Book Review: The Royal We (Royal We #1) by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

December 16, 2020August 19, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 454 pages
Author: Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: April 7th, 2015
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

“I might be Cinderella today, but I dread who they’ll think I am tomorrow. I guess it depends on what I do next.”

American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and royalty, fame and fortune. Yet it’s Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain’s future king. And when Bex can’t resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face.

Dating Nick immerses Bex in ritzy society, dazzling ski trips, and dinners at Kensington Palace with him and his charming, troublesome brother, Freddie. But the relationship also comes with unimaginable baggage: hysterical tabloids, Nick’s sparkling and far more suitable ex-girlfriends, and a royal family whose private life is much thornier and more tragic than anyone on the outside knows. The pressures are almost too much to bear, as Bex struggles to reconcile the man she loves with the monarch he’s fated to become.

Which is how she gets into trouble.

Now, on the eve of the wedding of the century, Bex is faced with whether everything she’s sacrificed for love-her career, her home, her family, maybe even herself-will have been for nothing.

UNIMPRESSED.

We had a pretty good start then things just went downhill.

I liked the beginning. It was cute! Meeting at college, getting to know a new country and being truly on Rebecca’s own (without her twin). I honestly thought this would have been dragged out longer over the course of the book. Mostly because I was leaning towards that being that point of this romance. How they met, fell in-love, etc. What I got was…not what I was expecting.

About halfway is when things sunk, but I was far enough in that I decided to go ahead and finish it out. The Royal We could have easily been 100 pages (at least) shorter. There was an incredible amount of focus on the media. I understand that it plays a big role in all of their lives, but with how much it was discussed it got boring and repetitive. Not to mention the only characters I liked were Cilla and Gaz. And they were side characters.

Not to mention, with the way it ended, I think it as meant to be romantic and spontaneous. What it really portrayed was a relationship with a bunch of band-aids. There wasn’t enough of the romance with Nick and Rebecca having sincere and productive conversations about their difficulties.

I really just struggled with this one for a lot of reasons and I don’t want to continue listing them. This wasn’t the romantic normal girl turns princess trope I was hoping for.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary fiction + romance
Language: some strong
Romance: kisses / make-outs; a lot of closed door scenes
Trigger warnings: loss of a parent, and a parent suffering from mental health issues

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Book Review: The Match (It Happened in Charleston #1) by Sarah Adams

December 7, 2020August 1, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 282 pages
Author: Sarah Adams
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: May 30th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Having worked for Southern Service Paws for a few years now, I like to think I’m prepared for just about any client meeting under the sun. I am dead wrong.

The day I meet with single dad, Jacob Broaden, about potentially matching his daughter with one of our service dogs, I learn a few valuable lessons.

1) Always set my alarm clock.
2) Single dads are way hotter than I previously thought.
3) It is possible to go from fantasizing about kissing someone to wishing they would be run over by a truck in a matter of two minutes.

Unfortunately, I don’t hold that opinion of him for very long. Not when he shows me a different side of himself—one that’s sweet as maple syrup and hot as apple pie fresh out of the oven.

Too bad this guy is so far out of my league that I shouldn’t even be allowed to enter the game. Jake doesn’t seem to get that memo though. And after a few days of working closely with him and his daughter, he starts looking at me with fire in his eyes, making me dream of something I probably shouldn’t…

A family.

“The Match is a feel-good romantic comedy! Perfect for readers who enjoy a sizzling romance without explicit content.”

KINDA OKAY?

This may have covered some sensitive topics, but yet, everything felt simple and laid on way too thickly for met to fully enjoy it.

I had some issues with the writing style, some remarks made me cringe a bit and felt dated. The Southern vibe was fun and I liked the overall set-up. It’s easy to pick-up any book that involves dogs as an active side character.

I really liked Evie from the start. She was a solid main character who was really trying her best in multiple ways. I liked how she approached life, and was straight-forward in her choices. Jake was cute too. Wasn’t the greatest love interest I’ve read, but also not near the worst. He kind of floated somewhere in the middle. I liked how he continually sought out to bet there for Evie and to a partner she could count on.

Evie’s mother [the “villain” if you will], was laid on way too thick. Oh my goodness. She was excessive in every way possible and I spent more time rolling my eyes at her than anything else. That felt entirely forced and really distanced the sweet romance happening.

