Book Review: Heartbreak for Hire by Sonia Hartl

October 1, 2022August 20, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Sonia Hartl
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: July 27th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Brinkley Saunders has a secret.

To everyone in the academic world she left behind, she lost it all when she dropped out of grad school. Once a rising star following in her mother’s footsteps, she’s now an administrative assistant at an insurance agency—or so they think.

In reality, Brinkley works at Heartbreak for Hire, a secret service that specializes in revenge for jilted lovers, frenemies, and long-suffering coworkers with a little cash to spare and a man who needs to be taken down a notch. It might not be as prestigious as academia, but it helps Brinkley save for her dream of opening an art gallery and lets her exorcise a few demons, all while helping to empower women.

But when her boss announces she’s hiring male heartbreakers for the first time, Brinkley’s no longer so sure she’s doing the right thing—especially when her new coworker turns out to be a target she was paid to take down. Though Mark spends his days struggling up the academic ladder, he seems to be the opposite of a backstabbing adjunct: a nerd at heart in criminally sexy sweater vests who’s attentive both in and out of the bedroom. But as Brinkley finds it increasingly more difficult to focus on anything but Mark, she soon realizes that like herself, people aren’t always who they appear to be.

WAFFLING.

That’s who I felt by the end. That I was waffling back and forth between how the story came to a conclusion. Everything was okay. This one wasn’t my favorite though.

I think I never got off on the right foot for the story. I don’t love one night stand tropes so when that happened right off the bat I was already wondering if this was going to circle back around. I will say, in the middle I adored Mark and Brinkley. There relationship went a whole lot better than I hoped and I was feeling the vibes between them. [The spice was too much for me and I did have to skip a lot, FYI].

The premise was interesting and luckily played out as it should. I thought the Heartbreak idea was unique at least. I just didn’t want it to be all of Brinkley’s personality. She had some good learning moments and came into her own by the end, which we love to see!!

I didn’t love the ending. It wrapped up way too quickly. And also…Mark was really in the wrong and I don’t know if I would have forgiven him that quickly. It closed out in a rush so I don’t even know how I feel about Mark and Brinkley at this point.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: some strong
Romance: multiple open door
Trigger/Content Warnings: emotional abuse and gaslighting, cheating recounted

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Book Review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

September 22, 2022May 12, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Emily Henry
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Release Date: May 3rd, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

An insightful, delightful new novel from the number-one New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation.

One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming….

Nora Stephens’ life is books – she’s read them all – and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away – with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again – in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow – what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

EXPECTATIONS.

I’m going to start with saying that this felt more like a book about sisters than it did a romance. And if I had known that prior I think I would have enjoyed it more. For too long I sat there wondering WHERE IS THE ROMANCE.

Admittedly, the romance did show up (after 25%) and I was charmed. I adored Nora and Charlie. I was laughing so much at the absolute perfect banter and chemistry between them. The forced proximity between the two was one of my favorite aspects. I liked the small town setting and the slow unraveling of feelings that heated up right on cue.

The main plot with Nora’s sister, Libby grew on me [though, good heavens stop calling her Sissy]. I think both showed some improvement as they reconnected. I liked seeing Nora’s perspective change and really diving into why she feels the way she does (and the responses it causes). These two have the kind of bond I love seeing in sibling books.

Not my favorite of Emily Henry’s books, but still a fantastic read. I look forward to more!

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: some strong
Romance: multiple brief open door
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent, anxiety/panic attacks, stroke (parent, not on page), grief and loss depiction

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ARC Audiobook Review: In the Weeds (Lovelight #2) by B.K. Borison

September 20, 2022August 18, 2022 GoodeyReads2 Comments

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 410 pages
Author: B.K. Borison
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: April 18th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Evelyn St. James isn’t the kind of woman you forget.

Beckett Porter certainly hasn’t. One incredible weekend in Maine, and he’s officially a man distracted. He’s not unfamiliar with hot and heavy flings. He knows how it goes. But Evie wove some sort of magic over him during their tumble in the sheets. He can’t stop thinking about her laugh. Her hand pressed flat against his chest. Her smiling mouth at his neck.

Also, her eyes. And her legs.

So when she suddenly appears on his farm as part of a social media contest, he is … confused. He had no idea that the sweet and sexy woman he met at a bar is actually a global phenomenon: social media influencer Evelyn St. James. When she disappears again, Beckett resolves to finally forget her and move on.

