Tag: indie author

Book Review: Terms and Conditions (Dreamland Billionaires #2) by Lauren Asher

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 496 pages
Author: Lauren Asher
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: February 24th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Declan
I’m destined to become the next CEO of my family’s media empire.
The only problem? My grandfather’s inheritance clause.
Fulfilling his dying wish of getting married and having an heir seemed impossible until my assistant volunteers for the job.
Our marriage was supposed to be the perfect solution to my biggest problem.
But the more we act in love for the public, the more unsure I feel about our contract.
Caring about Iris was never part of the deal.
Especially not when breaking her heart is inevitable.

Iris
My plan to marry Declan was simple in theory.
Move in together. Throw a wedding. Have a baby.
We set rules to prevent any kind of issues.
Ones that were never meant to be broken, no matter how much Declan tempts me.
But what happens when our fake relationship bleeds into our real one?
Falling in love was never an option.
At least not for me.

BETTER THAN THE FIRST.

Marriage of convenience owns me. Another book with this trope that I adored. And it was even better than the first one that left me wanting more in certain aspects.

I LOVED these two together. Declan is such a grumpy recluse but getting his POV you can slowly see those walls come down only for Iris (my favorite). I love a guy falling first, and falling hard scenario. It is the bees freaking knees. I love that his moves were much more subtle and focused on specific things Iris mentioned. Declan showed a willing heart that brought me to a puddle by the last grand gesture.

Iris putting Declan in his place over and over? The best. Strong female characters are kryptonite. I liked that she realized what her worth was and how to untie it from the pieces that were starting to pull her apart. There’s so many good moments here between the Kane brothers, Iris and her Mom and more.

I doooooo think this was a bit long. I started to notice in the second half how some of it was dragging. There were times that scenes carried on too long, or just didn’t seem necessary. A bit on condensing would have made this book ultimate gold.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: three open door
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: physical altercations, parental abuse, asthma, anxiety attacks

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Book Review: Pretending At Love (Greenbank Romances #2) by Karen Thornell

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 280 pages
Author: Karen Thornell
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: April 2nd, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A stalker, a Hawaiian wedding, and attraction that should NOT exist between friends.
Friends who are pretending to date, that is.

A random run-in at a restaurant brings high school friends April and Jackson back together. A not so random run-in with April’s new stalker starts a VERY short charade of Jackson pretending to be April’s boyfriend.

That is, until he needs a date to a destination wedding. And who can say no to a free Hawaiian vacation?

But when feelings beyond friendship start to develop, can these two separate the fake from the real? And if they can… Is it worth the risk?

OH SO SWEET.

I love romances like this. Where the fake dating trope is on top of its game and the couple is clearly starry eye for one another. Adding the Hawaiian vacation and wow do I wish I were somewhere tropical right now.

Dual POV in romance should be mandatory. I love the back and forth with April and Jackson. They had a plethora of sweet moments that showed off all of the chemistry they had. I liked all of the antics from horse back riding, to eating on the beach, meditation and more.

I don’t know quite why the stalker was involved? I don’t think it flowed as well because it came in at the beginning, then only randomly showed up in the middle and end *shrugs*. I guess it was a catalyst to get them to Hawaii together at least. I wish Jackson and April didn’t stand in there own way so much about officially committing to each other. That dragged the book out a little bit. I did like how everyone responded with positivity and didn’t blow things out of proportion. It was handled incredibly well and made the ending all the sweeter.

Overall audience notes:

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

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ARC Book Review: Merritt and Her Childhood Crush (Oakley Island Romcom #2) by Emma St. Clair and Jenny Proctor

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 340 pages
Author: Emma St. Clair and Jenny Proctor
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: TBD 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I said I’d never set foot on Oakley Island again. Not so long as HE lived there. But after my life implodes, I’m reconsidering EVERYTHING. Including my reasons for avoiding the first—and only—man I’ve ever loved.

I’m a high achiever. Driven. Maybe a little TOO driven.

So when my boyfriend confesses to cheating AND steals the promotion I’ve been working toward for years, I do the unthinkable for someone like me.

I break.

But the timing couldn’t be better for me to fall apart—I can escape to the idyllic Oakley Island and oversee the renovations on my late grandmother’s estate.

There’s just one tiny, massive, little problem: no one told me the contractor is the grown up version of the boy I fell in love with years ago.

He was my first love. My first kiss.

My first heartbreak.

Now, I’m faced with seeing Hunter daily. Being his boss. Forging a new dynamic that fits our adult selves.

Hunter is bigger. Bearded. Talks in grunts rather than words.

And has just as much hold on me as he ever did.

Trouble is, Hunter’s life is on Oakley. His daughter is on Oakley. And it was never my plan to stay here permanently.
Do I really want to risk having my heart broken a second time? More importantly, do I want to risk breaking his?

Merritt and Her Childhood Crush is a second chance at childhood first love romantic comedy. The Oakley Island Romcoms follow three very different sisters as they renovate the house they inherited and find love on the island along the way. The stories are standalone, but if you like continuous stories, we recommend reading them in order. Each book is closed door, with sizzling chemistry but no spice.

Thank you to the authors for an eARC.

DEEPLY LOVED.

This feels exactly like that the type of books I have come to expect (and love) from these authors. BUT this one also had this extra layer of deep that really resonated with the story and the character dynamics. Merritt and Hunter are both in lower places than they expected when they meet again and that takes time to crawl out of and see the future before them.

There’s definitely still some comedic antics that had me smiling and chuckling along. Though I keep turning back to all of the meaningful conversations that were brought to the table. I loooove that both of them worked hard on trying to communicate with each other. There’s past grievances, many questions, and a sense of will they stay? that bring out the feels as the pages go by.

Merritt was a fantastic FMC and very much relatable to my modus operandi. The oldest child seeking constant perfection and an escape from her parent’s divorce. WOW THAT HITS. Slowly and surely she connects back with her true self and acknowledges that she can be a combination of all the Merritt’s she’s tried to be and I LOVE THAT. + the addition of a super swoony Hunter who is short on words and big on trying. He makes mistakes too and finding that I need to set boundaries moment was critical to the story.

I loved this story and could continue gushing about it. It was everything I hoped for and my excitement for book three is off the charts.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of childbirth, divorce, loss of a grandparent, cheating (recounted – NOT between main couple)

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Book Review: Tarnished Crown (The Lochlann Feuds #2) by Robin D. Mahle and Elle Madison

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 354 pages
Author: Robin D. Mahle and Elle Madison
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 23rd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Rowan was finally going to do something right.

Marry for love and for her kingdom. Keep her people safe. Until an archaic law enslaved her to the most feared man in all of Socair, a man who treats her like a pawn and calls her his pet.

But when enemies emerge from unexpected places, she’s forced to realize that being Evander’s property might just be the only thing keeping her alive.

Can she fulfill her blood debt to Bear, even if it means losing Theo forever?

Even if it means sacrificing her heart?

A SEQUEL.

That’s mostly how I feel about this. A good, but meh, second book.

One of my bigger issues was how much more prevalent the love triangle turned out to be. I’m rarely a fan of those and this one was no different, especially because there’s only ONE CHOICE. It’s too obvious and it better be the case or I have wasted my time on this series.

I loved the general continuation of the story. Getting a little bit of a thicker plot with some villains starting to show themselves and more action to the clans. The fantasy world building side of this is still weak, yet it maintains an enjoyable fast paced style that it’s easy read through.

I’m so glad we got to see more Evander (he’s obviously my choice). I love seeing deeper layers to the complex and morally grey characters and this was no different. Engaging (and occasionally enraging), Evander and Rowan found some ground to stand on together.

Things were a bit silly at times (like the snow ball fights??). Personally I’m not a major fan of things like that in my reads unless it truly connects to the story and not as a filler scene to get to the next bigger moment. It is what it is and I do plan to continue with the third book!

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: little light
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: mild
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: whipping (on page), kidnapping, attempted murder, near death experiences, loss of life, small battle scenes

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