Tag: contemporary romance

Top Ten Tuesday: The Romance Books I’m Reading for February!

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Happy Top Ten Tuesday!

I have really found myself in such a mood for romance books this February. And honestly, I’m not even that big of a Valentine’s day person or anything. It must be something in the air!

Anyways, I put together a list of books I’ve already read and those I plan to, all involving lots of romance. Plenty of books I beg of you to get on your TBR.

Already read:

Eleanor & Grey by Brittainy C. Cherry

Review to come in May!

This was a pretty good second chance romance. Only a little steam. Had some issues with the speed and the amount of drama added in, but I still enjoyed it.

A Temporary Marriage: Fake Love Series by Summer Dowell

Review to come in May!

This was the perfect fluffy, halmark-esque quick (less than 200 pages) book to read in between some heavier books. I thought the story was cute and definitely had a happy ending.

A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOTAR #3) by Sarah J. Maas

Review

One of the THREE re-reads I have planned out for this month. I love these books y’all. Definitely a great romance to read again this time of year.

Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon

Review to come in May!

Recently finished this last week and Y’ALL. I have been officially sucked into this romance. Jamie and Claire forever. My heart aches for this story and I am desperate to know what happens next.

The Winner’s Crime (The Winner’s Curse #2) by Marie Rutkoski

Review to come in May! (I didn’t write reviews when I read this the first time)

My second re-read. I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH. It was time for a re-read. The audio book is amazing by the way if you’re curios. A great enemies to lovers romance.

Wild at Heart (Wild #2) by K.A. Tucker

Review scheduled for February 19th!

Ohhhhhh I loved this. It was so wonderful. That subtle five stars that sneak up on you by the end. I love reading books about couples that are already together!

To Be Read:

The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen

Review

This might be under the “to be read” section only because I haven’t read it *yet*…this year. This will be my THIRD time reading it in preparation for book two! I NEED TO WRITE IN CAPS AGAIN, THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. YOU SHOULD READ IT.

The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom #2) by Danielle L. Jensen

I DON’T KNOW HOW I CAN CONVEY MY EXCITEMENT THAT THIS BOOK COMES OUT THIS MONTH. I AM BEYOND EXCITED. BEYOND.

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

Another favorite author of mine releasing a dark romance that sounds so amazing I am anxiously waiting for my pre-order to get here on release day.

Are you reading any romance books for February? Have you read any of these books? Lets talk in the comments!

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Book Review: The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

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Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 325 pages
Author: Beth O’Leary
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: April 10th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Tiffy and Leon share an apartment. Tiffy and Leon have never met.

After a bad breakup, Tiffy Moore needs a place to live. Fast. And cheap. But the apartments in her budget have her wondering if astonishingly colored mold on the walls counts as art.

Desperation makes her open minded, so she answers an ad for a flatshare. Leon, a night shift worker, will take the apartment during the day, and Tiffy can have it nights and weekends. He’ll only ever be there when she’s at the office. In fact, they’ll never even have to meet.

Tiffy and Leon start writing each other notes – first about what day is garbage day, and politely establishing what leftovers are up for grabs, and the evergreen question of whether the toilet seat should stay up or down. Even though they are opposites, they soon become friends. And then maybe more.

But falling in love with your roommate is probably a terrible idea…especially if you’ve never met.

What if your roommate is your soul mate? A joyful, quirky romantic comedy, Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare is a feel-good novel about finding love in the most unexpected of ways. 

CUTE AT TIMES.

I didn’t know how I was going to feel about this book when I first started reading it. I wasn’t immediately drawn in and had a hard time connecting with everything. I think the second half of the book was MUCH better and I was so excited when Tiffy and Leon finally met in person.

This was a charming read. I loved watching Tiffy and Leon’s friendship start over post-it notes. That’s precious. The notes were cute and endearing and I really do think letter writing is its own form of intimacy (especially because nobody does it today). You could easily see the opposite spectrum of personalities they had. Tiffy effervescent and loud. Leon reserved and thoughtful. It was an opposites attract that worked so well.

The main conflict centered around Tiffy’s ex boyfriend, Justin. He angered me to a whole other level and I don’t feel like giving him the time of day in this review. What I did like was the approach that Tiffy’s friends had to help her. It can be hard in many ways to work through an awful situation like that (emotionally abusive) and I love that Tiffy had such a strong support group.

