Tag: contemporary romance

Book Review: Home is Where You Are by Melissa Grace

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Rating: ☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 328 pages
Author: Melissa Grace
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: October 27th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Olivia Sinclair left her dreams of a music career behind, along with her hopes for love and a family. With her husband having left her for more fertile pastures, she’s content to focus her energy on her thriving bakery, a new home, and an ornery rescue cat named Mama. That is until Liv’s best friend drags her to a concert where she meets the handsome (and much younger) frontman of the popular band, Midnight in Dallas.

Jaxon Slade is looking for a little inspiration. Up against a deadline, his ability to write music has escaped him. But when he meets Liv backstage, all of that changes. Jax is instantly captivated by her witty sense of humor and effortlessly beautiful voice. As the two grow closer, he begins to see a future with Liv by his side. All he has to do is convince her that their connection is worth the risk.

But when Jax suggests taking their relationship to the stage as a duo, fame makes some of the most painful details of Liv’s past public, testing her belief in their relationship and herself. Liv must decide between being the woman the world and her ex told her she was, or choosing the woman she was always meant to be. Home Is Where You Are, the first in the Midnight In Dallas series, is a story of love, friendship, and the family we choose.

NO.

Yeah, I should have DNFed this. I acknowledge that choice. I kept thinking there’d be a turnaround. There was not.

First mistake, the instant, first chapter, all consuming, I’m in love with this person. I know this can be accomplished well, but here, there was absolutely NO ANGST. None. I wanted to feel something for these two, but being thrown into love within the first chapter annoyed me. I knew nothing about anyone before the entire plot was laid out. You knew exactly where things were going. I could have told you the plot (including “twists”) without reading more than the first chapter.

The initial issues ramped up the pronounced drama throughout. There’s some good moments in here about a few things, but that was the small good I found.

I didn’t like how some of the characters were portrayed either. A lot of it bugged me.

I think I’ll stop here. It’s enough.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: kisses to closed door
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: discussion of infertility and a past miscarriage, growing up in foster care, a parent with a drug addiction, losing a spouse to cancer, losing a spouse to an accident, divorce

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Book Review: With You Forever (Bergman Brothers #4) by Chloe Liese

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 350 pages
Author: Chloe Liese
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: September 14th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Cozy up for a heartfelt, humorous, sizzling slow-burn in this marriage of convenience romance about finding love—and home—in the most unlikely of places.​

Axel

Rooney Sullivan is sunshine incarnate. Warm, bright, always smiling, she’s everything I’m not and the last person I have any business desiring. Desperate to hide a hopeless attraction, I’ve done everything possible to keep my distance…until a charades game gone wrong brought that to a grinding halt. 

Since then, steering clear of Rooney has been impossible. In a matter of months, she’s kissed me speechless, commandeered my art career, and infiltrated not only my dreams but my home. The woman who was once avoidable has become the last thing I needed: temptingly within reach.

Rooney

Axel Bergman is a gorgeous grump who doesn’t have the time of day for me. Thankfully, I’ve kept my crush under wraps…well, until I kissed him. Charades got away from me, okay? It was an accident! I haven’t seen him since, which is for the best. My life is a mess, and the last thing I need is to embarrass myself further with the man who avoids me like that’s his job rather than painting modern masterpieces.

It seems the universe, however, has a different plan. When Axel and I unexpectedly find our paths—and problems—converging, a marriage of convenience proves the perfect solution. At least, until I’m facing my most serious problem yet: a once-loveless marriage of convenience that’s inconveniently become a love match, after all.

With You Forever is a sunshine and grump, marriage of convenience romance about a shy artist on the autism spectrum*, and a smiley smartypants who has a chronic IBD. Complete with combustible cooking lessons, interfering family and friends, and a steamy slow burn, this standalone is the fourth in a series of novels about a Swedish-American family of five brothers, two sisters, and their wild adventures as they each find happily ever after.

*This is an #OwnVoices story for its portrayal of autism by an autistic author.

A NEW FAVORITE.

I loooooooooved this book SO DANG MUCH. I flipped when it finally dropped on my kindle and read it in a day. I could not and did not want to put it down ever. I flew through this magnificent love story that gave me all the feels from laughter to tears. What a beautiful book. If you only get through this paragraph PLEASE READ IT.

I would call this one of those perfect romance. Where I can’t even think of one nuanced complaint other then that it ended too soon because it could never end I would keep reading this forever.

Rooney is the sunshine heroine with a chronic illness. Something she hides from those she loves and something that has flared up badly enough she had to take a break. I love her vulnerability and strength. Allowing Axel to see the “ugly” sides of her that he made her realize would never change a thought in his mind about her. I loved Rooney’s sunshine along with the rain.

