Tag: indie author

ARC Book Review: Betting on the Best Friend’s Brother (Betting on Love #2) by Melanie Jacobson

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Melanie Jacobson
Publisher: Four Petal Press
Release Date: June 14th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I don’t want a dating coach. Especially not one I’ve been in love with since junior high.

My roommates say I’m a workaholic. But when my boss temporarily suspends my extra lab time, my best friend and bossiest roommate makes fixing my love life her summer project.

My love life is non-existent, but makeover schemes and blind dates with her weird library patrons are not the answer. When she takes drastic measures and calls in her brother, Joey—one of Austin’s hottest heartthrobs—to consult, it’s my worst nightmare.

I fell for Joey when I was fourteen, and no other guy has ever measured up.

I’ll do anything to keep Joey from finding out—including putting up with a bombshell transformation—if it hides my true feelings when he looks at me. He rejected me once, and it nearly broke me. I’ll never give him that chance again.

Opposites attract in this swoony romcom. A brilliant geneticist versus a hotshot trendsetter she’s secretly loved more than half her life. Dive in for meddling roommates, quirky neighbors, Ahab the cursing parrot, found family, a sneaky matchmaker, and makeover shenanigans.

Betting on the Best Friend’s Brother follows characters introduced in Book 1 of the Betting on Love series but is written as a standalone.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

THIS WAS GOOD.

I love when a book feels easy to finish in a day because you’re enjoying it that much. I’ve been liking this new series and happy that book two was a great read (the first is currently my favorite!).

Sweet Ava and Joey were the definition of opposites attract and it played well into their chemistry. I wanted even more of them and wish it didn’t take until about halfway to some more proximity moments. The dating coach aspects were fun and I love that Joey kept crashing everything Ava was attending. JUST CAN’T RESIST.

I loved Ava. I loved that she stayed true to herself and also looked at how her currently work/life balance was affecting her. Working through the past and adding some fun back into her life. Joey was such a sweetheart too!

I do wish there was less Ruby. I know she’s the instigator of the bet and Joey’s sister, but I daresay it felt like she was in the book more than Ava.

Also, I have to mention that kissing scene was FIRE. AND MY FAVORITE. Everything I love about a sweet rom-com. Bring on the steamy kisses.

Realllllly excited to see who’s story is next!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a father (recounted), parental abandonment (recounted)

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ARC Book Review: American Gauntlet by Allie Lewis

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 452 pages
Author: Allie Lewis
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: June 14th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Two sisters. Seven teams. One grueling competition. One life-changing cash prize.


American Gauntlet is the number one reality TV competition in the nation, and when Dani Di Laurentis gets the call that she and her sister, Lana, have been selected as contestants, she knows this is her one opportunity to change her family’s life for the better. After months of intense training, she and Lana embark on the adventure of a lifetime as they attempt to take on the Gauntlet.
Dani soon finds out, though, that the American Gauntlet experience will be more than just excruciating physical challenges. Not only is she tackling grueling trials, fending off teams that are gunning for her, and dealing with the psychological warfare of the month-long competition, she also finds herself battling growing feelings for her biggest competitor, Joss.
But what none of the contestants know is American Gauntlet has game twists they never could’ve seen coming.
American Gauntlet is an action-packed love story, featuring a fast-paced plot and a sizzling romance without explicit sexual content.

Thank you to the author for an ARC.

NEW OBESSION.

I wish y’all could see how many tabs I put in this book. I LOVED IT SO DANG MUCH. It was the most unique sports romance I’ve read and was incredibly well balanced between the reality game show aspects + romantic moments.

I would like to start a petition for all love interests to be tall sunshine-filled Australians. Talk about some of the best fiery banter. OFF THE CHARTS. The chemistry could not be contained. I was obsessed with Joss and Dani. OBSESSED. Every moment was absolutely stunning.

“The only thing I’m wondering is what it would be like to be loved with that kind of fervor…what it would be like to be loved by you.”

And the competition was INTENSE. Think Survivor + Fear Factor. I loved the set-up and how each competition played out. There was just the right amount of time spent wondering WHO WAS GOING TO WIN and time spent getting to know the side characters and having a storyline outside of the Gauntlet.

I loved Dani’s growth. She grew so much over the book. Learning to value herself and that it’s okay to put yourself first sometimes. Reconnecting with her sister, being open to love, and showing off the sportsmanship that I love seeing.

“You’re the rain in the desert, Dani — and I’ll beg for you.”

