Tag: contemporary romance

Book Review: The Blooms That Broke Us by Ashley Dill

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 466 pages
Author: Ashley Dill
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: January 30th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Seven Blooms. Three hearts. A second chance.

Jack Barkley has never been jealous of Jules, his twin sister, until she has something he doesn’t—a family. After his failed marriage and a trail of dead-end relationships, he’s given up hope that there could be anyone else for him.

Miranda Howard has spent the last four years with Chris, an abusive and narcissistic boyfriend. Taking care of her son Kacey has been her only priority, and Chris’ home was supposed to be a temporary landing spot in a time of crisis. But finally escaping his clutches leaves her penniless, stranded, and fresh out of options.

When Jack’s father dies, Jack and Miranda find themselves face to face in an attorney’s office, banking on an inheritance that’s locked down until they meet stipulations. Despite their sour history, they strike a deal to help each other. Miranda doesn’t like the proposed arrangement, but it sure beats the homeless shelter she was counting on to keep her and Kacey off the streets.

Can they piece together the past? Or are they still as broken as the shattered vase that ended their marriage years ago?

CONSUMING.

Y’all. I sat down at 45% one night to read for the evening…proceeded to devour this book. The way that second half totally consumed me (I was enjoying the first half a lot too!). This has allllll the angst. I loved the broken marriage trope when it’s done well and this one was hard. A hard read with many shattered pieces that found a way to be glue back into something new, something stronger.

I loved how both parties, Jack and Miranda had things to work one. Of course there’s some blame moments, but also along the journey the separately acknowledged their own personal issues and things to work on. The moments of communication, laying it all out there, heart on the line, had me feeling all of the emotions.

Beautiful book. I loved how everything came together. I will definitely be reading Ashley Dill’s next book.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: low-moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: multiple miscarriages, divorce, domestic abuse, loss of a loved one

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Book Review: The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Kristina Forest
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: February 28th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this heart-fluttering romance by Kristina Forest, a shy bookworm enlists her charming neighbor to help her score a date, not knowing he’s the obscure author she’s been corresponding with.

Shy, bookish, and admittedly awkward, Lily Greene has always felt inadequate compared to the rest of her accomplished family, who strive for Black excellence. She dreams of becoming an editor of children’s books but has been frustratingly stuck in the nonfiction division for years without a promotion in sight. Lily finds escapism in her correspondences with her favorite fantasy author, and what begins as two lonely people connecting over e-mail turns into a tentative friendship and possibly something else Lily won’t let herself entertain–until he ghosts her.

Months later, still crushed but determined to take charge of her life, Lily seeks a date to her sister’s wedding. And the perfect person to help her is Nick Brown, her charming, attractive new neighbor, whom she feels drawn to for unexplainable reasons. Little does she know that Nick is an author–her favorite fantasy author.

Nick, who has his reasons for using a pen name and for pushing people away, soon realizes that the beautiful, quiet woman from down the hall is the same Lily he fell in love with over e-mail months ago. Unwilling to complicate things even more between them, he agrees to set her up with someone else, though this simple favor between two neighbors is anything but–not when he can’t get her off his mind.

MEH.

This got off to a slow start for me. I usually love epistolary romances but these emails went on a bit long for me and the abrupt ending made my head tilt. When Lily and Nick run into each other again I was hoping to vibe off of their chemistry, and I’m not sure that I ever did.

There’s some cute scenes and it’s a good slow burn. I liked Nick helping Lily find a date and the fun things they went and did together to. Yet Nick, CONTINUALLY kept pushing Lily away and I got CONTINUALLY frustrated that it kept happening for the sake of stretching out the plot.

I did like the meddling sisters and their books are something I’m somewhat interested in giving a go (I’m hopeful we get those stories too!). I loved that Lily worked in publishing and enjoyed seeing her pursuits there and finding the niche she could settle in long term.

Kind of meh for me, but I do see that it could be a hit for others.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Lanugage: some strong
  • Romance: a couple open door; moderate explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: cheating (side character), alcoholism mentioned, car accident mentioned

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ALC Book Review: Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fiction + Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Abbi Waxman
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: April 16th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Just when she thought she’d gotten far enough away . . . a life-changing phone call throws an antisocial scientist back into her least favorite place—the spotlight. A hilarious and insightful new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.

After a tumultuous childhood, Christa Liddle has hidden away, both figuratively and literally. Happily studying sea snails in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Christa finds her tranquil existence thrown into chaos when her once-famous father—long thought dead after a plane crash—turns out to be alive, well, and ready to make amends. The world goes wild, fascinated by this real-life saga, pinning Christa and her family under the spotlight. As if that weren’t enough, her reunion with an old childhood friend reveals an intense physical attraction neither was expecting and both want to act on . . . if they can just keep a lid on it. When her father’s story starts to develop cracks, Christa fears she will lose herself, her potential relationship, and—most importantly—any chance of making it back to her snails before they forget her completely.

Thank you to Berkley (Berkley Partner) for the free book and PRH Audio (PRH Partner) for the free audiobook.

NEW FAV.

This book captivated me in all the best ways. I adored the plot and seeing Christa find her way through a lot of things thrown at her. This leans a little more fiction, but there’s definitely a romance present throughout.

And to go deeper into the romance, I loved the reconnection she had with Nate. They were starry eyed from the moment they found each other again. I loved the way Nate took care of Christa and also allowed her to be who she needed to be and where she needed to be. There was unconditional support and love woven throughout.

I also loved all of the dynamics between Christa and her Mom and sisters. It felt like an authentic family trying to move through some unimaginable happenings and looking for the best path together. There were fantastic conversations throughout and I loved the themes of forgiveness and healing.

The audiobook is stellar and I highly recommend that format. There are footnotes in the print copy that are added in flawlessly to the audio edition and I didn’t feel like the book was stilted in any way. They ended up being delightful anecdotes that made me laugh.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fiction + Romance
  • Language: moderate – strong
  • Romance: 1-2 open door
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: sexual assault and non-consensual drugging (recounted), cheating/affair (side character)

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ARC Book Review: On Thin Ice by Anna Augustine

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Rating: ★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 270 pages
Author: Anna Augustine
Publisher: Quill and Flame
Release Date: April 2nd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

He is her biggest mistake. She is his biggest regret. Can they ever find their way back to each other?

Molly Pruitt wants nothing to do with the man who broke her heart. As the newest teacher at Cloverfield High School, she’s determined to start the new chapter of her life free from the tangled strings of her past. There’s no need to think about Tanner Bradshaw anymore.

Until he shows back up in Cloverfield.

Out of the NHL because of a career ending injury, Tanner’s life is in shambles. Now the new coach of the high school hockey team, he’s struggling to gain the boys respect and sorting through his tumultuous feelings for the girl he left behind five years ago. Regret doesn’t begin to cover it, but Tanner isn’t sure if Molly will ever give him a second chance.

Sparks fly when Tanner finds his office placed in the back of Molly’s classroom. Is it fate, or just dumb luck that keeps forcing them together? And when Molly helps win some of the team over to Tanner, he can’t help but wonder if maybe they’re still meant to be.

Now if he can only get Molly to think the same…

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

OOMPH.

This one didn’t work for me y’all. I had major issues with the writing style and plot choice. The characters felt like teenagers rather than adults with the way they spoke to each other. And how some of the side characters interacted with them too. All of the conflict came from high school students, once again, making this feel like a young adult book when it was supposed to be adult.

The bones of this story were there, but I had too many things taking me out of the story to ever feel invested.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

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