Tag: indie author

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: September 2024

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How did September get here???
I made it another month without having any books in the under three star (or least favorite) category and had plenty of great books to choose from!

Favorites this month:

  • Sunday Supper
  • The Key to Deceit
  • Heir
  • Words of Radiance (reread)
  • Guy’s Girl
  • Playing it Safe
  • It’s Always Us
  • The Christmas You Found Me
  • A Sky Full of Dragons
  • An Academy for Liars
  • An Improper Proposal
  • Locked in Pursuit
  • The Games Gods Play

Least favorites:

  • NONE!
  • [ARC] Sunday Supper by K. Sinko
  • The Girl with No Reflection by Keshe Chow
  • [ARC] Phantasma (Wicked Games #1) by Kaylie Smith
  • The Key To Deceit (Electra McDonnell #2) by Ashley Weaver
  • Little Monsters by Kara Thomas
  • The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas
  • The Champions by Kara Thomas
  • [ARC] Heir (Heir Duology #1) by Sabaa Tahir
  • All out of Love (Boys of Riverside #3) by Gracie Graham
  • [ARC] The Scarlet Throne (The False Goddess #1) by Amy Leow
  • [ARC] Of Gold and Shadows by Michelle Griep
  • [Reread] Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archives #2) by Brandon Sanderson
  • [ARC] Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood
  • Guy’s Girl by Emma Noyes
  • Playing it Safe (Electra McDonnell #3) by Ashley Weaver
  • [ARC] It’s Always Us (The Abandoned Brothers #3) by Stacy Williams
  • Loyally, Luke (Skymar #3) by Pepper Basham
  • [ALC] The Christmas You Found Me (Heart of the Wilderness #1) by Sarah Morgenthaler
  • Cole and Laila are Just Friends by Bethany Turner
  • A Dawn with the Wolf Knight (Married to Magic #5) by Elise Kova
  • [ALC] A Sky Full of Dragons (The Wand Keepers #1) by Tiffany McDaniel
  • [ARC] A Queen’s Game (A Queen’s Game #1) by Katharine McGee
  • An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson
  • An Improper Proposal (Improper Agreements #4) by Audra Wells
  • The Shadow of the Gods (Bloodsworn Saga #1) by John Gwynne
  • Locked in Pursuit (Electra McDonnell #4) by Ashley Weaver
  • A Royal Promise (Royal Hearts #4) by Amanda Schimmoeller
  • Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas
  • On a Flight to Sydney (Love Along the Way #1) by J.A. Forde
  • The Cheerleaders (The Cheerleaders #1) by Kara Thomas
  • One Last Thing (The Seddledowne #1) by Susan Henshaw
  • The Games Gods Play (The Crucible #1) by Abigail Owen
  • Unbearably Yours (It’s Always Been You #3) by Elodie Colliard
  • [ARC/ALC] The Courting of Bristol Keats (The Courting of Bristol Keats #1) by Mary E. Pearson
  • The Heart of the World (The Isles of the Gods #2) by Amie Kaufman
  • [ARC] Across the Star Kissed Sea by Arlem Hawks

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ARC Book Review: Bring Me Home by Ashley Weston

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 409 pages
Author: Ashley Weston
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: September 24th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Sometimes the unexpected is just what we’re looking for…
Jasper Mason
I should have known something wasn’t right the moment I was told someone was coming to see a piece of the land. Our land.
Marlow’s Boys Ranch started as a dream, but easily became reality. That reality was as tranquil and peaceful as a sunset.
Until she got out of the car.
Mia Evans, as I live and breathe. It’s been fourteen years since I’ve seen her, and not a day has passed that I haven’t thought of her, or wished things could be different.
And now she’s here to take more than just a tiny slice of land. She’s the mom of one of our own.
The signs were there, I should have seen it. Maybe I didn’t want to. But now, I can’t have a moment of peace with her constantly around, winning over every person here.
How will I ever survive her leaving for a second time?
I can’t. I won’t. I have to keep her at arm’s length until she leaves. Then, and only then, can I go back to my peaceful life. Just the way I like it.

Mia Evans
I’m finally free of the disaster of my marriage, and ready to find the freedom for my son and myself. Question is, at what cost?
Before I dropped my boy off ten months ago, I never thought I’d be back here. It’s been since the summer before freshman year of college. The summer I fell in love. And the summer I got my heart broken for the first time.
My son is safe, and that’s all that matters to me. At least, I thought so.
When I open the car door, I know what I’ll find. I know Jasper works here and I know he’s been providing a roof over my son’s head with no explanation.
What I don’t know. . . is how I will react to being near him again after all this time. Opening up our past is the last thing I need. Though my heart is saying differently.
Bring Me Home is all about love, heartbreak, healing, and most importantly, second chances.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

GOOD BONES.

