Tag: contemporary romance

Book Review: A Class of Her Own (The Thornback Society #2) by Aspen Hadley

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 216 pages
Author: Aspen Hadley
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: December 1st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Meredith Atwood has been described as a lot of things.

Her friends call her determined, strong, and dedicated. Her enemies, well, their words are a little less flattering. But, Meredith doesn’t have time to worry about appearances, especially not when she finds herself locked in a life or death battle with her new HOA president – a man, incidentally, who didn’t even want the job that should have been hers.

Brooks VanOrman doesn’t have a lot of time or interest in fighting battles. However, when he finds himself unwittingly in the position of HOA president, he realizes he’s going to have to start caring, and soon. To complicate matters, his neighbor – the feisty, dark-haired woman of his nightmares – refuses to follow the rules and he’s the one called in to enforce them.

It’s an instant clash of wills.

Only the more Brooks gets to know Meredith, the more he realizes that there’s a lot more to the fierce warrior than meets the eye.

A Class of Her Own is a closed-door, kissing only, sweet and clean romance with all the swoon but no explicit content.

TEARS.

Uh, this made me tear up a whole bunch at the end so I gave it five stars and this is how my logic works.

I loved this story. I will say it did lean a little more women’s fiction than I was expecting when I picked it up but there was a lot of goodness in that side of the storytelling. I loved Meredith. I could relate to her on multiple facets. I think that’s what really got me. I understood her need for control and rules and some kind of a map to feel secure.

Enter in Brooks. This man is superior. I could not get enough of the way he handled everything. There was so much respect and caring for Meredith’s feelings while also voicing his own. I like that he didn’t hold back, and still gave space when needed. I loved watching this relationship come together and would have loved having even more romance throughout.

The friend group is great, the holiday antics were fun and it’s a pretty quick book to fly through. I can’t wait to read the next story.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of loss of a mother, an absentee father

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Book Review: My Lucky Charm (Holidays With Hart #2) by Courtney Walsh

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 376 pages
Author: Courtney Walsh
Publisher: Indie Published
Release Date: February 23rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A humiliating break-up leads to an impulsive New Year’s Kiss with a complete stranger.
What could possibly go wrong?

It’s no secret that I love life. And Dr Pepper. But also, I love a challenge. . .

So when the coach of the Chicago Comets gives me the opportunity to help their star player, newly traded to their team, acclimate to life in Chicago, I’m all in.

I have to be. After my last job went up in flames, I have something to prove.

It turns out that the player, Grayson Hawke, is the rudest, most off-putting, reclusive guy I’ve ever met.

It also turns out that he is the beautiful stranger I kissed on New Year’s Eve.

I can do this job. I can do this job. I can do this job.

And I can. Really well.

I can make Gray’s life easier, show him all the reasons to fall in love with this city, and in the process, hopefully completely forget that the amazing kiss ever happened.

How hard can it be? We’re total opposites anyway.

I love people . . . and all their stories. Gray loves hockey . . . and nothing else.

I love to talk. Gray only stares.

I’m happy-go-lucky. Gray’s all work and no play.

There’s just one problem. The more time I spend with Grayson Hawke, the more I start to see that underneath his bristly, standoffish exterior, he’s nothing like the man everyone thinks he is.

And suddenly, all the reasons for keeping my distance, staying professional, and not falling for someone again. . .are impossible to remember.

My Lucky Charm is a grumpy/sunshine, sweet hockey romance with all of the sizzle but none of the steam. It’s the second in the Holidays with Hart series, but My Lucky Charm can be read as a stand alone.

I LOVED THIS.

I think this might be my new favorite Courtney Walsh book. I adored this entire read and found every spare moment to continue reading. I loved how Gray’s grumpy nature was portrayed and watching him sincerely work on himself and learning to let love in. Let people help, build a community and space that can motivate and support him through the ups and downs. There’s many super sweet moments too that you’ll have to read to see!!

I loved Eloise too. She spoke something to my soul about her life aspirations and where she wanted to be. I’ve often felt the same way and seeing a character with these attributions healed something in me. I thought Eloise and Gray had fantastic chemistry and some AMAZING sizzling kissing scenes. The push and pull tension had me shaking my kindle and I loved how life came together for them.

This whole book was an absolute gem. Loved the hockey content, all of the teammates, the themes and the sisterhood. An incredible read.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: May 2024

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Is it summer yet?
I almost went through another month without any two stars, but one found me via surprise book mail I felt obligated to read. But there’s lots of great five stars to pick from!

Favorite Books this Month:

  • When Gods Fall
  • Savor It
  • Fragile Sanctuary
  • The Familiar
  • Beneath a Crescent Shadow
  • Swift and Saddled
  • A Convenient Fiction
  • Saints and Monsters
  • Emma Lion Vol. 7
  • Woke Up Like This
  • Burning Crowns
  • The Perfect Putt
  • To Charm a Lady
  • A Kingdom to Claim
  • Of Jade and Dragons
  • Summer in the Highlands

Least Favorites this Month:

  • One Last Summer
  • [Novella] Powerful (The Powerless Trilogy #1.5) by Lauren Roberts
  • When Gods Fall (The Gifts of Gods #1) by S.E. Bouvier
  • [ALC] Savor It by Tarah Dewitt
  • Clandestine (House of Oak #3) by Nichole Van
  • [ARC] Fragile Sanctuary (Sparrow Falls #1) by Catherine Cowles
  • [ALC] I Wish You Would by Eva Des Lauriers
  • [ARC] Sincerely, Secretary of Doom (High Court of the Coffee Bean #2) by Jennifer Kropf
  • The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
  • [ALC] The Darkness Within Us (The Shadows Between Us #2) by Tricia Levenseller
  • An Improper Scheme (Improper Agreements #3) by Audra Wells
  • Five Broken Blades (The Broken Blades #1) by Mai Corland
  • [ARC] Beneath a Crescent Shadow (The Balkan Legends #1) by A.L. Sowards
  • Swift and Saddled (Blue Rebel Ranch #2) by Lyla Sage
  • A Convenient Fiction (Parish Orphans of Devon #3) by Mimi Matthews
  • Saints and Monsters by Ellen McGinty
  • [ALC] Icon and Inferno (Stars and Smoke #2) by Marie Lu
  • Emma M. Lion Vol. 7 by Beth Brower
  • Woke Up Like This by Amy Lea
  • The Winter Companion (Parish Orphans of Devon #4) by Mimi Matthews
  • The Goddess Of by Randi Garner
  • Maybe This Time by Cara Bastone
  • Burning Crowns (Twin Crowns #3) by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber
  • [ARC] One Last Summer by Kate Spencer
  • [ARC] All’s Fair in Love and War by Virginia Heath
  • [ARC] Lady of Basilikas (The Droseran Saga #5) by Ronie Kendig
  • [ARC] The Perfect Putt (More Than a Game #2) by Annah Conwell
  • The Gathering Storm (The Wheel of Time #12) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
  • Beyond the Aching Door (The Fatebound Duology #1) by Victoria Mier
  • Heavenbreaker by Sara Wolf
  • [ARC] To Charm a Lady (The Cartwells #2) by Joanna Barker
  • [ARC] A Kingdom to Claim by Sian Ann Bessey
  • Happy Medium by Sarah Adler
  • [ARC] Of Jade and Dragons (Fall of the Dragon #1) by Amber Chen
  • Brand of Light (The Droseran Saga #1) by Ronie Kendig
  • [ARC] Seven Summer Weekends by Jane L. Rosen
  • [ARC] Summer in the Highlands by Nichole Van, Heidi Kimball and Michele Paige Holmes

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Book Review: The Brightest Sunset (The Darkest Sunrise #2) by Aly Martinez

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 286 pages
Author: Aly Martinez
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: July 27th, 2017
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me.
Bullshit.
Words destroyed me.
“I’m sorry. She didn’t make it.”
“Daddy, he can’t breathe!”
“There’s nothing more we can do for your son.”
Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me.
Lies.
Those syllables and letters became my executioner. I told myself that, if I didn’t acknowledge the pain and the fear, they would have no power over me. But, as the years passed, the hate and the anger left behind began to control me.
Two words—that was all it took to plunge my life into darkness.
“He’s gone.”
In the end, it was four soft, silky words that gave me hope of another sunrise.
“Hi. I’m Charlotte Mills.”

GOOD CONCLUSION.

I liked the way thing wrapped up in this one. It once again kept me totally enthralled and I needed to know that there was going to be a happy ending or I might have thrown this book across the room.

What I didn’t love was Brady. He was awful the entire time and while I understood it was there to create the tension, it did eventually start to feel a bit over the top and redundant.

I once again still love Porter and Charlotte. They are really there for each other and it’s sweet. I like that neither of them gave up and actually found a way to work together for a solution that would make everyone feel satisfied.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance; multiple open door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of kidnapped baby, recounting of an attempted murder-suicide (side character), physical altercations, grief and depression

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