Tag: contemporary romance

ARC Book Review: It’s Just Business (The Wedding Business #2) by Summer Dowell

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: TBD
Author: Summer Dowell
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: March 25th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I despise him. I despise everything about this business-stealing man who has eyes the color of hot chocolate and a perfectly sun-kissed tan I can’t stop thinking about…Like I said, despise.

Having grown up with a mom who had more boyfriends than a flower has petals, I have zero fairy tale aspirations of true love. It doesn’t exist. But when a dreamy man with the perfect smile and a propensity for volunteering keeps running into me, I start to think maybe I was wrong all along.

That is until I realize he’s the scumbag that stole my flower shop right out from under me.

I know I should be the bigger person. Move on. But somehow, revenge seems the only answer. Pity, revenge seems to be showing me that Austin might actually be a good person instead of the villain I painted him to be.

In the end, it’s all just business though, isn’t it?”

A laugh-out-loud, enemies to lovers romance that is full of all the sarcasm and swoons!

Thank you to the author for an eARC in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own!

CUTE AND LIGHT.

This was a nice, light, fluffy read. I liked the fast pace and am legitimately considering a future career in floral design. I want to work with flowers all day like Haley.

Haley had me laughing often with how much junk food she eats. Wow I wish I could eat like her all the time. She’s a quirky character with a lot of charm. I loved her style and charm. Austin was a good love interest. He seemed to be a good match for Haley. I liked a lot of their banter, but had a hard time with some of their meet-ups. They didn’t seem organic. Some of the places they went seemed to be forcing an idea rather than letting things happen naturally.

This was an enemies to lovers book, but really light on the enemies. There wasn’t a huge amount of animosity over the workplace situation. I was hoping for a bit more angst, yet I guess that this could also be a plus. It’s a light-hearted read which also can hit really well at the right time. I wish some of the sabotaging didn’t continue on so long. Gratefully the ending seemed to satisfy that resolution with how both characters felt about what happened.

I thought this was sweet and definitely a pick-me-up type of read. And what I always love about this author’s books are the epilogues. Totally cheesy and I’m not even sorry about how much I love them.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

Instagram || Goodreads

Book Review: The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

GoodeyReads2 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 487 pages
Author: Elena Armas
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: February 23rd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A wedding. A trip to Spain. The most infuriating man. And three days of pretending. Or in other words, a plan that will never work.

Catalina Martín, finally, not single. Her family is happy to announce that she will bring her American boyfriend to her sister’s wedding. Everyone is invited to come and witness the most magical event of the year.

That would certainly be tomorrow’s headline in the local newspaper of the small Spanish town I came from. Or the epitaph on my tombstone, seeing the turn my life had taken in the span of a phone call.

Four weeks wasn’t a lot of time to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic–from NYC and all the way to Spain–for a wedding. Let alone, someone eager to play along my charade. But that didn’t mean I was desperate enough to bring the 6’4 blue eyed pain in my ass standing before me.

Aaron Blackford. The man whose main occupation was making my blood boil had just offered himself to be my date. Right after inserting his nose in my business, calling me delusional, and calling himself my best option. See? Outrageous. Aggravating. Blood boiling. And much to my total despair, also right. Which left me with a surly and extra large dilemma in my hands. Was it worth the suffering to bring my colleague and bane of my existence as my fake boyfriend to my sister’s wedding? Or was I better off coming clean and facing the consequences of my panic induced lie?

Like my abuela would say, que dios nos pille confesados.

The Spanish Love Deception is an enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating romantic comedy. Perfect for those looking for a steamy slow-burn romance with the sweetest Happily Ever After.

AN ABSOLUTE NEW FAVORITE.

This is one of those reviews I want to WRITE IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE I LOVED IT SO MUCH.

I didn’t even notice it was 500 pages (which is usually on the longer side for a contemporary romance) because it didn’t matter. This book was amazing. I am completely smitten with AARON BLACKFORD. Oh gosh. Swoon-worthy, romantic, stoic, loyal, an absolute cinnamon roll.

“Because when I finally take those lips in mine, it will be the furthest thing from pretending. I will not be showing you what it would be like if you were mine. I’ll show you what it is.”

Add together some of my FAVORITE tropes: enemies to lovers, workplace, only one bed, fake dating. Oh my gosh, how can you go wrong?!

Answer: YOU CAN’T.

I knew from 50 pages in I was going to love it. That’s how well this hooked me. Sunk its teeth into my soul and took me a long for some a perfect ride. Going to Spain, meeting the family, little confessions of love, ahhhh. I’m writing this review right after finishing so I am sporadic because I HAVE NO CHILL.

Watching walls crash down, and the most beautiful slowwww burn occur over this trip left me breathless. They discuss important topics with care and handled them so wel. My heart would flip every time Lina and Aaron got close. I couldn’t get enough.

“You feel complete in my arms. You feel like my home.”

Another great thing I loved was that the conflict was placed in the exact spot it needed to be. AAAAND it wasn’t overdone. No drag out, unnecessary issues. Pure, raw, revealing truths that made both characters shine brighter. Hot dang, I love Aaron and Lina so much.

A fantastic book. Had everything I want when I read a romance.

TL;DR: READ THIS BOOK.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: kisses to a few open door scenes
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent, sexism in the workplace, grief, unsafe dieting (restriction of food)

Instagram || Goodreads

Book Review: Roommaid by Sariah Wilson

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 301 pages
Author: Sariah Wilson
Publisher: Montlake
Release Date: October 1st, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From bestselling author Sariah Wilson comes a charming romance about living your life one dream at a time.

