Tag: indie author

Book Review: Silent Kingdom (Silent Kingdom #1) by Rachel L. Schade

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 247 pages
Author: Rachel L. Schade
Publisher: Dragon Shadow Publishing
Release Date: September 29th, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Chosen by truth. Marked for death. Halia must choose to save her kingdom, or let it fall.

Misroth’s king has died, and the entire kingdom is in mourning—or so it seems. After her father is crowned regent in his brother’s stead, Princess Halia discovers a terrible truth that could end her life. But when she flees to live in hiding, she discovers that the Royal Guard are not all she has to fear. Dark creatures stalk her, reports of oppression and war reach her ears, and her burden to protect her kingdom—at any cost—will not be silenced.

SLOW START, GOOD END.

Another Kindle Unlimited find!

I liked where things were initially going (because wow what a intense intro) but it stalled a bit with her younger age + not much going on.

Once Halia was older things started to pick up. I liked the idea of an exiled princess finding her way back home to right the wrongs so grievously done. What I struggled with was her visions. I have a hard time with any character having visions in a book. It takes me out of the story and makes it hard to get back in. Halia had multiple almost every chapter which really through off the pacing.

I adored her cute little soon to be friends to lovers moment. I would have loved even more because I thought Halia and Avrik’s friendship was precious and sweet.

Halia never intended to be a heroine, and I thought her character growth was well accomplished. It’d be curious to see how the rest of the series continues with the pawns at play. I liked the last quarter of the book the most because things really started HAPPENING. It was an incredible slow build to get there.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: none
  • Violence: murder, poison, swords, physical, creature attacks, executions; not overly bloody/gory

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Book Review: Hitching the Pitcher (Belltown Six Pack #1) by Rebecca Connolly, Sophia Summers, and Heather B. Moore

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 220 pages
Author: Rebecca Connolly, Sophia Summers, and Heather B. Moore
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: February 5th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Running into his former college girlfriend wasn’t supposed to happen. Falling for her again wasn’t supposed to happen either.

Sawyer Bennett has a secret. A risky thing, being one of the popular Belltown Six Pack, a group of six guys from the same college baseball team, all of whom got drafted and now play in the Major Leagues. Between the media frenzy over them and his bond with the guys, his secret has to stay carefully hidden if he wants it to stay that way. He needs to focus on his pitching and let everything else fall away.

Confessing his secret to Erica Moore was definitely not supposed to happen. But the harder he falls for Erica, the more important his secret—and she—becomes.

Welcome to Belltown! Six baseball players meet in the college town of Belltown, Massachusetts, becoming best friends, their lives intertwining as they each get called up to the Major Leagues. Follow Sawyer, Cole, Axel, David, Ryker, and Levi in these six swoony sports romances.

TOO EASY.

That’s all I had to say when I was telling my Husband about my latest read. This entire book felt way too easy.

I also will state now, I frankly think that Erica Moore deserves better than Sawyer Bennet.

YUP I SAID IT.

He dumps her once, then does it AGAIN FOR THE SAME REASON, and the entire time Erica just keeps taking him back without really saying much. I’m still sitting here trying to figure out why. His reasons weren’t invalid, but I think a lot more communication would have prevented much of this book, which is much of the reason why I dropped my rating.

This book did have some cute moments. I would have loved more fluff. One kissing scene is not enough I declare! I liked the side characters (players and family) and thought they added well to the story.

My other gripe was that it had too much baseball? I know, as a sports lover, that was odd for me to pick-up on and actually be annoyed by. This is a SHORT book, I don’t need pages spent on the exact way Sawyer is pitching, or play by plays for every game he’s in. It just took up page time that I felt could have been better spent.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary sports romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger warnings: coping with the loss of a parent

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Book Review: The Match (It Happened in Charleston #1) by Sarah Adams

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 282 pages
Author: Sarah Adams
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: May 30th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Having worked for Southern Service Paws for a few years now, I like to think I’m prepared for just about any client meeting under the sun. I am dead wrong.

