Book Review: All Out of Love (Boys of Riverside #3) by Gracie Graham

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: NA Contemporary Romance
Length: 548 pages
Author: Gracie Graham
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 27th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Book three in the Boys of Riverside series takes off where book two leaves off, bringing you an epic love story for the boy Mackenzie Hart did not choose.

A GOOD CONTINUATION.

I’ve been wanting to see where this character’s story was going to go and I liked seeing his development! I also am purposely not naming him because he’s a part of the love triangle from the previous two books and the suspense is key!

I liked the romance. It had a lot of good swoon and conversations. I loved seeing both of the main characters grow and change and grasp what they wanted to do with life. It’s perfectly heated and I loved the tension.

I did struggle with suspending some belief about one of the main plot lines. It seemed a little farfetched in the end. And I don’t love a third act martyr situation.

OTHERWISE. I am still very much loving this series and can’t wait to continue.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: physical altercations, child abuse, mentions of infidelity (side characters)

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Book Review: Love How You Love Me (Boys of Riverside #2) by Gracie Graham

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: NA Contemporary Romance
Length: 392 pages
Author: Gracie Graham
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: May 31st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

All I wanted for so long was to remember the car crash that killed my mother. Like it might somehow chase away the guilt and grief that followed her death.

But now I remember, and everything has changed.
I should be relieved.
Instead, I’m angry at the world. My mother. Father. And especially the boy who stole my heart and crushed it beneath his palm.
Everyone warned me to stay away from Atlas Scott–the bad boy football star, with a reputation for trouble.
Maybe I should’ve listened.
But our bond was seemingly unbreakable, forged in the fire of tragedy.

Until it wasn’t, and everything fell apart.
Now the memories that haunt me are so much harder to manage on the heels of heartbreak.
Graham, my best friend, is, once again, picking up the pieces while I search for vindication in all the wrong places.

Because there’s only one catalyst for healing and redemption.
Love.

HERE FOR THE DRAMA.

Oh my goodness. I binged the first book and this one back to back and I have zero regrets. I loved the high level of drama and the NEED I felt the entire time reading that I had to know what happens next. This was the angsty tension filled love triangle I didn’t know I needed and I will now be forever recommending it to others.

I loved the continuation of this story. I thought the plot points came together well and I left feeling satisfied with part of the story and excited for the continuation of the other. This does finish Mackenzie’s romance and who she ends up with. There’s plenty of swoon and quotable moments and I will ABSOLUTELY be continuing this series.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Sports Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: one closed door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: loss of a father from suicide, mentions of drug/alcohol addiction, attempted assault, gambling addiction, underage drinking

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ARC Book Review: It’s Always Us (The Abandoned Brothers #3) by Stacy Williams

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 476 pages
Author: Stacy Williams
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 7th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

What if you give your whole heart away? Do you ever really get it back?

Lex has just been going through the motions for years, trying to let go of the one man she can’t seem to forget. When she finds herself getting ready to take on a life she’s never wanted, she realizes she’s stuck in the same place she was at sixteen—heart stolen and fully belonging to another. Now, Lex is determined to move forward and finally face reality—life without him.

But when the past returns, making declarations she’d never thought she’d hear again, will Lex take a chance to finally go after what she’s always wanted?

Mark has been living the high life…at least, that’s what the media believes. Reality is, he’s spent the last eight years thinking of the one who promised to love him always. For Mark, time has passed and damage was done, but he just can’t convince himself that her devotion wasn’t real. When time is running out—or so he thinks—he takes a shot to find out once and for all if her words were honest and true.

When the fun-loving, professional quarterback makes his play, will he find that the hope he’s held onto is everything he needed it to be? What if it’s so much more than he ever could have imagined?

It’s Always Us is a touching love story that reminds us when all hope is lost…love lasts.

This story is part of a series but if you don’t mind a few spoilers, it can be read as a stand-alone.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

THE JOURNEY.

This book made me have to stare down some things I don’t generally like when I’m reading a romance book. But the pure chaos of this journey and the up and down roller coaster had me flipping page after page never able to guess where this story would turn next. And that had it’s own wonderful quality too.

I loved how much Mark and Lex showed that soul mate level quality of connection. How when you feel like you’re hitting the end of what you can handle, love finds a way. Love creates a path. Love finds a way to fight with you.

Both characters had a lot of walls they had to hit a few times over before they found a way around. I loved the supporting cast and how they helped Mark and Lex get through their journey’s. The ending came together so sweetly and squeezed my heart strings.

This book has been a long time coming for this series and I loved all the truths it held and the satisfying conclusion it was for the all three brothers.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: low

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Book Review: Love the Way You Lie (Boys of Riverside #1) by Gracie Graham

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: NA Contemporary Romance
Length: 417 pages
Author: Gracie Graham
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 17th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Torn between my best friend and the boy who makes my heart beat again, learning the truth might break me…

My entire life changed in an instant.
One violent moment took my mother and destroyed me.
And I can’t even remember it.
All I know is…it was my fault.

Now I’m entering senior year after hiding away from the world as long as I could.
The only distraction I have from the heavy weight of my scars is my best friend, Graham.
He’s been my rock through it all.

But when his cousin Atlas appears…my world suddenly tilts on its already unsteady axis.
Everyone warns me to stay away from the star football player with a bad boy reputation and a chip on his shoulder.
I should…

Yet from the moment I climb on the back of his motorcycle, sparks fly.
Despite all the reasons to keep him at a distance, my need for the truth about the accident drives us closer.

Until the truth destroys everything…

OBSESSED.

Hello and welcome to a review for a book I binged faster than I could blink. Oh my goodness this entire story had me in a chokehold. I’m not really one for love triangles or overly dramatic plot lines, but when I am? BRING IT. And I picked this up at the right time. I could not get enough or turn the pages fast enough to figure out where this was going to go.

I loved that it was triple-POV. I loved having both boy’s POV’s and well as Mackenzie’s. The added mystery to the story was interesting to watch play out and the way my kindle lit on fire with some very choice quotes from one of the love interests (no I’m not going to tell you, GO READ IT).

This had many cliched things like the golden boy high school quarterback and the boy from across the tracks, etc. BUT do not let that deter you. Gracie Graham wove this story beautifully and made all of these aspects WORK. I was sucked in and this is a must read for sports romance fans.

**They are high school seniors (17/18) but it is definitely written in a new adult style**

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: underage drinking, a father with a drug & alcohol addiction, grief depiction, loss of a mother (recounted), amnesia from a car accident

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