Tag: contemporary romance

Book Review: The Enemy (It Happened in Charleston #2) by Sarah Adams

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 258 pages
Author: Sarah Adams
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: August 29th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It’s been twelve years since I’ve seen him. Twelve years since he won our war of wits by outsmarting me with a tactic I didn’t even know was allowed. But tonight…I resurrect the battle.

Ryan Henderson is back in town for our best friends’ wedding, and I plan on showing him exactly how much I don’t care about him—or the almost kiss he ruthlessly dangled over me after graduation.

A lot has changed since our feuding days. I’m a successful bakery owner now, and I plan to rub every delicious detail of my life in his ugly face.

Just one problem: his face is gorgeous.

He wasn’t supposed to look like this or pursue me like a sexy guided missile. I must stay strong until the wedding is over and Ryan scurries back into whatever alternate universe he escaped from.

His interest in me is nothing but a continuation of the games we played in high school…right?

But the longer he stays, the more I wonder if I’m wrong and his tender smile and heated attentions are genuine. Maybe it’s not a game.

Ha! Who am I kidding? This is Ryan we’re talking about. Of course it’s a game. A game called war. And this time, I will win.

I WANT A DOUGHNUT NOW.

I wasn’t originally planning on reading this because I didn’t love the first one in this series. A few friends reviews convinced me this was better, and they were RIGHT. I loved this one so much more and I’m happy that I read it. I may have enjoyed it enough to read it in one day. I was that smitten with Ryan.

This enemies to lovers romance took a bit different spin that most I’ve seen. Instead of *fighting the love* until closer to the end, Ryan especially, worked towards making things worked out sooner. With their past laid out well I love how this flowed and progressed. What made me even more happy was that the conflict (that you can always expect in a contemporary romance) fit into the story and instead of taking a turn for the ridiculousness, actually worked out beautifully. Some communication between Ryan and June turned the tables and solidified a great romance.

I struggled with June’s character for at least half the book. I understood why she was written in such a matter, but maybe it was pushed too hard? I don’t know, she just rubbed me the wrong way about how she chose to treat Ryan initially and a few other things. It was nice to see her character growth over the book.

The Enemy was entirely a different story than The Match. And one that I felt had a lot more to it. You don’t necessarily need to read The Match first, but the main characters do show up in this book and it may spoil a few things.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses / make-outs
  • Violence: physical
  • Trigger warnings: cheating fiance

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Book Review: The Beat Match (Showmen #3) by Kelly Siskind

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 318 pages
Author: Kelly Siskind
Publisher: CD Books
Release Date: September 16th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Treat yourself to this friends-to-lovers romance reviewers are calling “heart-melting” and “swoony” and “packed with heat and chemistry.”

Two DJs. One beat. An off-limits romance neither of them expected.

Weston Aldrich is known for his devastating looks and crisp Italian suits. He’s been groomed to take over his family business and is on the brink of closing a massive merger. Only two wild cards can derail him.

Wild Card One: If anyone learns he moonlights as a masked DJ, his credibility will be toast.
Wild Card Two: Annie can’t-hold-a-job Ward.

The Annie Ward he promised to help raise after her brother died. The scatterbrained girl who makes it her mission in life to drive him crazy. The gorgeous woman he’s not supposed to fantasize about, let alone kiss.

Annie hates Wes’s insanely overprotective nature, and how his ridiculous bone structure makes him look like a Greek god. His jokes about her plethora of jobs are beyond irksome. She has no plans to tell him about her latest aspiration, to match beats as a budding DJ. Until she learns what Wes does at night. Now she plans to prove Weston Aldrich has met his match.

CUTE & FAST-PACED.

I’ve been enjoying the Showmen series! I still think New Orleans Rush is my favorite, but I really had a good time with this story and loved how quickly I flew through it. There’s something about the way Siskind writes her characters that make the books hard to put down for long.

I thought Annie and Wes were pretty adorable. A long time friends to lovers situation where it was total opposites attract. Kind of a grump and sunshine situation. They both stumbled a bit and how to find their footing within the relationship and I liked watching this growth and maturity that occurred.

Sometimes the plot went a little too dramatic or that it some pieces just weren’t necessary? I did like the exploration of grief and how it’s different for everyone involved. No two people experience a situation the same way and this was clearly shown.