But Evelyn St. James has a problem.

Feeling disconnected from her work and increasingly unhappy, she’s trying to find her way back to something real. She returns to the last place she was happy, Lovelight Farms and the tiny town of Inglewild.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the hot farmer she spent two incredible nights with.

Nothing at all.

In The Weeds is a sweet and steamy second-chance romance about finding your happiness. It features a grumpy farmer, a no-nonsense social media influencer, a small town of busybodies, and four very cute kittens. In The Weeds is a standalone romance and is part of the Lovelight series.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the audiobook ARC.

I LIKED SOME OF IT.

I didn’t like the original book in this series, Lovelight Farms, but I wanted to give the author another chance. And maybe it’s okay to say now that we don’t totally click. That’s okay too!!

Audio narration wise it was GREAT. I loved the narrators and the way the read the story. I could listen at 3x speed with no issues and I have zero complaints in that regard.

Story wise it got off to a start with a one night stand, which can be a hit/miss for some. It was okay for me as I was prepared for it and knew more story was coming. I liked the initial moments of Beckett and Evelyn reconnecting. I also loved the theme surrounding Evelyn in disconnecting from social media and finding some happy each day.

Beckett was the sweetest and I liked a lot of moments surrounding him too. There was a good emphasis on his background and I enjoyed knowing more of his story.

I did think the pacing was my biggest issue. It started off well then slowed down so much I was wondering if anything was actually going to happen. Playing house was fun and sweet, but there needed to be something else happening too.

All in all, I truly gave this book a chance and I wish I had loved it more, but the audio was an easy listen and I appreciated that aspect.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: some strong
Romance: multiple open door; medium explicit
Trigger/Content Warnings: social anxiety

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Book Review: Kiss and Tell (Creekville Kisses #3) by Melanie Jacobson

September 17, 2022August 16, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 220 pages
Author: Melanie Jacobson
Publisher: Four Petal Press
Release Date: August 12th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

He’s back to hold her to a marriage pact they made ten years ago . . .

Tabitha Winters, glamorous celebrity chef, loves her life and growing empire in New York. But when her best friends buy the old summer camp where they worked as counselors, she can’t turn down their invitation to appear at the opening week fundraising gala . . . even if it means confronting the memories of her first love and its disastrous ending.

But she soon discovers someone is playing an elaborate prank on her as she catches glimpses of Sawyer Reed, the heartbreaker who has no business being at Camp Oak Crest. When she uncovers the truth with a well-crafted counter prank campaign, it’s wilder than she could have guessed: even though she hasn’t seen Sawyer since he broke her heart, he’s there to collect on a marriage pact they made when they were still dumb kids.

Tabitha could never resist a dare, and when Sawyer double dares her to give him a week to prove that they still have their old magic, she’s all in to prove that he’s wrong: they’ve been over since the day he walked away ten years ago.

Only she didn’t count on him knowing her better than he has a right to, or having the perfect dates to wear down her resistance. And she definitely didn’t plan on their attraction still burning hotter than the end-of-camp bonfire. In this summer camp setting, can Tabitha resist the pull of past memories while Sawyer’s knee-buckling kisses try to convince her of their future?

JUST WHAT I NEEDED.

Oh this book caught me at the right time, I LOVED IT.

I got major People We Meet on Vacation vibes. The summer camp theme was perfect and this couple? OFF THE CHARTS.

The use of flashback chapters worked effortlessly here. It gave me the necessary background to understand Tabitha and Sawyer’s past and really building up that angst in the present chapters. I loved all of the pranks (which actually made me laugh) and really feeling like I was out at camp with the rest of them.

There’s a lot of great themes in here, one being, therapy. I liked the positive connotation surrounding it and the way that multiple parties learned to express emotions and concerns in a safe and genuine way. I love seeing characters grow and it wasn’t only Tabitha that showed some needed change.

I LOVED SAWYER. Good heavens he was the perfect love interest. Super swoony (those kiss scenes? FIRE). I appreciated that he could admit his wrongs and speak his truths too. The way he tried to show Tabitha just how much he cared, and also listening to her when she needed to communicate to? ALL HERE FOR IT.

Fantastic romance. Perfect for summertime.

Overall audience notes: