jasmine guillory – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance Novella
Length: 101 pages
Author: Christina Lauren
Publisher: Amazon Originals
Release Date: January 23rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

On February 14, an accidental email to a stranger opens the door to an unexpected relationship in a captivating short story by the New York Times bestselling authors of The Unhoneymooners.

One typo, and a boy and girl connect by chance. Wishing each other a happy Valentine’s Day isn’t the end. In fact, it becomes a friendly annual tradition—with rules: no pics, no real names, nothing too personal. As years pass, the rules for their email “dates” are breaking, and they’re sharing more than they imagined—including the urge to ask…what if we actually met?

VERY CUTE.

I adored this. For 100 pages I felt like I genuinely got a lot of story to be rooting for this couple. Plenty of emails, a dash of Valentine’s and when they finally met? SO CUTE. This was a romantic gem.

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance Novella
Length: 61 pages
Author: Abby Jimenez
Publisher: Amazon Originals
Release Date: January 23rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

They’re falling in love, yet they’ve never met. Maybe fate can intervene in a heartwarming “what-if” short story about new beginnings by the New York Times bestselling author of Yours Truly.

Holly is dealing with the impending death of her grandmother and still reeling from a bad breakup. One bright spot: a Valentine’s Day card on Holly’s windshield—even if it wasn’t meant for her. An amusing mistake soon turns into a lovely exchange of anonymous notes, little acts of kindness, and a growing affection between two strangers. What happens when one of them has to say goodbye?

CHARMED.

I have no idea how in 61 pages I felt like I got a well thought out story. I loved the characters. I thought the meet-cute was definitely clever and this made me smile a lot! Even burst out laughing too.

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance Novella
Length: 44 pages
Author: Sally Thorne
Publisher: Amazon Originals
Release Date: January 23rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

For a hopeful and hopeless romantic, it’s love at first sight—with a little twist—in a hilarious short story about finding Mr. Right by the USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game.

Rosie Whittaker and her sister are up for some Galentine’s pampering at a day spa. Getting locked inside a flotation tank is so Rosie. Enter a firefighter hero determined to pry this luckless pearl out of her high-tech shell. All Rosie has to go on is a dreamy voice and a flirty sense of humor. Remain calm, Rosie. This could be what you’ve been waiting for. Is this the man she’s waited for her whole life?

EH.

Not as into this one. The idea was there, but I didn’t love the execution. This would have benefited from even just a few more pages to add a better back story.

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance Novella
Length: 40 pages
Author: Jasmine Guillory
Publisher: Amazon Originals
Release Date: January 23rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It takes nothing less than a fateful natural disaster to throw two opposites together in a ground-shakingly charming short story by the New York Times bestselling author of Drunk on Love.

This Valentine’s Day, Daisy Murray has her heart set on binge-watching rom-coms. Instead, an earthquake traps her inside a bakery with its impossibly rude and insufferably handsome owner and head baker. They already have a history: she’s always smiled, he’s always scowled. Where better to finally get to know each other than amid the disaster? Then again, they have no choice. Besides, it could have its sweet, undeniable, and unpredictable perks.

WAY TOO FAST.

This was not very good. No build up, no true conversation, just how fast can we get into bed without actually knowing each other.

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance Novella
Length: 43 pages
Author: Ashely Poston
Publisher: Amazon Originals
Release Date: January 23rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Every person she kisses finds their true love, and it’s never her—until now, in this funny and magically romantic short story by the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.

Audrey Love is cursed to be the person before you find your soulmate, the girl you dump for your true love. So when her best friend disappears hours before his Valentine’s Day wedding, Audrey fears that she did the unthinkable and kissed him at last night’s bachelor party. With help from the best man, she retraces her steps to find the missing groom and, with any luck, a true love of her own.

ZERO DEPTH.

This felt like it was missing A LOT to actually make the story work. The flashback chapters weren’t that helpful either. While I thought the couple had some chemistry, I didn’t like how this went about accomplishing that fact.

Rating: ★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance Novella
Length: 71 pages
Author: Sariah Wilson
Publisher: Amazon Originals
Release Date: January 23rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Valentine’s Day becomes a Roman holiday for a princess in disguise in a dizzyingly romantic short story about making wishes come true by the USA Today bestselling author of The Chemistry of Love.

Princess Ilaria has had it up to her tiara with the paparazzi, her own wild reputation, and the public eye. Trading places with her assistant, Ilaria wants just one blissfully ordinary weekend. Then a handsome photographer with a sexy Scottish burr offers to be her guide. Sparks fly, but how long can they last? Ilaria’s secret has to come out—and it could ruin a perfectly serendipitous romance.

A LOT OF LYING.

This felt way too condensed. To even add in a third act breakup in a 70 page novella? After one day? And everyone was lying?

So many things did not work for me in this one. I’d say this is my least favorite of the bunch.

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Jasmine Guillory
Publisher: Berkley Books
Release Date: June 23rd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A chance meeting with a handsome stranger turns into a whirlwind affair that gets everyone talking.

Dating is the last thing on Olivia Monroe’s mind when she moves to LA to start her own law firm. But when she meets a gorgeous man at a hotel bar and they spend the entire night flirting, she discovers too late that he is none other than hotshot junior senator Max Powell. Olivia has zero interest in dating a politician, but when a cake arrives at her office with the cutest message, she can’t resist–it is chocolate cake, after all.

Olivia is surprised to find that Max is sweet, funny, and noble–not just some privileged white politician she assumed him to be. Because of Max’s high-profile job, they start seeing each other secretly, which leads to clandestine dates and silly disguises. But when they finally go public, the intense media scrutiny means people are now digging up her rocky past and criticizing her job, even her suitability as a trophy girlfriend. Olivia knows what she has with Max is something special, but is it strong enough to survive the heat of the spotlight?

GREAT ROMANCE.

I’d like to state in the beginning, this is the first book I’ve read from this author! I haven’t read any of the previous books in this series, but was told that would be okay. I was really specifically interested in this one which is why I wanted to pick it up.

And it was great! So quick to read (I love this about contemporaries) and filled with many fantastic things. I love how it approached relevant political topics without being too much. I was still able to enjoy the romance, but also I felt it was insightful towards topics I’m still continuing to learn about.

The romance was not subtle. This is neither here nor there, just something I noticed. Things started flourishing quickly and by the halfway point we had a full relationship! I actually kind of liked this difference, most rom-coms have the ending where the couple is official. Having Olivia and Max get together so quickly allowed for a lot of development between them as a couple as they navigated being an interracial couple in the political spotlight, working on careers, and finding where they fit into each other’s lives. Lots of romantic moments, and tough moments that made me fall in love with them. I was totally smitten with Max too, he was utterly adorable and so fluffy!!

Reading this really makes me want to tackle some other books in this series. I enjoyed the set-up and storyline of this one and would love to see more characters from previous books.

Overall audience notes: