Tag: contemporary romance

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: April 2022

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A wishy washy reading month. I threw away way to many DNFs, but there were some diamonds in the rough here.

Favorites: The Godborn and the King, Double or Nothing, The Love Connection, Long Story Short, Lodestar, A Brush with Love, The Saltwater Heir, Heir of Fire, The Diamond Eye

  • [ARC] The Godborn and the King (The Raven and the Dove #4) by Kaitlyn Davis
  • The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James
  • Mr. Hoa (Fake It #1) by Carina Taylor
  • [Novella] Inheritance (American Royals #0.5) by Katharine McGee
  • Souls of Fire and Steel (Frozen Sun Saga #3) by Jill Criswell
  • The Atlas Six (The Atlas #1) by Olivie Blake
  • [ARC] Love Radio by Ebony LaDelle
  • [Novella] Passion or Penalty by Leah Brunner
  • [Novella] Falling for Your Brother’s Best Friend by Emma St. Clair
  • [ARC] Double or Nothing (A Pride and Pranks Romance #2) by Cindy Steel
  • [Novella] There Goes the Groom (Romance of Rank #1.5) by Esther Hatch
  • The Shadow Rising (The Wheel of Time #4) by Robert Jordan
  • [Novella] The Love Connection (Airport Novellas #1) by Denise Williams
  • The Ace of Hearts (Larkhall Letters #1) by Ashtyn Newbold
  • One for All by Lillie Lainoff
  • [Novella] Below Zero (The STEMinist Novellas #3) by Ali Hazelwood
  • The Fine Print (Dreamland Billionaires #1) by Lauren Asher
  • [Novella] Somewhat of a Ruse by Jess Heileman
  • Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor
  • Lodestar (Keeper of the Lost Cities #5) by Shannon Messenger
  • [Reread] Air Awakens (Air Awakens #1) by Elise Kova
  • [ARC] Long Story Short by Serena Kaylor
  • My Fine Fellow by Jennieke Cohen
  • In a New York Minute by Kate Spencer
  • Four Aunties and A Wedding (Aunties #2) by Jesse Q. Sutanto
  • A Brush With Love by Mazey Eddings
  • Scarlet Princess (The Lochlann Feuds #1) by Robin D. Mahle and Elle Madison
  • [ARC] The Dachshund Wears Prada by Stefanie London
  • The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa
  • [Novella] Finding Cinderella (Hopeless #2.5) by Colleen Hoover
  • Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
  • Tarnished Crown (The Lochlann Feuds #2) by Robin D. Mahle and Elle Madison
  • An Offer From a Gentleman (Bridgertons #3) by Julia Quinn
  • The Saltwater Heir (The Blood and Water Saga #1) by Cassidy Clarke
  • [Reread] Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas
  • Pretending at Love (Greenbank Romances #2) by Karen Thornell
  • The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
  • Terms and Conditions (Dreamland Billionaires #2) by Lauren Asher
  • Crimson Kingdom (The Lochlann Feuds #3) by Robin D. Mahle and Elle Madison
  • Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson
  • The No-Show by Beth O’Leary
  • [ARC] When in Rome by Sarah Adams

Did we read any of the same books? See any you want to read? Leave a comment!

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Book Review: Only When It’s Us (Bergman Brothers #1) by Chloe Liese

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 382 pages
Author: Chloe Liese
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: April 1st, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Prepare for an emotional rollercoaster brimming with laughter, tears, and slow-burn sexiness in this new adult romance that tackles the vulnerability of love with humor and heart.

Ryder

Ever since she sat next to me in class and gave me death eyes, Willa Sutter’s been on my shit list. Why she hates me, I don’t know. What I do know is that Willa is the kind of chaos I don’t need in my tidy life. She’s the next generation of women’s soccer. Wild hair, wilder eyes. Bee-stung lips that should be illegal. And a temper that makes the devil seem friendly.

She’s a thorn in my side, a menacing, cantankerous, pain-in-the-ass who’s turned our Business Mathematics course into a goddamn gladiator arena. I’ll leave this war zone unscathed, coming out on top…And if I have my way with that crazy-haired, ball-busting hellion, that will be in more than one sense of the word. 

Willa

Rather than give me the lecture notes I missed like every other instructor I’ve had, my asshole professor tells me to get them from the silent, surly flannel-wearing mountain man sitting next to me in class. Well, I tried. And what did I get from Ryder Bergman? Ignored. What a complete lumbersexual neanderthal. Mangy beard and mangier hair. Frayed ball cap that hides his eyes. And a stubborn refusal to acknowledge my existence.

I’ve battled men before, but with Ryder, it’s war. I’ll get those notes and crack that Sasquatch nut if it’s the last thing I do, then I’ll have him at my mercy. Victory will have never tasted so sweet.

Only When It’s Us is a frenemies-to-lovers, college sports romance about a women’s soccer star and her surly lumberjack lookalike classmate, complete with a matchmaking professor, juvenile pranks, and a smoking slow burn. This standalone is the first in a series of new novels about a Swedish-American family of five brothers, two sisters, and their wild adventures as they each find happily ever after.

