Tag: contemporary romance

Book Review: Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fiction + Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Lia Louis
Publisher: Atria
Release Date: May 21st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

So many ways to torpedo your career and your love life…So little time.A woman accidentally reveals all her secrets in this witty and charming novel from the author of Eight Perfect Hours.Two years ago, thirty-year-old receptionist Millie Chandler had her heart spectacularly broken in public. Ever since, she has been a closed book, vowing to keep everything to herself—her feelings, her truths, even her dreams—in an effort to protect herself from getting hurt again.But Millie does write emails—sarcastic replies to her rude boss, hard truths to her friends, and of course, that one-thousand-word love declaration to her ex who is now engaged to someone else. The emails live safely in her drafts, but after a server outage at work, Millie wakes up to discover that all her emails have been sent. Every. Single. One.As every truth, lie, and secret she’s worked so hard to keep only to herself are catapulted out into the open, Millie must fix the chaos her words have caused, and face everything she’s ever swept under the carpet.

Thank you to Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

I LIKED IT.

I did like this book, but I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite by this author. I’ve read books with this plot line before and I liked how it played out for the most part. There’s a lot of good self reflection for Millie and I did love seeing her growth and finding where her true identity was.

The sub-plot romance was sweeet. I thought they had good chemistry. It’s a nice slow build with lots of good moments between them. I think the drama contrasted well to the story and the emotionally journey felt very honest and raw which I always appreciate.

I didn’t love one of the reveals. And while the explanation is absolutely there, something was missing from that for me.

Still, in the end, I love the clever writing from Louis. I enjoy the plot and main characters. The themes of owning your truth and turning a terrible situation into a chance to change and grow was really powerful to read.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fiction + Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: kisses
  • Content Warnings: psychological abuse recounted

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Book Review: Friendshipped (Getting Shipped #1) by Savannah Scott

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 325 pages
Author: Savannah Scott
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: December 1st, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Can you keep a secret? … I’m in love with my best friend.

There are three things you should know about me.
I hate running. No, really. I only run when someone’s chasing me, and thankfully that’s never happened.
My ideal Friday night includes pizza, The Princess Bride, and dancing with abandon.
And, I’m madly in love with my best friend.
That right there, that’s my secret.

Trevor, and I grew up next door to one another. Yes. He’s the boy next door. Even now, we rent opposite sides of a duplex, and we work across the aisle from one another at the Corn Corners Tribune. Basically, there isn’t a part of my life Trevor hasn’t touched. I take that back. Me. He hasn’t touched me.

He’s made it clear we’re in the friend zone and whatever feelings he had for me were a passing thing for him, while mine keep growing like a Chia pet on a humid summer day in the midwest. Unruly, and apparently pointless.

So, now I’m resigned to get Trevor out of my system once and for all.

If only Trevor would see me as more than a friend … But, unless he shows me otherwise, I’m going to have to do what it takes to move on.

UHM.

I went with with some good hopes on this one. I know the series is overall well loved and I thought it was about time to give it a chance (thank you hoopla for having the audiobooks). Aaaand I’m really hoping the next book is better because I did not connect well with this one.

There was a rampant amount of miscommunication and theatrics that made everything seem a level more dramatic than necessary. I kept waiting to see some character arcs and the more I think about it the more I realize that I don’t think there was actually any. Just a lot of super cliched characters and dynamics that never felt new.

I also didn’t love the way dieting was spoken about. It was handled poorly and didn’t leave a good feeling with me.

I enjoyed the MMC Trevor and loved that it was dual POV. Always my favorite part of a contemporary romance book. There’s some sweet moments and I did like when Trevor and Lexi had quiet moments together. It’s a fast audio read and I will be trying book two.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: dieting and weight commentary

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ARC Book Review: One Last Summer by Kate Spencer

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Rating: ★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Kate Spencer
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: June 11th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the cohost of the award-winning Forever35 podcast comes a dreamy, laugh-out-loud summer romance that asks: What do you do when the life you’ve planned isn’t what you’ve dreamed?

Clara Millen’s life is spiraling out of control: her dream job is a nightmare, she’s resoundingly single, and it’s been years since she’s taken some time off. Thankfully, the last problem she can fix—this year she’ll join her friends on their annual summer vacation to their beloved childhood sleepover camp for a much-needed escape.

But when Clara arrives at Pine Lake Camp, she faces yet another unwelcome change: the owners are retiring and selling the property. The news turns her plans for revelry into a night of reminiscing . . . and prompts a surprise heart-to-heart between Clara and Mack, her old camp nemesis and constant competitor, who’s still just as annoying (and annoyingly handsome).

Soon the campfires aren’t all that’s throwing off sparks. And when one wildly passionate night turns into two (then too many to count!), Clara begins to wonder if she and Mack could have a future together. But when Clara’s boss finally offers her everything she’s worked so hard for, Clara will need to decide if the life she’s always wanted is the life that makes her feel truly alive.

Thank you to Forever Pub for sending an ARC.

NOT WORKING FOR ME.

I just could never get into this one y’all. It read kind of like a Hallmark movie, predictable and easy to follow, but lacking in charm. All of these characters felt very surface level and while attempts at being deep were made, I never found a connection with anyone.

This was mostly a bunch of adults trying to relive some kind of glory moment and a summer camp they all used to attend. I thought recreating games was kind of silly and I’m just not a food fight gal. This also led to petty arguments between the love interests and sleeping together rather than talking, which is always a recipe for a disaster. The drama didn’t add anything and I wasn’t surprised by one thing that happened.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: 2ish open door

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Book Review: Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

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Rating: ★★★☆ (3.5)
Audience: Contemporary Mystery Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher
Publisher: Canary Street Press
Release Date: February 28th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Never stop…Never forget…Just remember.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us joins forces with the New York Times bestselling author of The Wives. Together, they have created a gripping, twisty, romantic mystery unlike any other.

Charlie Wynwood and Silas Nash have been best friends since they could walk. They’ve been in love since the age of fourteen. But as of this morning…they are complete strangers. Their first kiss, their first fight, the moment they fell in love…every memory has vanished. Now Charlie and Silas must work together to uncover the truth about what happened to them and why.

But the more they learn about the couple they used to be…the more they question why they were ever together to begin with. Forgetting is terrifying, but remembering may be worse.

HMM.

This is a book broken into three parts that makes me review feel like three parts.

I really enjoyed part one. It was interesting. I liked the suspense and the drama of it all. I felt on board with Charlie and Silas’s story and was very dang curious about what had happened. Since this wasn’t a sci-fi or fantasy novel what magical realism was playing a part?!

Part two started to slow things down and was a bit repetitive. We know they’ve lost a lot of their memory and things are a bit up and down. There’s some good romantic moments looking at journals and memories I enjoyed.

Then part three brought it all together, but still left me feeling unsatisfied. I wasn’t quite on board with the big reveal of what happened and why. I think it was supposed to make me feel uber romantic, and it did to a point, but I think I was expected more drama as well. There were some story lines that I didn’t find wrapped up well and now that I’m sitting here I’m poking more and more holes into the book.

Oh well, another book off my CoHo back list!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romantic Suspense
  • Language: a little strong
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: memory loss, amnesia, kidnapping, incarcerated father, gaslighting parent

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