Tag: indie author

ALC Book Review: Ashes of You (Lost & Found #5) by Catherine Cowles

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Romantic Suspense
Length: 401 pages
Author: Catherine Cowles
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 8th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Five years ago, I nearly lost everything. But there was a glimmer of hope on that darkest night. There was him—a stranger I could never forget.

Now, I’m finally getting the fresh start I’ve longed for. But when I show up to interview for a nanny position in the small mountain town, the single dad has startlingly familiar blue eyes.

Eyes that have haunted my dreams for the past five years.

Lawson Hartley is everything I know I can’t have. Older, handsome, and my boss. Not to mention the shadows in his eyes that tell me he has demons, too.

Still, he seems to understand me better than anyone I’ve ever met. So gentle and careful of my scars, yet somehow making me believe I’m stronger than I ever thought possible.

And when his lips touch mine, I’m lost.

We find what we’ve been missing in each other. But the terrors of my past aren’t done with me yet, and this time, Lawson might not be able to save me..

Thank you to Catherine Cowles for the ALC.

WORTH THE WAIT.

Ohhhh I have been anxiously waiting for this final book for the Lost & Found series and I loved it, PER USUAL. It had all of my favorite hallmark Catherine Cowles moments and had me in a chokehold all day (yes, I listened to this in one day, I can’t be stopped — second note: these books are FABULOUS on audio). My favorite part of these books is the gasp, or I KNEW IT, that flies out of my mouth every time we get to that big reveal.

I loved the slow burn progression of Lawson and Hallie. Watching that soul mate type of bond cement between them was everrrrrrything. Gosh I loved it. And I am such a sucker for any and all protective hero types. And I got MULTIPLE scenes in that vein which made me a very happy reader.

The sub plots were touching and heartfelt and I loved how those wove back in to the main romance. I am in love with this entire family, all of these characters and I loved seeing everyone again.

Overall audience notes:

  • Romantic Suspense
  • Language: moderate strong
  • Romance: 2-3 brief open door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: active serial killer, torture, near death experiences, weapons and gun violence, physical altercations

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Book Review: Date the Alphabet (Love Tucson #2) by Laura Langa

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 315 pages
Author: Laura Langa
Publisher: West East Publishing
Release Date: July 24th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Fake date to win four thousand dollars for charity? You bet.

Going on twenty-six first dates—one for each letter of the alphabet—is a ludicrous proposition. Especially since Ann Powell doesn’t date. AT ALL. But if Ann takes her sister’s bet, she’ll win four thousand dollars to donate to a cause close to her heart—underfunded classrooms.

Audiobook narrator Zane West has been struggling to hide his crush on his daughter’s third grade teacher for months. So when Ann asks him—in a moment of dating-app misery—to be her fake date to her sister’s wedding, the only answer is yes.

Pretending to be the cheerful, handsome, single father’s girlfriend isn’t only fun, it’s feeling dangerously real. And as much as they need to sell their fake relationship to her family, no one else can know. Dating the parent of one of your students is definitely off-limits.

Zane only falls harder for Ann through each piano karaoke session, sabotaged hike, and unexpected javelina encounter. Just as she begins to let him in, reality pulverizes their blissful bubble. An honest relationship with Ann is all Zane wants, but now he might be forced to let her go.

OH SO SWEET.

This book owned me for an evening and I adored it so much. I love how much Zane was gone for Ann from the moment he saw her. And that it didn’t feel like instant love either!! Langa wrote a beautiful soul mate vibe that I was here for.

I loved the subtle side pieces like Zane being on good terms with his ex-wife and co-parenting. I feel we often see the bad sides in books and I loved getting a positive take on a relationship that was no longer beneficial to either party but were both still their to take care of their child.

Ann and Zane had all the chemistry and the closed door steam? YES PLEASE. This is my favorite zone to be in and I really appreciated how well written this was. It’s a quick audiobook and this is a closed door author you shouldn’t be sleeping on!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: closed door

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: January 2024

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New Year, New Books!

I was having a slower reading month and then the Improbable Meet-Cute series came out and changed what my month looked like. A pretty good month, but not as high as I was hoping for, ratings wise.

Favorites this month:

  • The Frozen River
  • Sadie and the Bad Boy Billionaire
  • The Ever King
  • Oceans of Sand
  • House of Sky and Breath
  • A Story Spun in Scarlet
  • The Anthropocene Reviewed
  • A Heart Sufficient
  • Say You’ll Be Mine
  • Worst Wingman Ever
  • An Improper Agreement
  • Ashes of You
  • The Game of Hearts
  • Wish You Weren’t Here
  • The Rom Con

Least favorites:

  • In a Not So Perfect World
  • Royal Valentine
  • The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
  • But He’s My One Regret (But He’s a Carter Brother #2) by Annah Conwell
  • Recipe for a Charmed Life by Rachel Linden
  • [ARC] Sadie and the Bad Boy Billionaire (Oakley Island #3) Emma St. Clair and Jenny Proctor
  • Brisingr (The Inheritance Cycle #3) by Christopher Paolini
  • Secrets and Suitors by Joanna Barker
  • The Every King (The Ever Seas #1) by L.J. Andrews
  • The Night Hunt by Alexandra Christo
  • [ARC] Where You Belong (The Abandoned Brothers #2) by Stacy Williams
  • [ARC] In a Not So Perfect World by Neely Tubati Alexander
  • Oceans of Sand by Jessica Flory
  • The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali
  • Dukes and Dekes (Chawton Falls in Love #1) by Torie Jean
  • [ARC] To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods (To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods #1) by Molly X. Chang
  • [Reread] House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2) by Sarah J. Maas
  • Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck
  • [ARC] An Unexpected Roomie (Love Tucson #3) by Laura Langa
  • [ALC] The Search Party by Hannah Richell
  • [ARC] A Story Spun in Scarlet (Tales of Wonder and Woe #1) by Renee Dugan
  • The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
  • Drinker of Ink by Shannon Castleton
  • The Library of Shadows by Rachel Moore
  • [ALC] The Trail of Lost Hearts by Tracey Garvis Graves
  • Love Redesigned (Lakefront Billionaires #1) by Lauren Asher
  • [ARC] A Heart Sufficient (The Penn-Leiths of Thistle Muir #4) by Nichole Van
  • [ARC] Champion of Sorrows (Thieve of Sorrows #2) by Kristen M. Long
  • The Huntress by Kate Quinn
  • Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar
  • [Novella] The Exception to the Rule (The Improbable Meet-Cute #1) by Christina Lauren
  • [Novella] Worst Wingman Ever (The Improbable Meet-Cute #2) by Abby Jimenez
  • An Improper Agreement (Improper Agreements #1) by Audra Wells
  • [Novella] Rosie and the Dreamboat (The Improbable Meet-Cute #3) by Sally Thorne
  • [ARC] The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
  • [ALC] Ashes of You (Lost & Found #5) by Catherine Cowles
  • [ARC] Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice (Finlay Donovan #4) by Elle Cosimano
  • On Wings of Ash and Dust (On Wings of Ash and Dust #1-6) by Brittany Wang
  • [Novella] Drop, Cover, and Hold On (The Improbable Meet-Cute #4) by Jasmine Guillory
  • [Novella] With Any Luck (The Improbable Meet-Cute #5) by Ashley Poston
  • [Novella] Royal Valentine (The Improbable Meet-Cute #6) by Sariah Wilson
  • [ARC] The Game of Hearts (The Otherworlds #2) by Courtney Millecam
  • Into the Sunken City by Dinesh Thiru
  • [ARC] Wish You Weren’t Here by Gracie Ruth Mitchell
  • The Rom Con by Devon Daniels

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ARC Book Review: An Unexpected Roomie (Love Tucson #3) by Laura Langa

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 268 pages
Author: Laura Langa
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 1st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

What’s a little marriage of convenience between friends?

Claire Winesett never expected to be sleeping on her best friend’s brother’s couch. But the last nine years as a solo-travel influencer has been anything but predictable. Luckily, Claire thrives on spontaneity, and after all, it’s only temporary.

Boundaries define every aspect of Rowan Bellamy’s life, and having his teenage crush under his roof is disrupting his routines. Especially now that Claire seems to be seeing him as more than the boy she left behind—the chemistry between them sizzling hotter than the Arizonan summer.

When a trip to the ER leads Claire on a path to crushing medical debt, Rowan shocks her with an unexpected proposal. But Claire can’t accept a paper-only marriage to gain Rowan’s health insurance without offering something in return—a Fun Pact. Two nights a week, they add a little variety to Rowan’s measured life.

Old West bar fights, silent desert discos, and improv lessons aren’t Rowan’s idea of fun, but he’ll do anything to hear Claire’s snort laugh. The problem is the more time they spend together, the harder it is for Rowan to subdue the possessive impulse to kiss his wife.

Enjoy all the forced proximity tension and sizzling kisses of this best friend’s brother, marriage of convenience, opposites attract closed-door/fade-to-black romance by grabbing your copy TODAY!This is the third book in the Love Tucson series, but can be read as a standalone.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

LOVABLE MMC.

I do love a good introvert love interest and Rowan was that man for me. Filled with the right amount of grumpiness and protectiveness and a good dose of that’s my wife and that’s what I hope for when I pick up a marriage of convenience book.

There were a lot of little aspects that added up to the bigger story. Sometimes these felt forced rather than a natural inclusion to the progression of the plot, nonetheless, I did like seeing Rowan and Claire have opportunities to be closer together and realize the feelings they had for one another.

I thought there were some plot holes involving the reasoning behind the MOC. It was briefly explained why, and then never really discussed again?

Rowan was easily my favorite of the whole book. I love the way he loved Claire. There were some great themes of mental health and anxiety. And I liked the discussions surrounding anger control too. All of the hiking content was fun and the book is easy to fly through if you’re in need of something closed door, and quick.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none-low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of a Dad with anger issues, celiac disease, loss of a grandmother

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