The day I meet with single dad, Jacob Broaden, about potentially matching his daughter with one of our service dogs, I learn a few valuable lessons.

1) Always set my alarm clock.
2) Single dads are way hotter than I previously thought.
3) It is possible to go from fantasizing about kissing someone to wishing they would be run over by a truck in a matter of two minutes.

Unfortunately, I don’t hold that opinion of him for very long. Not when he shows me a different side of himself—one that’s sweet as maple syrup and hot as apple pie fresh out of the oven.

Too bad this guy is so far out of my league that I shouldn’t even be allowed to enter the game. Jake doesn’t seem to get that memo though. And after a few days of working closely with him and his daughter, he starts looking at me with fire in his eyes, making me dream of something I probably shouldn’t…

A family.

“The Match is a feel-good romantic comedy! Perfect for readers who enjoy a sizzling romance without explicit content.”

KINDA OKAY?

This may have covered some sensitive topics, but yet, everything felt simple and laid on way too thickly for met to fully enjoy it.

I had some issues with the writing style, some remarks made me cringe a bit and felt dated. The Southern vibe was fun and I liked the overall set-up. It’s easy to pick-up any book that involves dogs as an active side character.

I really liked Evie from the start. She was a solid main character who was really trying her best in multiple ways. I liked how she approached life, and was straight-forward in her choices. Jake was cute too. Wasn’t the greatest love interest I’ve read, but also not near the worst. He kind of floated somewhere in the middle. I liked how he continually sought out to bet there for Evie and to a partner she could count on.

Evie’s mother [the “villain” if you will], was laid on way too thick. Oh my goodness. She was excessive in every way possible and I spent more time rolling my eyes at her than anything else. That felt entirely forced and really distanced the sweet romance happening.

Some good here, some bad. Haven’t decided if I’ll read the sequel (with new characters).

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger warnings: Evie and Jake’s daughter both have epilepsy and experience an episode (at different times) during the book; emotionally/verbally abusive parents; divorce

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Book Review: The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 673 pages
Author: Mariana Zapata
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: February 28th, 2016
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Vanessa Mazur knows she’s doing the right thing. She shouldn’t feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans and none of them include washing extra-large underwear longer than necessary.

But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door wanting her to come back, she’s beyond shocked.

For two years, the man known as The Wall of Winnipeg couldn’t find it in him to tell her good morning or congratulate her on her birthday. Now? He’s asking for the unthinkable.

What do you say to the man who is used to getting everything he wants?

MY FIRST ZAPATA BOOK!

I did it. I read a book by Zapata and my first sports romance!

And I have wide-ranging thoughts on the matter. Namely, mixed, but on the positive side overall.

I have decided I need a lot more sports romances in my life, why did I take so long to read one? I love the aspects added in and I thought it really made the book even better. Aiden was *all the stars*. I adored his character and thought his progression from stoic to, stoic AND tender was fantastic. Seeing him slowly open up to Vanessa, and acknowledging he’s totally smitten with her, had me totally smitten with him. YUP. On the other side of that coin, I struggled with Vanessa. Maybe because it was all from her point of view. I felt there was repetitive nature to her thoughts that got to be a bit much. She may have been a bit aloof, but without the repetitiveness I did like her character progression as well. Aiden and Vanessa did have stellar chemistry, so that was a big bonus.

The last quarter of this book was dynamite. I think because of the speedier nature compared to the rest of it, things moved at the pace I was craving to finally reach. That sealed the deal for me to give it four stars (rather than 3.5). For someone who loves slow-burns, I felt this really toed the too slow line. And the way it jumped from a very mild romance book to WHOA in the final chapter just made me shrug my shoulders.

Lots of good and some eh. I did read (and listen) to this very fast. It truly did keep my attention which is always nice to have. With the length, it does seem long at times, but I was surprised at how little I really noticed. I definitely want to try another Zapata book and see what other romances she has!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary sports romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: kisses / make-outs; a detailed almost scene and one very open-door scene
  • Violence: physical, football related injuries
  • Trigger warnings: a physically abusive boyfriend (a side character), mentions of abusive parents and siblings

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