Axel, who is autistic, struggles with emotions and expressing them towards others. He’s the grump to Rooney’s sunshine. As Axel’s layers started to peel away, you really get to the heart of why he feels a certain way about himself and his “eternal” bachelorhood. I love how this two connected and allowed a space for each of them to explore new thoughts and express words that they needed to say to one another (and to the loved ones in their circles). It was emotional and romantic. Tender and incredibly heartfelt. I LOVED every single interaction between them.

Add in a marriage of convenience, a cabin in the woods, and some cute critters and this book is everything I love about the romance genre. Rooney and Axel’s love story was compelling and so full of truth that is undeniable. I swooned many many times and this book is going to live rent free in my mind for the foreseeable future.

Overall Audience Notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: occasionally strong
  • Romance: kisses to multiple open door
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: chronic illness (IBD)

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Book Review: Dial A for Aunties (Aunties #1) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Contemporary romance + Mystery
Length: 300 pages
Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: April 27th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

What happens when you mix 1 (accidental) murder with 2 thousand wedding guests, and then toss in a possible curse on 3 generations of an immigrant Chinese-Indonesian family?

You get 4 meddling Asian aunties coming to the rescue!

When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working at an island resort on the California coastline. It’s the biggest job yet for the family wedding business—”Don’t leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!”—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie’s perfect buttercream flowers.

But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy’s great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?

READ IN A DAY.

That’s how great this book was. I couldn’t put it down. I found reasons to keep listening to my audio copy because I had to know what would happen next.

This was absolutely hilarious. I haven’t laughed this much while reading in awhile. It was fantastic. I adored all of the Aunties and the hijinks they got up too. I loved the main character, Meddy. I wanted to be her friend and her inner monologue was spot on. This group of women were wonderful. All of the family dynamics with great support and hilarity. I just loved everyone so much.

The romance was cute! I didn’t like how it initially started (with a forced miscommunication) but otherwise the reconnection had me swooning. Nathan was a sweet dreamboat who wasn’t letting Meddy walk away again.

Following the larger plot was engaging and I thought everything wove together well. I liked the setting and how the romance worked out for the side characters too. There’s just a lot here to love and I will definitely be passing this around as a new highly recommend read.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance + Murder mystery
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: one brief open
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: accidental homicide, attempted sexual assault, racism, sexism, recreational drug use, nonconsensual drugging, on page car accident, catfishing

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Book Review: Meet Me in Paradise by Libby Hubscher

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Libby Hubscher
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 23rd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Marin Cole has never:
Seen the ocean
Climbed a mountain
Taken a risk on love
….But if her sister’s plan works, she just might do all three.

Ever since her journalist mother died on assignment, Marin has played it safe, refusing to set foot outside the state of Tennessee. Her wild-child younger sister, Sadie, has trotted the globe as a photographer, living off of art and adrenaline.

When Sadie returns from a tough assignment abroad and looks a little worse for wear, Marin reluctantly agrees to a sisters’ spa weekend on the tropical island of Saba. But her lifelong fear of travel is affirmed when Sadie misses the flight, Marin’s luggage gets mixed up with another passenger’s, and an episode of turbulence sends her hurtling into the lap of Lucas Tsai, the handsome stranger who stole her sister’s seat.

For the first time in a long time, Marin has to step outside of her comfort zone as she explores the island with Lucas and learns what she’s been missing out on. With each breathtaking new experience, Marin gets closer to her real self, the man she’s falling for, and the heart-wrenching truth about why she’s there in the first place.

EMOTIONALLY BEAUTIFUL.

LOVED THIS BOOK SO DANG MUCH Y’ALL.

This was filled with so much!!

I love the strong bonds of sisterhood. Marin and her sister, Sadie were partners in life and everything else. I adored both of them with all of my heart and their family dynamic hit home in many ways. I’m going to start crying just trying to type this review out.

The romance was incredibly tender. It was somehow quick-moving but perfectly paced. I was all in from the moment Lucas sat beside Marin on the plane. It was incredibly romantic and had me swooning and cheering them on. It was everything I love to see in an passionate island getaway.

The setting had me wanting to brave my own fear of flying and get on a plane ASAP. It was enchanting and the locals were fantastic. I love that Marin got to meet many new people and really explore for the first time in her life.

Marin had incredible growth. She stretched and found a whole new world to stand in. Marin chose herself [finally] first and it allowed her to be able to see where she wanted to go next and with who.

Many times I was brought close to tears and the pure raw emotion emanating from the pages. This story will break you completely down and still be able to hand out hope in the end. I love how this combined life and love together to create one magnificent read. I couldn’t put this down and I loved every second of it (even if I wanted to cry half the time).

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses to closed door
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: a dicey plane ride, a loved one with terminal illness, loss of a parent

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