Tag: indie author

ARC Book Review: Absolutely Not in Love (Sweater Weather #7) by Jenny Proctor

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 276 pages
Author: Jenny Proctor
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: October 12th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

My requirements for a man are simple. Must love books. Must NOT love hockey.

Which is why I will never be interested in my neighbor, the aloof and mysterious Felix Jamison, no matter how many books I see him hauling into his apartment. Unless he loses his pro hockey skates, I’m out.

But then he shows up at my symphony concert. And I catch the sweet strains of Bach floating across the hall. Have I mentioned how incredible he looks in his game day suit?

Still, my history with hockey is complicated. My older brother played, and let’s just say he stole enough limelight to land a plane at midnight. I was forced to be a part of that world for so long, now that I have a choice, it’s the last thing I want.

But something tells me Felix is about to change my mind…

Absolutely Not in Love is a closed-door hockey romcom with forced proximity, a bookish hockey goalie, a classical musician, and all the swoony chemistry you want.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

LOVED SO MUCH.

I was smitten from start to finish with this book y’all. There were so many little things I could pick out that I just ADORED. From the bumbling flirting, to taking care of each other, and my absolute favorite: that it felt adult.

Adult in the sense that there were actual important conversations Felix and Gracie had together and when things got shaky, there wasn’t wild miscommunication either. I love heartfelt apologies, acknowledging feelings and truly trying to create a relationship and a life together.

I loved Felix and Gracie together and apart. Both showed some layers of character growth and depth. I thought the apartment situation was perfect. The kissing scenes had that great balance of steam without the spice and I LOVED getting to see more of the hockey team (and maybe a future book with a certain best friend???).

It’s a short read, fast paced and full of heart warming goodness. There’s plenty of hockey aspects to actually call it a sports romance and the grand gesture was exactly where it needed to be.

Another Jenny Proctor GEM.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: heated kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: social anxiety, strained parent relationships

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Book Review: A City of Flames (A City of Flames #1) by Rina Vasquez

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 456 pages
Author: Rina Vasquez
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 31st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Nara desires justice for her father’s murder; hunting dragons might bring her peace

Or pain as she learns the ugly truth.

When a fire dragon attacks her village, the perfect opportunity to take revenge on the creatures that killed her father arises. But the dragon she’s intent to capture seems fascinated by Nara, a detail not missed by those around her. The strange event leads to an invitation to join the venators—the order of people who slay dangerous magical creatures—like her father before her.

The offer is a dream come true.

After all, who wouldn’t jump at the chance to destroy the cruel, dangerous creatures that enslaved humans for thousands of years up until three centuries ago? But Nara is about to learn a dangerous secret; history is written by the winner. Those she hunts might not be her enemies, and those she thinks she can trust might just want to kill her.

CAN’T WAIT FOR BOOK TWO.

I randomly found this scrolling reels one evening and immediately downloaded it to start reading. And I was not disappointed. Bring on all of the dragon shifter romances.

Nara is a great FMC. I loved her tenacity and strength and how she was open to her world view changing as she learned new facts. Nara was easy to root for and I look forward to seeing her character arc in the next book.

I adored the snarky banter and light enemies to lovers vibe in the romance. There’s a bit of a love triangle that didn’t phase me much too. It all worked well into the plot and the reveals at the end lined up in a way that has me anxious to read the next book. I looooved that this was slow burn and not a rush to get to the spice just because. Showing that build in the relationship and actually giving time to it has me all the more connected.

Looking forward to following this journey to the next book!

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: light
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, battle scenes, murder, weapons and creature violence

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Book Review: Wild About Denali (Wild Hearts of Alaska #1) by Sara Blackard

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 220 pages
Author: Sara Blackard
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: December 1st, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Falling for the single mom? Nope. Not gonna happen, no matter how gorgeous and kindhearted she is. The potential for heartache is too high.

