Tag: contemporary romance

Book Review: A Little Magic by Lindsey Lanza

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 334 pages
Author: Lindsey Lanza
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 3rd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Nine years to fall in love. Eight nights to learn the truth. One chance to rewrite the past.

Ellie Klein fled Vermont after graduating high school, and she hasn’t been back since. Not to see her overbearing parents nor her distant brother, not even to visit her temperamental cat and beloved dog. And most importantly, she hasn’t been back to see Theo Fox. Her first love and brother’s best friend has been but a distant and painful memory for the last seven years.
When Ellie’s travel site lands her back where it all began, her goal is to get in and out without seeing anyone from before. But life has other plans when she’s caught in a blizzard that leaves her seeking refuge in a cabin owned by none other than the infamous Theo.
Theo Fox has been winning collegiate hockey and NHL championships since Ellie disappeared, but all he really wants is a second chance with the woman he can’t stop loving. When she shows up unannounced in Vermont, he’s determined to find out why she left and never returned. And if he has a little magic on his side, how to get her back.
Told over the course of nine Christmas Eves and eight nights of Hanukkah, A Little Magic is a cozy, nostalgic story of young love, finding your voice, and the complexities of what it means to be a family.

THE WAY I LOVED THIS.

I won this book in a giveaway from the author before release which of course meant I wanted to pick it up before then. AND GOSH DANG. This might be the holiday book of the year y’all.

This had People We Meet on Vacation vibes but make it winter with a snowed in cabin and two people who never stopped loving each other seven years prior. I loved the chronic illness rep and I FELT all of the emotions Ellie was feeling deeply. The complicated family relationships, wanting to be free and so many themes inbetween.

The dual timelines brought out the emotions. It was PRECIOUS watching a young Theo and Ellie became friends and how that brewed into this deep and passionate, soul mate kind of love. The snow globes?? The ice skating?? The sneaking trips to see each other?? OH MY GOSH YOUNG LOVE.

I liked the current timeline plot too and that you could tell how GONE Theo was for Ellie. And when that third act came up and all of the details were revealed I was ANGRY. Which is a compliment because I am deeply attached to these characters. It was a sympathetic battle of understanding and I like how that was handled too.

Everything was incredible about this book. If you’re looking for a spicy holiday romance. Look no further. THIS IS THE ONE.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 3-4+ open and fade to black
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: Chronic illness (lupus), loss of parents, strained family relations

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: September 2023

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THE BER MONTHS HAVE ARRIVED. Now if I could just get the weather to cooperate. I only had one absolute dud of a book this month and plenty of great reads. A little slower for me as I read some BIG fantasy books.

Happy reading!

Favorites of September:

  • Reign
  • Emma Lion Vol. 3
  • ACOTAR Reread
  • Mrs. Nash’s Ashes
  • The Goddess Eye
  • Heat of the Everflame
  • A Little Magic
  • Once Upon a Broken Heart Reread
  • Can’t Help Falling
  • Heidi Lucy Loses Her Mind
  • ACOMAF Reread
  • Things We Left Behind
  • Her Radiant Curse
  • Faking the Fall
  • Two Twisted Crowns
  • Shadow and Silence
  • Blade Breaker

Least Favorites:

  • Main Character Energy
  • Reign (American Royals #4) by Katharine McGee
  • The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Vol. 3) by Beth Brower
  • Best Friends, Back Ups & Something More by Ranee S. Clark
  • Just a Football Star (Tate Brothers #2) by Deb Goodman
  • [Reread] A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR #1) by SJM
  • Mrs. Nash’s Ashes by Sarah Adler
  • The Goddess Eye (The Blood and Water Saga #3) by Cassidy Clarke
  • Hold Back the River by Ashley Dill
  • Neve A Hero (Monsters #2) by Vanessa Len
  • The Fall Back Plan (Sweater Weather #2) by Melanie Jacobson
  • Savage Bred (The Royal Rose Chronicles #3) by Victoria McCombs
  • [ALC] The Ex-Mas Holidays by Zoe Allison
  • [ARC] Heat of the Everflame (Kindred’s Curse #3) by Penn Cole
  • Knife of Dreams (Wheel of Time #11) by Robert Jordan
  • A Little Magic by Lindsey Lanza
  • A Multitude of Dreams by Mara Rutherford
  • [Reread] Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart #1) by Stephanie Garber
  • [ARC] Welcome to Fae Cafe (High Court of the Coffee Bean #1) by Jennifer Kropf
  • Can’t Help Falling (Sweater Weather #3) by Courtney Walsh
  • The Curse of Saints (The Curse of Saints #1) by Kate Dramis
  • [ARC] Heidi Lucy Loses Her Mind (Happily Every Homicide #2) by Gracie Ruth Mitchell
  • [Reread] A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOTAR #2) by Sarah J. Maas
  • Things We Left Behind (Knockemout #3) by Lucy Score
  • Codename Charming (Palace Insiders #2) by Lucy Parker
  • Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim
  • The Long Game (The Long Game #1) by Elena Armas
  • [ARC] Codes of Courage (Heirs of Falcon Point #1) by A.L. Sowards
  • Faking the Fall (Sweater Weather #4) by Julie Christianson
  • Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs
  • [ARC] Two Twisted Crowns (The Shepherd King #2) by Rachel Gillig
  • [ALC] Silence and Shadow (Blood and Moonlight #2) by Erin Beaty
  • Main Character Energy by Jamie Varon
  • How Jenna Became My Dilemma (Famously in Love #2) by Kortney Keisel
  • Blade Breaker (Realm Breaker #2) by Victoria Aveyard
  • Easy as Pie (Sweater Weather #5) by Carina Taylor

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Book Review: Play Your Part by Kathryn Kincaid

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 312 pages
Author: Kathryn Kincaid
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: August 3rd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Three months. Two enemies. One goal. Zero time for distractions.