Madison Huntington is determined to live her dreams. That means getting out from under her family’s wealth and influence by saying no to the family business, her allowance, and her home. But on a teacher’s salary, the real world comes as a rude awakening—especially when she wakes up every morning on a colleague’s couch. To get a place of her own (without cockroaches, mold, or crime scene tape), Madison accepts a position as a roommaid. In exchange for free room and board, all she needs to do is keep her busy roommate’s penthouse clean and his dog company. So what if she’s never washed a dish in her life. She can figure this out, right?

Madison is pretty confident she can fake it well enough that Tyler Roth will never know the difference. The finance whiz is rich and privileged and navigates the same social circles as her parents—but to him she’s just a teacher in need of an apartment. He’s everything Madison has run from, but his kindhearted nature, stomach-fluttering smile, and unexpected insecurities only make her want to get closer. And Tyler is warming to the move.

Rewarding job. Perfect guy. Great future. With everything so right, what could go wrong? Madison is about to find out.

INCREASINGLY BETTER.

I admit, I struggled through the first quarter or so of this one.

Too much detail focused on Madison’s family and her previous lifestyle, etc. I will say, it did come back into play, but I don’t think that much time needed to be spent on it. They were a nuisance from start to finish. I’m reading a romance, I want the two love interests front and center!!

After that initial issue, I got really on board with this one. Tyler is absolutely someone to be smitten with. Precious and easy to love. He and Madison truly did hit it off and I thought their chemistry was fantastic. Those WHY DIDN’T YOU KISS HER scenes are some of the best in this book. I loved their progression and development of feelings. When we got to the main conflict (which we all know happens in a romance formula), I liked the way it was handled. It wasn’t overly blown out of proportion and things got back on track quickly enough that I didn’t feel like anything missed a beat.

I thought the side plots and characters were funny. Watching Madison try to figure out how to use a dishwasher and take care of a dog had me snickering. I think it made her character really lovable and I wanted to cheer her on for choosing her own path, out of the grasp of her Mother.

By the end, I was loving this and even went and picked out another Wilson book to read for my TBR. This low-steam contemporary romance was playful and sincere, and I always love a read that goes by so quickly!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: very little, light
  • Romance: kisses / make-outs
  • Trigger warnings: emotionally and verbally abusive parents; a cheating significant other

Instagram || Goodreads

ARC Book Review & Blog Tour: Float Plan by Trish Doller

GoodeyReads2 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 272 pages
Author: Trish Doller
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: March 2nd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Critically acclaimed young adult author Trish Doller’s unforgettable and romantic adult debut about setting sail, starting over, and finding yourself

Since the loss of her fiance, Anna has spent the last year foundering on land, shipwrecked by her grief and inability to move on. But when a reminder goes off about a trip they were supposed to take, she impulsively sets off in their sailboat, intending to complete the planned voyage around the Caribbean that Ben had mapped out for them.

But after a treacherous night’s sail and a brush with an ocean tanker, she decides she can’t do it alone, and hires a professional sailor to help her get to Puerto Rico. Much like Anna, Keane is struggling with a very different future than the one he had planned, and he can’t refuse her offer. Together they find a way to rebuild their lives and the possibility of new love.

Trish Doller’s unforgettable adult debut, Float Plan, reminds readers that starting over doesn’t mean forgetting: you can build a new home, right alongside the old.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC. All opinions are my own!

A TOUGH [& GOOD] READ.

Trigger warning, this review will be discussing suicide, grief, depression and possibly other sensitive topics. I mention it here because the basis of the book is losing a loved one who passed away from suicide.

I liked the way this book was approached. Every time Ben was brought up, the appropriate terms were used (such as passed away from suicide) which I sincerely appreciated. Anna’s grieving process was raw and out there in the open. It was heart-breaking and really had me pondering many important topics. Anna’s healing process wasn’t linear. She stumbled sometimes, took two steps forward to go one step back, but always had such a strength about her. I liked that this wasn’t linear because nobody can tell you how long is too long to grieve and process the unthinkable.

Keane was exactly what Anna needed though. He allowed her to grieve as she needed, made sure she was safe, and became a good friend first. The chemistry was kept on the low end and allowed for a progression of emotions and desire to come out as it needed to.

The trip itself made me want to get on a sailboat and sail the Caribbean myself. It was beautiful writing and really brought the islands to life. I loved all of the things Anna and Keane got to do together while sailing and visiting islands and meeting new people. It added charming side characters and more depth to the story.

I’m grateful I picked this one up (and got approval from Netgalley!) because this approached a hard subject, and also gave a sense of hopefulness in enduring.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary fiction + romance
  • Language: strong throughout
  • Romance: kisses / make-outs; innuendo, a few open-ish (mild detailed) love scenes
  • Trigger warnings: suicide (of a loved one, including method and being the first one to find them); severe grief, depression; losing a limb from a car wreck and resulting trials

AUTHOR BIO:

Trish Doller is the author of novels for teens and adults about love, life, and finding your place in the world. A former journalist and radio personality, Trish has written several YA novels, including the critically acclaimed Something Like Normal, as well as Float Plan, her adult women’s fiction debut. When she’s not writing, Trish loves sailing, traveling, and avoiding housework. She lives in southwest Florida with an opinionated herding dog and an ex-pirate.

Find her on Instagram and Twitter: @TrishDoller

Instagram || Goodreads