FOUND A NEW SERIES.

I have sat on this series since the first book came out last year. I was worried the spice was going to be too much for me. And it was at the end (and I’m talking 90%) where I could easily skip past. But it was also less than I was thinking, So if that’s a possible hang up for you, I’ll mention as well that this story was FANTASTIC and definitely worth the read.

Ryder and Willa were the definition of frenemies. Forced to work together in a college class where the game became teasing/pranking each other until they couldn’t keep their hands off of each other. I loved it. The banter and chemistry. The heated glances and moments caught under a waterfall. All amazing stuff.

There were a lot of deeper conversations about disability, coping with loss, grief, depression and more. It’s heavily character driven plot (my fav) and brought about many heart-filled moments where I wanted to yell at the characters, and also hug them fiercely. This will bring out plenty of emotions.

And I loved that Willa was the soccer star! It was different from the majority of sports romances and I am here for it. I really enjoyed this writing style and how involved I became in Willa and Ryder’s lives. I’m happy I picked this one up and have already grabbed book two.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary sports romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: kisses to very open door scenes
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent, cancer, depictions of grief and severe depression

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Book Review: Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Crystal Maldonado
Publisher: Holiday House
Release Date: February 2nd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Coming of age as a Fat brown girl in a white Connecticut suburb is hard.
Harder when your whole life is on fire, though.

Charlie Vega is a lot of things. Smart. Funny. Artistic. Ambitious. Fat.

People sometimes have a problem with that last one. Especially her mom. Charlie wants a good relationship with her body, but it’s hard, and her mom leaving a billion weight loss shakes on her dresser doesn’t help. The world and everyone in it have ideas about what she should look like: thinner, lighter, slimmer-faced, straighter-haired. Be smaller. Be whiter. Be quieter.

But there’s one person who’s always in Charlie’s corner: her best friend Amelia. Slim. Popular. Athletic. Totally dope. So when Charlie starts a tentative relationship with cute classmate Brian, the first worthwhile guy to notice her, everything is perfect until she learns one thing–he asked Amelia out first. So is she his second choice or what? Does he even really see her? UGHHH. Everything is now officially a MESS.

A sensitive, funny, and painful coming-of-age story with a wry voice and tons of chisme, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega tackles our relationships to our parents, our bodies, our cultures, and ourselves.

REALLY ENJOYABLE.

I flew through this book quickly. The writing led to a easy and great paced story for a coming of age teen, Charlie.

The conversations throughout hit me deep in many ways. Some I could understand and connect with and others I won’t ever be able to understand, but appreciated seeing it in a book to help me understand more. There was a lot of great dialogue here and I’m grateful that I had the chance to read this.

Within the bigger and tougher discussions was an adorable romance. I thought Brian was precious and I loved all of the dates and interactions and the chemistry between him and Charlie. Some of the dialogue is very high school, though I wasn’t too affected by it. I thought everything felt pretty authentic to a 16/17 year-old without being over the top.

What I didn’t love was how the conflict went down with Brian. It just seemed liked it could have been addressed better and not dragged out as long as it was for the sake of the drama. A conversation after cooling down would have nicely moved things along rather than trying to force a grand gesture at the end.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: kisses / heated make-outs; discussion of sex
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: fatmisia, body shaming, diet culture, disordered eating

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Book Review: The Roommate Situation (Only in Atlanta #1) by Katie Bailey

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 278 pages
Author: Katie Bailey
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: June 15th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Conor Brady is the hottest man I have ever laid eyes on. Ever. He’s also my new roommate. In the past few days, I became jobless, homeless, and boyfriendless.

So, I did what any 28-year-old woman with her life together would do: I ran. Far, far away from my life in New York and straight to my big brother’s house in Atlanta.

Only, it turns out that my brother is away on a business trip. And, he failed to tell me that a full-on, godlike hottie—who happens to be a premier house flipper—has taken up residence in the spare bedroom while his enormous new house is being renovated.

There’s a million reasons why I shouldn’t fall for Conor.

But our chemistry is undeniable.

Which means I have a teeny, tiny situation on my hands…

The Roommate Situation is a laugh-out-loud funny, swoony, closed door romantic comedy. Expect some mild language and suggestive jokes alongside sizzling hot chemistry and tension you could cut with a knife—all without the explicit scenes.

BLAND.

This book was too easy.

From the moment they met it was instant EVERYTHING. And I will acknowledge instant attraction can work, but it just didn’t do it for me here. I wanted to feel like there was some angst, some will they/won’t they. Conor and Jess were practically a couple from the get-go (and you can’t convince me otherwise). It led to a really boring plot that could have been great. It’s a brother’s best friend’s trope. THERE WAS SO MUCH TO WORK WITH.

If I was going to pick something I did enjoy, I liked the initial set-up. I’m all for a roommate situation and how it can build with some good ol’ forced proximity. The banter and conversations were fairly humorous and it was written well. So even though I didn’t click with much of this it could definitely be different for you.

I was looking for a lot more and I’ll wait to see about reading the next in the series (though that looks like an enemies to lovers story, so I’m hopeful).

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses / make-outs

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