Kennedy Cole’s life stalled one year ago after she tragically lost her mom. She abandoned her plans to finish college and quit working for her family’s professional hockey team, the Palmer City Wolves. She’s finally ready to move forward with Wolves star player Justin Ward at her side, but when he’s traded to another team, he hightails it out of town, leaving Kennedy behind.

Alexei Volkov is known for his hotheaded reputation, on-ice antics, and rivalry with Justin. After being fired by his last team, the Wolves offer Alexei a one-year contract to prove he can stay out of trouble. When a misleading photo of Kennedy and Alexei in a compromising position goes viral, his career is in jeopardy, along with the team’s public image.

Alexei wants nothing to do with the sassy brunette who got him into this mess. Kennedy would rather avoid the arrogant hockey player. But pretending to date each other can fix the negative press. The agreement was simple: three months together, with clearly outlined rules. But the more time Kennedy and Alexei spend together, the harder it becomes to fight the sizzling chemistry between them, making it difficult to know where pretense ends and reality begins.

Fans of Elle Kennedy, Mariana Zapata, and C.W. Farnsworth will enjoy this dual-POV steamy contemporary romance featuring enemies-to-lovers and fake-dating tropes.

AWESOME DEBUT.

I admit, I am easily influenced by one well created reel that shows up when I’m mindlessly scrolling. This one was an absolute winner.

The fake dating was a lot of fun and I liked the enemies to lovers vibes banter that happened between Alexei and Kennedy. I continually smirked at my screen because I just KNEW THEY WERE FALLING IN LOVE. And that’s the best feeling.

I looooved that this was a slow burn. Really getting to see that build before the spice came into play. Better yet, it happened to be in my spice comfort level and worked well into the story. I loved both of these characters. Battling pasts, finding common ground, and realizing that they may have met their match.

The only thing I didn’t love was that Kennedy’s ex came back into the picture when I didn’t think he was needed to bring in any more conflict. He can get gone.

Fantastic writing and story telling. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Highly recommend for my hockey romance lovers.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: two brief open; low explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: brief hockey fights, loss of a mother (recounted)

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Book Review: Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 432 pages
Author: Julia Whelan
Publisher: Avon Books
Release Date: August 2nd, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

For Sewanee Chester, being an audiobook narrator is a long way from her old dreams, but the days of being a star on film sets are long behind her. She’s found success and satisfaction from the inside of a sound booth and it allows her to care for her beloved, ailing grandmother. When she arrives in Las Vegas last-minute for a book convention, Sewanee unexpectedly spends a whirlwind night with a charming stranger.

On her return home, Sewanee discovers one of the world’s most beloved romance novelists wanted her to perform her last book—with Brock McNight, the industry’s hottest, most secretive voice. Sewanee doesn’t buy what romance novels are selling—not after her own dreams were tragically cut short—and she stopped narrating them years ago. But her admiration of the late author, and the opportunity to get her grandmother more help, makes her decision for her.

As Sewanee begins work on the book, resurrecting her old romance pseudonym, she and Brock forge a real connection, hidden behind the comfort of anonymity. Soon, she is dreaming again, but secrets are revealed, and the realities of life come crashing down around her once more.

If she can learn to risk everything for desires she has long buried, she will discover a world of intimacy and acceptance she never believed would be hers.

From the author of My Oxford Year, Julia Whelan’s uplifting novel tells the story of a former actress turned successful audiobook narrator—who has lost sight of her dreams after a tragic accident—and her journey of self-discovery, love, and acceptance when she agrees to narrate one last romance novel.

WHAT A GEM.

I don’t know why I didn’t pick this up sooner, IT WAS EVERYTHING I LOVE AND MORE.

The characters were all stunning. All of them. I love flawed souls who are sincerely trying their best. Working towards goals they have, doing the hard thing and making a path that’s best for them. Sewanee made me love her so easily. I like that this had a great fiction angle that was wrapped up in such a deep story.

BUT ALSO, the ROMANCE Y’ALL. Holy cow I was smiling like a loon the entire time. Whelan even made the dreaded one night stand trope (dreaded to me) work perfectly?! I AM IN AWE. I was smitten, swooning, loving every dang moment. Brought laughter, tears, the whole nine yards.

This book was intensely memorable and I will be thinking about it for awhile. Easily one of my favorites for the year. It was full of emotion and pure love through those hardest moments. Can’t recommend enough. READ IT.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 2ish open door; low explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: a loved one with memory loss, eye trauma and lost of vision, death of a grandmother

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