Tag: indie author

ARC Book Review: The One with the Kiss Cam by Cindy Steel

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 317 pages
Author: Cindy Steel
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 16th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It was just one date.

My friend told me I needed more fun in my life, so I reluctantly said yes. Fun wasn’t exactly in my wheelhouse. After watching my own mother’s love life implode time and time again it’s only natural that I have a few rules to protect myself.

Actually, it’s just one rule…
Avoid relationships with men so I don’t get attached.

I wasn’t worried. Getting attached has never been a big problem for me. This guy was just a warm body in a chair. I was here for the basketball game. I was absolutely NOT here for my date.

Or the kiss cam.
Or the kiss.
Or the impromptu evening with the one man who seems bent on throwing my tidy world off of its axis.

But when my life takes a nose dive, he’s also the man who seems bent on proving to me that good men do exist, dreams can come true, and sometimes throwing out the rule book is when the magic really starts to happen.

★ The One with the Kiss Cam is the first in a series of standalone romantic comedies by Cindy Steel. It is a sweet, closed-door romance full of sizzle, witty banter, and chemistry, but without explicit content.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

THIS BOOK.

Cindy Steel really is absolutely incredible at creating beautiful rom-coms. Books that make you smile, swoon, squeeze your heart and cheer on the characters. I loved this one so much. The meet cute was clever and the story that followed brought out all the feels.

The banter and dialogue between Duke and Nora had me grinning like a fool for most of the book. This had reverse grumpy x sunshine vibes and it was immaculate. The office setting had me waiting for any moment that would force them together and it did not disappoint. Add in some eccentric and sweet side characters and this was a recipe for a five star book from the get go.

One of my favorite (more subtle) aspects was that Duke and Nora argued. I actually enjoy seeing this in romances. When things need to be said and discussed and really letting those walls come down, and that they also worked together too!! Some of those closing scenes sent me. Nora finally got the break and love she deserved and Duke just being completely gone for Nora from the get-go is everything I could hope for.

READ THIS BOOK Y’ALL.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: manipulative parenting situations

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Book Review: The Fall Back Plan (Sweater Weather #2) by Melanie Jacobson

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 234 pages
Author: Melanie Jacobson
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: September 7th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The bad boy and the golden girl have traded places…

I’m back in Harvest Hollow after ten years to prove a point and to even a few scores. I’ve opened a new bar, and anyone expecting the old sweet and shy Jolie McGraw to be running it is in for a shock.

I’m not the only one who’s changed: when the sheriff comes to tell me I’m the prime suspect in the most ridiculous crime in town history, it’s none other than Lucas Cole, the former star of my teenage stress dreams, wearing the badge.

Seriously? The smack-talking punk I was forced to tutor in math is now one of the town’s most upstanding citizens? This isn’t what I had in mind for turning the tables on my former tormentors.

I blow him off…until I meet the niece he’s raising. I see so much of my younger self in her. But when I agree to help when she needs a woman in her life, Lucas uses it as a chance to build a case that he’s the man I need in mine.

That’s a hard no. No to love. No to Lucas.

But when Harvest Hollow’s nosiest forces combine to push us together, I’m not sure my heart stands a chance.

ENJOYED.

The second book in the sweater weather series was good! I flew through this and I am totally smitten with the sheriff, Lucas. He was my favorite part of the whole book. I loved that you could clearly see the turnaround he made and how he apologized and watched out for Jolie over and over again.

I liked Jolie, but I struggled with her need to come back home to be petty and mean to those who were petty and mean to her. I think a rise above situation would have come off better in the end.

The romance is good. It’s a suuuper slow burn and the pay off is sweet. I liked Brooke (though I still don’t get the point of the mentor/mentee plot??). All in all, a good read. Plenty of cozy autumn vibes and a few spooky dolls to boot.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: alcoholism, loss of parents

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Book Review: Easy as Pie (Sweater Weather #5) by Carina Taylor

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 243 pages
Author: Carina Taylor
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: September 28th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

My best friend is back in town—and I refuse to let my pesky attraction to him ruin our friendship.


Tripp Sharpe and I have been best friends since middle school. And when he moved away to go to medical school and become a doctor? We’ve kept up by texting, phone calls, and every funny reel we come across. I have one simple rule for protect our friendship at all costs—even from myself. But when Tripp moves back to town, I can’t ignore the attraction I feel. If it were anyone else, I’d just avoid him. But it’s hard to avoid a guy who thinks we’re still the same ol’ besties we’ve always been. Or are we? It turns out some things have changed for him too. Maybe I’m imagining the long stares, the lingering touches, or the flimsy excuses to spend time together, despite his ridiculous schedule. And when Tripp asks me to show him how I like to kiss? It seems like I’m not the only one blasting through our friendship rules…

FLIPPIN’ CUTE.

That’s the vibe of this whole book. It put a smile on my face and I adored Tripp and Hazel. There’s all of that easy banter that comes with having a best friend plus the slow realization that those best friend vibes have turned into something deeper.

The flirting was top notch and I loooved all of the micro tropes. Taking care of someone when they’re sick is always a romantic highlight. And the jealousy? I’m not sorry that those scenes turn me into a PUDDLE. THE TENSION. I loved the doctor and mechanic careers and how those played into the story. I loved the side characters and the absolute it’s always been you moments.

It’s a short, read in a day kind of book. It’s light and loving and easily one I would recommend for the fall.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of loss of a parent due to cancer, neglectful parents

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Book Review: Hideaway by Bekah Overbey

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Rating: ★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 383 pages
Author: Bekah Overbey
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: May 22nd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Maggie West is perfectly content with her life as a single, twenty-five-year-old homebody extraordinaire. But when her best friend asks her to bring a plus-one to her wedding, Maggie reluctantly agrees to go on a series of (increasingly disastrous) blind dates. Even worse, the weeks before the wedding bring her in constant company with Jack, the wedding’s dour, disapproving best man. He has a knack for showing up at her worst moments and seeing her all too clearly—even the parts of her she’s spent years hiding.

When a panic attack at work forces Jack to take a month-long sabbatical, he drives across the country to stay with his oldest friend. As exhausted and threadbare as he feels, though, the prospect of a month off is as daunting as it is unwelcome—he has no interest in rehashing all the things that led to his breakdown. The presence of quirky, accident-prone Maggie—and her uncanny ability to shatter through his tight reserve—only further unsettles him.

But when a rogue protective instinct has Jack offering to help her, the tension between them shifts in the wake of an unsettling maybe all of their broken, hidden places are the very ones where they need each other the most.

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

WELL.

I truly did go into this hoping it would be a good read for me, but I just didn’t click with it. I know others who did so take this review how you would like too!

One of my personal preference issues comes from the extreme lack of dialogue. It made the inner monologues long and repetitive. Pages without the story moving forward because of a tornado of the same thoughts.

I also really have a hard time with a FMC who can’t see her worth. I know a character can totally start off that way and grow through the book. At 90% though, Maggie was still asking how could you like me, everyone leaves me, I’m not worth it, and I just needed to see some self love.

The premise was fun with the different dates and the wedding. I’m sad this didn’t work for me.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: brief mentions of loss of parents, mentions of anxiety

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