Some good here, some bad. Haven’t decided if I’ll read the sequel (with new characters).

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Trigger warnings: Evie and Jake’s daughter both have epilepsy and experience an episode (at different times) during the book; emotionally/verbally abusive parents; divorce

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Book Review: Party of Two (The Wedding Date #5) by Jasmine Guillory

December 3, 2020July 30, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Jasmine Guillory
Publisher: Berkley Books
Release Date: June 23rd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A chance meeting with a handsome stranger turns into a whirlwind affair that gets everyone talking.

Dating is the last thing on Olivia Monroe’s mind when she moves to LA to start her own law firm. But when she meets a gorgeous man at a hotel bar and they spend the entire night flirting, she discovers too late that he is none other than hotshot junior senator Max Powell. Olivia has zero interest in dating a politician, but when a cake arrives at her office with the cutest message, she can’t resist–it is chocolate cake, after all.

Olivia is surprised to find that Max is sweet, funny, and noble–not just some privileged white politician she assumed him to be. Because of Max’s high-profile job, they start seeing each other secretly, which leads to clandestine dates and silly disguises. But when they finally go public, the intense media scrutiny means people are now digging up her rocky past and criticizing her job, even her suitability as a trophy girlfriend. Olivia knows what she has with Max is something special, but is it strong enough to survive the heat of the spotlight?

GREAT ROMANCE.

I’d like to state in the beginning, this is the first book I’ve read from this author! I haven’t read any of the previous books in this series, but was told that would be okay. I was really specifically interested in this one which is why I wanted to pick it up.

And it was great! So quick to read (I love this about contemporaries) and filled with many fantastic things. I love how it approached relevant political topics without being too much. I was still able to enjoy the romance, but also I felt it was insightful towards topics I’m still continuing to learn about.

The romance was not subtle. This is neither here nor there, just something I noticed. Things started flourishing quickly and by the halfway point we had a full relationship! I actually kind of liked this difference, most rom-coms have the ending where the couple is official. Having Olivia and Max get together so quickly allowed for a lot of development between them as a couple as they navigated being an interracial couple in the political spotlight, working on careers, and finding where they fit into each other’s lives. Lots of romantic moments, and tough moments that made me fall in love with them. I was totally smitten with Max too, he was utterly adorable and so fluffy!!

Reading this really makes me want to tackle some other books in this series. I enjoyed the set-up and storyline of this one and would love to see more characters from previous books.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary romance
Language: strong and fairly often
Romance: kisses / make-outs; a handful of open door scenes, and some closed door

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: November 2020

November 30, 2020November 29, 2020 GoodeyReads2 Comments

What a good month! Took on less books because I read TWO books that were 1,000+ pages and I also read through many many holiday books. It’s that time of year!

Favorites this month: Tarnished Empire, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Anxious People and Rhythm of War
Least favorites: The Royal Treatment, Sinking City, and Jingle All the Way

[ARC] Tarnished Empire (Dark Shores #0.5) by Danielle L. Jensen – (☆☆☆☆☆)
The Royal Treatment (Crown Jewels Romance #1) by Melanie Summers – (☆☆☆)
In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren – (☆☆☆☆)
[Gifted] Sinking City by Megan Walker and Janci Patterson – (☆☆)
A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander #6) by Diana Gabaldon – (☆☆☆☆☆)
A Deal with the Elf King (Married to Magic #1) by Elisa Kova – (☆☆☆)
Texas Cooking (Texas Hill Country #1) by Lisa Wingate – (☆☆☆☆)
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab – (☆☆☆☆ 1/2)
Her Silent Knight (Belles of Christmas: Frost Fair #1) by Ashtyn Newbold – (☆☆☆☆)
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman – (☆☆☆☆☆)
All is Mary and Bright (Belles of Christmas: Frost Fair #2) by Kasey Stockton – (☆☆☆)
A Timeless Christmas by Alexis Stanton – (☆☆☆)
Christmas Cliche by Tara Sivec – (☆☆☆☆)
Jingle All the Way by Debbie Macomber – (☆☆)
Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive #4) by Brandon Sanderson – (☆☆☆☆☆)
All About Us by Tom Ellen – (☆☆☆☆)