I should know. My mum proved that dating a single parent leaves one open for soul-crushing bachelorhood. Which is why I determined to keep things friendly with Denali Wilde once I learned that the beautiful police dog trainer came with a kid. Why add all that drama on top of moving to Alaska and opening an animal rescue center?

Too bad I didn’t keep my wits when it came to her son. The problem? The kid is amazing, into rescuing animals just like I am. Fair dinkum, the kid needs a mate about as badly as I do.

I’ve done a lot of crazy things in life. I mean, my TV series on Nature Channel wasn’t called Getting Wild with Wilder for its placid landscapes and tranquil animals. Yet, getting close to Denali and her son proves I have more than a few roos loose in the top paddock. Not only has my admiration for Denali increased with her insane dedication to her son, but he’s buried himself so far in my heart, I’ll never escape.

My determination to keep things friendly with Denali? Yeah, not as easy as I thought it would be. The thing is I’m wild about Denali. I just don’t think she feels the same for me.

Wild About Denali is a laugh-out-loud, heart-melting romcom with a single-mom, an Aussie reality TV star, and kisses that will curl your toes while keeping it clean.

CHARMING!

I had no expectations going in to this and was pleasantly charmed by the story. It was fun and full of wilderness adventure.

Drew and Denali had some great chemistry and I loooove dual perspective and getting both sides of the story. It’s a fast paced romance that has some good swoony kiss scenes and learning how to fit into each other’s lives.

I also liked the single mom trope here. Sawyer was such a great kid and learning about all sorts of different animals as apart of the nature and rescue aspects was unique to romances I’ve picked up before. I always enjoy coming acorss something I haven’t read before.

There’s good family and friend dynamics. Blended families that actually want to make things work pull at my heart strings. It is super easy to read in a day and I think many would like this one!

**Audiobook note: one thing that did bug me (but did not affect my rating) was the speed differences between narrators. Both were great BUT the male narrator was infinitely faster than the female and I had to change reading speeds with chapter changes.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: animal encounters

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ARC Book Review: Heidi Lucy Loses Her Mind (Happily Ever Homicide #2) by Gracie Ruth Mitchell

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 338 pages
Author: Gracie Ruth Mitchell
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: October 5th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Heidi Lucy has a secret—a big one. A scary, dangerous, ugly one.

There’s just one problem: thanks to a mysterious head wound, she can’t seem to remember what that secret is.

In order to regain her lost memories, Heidi sets out to retrace her steps—followed grudgingly by Soren, a faithful patron of her little bookshop and the less-than-thrilled recipient of the cryptic voicemail she can’t remember leaving. But her journey gets derailed when one of Heidi’s customers drops dead in the middle of her shop, and it isn’t long before both Heidi and Soren come under suspicion. Something fishy is going on in Sunshine Springs, and if they want to find the truth, they’re going to have to hunt for it themselves.

Who killed the woman in Heidi’s bookshop? What secret has Heidi forgotten? And, maybe the most crucial question of all: Who gave Soren permission to look so good in a man bun?

Heidi Lucy Loses Her Mind is the second in a series of interconnected standalones involving swoony romance, wacky comedy, and dead bodies turning up in the most unlikely of places.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

SUNSHINE.

It’s my favorite micro trope ever: when the MMC is GONE for the FMC. It never gets old and automatically has me kicking my feet in the air waiting to watch the love story play out. And this one DELIVERED.

I love the combination of murder mystery and romance. It just works. Gracie Ruth Mitchell does an incredible job of balancing all of the swoon while moving the plot along and wondering whodunnit. I ADORED Soren (are we surprised?) and was ecstatic to get his POV alongside Heidi’s. I also thought Heidi was great. She’s quirky and goes after what she wants and I loved watching her let Soren in.

There’s lots of really great themes throughout too that made me want to hug multiple characters. I loved the bookish vibes and the small town setting. And every time Soren spoke I’m pretty sure I melted into the floor. This book is sweet and I loved it.

A fantastic story, one I devoured in practically a day. The books in this series can be read as a standalone too!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low-moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, attempted murder

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