Once upon a time I DNF this author’s first book, but found myself saying yes to reading an ARC of this because I was happy to give this story a chance. I am currently in my cowboy era and was intrigued by this second chance romance. There are a lot of good bones and themes here. Of forgiveness, and the strength to carry on. Making hard choices and to let go. And even getting a chance to fall in love all over again.

I loved the ranch setting and all of the boys. Some of the dialogue choices (like “bruh” and “cap”) just didn’t feel necessary even if that’s how some teens speak today. It’s like in a book I want to disassociate from that? They were sweet guys though and I loved the idea of a boys ranch to help them find a safe space to be and grow.

There’s plenty of good swoony moments between Jasper and Mia. I loved that they got to know each other again and had the right kind of arguments and conversations to get there. It’s the kind of non-linear story I enjoy most. The touch of suspense was good and I liked how the ending brought everything together.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: kidnapping, domestic violence (recounted; physical, emotional, verbal)

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Book Review: Off to the Races (Gold Rush Ranch #1) by Elsie Silver

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 334 pages
Author: Elsie Silver
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: April 29th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Keeping things professional with my employees has never been an issue. Until she waltzed onto my property.

Billie is talented. She’s mouthy. And she’s so damn tempting. I can’t stop thinking about all the ways I could take her down a peg.

I can’t stop thinking about her, period.

We clash from the moment we meet. And in a small town, on an even smaller farm, it’s hard to keep your distance. It’s even harder to keep that friction from turning to fire.

But keeping my distance? That might be the biggest struggle of all. Because Billie is the whole package, whip-smart with a body I fantasize about when I’m alone, and quite possibly the only woman who can save this business—and me.

She drives me crazy. In every sense of the word. Every smart-mouthed little comment—every game we play—I end up wanting more. Wanting her closer. With me. Under me.

I try not to let her get to me, but the more time we spend together the more I crave her. Her lips. Her trust. Her heart.

I want it all.

But at what cost?

Because suddenly I don’t just want to win races, I want to win the girl.
I want it all.

But at what cost?

Because suddenly I don’t just want to win races, I want to win the girl.

I LIKED IT.

This was my first Elsie Silver book y’all. And I enjoyed it! I don’t know if continuing this series is for me though?

What I loved was the story. I thought the horse racing concept was awesome. Totally unique for me and engaging. I liked the characters and their personalities. The side characters shown well and the book truly is good.

I just think that the spice might have leaped over the plot and the second half lost its touch. I’m a slow burn girl. And needed maybe a slightly longer book to really feel that chemistry between Billie and Vaughn.

It’s fast paced, and if you’re a spice lover I think you should try it! I don’t know where I’ll land on reading another Silver book but I do get the hype.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: very strong
  • Romance: 4+ open; high explicit
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: boss-employee relationship

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Book Review: Mile High (Windy City #1) by Liz Tomforde

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 603 pages
Author: Liz Tomforde
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: June 7th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Zanders

Chicago hockey isn’t complete without me—everyone’s favorite player to hate. I know my role, and I play it well. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy spending the majority of my game time in the penalty box before leaving the arena with a new girl on my arm each night.

What I don’t like is the new flight attendant on our team’s private plane. She works for me, not the other way around. But I’ll be sure to remind her of that, and I can guarantee, by the end of the season, she’ll be begging to quit her job.

But every road trip blurs the lines, and I can’t quite figure out if I keep pushing that flight attendant call button in order to push her buttons or if it’s more than that.

Stevie

I’ve been a flight attendant for years. I thought I’d see it all, but when my new job lands me onboard working for the most egotistical and self-righteous diva in the NHL, I start to second guess everything. Including the promise I made to myself of never hooking up with an athlete again…no matter how annoyingly tempting he may be.

Evan Zanders is unfiltered, unapologetic, and too attractive for his own good. He loves his image, but I hate everything about it.

Everything but him.

TOOK ME BY SURPRISED.

Here I am, reading every sports romance I can get my hands on. I’ve been holding off on picking this one up because of the spice, BUT I will say, why spicy (and I did skip a lot), the plot did outweigh that for me. I really loved the core of this story and the character growth throughout.

I am obsessed when the guy falls first, and the guy falls HARD. Enter Zanders who absolutely could not leave Stevie alone. Love that for him. I loved his bad boy, but actually a sweetheart persona and I loved that Stevie would take no crap from him, but also worked through her personal body issues.

I didn’t love that this had a one night stand trope *shrugs*. That’s a me thing but I stand by it. I did love the mental health conversations, all of the shelter dog content and of course, the hockey games too. I loved the audio and look forward to book two!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 5+ open; high explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: many conversations surrounding body image/weight issues, parental abandonment, mentions of anxiety/panic attacks, psychologically manipulative mother

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