Tag: contemporary romance

Book Review: Merry Kismet (Gift-Wrapped Romance) by Anneka R. Walker

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 202 pages
Author: Anneka R. Walker
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: November 2nd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

BRIE

Things I should never have done:

  1. Put my ex-boyfriend’s name on my Christmas wish list.
  2. Grin dumbly at him when he shows up at my door.
  3. Think it’s kismet that he’s staying on the other half of my duplex for the holidays and means we’re meant to be together. Because we’re not. He broke my heart in High School and never looked back.

ROCKWELL

Things I will never do:

  1. Move back to Bearwood.
  2. Repeat my parents’ mistakes by getting married.
  3. Kiss Brie Holland under the mistletoe. I know how good her kisses are, and if I want to make sure number one and two don’t happen, I’m going to have to keep her safely in the friend zone until I’m out of Bearwood for good.

LACKED CHEMISTRY.

I did think some of this was sweet, but the first half was hard for me to wrap my head around. I couldn’t quite get behind some of the thought processes and choices that ultimately had me frustrated.

There was plenty of good Christmas spirit and the tiny dash of magical realism was charming. I liked the main characters in general and the second half was much better. It’s a sweet and simple holiday read that might work for you more than it did me.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: divorce

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Book Review: Cabin Crush (Gift Wrapped Romance) by Kasey Stockton

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 200 pages
Author: Kasey Stockton
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 27th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Can what happens at the Christmas cabin stay at the Christmas cabin?

Rachael
I’ve had a crush on my brother’s best friend my entire life. Once, in high school, I even got a taste of what it would be like to be with him thanks to some well-placed mistletoe: incredible and humiliating. We always spend Christmas with Max’s family at our cabin, and every year I have to suffer through a blissful week with him in a completely platonic way. His steady stream of girlfriends have made him off limits . . . until now.

It’s Christmas.

We’re at the cabin together.

And Max Dawson is single.

Max
I’ve never looked forward to Christmas less in my entire life. My parents’ holiday will be ruined after I tell them my news, and to make matters worse, I blabbed to Rachael on the drive out to the cabin. Now she has to keep my secret until I’m ready to share with my family.

Which is probably why she’s acting so weird. Watching me. Touching me. Flirting.

It would be terrible if I wasn’t enjoying it so much.

But her brother has made it clear she’s off limits. And besides, I kissed Rachael once, and we all know how that ended.

So we definitely shouldn’t do it again.

Right?

CHRISTMAS MAGIC.

Oh my gosh I adored this book. It’s a short and sweet holiday romance that was the perfect length. I loved watching Max and Rachael come together. They had some magnetic chemistry and the brother’s best friend trope was well crafted. I couldn’t get enough of the cozy cabin with the long time family friends doing all of the holiday traditions.

The romance was excellently swoony and sweet Max was oblivious and I loved it. There were plenty good forced proximity moments and I liked the growth for each character personally. For a short book (under 200 pages) I thought it packed everything needed for a complete story arc.

Definitely recommend for the holiday season!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: brief sledding crash
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of losing a sibling to cancer

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Book Review: 50 Ways to Win Back Your Lover (Bower Boys #1) by Kelly Siskind

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 331 pages
Author: Kelly Siskind
Publisher: Montlake
Release Date: September 6th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From Kelly Siskind comes a slow-burn romantic comedy about one man’s creative attempt to win back his high school sweetheart after a change in fortune gives them a second chance at love.

Growing up, I had it all—my art, close friends, a gorgeous girlfriend who owned my heart—but then my life exploded.

Turns out my father was laundering money, and my whole family got shoved into witness protection. No notice. No chance to explain. I was ripped away from beautiful, blue-eyed Delilah Moon, shattering both our worlds.

A decade later, fate has given us a second chance.

The cartel my father worked for has been wiped out. I’ve returned to my hometown, determined to win back the love of my life. But Delilah is engaged.

Or…is she?

I’m almost positive she’s lying about her fiancé to protect her heart. Which means I need to up my game.

I’ve made a list of fifty ways to prove we’re meant to be. Except Delilah’s barely looking at me, never mind swooning. I have a feeling my disappearance scarred her more than she’s admitting, and no one in town will tell me what happened…

NOT FOR ME.

The idea was there. I was hopeful, but I just don’t love the way everything shook out in the end.

I LOVE the concept of a MMC only POV. That’s fun, I haven’t read that before. Within all of that was some of this books downfall. It does not work for me to hear over and over “c*ck twitches, bulging pants, etc.”. It feels like unnecessary innuendo that takes me out of the book each and every time. I get the physical attraction aspect, lets add more to the other elements of a relationship too.

The second chance trope worked. I liked the witness protection program back story (once again, haven’t read that before) which made for some interesting angles. I think it would have been cool to have a little more suspense? I guess this was supposed to be wholly romance though so that’s fine.

I liked the audiobook narrator and I did enjoy most aspects of both characters. There is a third act issue that makes me shake my head. Everything was just okay about this (which makes me sad because I LOVED Siskind’s previous series).

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: multiple open; high explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: father in prison, witness protection program, mentions of gang violence, recounted near death injury

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Book Review: The Last Love Note by Emma Grey

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Fiction + Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Emma Grey
Publisher: Zibby Books
Release Date: November 28th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

You may never stop loving the one you lost. But you can still find love again.

Kate is a bit of a mess. Two years after losing her young husband Cameron, she’s grieving, solo parenting, working like mad at her university fundraising job, always dropping the ball—and yet clinging to her sense of humor.

Lurching from one comedic crisis to the next, she also navigates an overbearing mom and a Tinder-obsessed best friend who’s determined to matchmake Kate with her hot new neighbor.

When an in-flight problem leaves Kate and her boss, Hugh, stranded for a weekend on the east coast of Australia, she finally has a chance, away from her son, to really process her grief and see what’s right in front of her. Can she let go of the love of her life and risk her heart a second time?

When it becomes clear that Hugh is hiding a secret, Kate turns to the trail of scribbled notes she once used to hold her life together. The first note captured her heart. Will the last note set it free?

The Last Love Note will make listeners laugh, cry, and renew their faith in the resilience of the human heart—and in love itself.

Thank you to LibroFM for the audiobook and Ro Romanello PR for the gifted copy.

THIS HURT.

I’ve gotta admit, I’m actually not one to pick up a widow based book because it sends my own anxiety through the roof. BUT, I had heard great things about this and still wanted to give it a try and I honestly enjoyed this so much. This was EMOTIONAL and heartbreaking and slowly but surely watching hope and time win out in the battle against losing your spouse way too soon.

I liked that Kate was a mess. I felt it was accurate to the story being portrayed. Grief is an up and down, absolutely non-linear battle and we saw many facets of that fact. The flashbacks only increased the emotional turmoil and showed how deep and raw this journey has been.

If I was being a little nitpicky I do wish there had been a touch more romance (because my initial interpretation of the book was that it was a romance first). But, upon finishing I saw the plot as a whole and feel like it went where it needed to in order to allow Kate to find some solid ground for herself.

If you’re in need of a good cry book, this is it.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Fiction + Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: losing a husband to early onset Alzheimer’s, miscarriage, grief depiction, mentions of losing a partner (briefly recounted, cancer)

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