I can’t get enough of this book and I NEED Y’ALL TO READ IT OKAY. If you’re looking for a unique sports romance with great characters, fierce events, self-discovery and the sweetest ending. TRUST ME YOU NEED THIS BOOK.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: parental abandonment, a mother with past alcohol abuse, near drowning, allergic reactions, depictions of anxiety, mentions of cancer

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Book Review: Pier Pressure (Deadlights Cove #4) by B. Perkins and Aimee Vance

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Paranormal Romance
Length: 418 pages
Author: B. Perkins and Aimee Vance
Publisher: Revel Books
Release Date: May 20th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lysander Theroux has always been ordered around by his mother and head of the Deadlights Cove witch Coven, Ostara. In the best interest of the Coven, he puts his ego aside, glad he at least has an escape from the crushing pressure in his band, The Lost Talisman.

Maisie Douglass has been living a double life for years. Abovewater, she uses a fake name in town to hide her true identity. Underwater, she plays the dutiful heir to the throne, the eldest daughter of the overbearing Ronan, King of the Sea Nymphs.

When their controlling parents announce they’ve both arranged marriages for their children to increase their magical powers — Lysander to a bear shifter, and Maisie to a demon — they’ve finally gone too far.

Together, Lys and Maisie will pretend to be in a serious relationship so their parents will back off the whole arranged marriage thing — simple enough, right?

True to the town’s history, nothing ever goes to plan.

THIS SERIES MAKES ME HAPPY.

Another win for Deadlights Cove. I loved Lysander and Maisie!!! The dash of forbidden romance worked so well between these too. I felt the connection from the get-go and those fiery kisses set me ablaze. There were great character arc building moments and I loved seeing Lysander and Maisie both stand up for themselves and for the right to choose what they wanted to do with their lives. It was swoony, the perfect level of heated, and the rush of action at the end was the perfect capstone.

I love this entire town and every single character. There’s humor and heart and I laughed many times as I devoured each page of this romance. As someone who usually says I’m not a paranormal fan, this is the exception and I need everyone who feels the same to try this series too!! You won’t regret it!!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Paranormal Rom-Com
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: 2 open door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: near death experiences, new drowning

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Book Review: Mischief, Mayhem, and Marriage (Supposed Scandal #2) by Rebecca Connolly

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Regency Romance
Length: 248 pages
Author: Rebecca Connolly
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: November 29th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

One good scandal deserves another…

Lady Alexandrina Lawson has never minded her widowhood. After the disaster that was her first marriage, she found it rather enjoyable, despite the pity she received. What the public saw as devoted mourning to a respected man was, in fact, a complete disinterest in participating in anything Society could offer her ever again. When an invitation to a cousin’s London event proves disastrous for Alexandrina, her reputation, and that of her child, her choice becomes simple: rescue or ruin.

Enter Taft Debenham, Earl of Harwood.

Taft could not have less interest in Lady Lawson or her cold manner, but neither could he stand by and let her suffer a forced marriage to a drunken idiot. Sacrificing himself on the altar of Society, thinking how his own reputation might benefit, he provides a rather clever solution: marry the woman himself, and claim outrage for the offenses against her. Over the protests of his bride, and those of his own sanity, Taft begins the greatest scheme he could ever imagine. Nothing surprises him more than beginning to discover that his wife has a heart beneath her icy exterior.

And that he would do almost anything to claim it.

Mischief, Mayhem, and Marriage is a sweet Regency romance and can be read as a stand-alone or as the sequel to s Rebecca Connolly’s previous novel, The Rivals of Rosennor Hall.

It is also part of the upcoming Supposed Scandal series.

SMITTEN.

ABSOLUTE HEARTTHROB ALERT. I loved Taft so much. He was one of those main characters that sweeps you away with his true and kind gestures along with his assurances straight from his heart.

Alexandrina was the other half of this dual POV that was fantastic too. She was jaded and shut in, but not immune to Taft’s charms. I liked her slow unveiling and Alix learned to love again and realizing that they’re good men out there.

These two together were SO FULL OF SNARK. I loved it x100000. The banter was amazing. It was executed perfectly and made me smile and swoon when you could see the sparks start to ignite. They kept each other laughing and learned how to relax and lean together.

I just wholeheartedly enjoyed this story. It’s a fast paced regency that was exactly the sweep away from reality I needed.

Overall audience notes:

  • Regency Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: infidelity (with a previous spouse, mentioned and discussed often), child/parent separation

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