I thought the premise was unique too. I think I would be way too nervous to share a flat with someone I had never met, but I’m really happy it worked out for them. I got some good bubbly feelings from this, but it just didn’t have everything I needed to be a GREAT rom-com.

Overall audience notes:

  • Adult contemporary romance
  • Language: some strong throughout
  • Romance: kisses, make-outs, some almost love scenes (with mild description) and one fade-to-black love scene
  • Violence: physical
  • Trigger warnings: abusive relationship (emotional/controlling), PTSD from the relationship

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Book Review: The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club #1) by Lyssa Kay Adams

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Lyssa Kay Adams
Publisher: Berkley
Expected Release Date: November 5th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The first rule of book club:
You don’t talk about book club.

Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott’s marriage is in major league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him. 

Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.

Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville’s top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it’ll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife. 

SO REFRESHING.

I mean seriously. A romantic contemporary centered around a married couple? It’s a sub genre I didn’t know I needed, but now want entirely more of.

Gavin and Thea were so mesmerizing to watch. I read this book in under 24 hours because I truly could not put it down. I love how sweet Gavin was and how he truly wanted to make his marriage work.

Both Thea and Gavin enraged me at times with how stubborn and frustrating they were acting. While you’d think this would ruin the book, it doesn’t. This really made the characters real and human. Marriage is hard. Great, but hard. There’s so many layers to a marriage and what it takes to hold on when the best option truly seems like giving up. Mistakes were made on both sides and it took Gavin really diving into his backstory to convince Thea they both had more to give to their relationship.

Thea was the initial instigator in wanting a divorce and I love that this book had her perspective too. It took a lot of looking through her history and introspection for her to let go of her past. It’s hard to not allow past relationships and family dynamics play apart in your own life.

The book club was FANTASTIC. Oh my goodness, I loved it so much. They were such a random group of guys that all had this one connection, romance books. I love how they took Gavin in to their fold and helped him work through his issues. The dialogue and scenes with them had me laughing out loud. Actually laughing so much my husband asked what was so funny. They were the lighthearted and sincere group of friends that the book thrived off of.

My only issue was that the steaminess and language was a bit past my personal preference level. Language I can mostly overlook but I found myself skip/skimming over the steamy scenes because of the level of detail. The flirting and banter though? That was great and I could not stop reading during those scenes. Thea was so flustered with Gavin that it was absolutely precious.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: a lot throughout
  • Romance: sexual banter, flirting, kisses, make-outs, detailed sex scenes
  • Violence: physical

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My TBR That I Predict Will Be 5 Star Reads

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Happy Top Ten Tuesday!

Oh this is a good topic this week y’all. Though now I’m all up in arms that I don’t have any of these books yet. I CAN’T WAIT TO READ THESE BOOKS.

House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by Sarah J. Maas

IS IT ANY SURPRISE I HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS BOOK? Probably not. But the few lucky souls I’ve seen with an ARC have been singing its praises and I am here for MARCH.

Aurora Burning (Aurora Cycle #2) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

My babe is on the cover, SO OF COURSE I WILL LOVE THIS.

The Empire of Gold (The Daevabad Trilogy #3) by S.A. Chakraborty

I have been anxiously waiting for this finale since I finished The Kingdom of Copper last year. This finale is sure to be epic.

Wild at Heart (Wild #2) by K.A. Tucker

The moment I heard there was a sequel I squealed. I LOVED The Simple Wild and I have high hopes this sequel lives up to it.

The Stormlight Archive #4 by Brandon Sanderson

*anxiously awaiting a title and to know who Kaladin’s love interest will be*

AND IT COMES OUT ON MY BIRTHDAY.

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

I have given everything Levenseller writes a 5*. I love her books. I am so excited this comes out SOOOOOOOON.

The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom #2) by Danielle L. Jensen

I’ve already read The Bridge Kingdom twice and will read it a third time before reading this book. It is my top read of 2019. Clearly I’m anxious about book two.

Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon

Since Amy Harmon can do no wrong, this historical fiction romance is sure to bring the tears and the stars.

Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon

My friend got this for me for my birthday and I actually just picked it up a few nights ago. I have high hopes since this a favorite book of hers. I’m really curious how this story will play out!

Reign (Stormheart #3) by Cora Carmack

Admittedly, I didn’t love book two, buuuuuut I think the finale will have all of my attention. I have some really high hopes for a ship that I’m hoping will sail off into the sunset. And I mean, LOOK AT THAT COVER.

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