.

After a wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than her and as casual as they come—the complete opposite of sophisticated city-girl Alexis. And yet their chemistry is undeniable.

While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere” ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people.

Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she can’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either. With so many differences between them, how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?

NEW AUTHOR FAVORITE.

Ohhh this just climbed mountains to become my new favorite book by Jimenez. WHAT A READ. Everyone’s reviews had me hyped for this and it delivered.

One of the subtle things I appreciated was how the one night stand trope was handled. I’m generally not a fan, but it was kept closed door and I liked that spice wasn’t added just to do it. The heat was brought in further along in the story when the connection between Daniel and Alexis had reached extreme levels. I felt like it was the best way to use this trope and rather than being in my face about it, just slowly brought on how much I ADORE these characters.

I loved that both Alexis and Daniel had their own personal struggles and true differences. But that with both sides of their lives they found ways to connect, to understand where the other person is coming from, and to find ways to bond themselves together. There were plenty of utterly wholesome moments (baby goat y’all) and passionate arguments about what was happening meant to them. I loved it all (though I could have thrown Alexis’s Dad down a hill and would not have blinked an eye).

The side characters only enhanced the plot and made me excited for future books in this series. Even those I didn’t like, I thought brought in the right touch of drama to keep things moving and to shine light on certain topics and how they can unfold without knowing. I LOVED THIS BOOK. Highly recommend. It’s everything I love about contemporary romances.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: some
Romance: brief/vague open door
Trigger/Content Warnings: parental abuse, emotional abuse and gaslighting (on page), intimate partner violence and abuse (side character, on page), cheating recounted, depression, grief, on page childbirth, loss of loved ones

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Book Review: Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison

October 5, 2022November 19, 2021 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: Unknown pages
Author: B.K. Borison
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 10th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Where the lovelight gleams …

A pasture of dead trees. A hostile takeover of the Santa barn by a family of raccoons. And shipments that have mysteriously gone missing. Lovelight Farms is not the magical winter wonderland of Stella Bloom’s dreams.

In an effort to save the Christmas tree farm she’s loved since she was a kid, she enters a contest with instafamous influencer Evelyn St. James. With the added publicity and the $100,000 cash prize, she might just be able to save the farm from its financial woes. There’s just one problem. To make the farm seem like a romantic destination for the holidays, she lied on the application and said she owns Lovelight Farms with her boyfriend. Only … there is no boyfriend.

Enter best friend Luka Peters. He just came home for some hot chocolate, and somehow got a farm and a serious girlfriend in the process.

Lovelight Farms is a romantic comedy featuring a handsome, freckled data analyst, a messy, optimistic Christmas tree farm owner, and a small town with the best hazelnut lattes on the east coast. This sweet and steamy romance is a holiday happily ever after.

NOT FOR ME.

I wanted to love this more after seeing some positive reviews on it but I had some issues with the story throughout.

I did love that it was set at a Christmas tree farm. That’s adorable and I haven’t read a holiday romance like that. I liked seeing some of the workings of the farm. All of the holiday vibes were had with this setting.

There were some cute moments between the love interests, Stella and Luka. Both of them clearly wanted to date and when the moment arose for a solid fake dating trope it fell flat. No angst, they just started dating. That’s it? Stella tried to drag it out by telling Luka that there’s no way he likes her (and other eye roll statements like this) as she went with the completely oblivious play call.

It could have used another round of edits as I noticed a lot of repetitive phrasing choices and dialogue set-up. All in all, this didn’t click for me, but I know it might for others!

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: some
Romance: open door
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of parents, vandalism

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Book Review: What Are Friends For? (Love in Fenton County #1) by Sarah Sutton

October 3, 2022November 12, 2021 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 308 pages
Author: Sarah Sutton
Publisher: Golden Crown Publishing
Release Date: January 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

FALLING IN LOVE ISN’T COMPLICATED…UNLESS IT’S WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND.

A close, easygoing friendship can all change with just one kiss. Seventeen-year-old Remi Beaufort learns this the hard way when she plays a blindfolded kissing game at a party.

She thinks she’s kissing Jeremy, the totally hot basketball player she’s been crushing on. And the kiss…it’s amazing. Heart-stopping, world-changing, toe-curling. The kiss makes her forget about her overbearing mother, the next-door neighbor’s drama, and the probability that she’ll fail her senior year. The best kiss of her life makes all that fall away.

Until her blindfold falls off, and she realizes that instead of kissing her crush, she’s kissing Elijah, her best friend since third grade.

Though she manages to convince Elijah that he was kissing his girlfriend, Remi can’t get the thought of his lips on hers out of her head. As things between them grow more and more complicated–because it turns out her fantasizing about his mouth is more of a problem than it sounds–Remi has to make a choice: does she live the rest of her life loving her best friend in secret? Or does she tell the truth and risk ruining their friendship forever?

THAT’S GOING TO BE A NO FOR ME.

This was a whole big YIKES book for me. Kept hoping things would change and I’m glad it was a quick read so I can write this review and move on.

Emotional cheating is a thing. And this entire read was exactly that. The main love interest Elijah has a girlfriend the ENTIRE book but spends his time pining for Remi (as Remi pines for him). They do have a kiss where, fine, I can let that go based off of some surrounding circumstances, but past that point, why did his relationship have to go on that long? It was unnecessary and ruined this for me.

It’s fast paced. That’s a positive. Uhm, and the few little moments between Elijah and Remi at the end were good too. But that’s all I can really pull out because I’m too upset over the plot. Anywho, that’s it.

Overall audience notes: