Tag: contemporary romance

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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Book Review: This Time It’s Real by Ann Liang

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Ann Liang
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: February 7th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When seventeen-year-old Eliza Lin’s essay about meeting the love of her life unexpectedly goes viral, her entire life changes overnight. Now she has the approval of her classmates at her new international school in Beijing, a career-launching internship opportunity at her favorite magazine…and a massive secret to keep.

Eliza made her essay up. She’s never been in a relationship before, let alone in love. All good writing is lying, right?

Desperate to hide the truth, Eliza strikes a deal with the famous actor in her class, the charming but aloof Caz Song. She’ll help him write his college applications if he poses as her boyfriend. Caz is a dream boyfriend — he passes handwritten notes to her in class, makes her little sister laugh, and takes her out on motorcycle rides to the best snack stalls around the city.

But when her relationship with Caz starts feeling a little too convincing, all of Eliza’s carefully laid plans are threatened. Can she still follow her dreams if it means breaking her own heart?

Get ready to fall in love in this hilarious romcom about a girl who begins a fake relationship with the famous actor in her class, perfect for fans of Meg Cabot and Jenny Han.

IT’S GOTTA GOOD VIBE.

Picked this up on a whim after I saw a review say, if you liked XOXO (of which, I loved that book) read this one! And I do agree, these two are nicely similar and have the same premise and vibes.

I thought the fake dating here was really cute. The hopeless romantic Eliza is that causes a spiral of consequences to lead her to Caz was charming and sweet. I loved all of the little moments between them the connection you could see brewing from the get-go. The romance side of this is very much on point. The third act is where it lost me for a bit. Eliza caused me some serious shaking of my head and wondering why in the world it had to be this way. Gratefully, it finished all fine and lovely and we can just move on.

This had a lot of great themes too. Eliza having to move so much and struggling to connect (and reconnect) with friends that are now far away. I loved seeing the ups and downs on this sub-plot because it felt very true to more than a young adult aged character. Easily relatable.

The plot backed up the fake dating concept well. I liked the addition of all of the writing, and acting related things. Taking care of someone when they’re sick (!!) and learning the ropes of a new school. It fits perfectly into the YA category and was a good read for the day.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses

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Book Review: Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romantic
Length: 336 pages
Author: Lauren Kung Jessen
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: January 10th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

This sweet, enemies-to-lovers debut rom-com filled with Chinese astrology will undoubtedly prove to be a perfect match with readers of Helen Hoang, Jasmine Guillory, and Helena Hunting.

Always a matchmaker, never a match…

Olivia Huang Christenson is excited-slash-terrified to be taking over her grandmother’s matchmaking business. But when she learns that a new dating app has made her Pó Po’s traditional Chinese zodiac approach all about “animal attraction,” her emotions skew more toward furious-slash-outraged. Especially when L.A.’s most-eligible bachelor Bennett O’Brien is behind the app that could destroy her family’s legacy . . .

            Liv knows better than to fall for any guy, let alone an infuriatingly handsome one who believes that traditions are meant to be broken. As the two businesses go head to head, Bennett and Liv make a deal: they’ll find a match for each other—and whoever falls in love loses. But Liv is dealing with someone who’s already adept at stealing business ideas . . . so what’s stopping him from stealing her heart too?

ALMOST WORKED.

I was up and down on this one. And then I found myself truly interested for a bit there. Until the third act made me want to put my head through a wall. With this set-up I think there could have been so many others way to create conflict without sacrificing the way the main character behaved. Liv bugged me for most of this book. She was over the top stubborn about every single step of the plot.

The premise and idea of this book is super intriguing and probably the best aspect. I loved learning about matchmaking and the intricacies of the Chinese zodiac approach to love and all of the in-between. Liv’s relationship with her Pó Po was one of my favorite parts too. Such a sweet relationship that helped Liv FINALLY open her eyes to the world around her.

For the romance I think there needed to be more too. It took me a long time to feel like this had a true romantic component to the story. With the focus on everyone dating and matchmaking, I figured there would be more of that. I just never felt invested overall into this story.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: infidelity mentioned (side character), grief and loss depiction, death of a mother recounted, death of a grandparent

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ARC Book Review: Always Choosing You (Scoops Series #2) by K. Sinko

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 304 pages
Author: K. Sinko
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: April 9th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Nothing has felt normal for Rory Michaels since that big fight last summer…and when certain big secrets were revealed.

Now the ice cream shop where she works is closed for the season, yet things are still icy with her coworker—and boy next door—Tyler Chapman. Sure, she may now know that her childhood bestie has been harboring a crush on her for years, but she just misses having Ty in her life. So they agree to move on and let things go back to normal…until a cheerleading stunt goes horribly wrong at Haverport High’s Homecoming football game, and Tyler catches the captain’s fall. The entire town swoons, and soon, Tyler is dating the Homecoming queen.

Rory told Tyler she wanted to move on and go back to the way things were, yet why, when it seems Ty has finally moved on, is she feeling bitter? And why, after years of pining for him, is Jay Sanchez finally hitting up her phone and admitting he misses her?

ALWAYS CHOOSING YOU is a young adult romance featuring a girl on a journey to find herself during her senior year of high school, and all the choices she’ll have to face. Between choosing what to do after graduation, which boy she’s meant to be with, and finally learning the true identity of her father, Rory finds herself at a crossroads in life. Should she choose the path she always thought she wanted, or should she choose to follow her heart?

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

SUCH GROWTH.

I had the chance to beta read this book and seeing it in its final glory was something special. I love the way K. Sinko writes the complexities of growing up and how messy things can be in high school. I loved that Rory is kind of an unlikeable FMC but you get to see how she makes those mistakes, learns to apologize and find where her passion for the future lies. It’s a beautiful story of hope in the future and the road ahead.

The love triangle will bring the angst and tension. I love kind of knowing where things are leading (or I often get frustrated) and seeing who we all know Rory was going to end up with melted my heart. I loved their relationship and the push and pull. Not to mention the fiery kissing scenes.

And I adored getting to see the whole Scoops family again. I loved the side characters as always and especially seeing more of Calvin and Melanie. They have a special place in my heart and wove into Rory’s story well too.

I liked seeing Rory struggle with her Mom in realistic and honest ways. And how much Rory didn’t know what she wanted to do after high school (because I still feel that way). The pressures of life can feel especially heavy and chaotic at this coming of age time and I loved the way K. Sinko approached it all.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low-moderate
  • Romance: Steamy kisses
  • Violence: low

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