What kind of sealed the deal on the adorableness of these two was that epilogue. OH I LOVE A GOOD EPILOGUE. It was absolutely precious and I just became completely smitten with Wes all over again. A charming addition to the Showmen series!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: some strong throughout
  • Kisses to open door scenes
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: depictions of grief, mentions of going to therapy, homelessness, loss of loved ones, gun violence

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Book Review: Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult contemporary romance
Length: 391 pages
Author: Jenn Bennett
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: April 4th, 2017
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Classic movie buff Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online by “Alex.” Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.

Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new arch-nemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever-it-is she’s starting to feel for Porter.

And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.

In this delightfully charming teen spin on You’ve Got Mail, the one guy Bailey Rydell can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams—she just doesn’t know it yet.

I LIKED THIS ONE.

This was a cute read, tackling some difficult topics, and really giving me the dreamiest ending. The audio was a great way to read this too!

I liked Bailey as a protagonist. I am very much like her, with dodging awkward conversations and the like. She was quirky, knew herself, and really grew over the book. Enter dreamy Porter and we have a sweet match. I adored Porter. With his banter and softness. Oh goodness, I was smitten right off the bat.

Everything was predictable and cheesy, and that’s something I occasionally need from a book so I didn’t mind. Yes, the romance-y sections still make me cringe a bit, but I found mostly less in your face as Bennett’s newer books [sidebar: I’ve read 3 of her newer books and came back to this back list one].

Maybe towards the end the unbelievable way Bailey was the last person to know about Porter was a bit ridiculous, but I don’t think this would have had the same umph at the end if it wasn’t dragged out a bit. I remember anxiously waiting for her to see him so things could finally start clicking together.

I liked the friendships and most of the side plots. Getting to know her Dad better, making new friends (and learning to be a good friend), allowing oneself to let go of the past. Lots of good nuggets even amongst the comical.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult contemporary romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: kisses / heated make-outs, nudity, little detailed closed door scene
  • Violence: shark attack, physical altercations
  • Trigger warnings: underage drug use/addiction; shark attack, attempted armed robbery

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ARC Book Review: Enjoy the View (Moose Springs, Alaska #3) by Sarah Morgenthaler

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Sarah Morgenthaler
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: January 19th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A grouchy mountaineer, a Hollywood starlet
And miles of untamed wilderness…
What could possibly go wrong?

Former Hollywood darling River Lane’s acting career is tanking fast. Determined to start fresh behind the camera, she agrees to film a documentary about the picturesque small town of Moose Springs, Alaska. The assignment should have been easy, but the quirky locals want nothing to do with River. Well, too bad: River’s going to make this film and prove herself, no matter what it takes.

Or what (literal) mountain she has to climb.

Easton Lockett may be a gentle giant, but he knows a thing or two about survival. If he can keep everyone in line, he should be able to get River and her crew up and down Mount Veil in one piece. Turns out that’s a big if. The wildlife’s wilder than usual, the camera crew’s determined to wander off a cliff, and the gorgeous actress is fearless. Falling for River only makes Easton’s job tougher, but there’s only so long he can hold out against her brilliant smile. When bad weather strikes, putting everyone at risk, it’ll take all of Easton’s skill to get them back home safely…and convince River she should stay in his arms for good.

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

BEST OF THE SERIES.

Seriously. THE BEST ONE. I LOVED IT SO MUCH. I WOULD WRITE THIS ENTIRE REVIEW IN CAPS IF I COULD.

But I understand that might annoy some of y’all so I’ll try to tame my emotions here.

OR MAYBE NOT.

I was nervous to dive in because I had *hyped* this book up in my mind. I adore Easton. I was ready for his grumpy mountain man self to mind some love. This did not disappoint. From chapter one I knew I was in for the perfect contemporary romance.

Easton and River’s chemistry was off the charts. Banter on point. Sly looks, and near kisses, heavens I was begging for them to kiss by the time we got there. I loved getting both of their stories and points of view. Add in climbing a daunting mountain and let the romance commence. I’m just still sitting here smitten with them. They bounced off each other beautifully and I really felt like they were a match. The conflict for this one wasn’t over drawn and dramatic. Fit right in and the solution had me giddy. Goodness gracious, read these books y’all.

It’s been sealed that I’m a Morgenthaler fan. I can’t wait to see what she writes next. Hot dang, I loved this book y’all. This entire review would be more gushing so trust me on this. Snowy, low steam, cute and fluffy, contemporary romance in Alaska. It’s all there folks.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: A little
  • Romance: kisses / make-outs; one love scene that is so closed door you barely realize it
  • Violence: accidents and injuries from mountain climbing (near frostbite, low oxygen levels, falls)

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