Tag: contemporary romance

Book Review: The Best Thing by Mariana Zapata

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 480 pages
Author: Mariana Zapata
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: August 7th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lenny DeMaio made herself a promise: she was done.

Done thinking about him.

Done worrying about him.

Done reaching out to a man who clearly didn’t want to be found.

Too bad no one gave Jonah Collins the memo.

BETTER OVER TIME.

I was worried for a bit that this might become my new least favorite MZ book. Luckily I do think the second half saved the day and I was pretty smitten with this story.

Jonah was something else. Oh my goodness I adored him. I looooove how he came in, tried his best, apologized for his transgressions and made an honest effort to love and support Lena and the situation before him. And those small jealousy and protection moments? MY FAV. I did like Lena a lot too. While I wish she didn’t cuss so much in the first half (it really felt out of control), I liked seeing her character progression too. A loyal and loving woman who was impressively open to what would be best for her circumstances.

I felt like there was a bit less romance than I was expecting or hoped for? It didn’t give me as many swoony moments as my heart wanted. And the first 50% of this book was SLOW.

The ending was absolutely heart squeezing good and even made my tear up. ALL THE FEELS.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: very strong
  • Romance: 2 open; high explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: parental abandonment, loss of a loved one

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

ARC Book Review: Rebel Summer (Falling for Summer) by Cindy Steel

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 364 pages
Author: Cindy Steel
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: July 31st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Every good summer has a little bad…

I wasn’t supposed to be in Sunset Harbor for more than a weekend. But thanks to, let’s just call it—an unforeseen act of stupidity on my part—I’m here for the whole summer. And for the first time in my life, I’m in a whole lot of trouble.

The sentence? Community service paid toward the person I accidentally wronged.

The problem? That person happens to be Dax Miller. The guy who always spent more time fighting the law than obeying it. He’s also the guy I once told to have a nice life amounting to nothing.

So…it’s been fun being court-ordered to serve him now.

Except the more time I spend with Dax fighting and fixing what was broken, the more I remember that sizzling…something…that’s always been between us. Or that smile of his that can get me to do just about anything. Let me be clear, with a politician for a father, I don’t do trouble. But what happens when the temptation to embrace that inner rebel becomes too strong to resist?

And what do I do when the guy who has only dated trouble his entire life, has his sights set on me?

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

*INCOHERENT SCREECHING*

I wish y’all could have seen me read this book. I truly had a giddy little grin on my face the entire time (sorry to those who watched me reading at the gym). BUT IT WAS TOO GOOD NOT TO ENJOY WITH MY WHOLE HEART. Cindy Steel is one of my favorites and she delivered another swoony romance again.

There were many key moments in here that will make you squeal. I loved the immediate banter and chemistry between Dax and Ivy. They are EVERYTHING. The tension filled push and pull will bring you to your KNEES. Every single interaction felt tangible. I melted at each kissing scene and I loved how they brought out another side in each other. You can see the growth from their separation Dax and Ivy have had a for a few years and I loved the slow dismantling of their walls and seeing all the love that was between them.

This was the perfect adult summer romance book. I can’t beg y’all enough to pick it up. It is swoony and heated (kisses only!), has this perfectly tuned nostalgic quality and gosh dang DAX Y’ALL. I am not over this man. I’m just not over this book. The soft and tender moments combined with the fun and joy of falling in love squeezed my heart. A new all time favorite.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Play Along (Windy City #4) by Liz Tomforde

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 385 pages
Author: Liz Tomforde
Publisher: Golden Boy Publishing
Release Date: July 11th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Kennedy

I’m the only woman on staff for the Windy City Warriors, and after years of putting up with a sexist lead doctor, I’m desperate to land my dream job with a new team next year. All I have to do is maintain my professional reputation for my final season in Chicago.

But a Las Vegas run-in with the team’s shortstop threatens it all, leaving me with a fuzzy memory and a ring on my left hand.

Now, not only am I legally bound to the most persistent man I’ve ever met, but thanks to Isaiah’s scheme to save my job, I have to pretend the whole thing was a planned elopement and not a drunken mistake.

Isaiah Rhodes is reckless, impulsive, and frustratingly charming. He’s also my brand-new husband.

They got the saying wrong. What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas… sometimes it follows you right back home.

Isaiah

As the shortstop for Chicago’s professional baseball team, I’ve had my fair share of fun. But that all ended the day Kennedy Kay became a single woman.

I’ve crushed on the team’s athletic trainer for years. I’ve flirted to no avail, so imagine my surprise when I woke up in Sin City with a ring on my finger and my favorite redhead in my bed.

We agree to stay married for one baseball season, just long enough to keep her job safe, but in my mind, I’m using our time together to prove to her I’m husband material.

Kennedy might be reluctant to join in on our game, but it’s one I refuse to lose.

So come on, wife… play along.

KNEW IT.

I had a feeling from the get go this was going to be a winner for me. I LOVE books where the man is absolutely gone for her and Isaiah Rhodes DELIVERED. I have not recovered. I think The Right Move is still my top, top favorite, but this absolutely competes. I have been waiting for this story after the perfectly drawn out tension.

This marriage of convenience had me in a chokehold. I loved Kennedy!! She was fierce and capable and I just wanted her to feel the love that was surrounding her after being in a deficit for so long. The slow build for her and the character growth she showed was top tier. I loved her journey.

AND ISAIAH? Y’all can already tell I’m obsessed. I loved getting his POV and seeing the deeper workings of his thoughts and decision making processes. He’s a hopeless romantic with a huge heart who just wanted someone to want him. And that hits on a whole other level.

I loved the baseball content, the found family, the soft and sweet and the hard and fast. There’s not one moment I wasn’t glued to my kindle trying to read this.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports Romance
  • Language: moderate-high
  • Romance: 4+ open door
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: loss of a mother recounted, anxiety attacks (brought on by thunderstorms), misogyny and sexism in the workplace

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Seven Summers by Paige Toon

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 441 pages
Author: Seven Summers
Publisher: Random House UK
Release Date: December 2nd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Six summers to fall in love. One summer to change everything.

Liv and Finn meet six summers ago working in a bar on the rugged Cornish coastline, their futures full of promise. When a night of passion ends in devastating tragedy they are bound together inextricably. But Finn’s life is in LA with his band, and Liv’s is in Cornwall with her family—so they make a promise. Finn will return every year, and if they are single they will spend the summer together.

This summer Liv crosses paths with Tom—a mysterious new arrival in her hometown. As the wildflowers and heather come into bloom, they find themselves falling for one another. For the first time Liv can imagine a world where her heart isn’t broken every autumn. Now Liv must make an impossible choice. And when she discovers the shocking reason that Tom has left home, she’ll need to trust her heart even more.

GOOD HEAVENS.

Alright, I’m going to be honest. I usually HATE these kind of books. And I think this will be a polarizing kind of read. Luckily this hit me at a good time because I was obsessed with listening to it and threw five stars at it because I was IN MY FEELS.

I’m going to try to stay vague because I think this book will be better enjoyed going in as blind as you can (I hadn’t even read the synopsis, I just saw one friend’s five star review). I loved the high levels of angst and tension. The dual timeline really worked here and I was smitten with the romance. And even when frustrated, I was INVOLVED. I love when a book has me in a chokehold. It took turns I wasn’t expecting, but that I feel worked how for how life truly works out sometimes. There’s good discussion points and the love story has a forever quality to it.

This had great summer vibes too if you’re needing a summer romance to read. I flew through it and definitely plan to read future Paige Toon books.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low-moderate
  • Romance: 4+ fade to black
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: loss of parents (car accident), loss of a spouse, depictions of grief

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph