Tag: kindle unlimited

Book Review: Solo for the Season (Gift-Wrapped Romance) by Martha Keyes

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 206 pages
Author: Martha Keyes
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 8th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

MAGGIE

After being dumped last Christmas, I’m taking extreme measures to ensure nothing and no one ruins my happy holidays this time around. I’ll be safely wrapped in a cocoon of kitschy Christmas decor, complete with surrounding winter wonderland at the ultimate holiday mountain cabin. So what if the countless elf figurines make me a little uneasy or if there are a couple hiccups with cabin maintenance? There’s a bigger the assistant manager happens to be one of (many) teasing classmates from my childhood and my former crush. He keeps showing up to my cabin to fix things. I’m more worried about what he might break…. WES Here at Crystal Peaks Resort, I’ve got everything I tall trees, fresh air, and no cell phone service. This is my happy place, and if I prove to my boss I can handle the job, the management position here will be mine. Everything is falling into place. Until the newest guest arrives. The quirky cabin she’s in is the bane of my existence, causing issue after issue. But the more I’m there, the more I realize the real obstacle between me and my future proving to my boss I can keep a professional relationship with the guests. Or one guest in particular.

A Gift-Wrapped Romance is a five-part multi-author series that can be enjoyed in any order!

THIS WAS SWEET.

I love short and sweet Christmas romance books. This was a gem and I loved Wes and Maggie. The setting was fun with the explosion of kitschy holiday goodness and all of the snow that I’m grateful I never see in real life.

One of my favorite aspects was that even though Maggie was still a little affected by some of the teasing from high school she didn’t let that completely overwhelm her being kind to Wes initially. And the fact he gave her a genuine apology was beautiful. I love see characters act their age and to try their best to communicate instead of running away.

The only tiny thing I didn’t love was Brielle. The conflict that came to that added pages, but not content. I just could have done without.

That last 20% though? I loved it. I loved how not for one second did Wes try to hide that fact he had fallen for Maggie and that they found a way to make things work between them. It was precious.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph || TikTok

Book Review: Isle of Brine and Bone (Halcyon Bay #2) by Natalia Macias Lucia

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★☆
Genre: Paranormal Mystery Romance
Length: 526 pages
Author: Natalia Macias Lucia
Publisher: Lightkeeper
Release Date: November 17th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The sea remembers, and so do I.

Dell Costa is reeling from the events that transpired on Halcyon Bay. Since learning the truth about her sister, she’s been haunted by grief and cruel memories of her time at Cliffmoor House. To make matters worse, the search for her fugitive uncle has hit a dead end. That is, until Dell’s cousin Tristen unexpectedly arrives in Woodbridge, bringing news that leads her back to the island—and the mansion—of her nightmares.

But it’s not all pain and desolation on Halcyon Bay. Dell’s romance with Hatch, the charming fisherman who captured her heart last summer, blossoms into a sultry, irrepressible love. Her ties to the Klyne brood are strengthening too, as Dell grows closer to her family and more desperate than ever to protect them from looming danger.

Hunting for clues as to her uncle’s sinister ambitions, Dell explores the island’s dark underbelly, confronting old mysteries that refuse to stay buried, as well as her own inner demons. She soon uncovers secrets that threaten to unravel her fragile world, and a scheme that will wreck everything she treasures most—unless she can stop it first.

In this mesmerizing second book in the Halcyon Bay series, author Natalia Macias Lucia tells a heart-pounding tale of love and vengeance, with higher stakes and strange, new perils lurking around every corner.

STILL IN SHOCK.

I’m not really a thriller gal, but y’all, this series absolutely has all of my attention. I loved book two and I can’t wait for the last book!!!

I really like all of the characters. Dell, Tristen, HATCH, Palmer, seriously the whole crew. There’s a good mix of personalities and decision making skills (or lack thereof) that creates an awesome dynamic. The book has this haunting atmosphere surrounded by a small town that holds one too many secrets. I loved the paranormal aspects too and thought they wove well into the plot without being outlandish. Everything just makes sense.

My one little nugget would be what happened with Dell and Hatch for 15% of the book, I’m personally not a fan of this plot choice, but otherwise it was an incredible read. I was finishing this while at the gym and I’m pretty sure I got some concerned stares as I had a shocked look on my face for the last 30 minutes of reading. GOODHEAVENSWHATHAPPENSNEXT.

Overall audience notes:

  • Paranormal Mystery Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: gun violence, murder, kidnapping, weapons violence, mentions of past abuse

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: 50 Ways to Win Back Your Lover (Bower Boys #1) by Kelly Siskind

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 331 pages
Author: Kelly Siskind
Publisher: Montlake
Release Date: September 6th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From Kelly Siskind comes a slow-burn romantic comedy about one man’s creative attempt to win back his high school sweetheart after a change in fortune gives them a second chance at love.

Growing up, I had it all—my art, close friends, a gorgeous girlfriend who owned my heart—but then my life exploded.

Turns out my father was laundering money, and my whole family got shoved into witness protection. No notice. No chance to explain. I was ripped away from beautiful, blue-eyed Delilah Moon, shattering both our worlds.

A decade later, fate has given us a second chance.

The cartel my father worked for has been wiped out. I’ve returned to my hometown, determined to win back the love of my life. But Delilah is engaged.

Or…is she?

I’m almost positive she’s lying about her fiancé to protect her heart. Which means I need to up my game.

I’ve made a list of fifty ways to prove we’re meant to be. Except Delilah’s barely looking at me, never mind swooning. I have a feeling my disappearance scarred her more than she’s admitting, and no one in town will tell me what happened…

NOT FOR ME.

The idea was there. I was hopeful, but I just don’t love the way everything shook out in the end.

I LOVE the concept of a MMC only POV. That’s fun, I haven’t read that before. Within all of that was some of this books downfall. It does not work for me to hear over and over “c*ck twitches, bulging pants, etc.”. It feels like unnecessary innuendo that takes me out of the book each and every time. I get the physical attraction aspect, lets add more to the other elements of a relationship too.

The second chance trope worked. I liked the witness protection program back story (once again, haven’t read that before) which made for some interesting angles. I think it would have been cool to have a little more suspense? I guess this was supposed to be wholly romance though so that’s fine.

I liked the audiobook narrator and I did enjoy most aspects of both characters. There is a third act issue that makes me shake my head. Everything was just okay about this (which makes me sad because I LOVED Siskind’s previous series).

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: multiple open; high explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: father in prison, witness protection program, mentions of gang violence, recounted near death injury

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: To Bleed a Crystal Bloom (Crystal Bloom #1) by Sarah A. Parker

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 486 pages
Author: Sarah A. Parker
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: July 24th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

What a pretty flower to keep locked in a big, rocky tower.

Nineteen years ago, I was plucked from the heart of a bloody massacre that spared nobody else.

Small. Fragile.
An enigma.

Now ward to a powerful High Master who knows too much and says too little, I lead a simple life, never straying from the confines of an imaginary line I’ve drawn around the castle grounds.
Stay within. Never leave.
Out there, the monsters lurk. Inside, I’m safe … though at a cost far greater than the blood I drip into a goblet daily.
Toxic, unreciprocated love for a man who’s utterly unavailable.

My savior. My protector.
My almost executioner.

I can’t help but be enamored with the arcane man who holds the power to pull my roots from the ground.

When voracious beasts spill across the land and threaten to fray the fabric of my tailored existence, the petals of reality will peel back to reveal an ugly truth. But in a castle puddled with secrets, none are greater than the one I’ve kept from myself.

No tower is tall enough to protect me from the horror that tore my life to shreds.

IT KIND OF WORKED FOR ME?

I have felt super conflicted over my thoughts on this one.

One one hand, I really did like this overall. It is dark, it is a bit twisted, but the author did a good job of conveying that and it was written in a way that didn’t bug me too much. I could see great potential for Orlaith’s character development and the whole Rapunzel theme was perfect.

I did think the “heat” scenes in the middle of the book were way out of left field? And forced the steam rather than a natural development. It was kind of weird, I don’t understand why it was there and could have used a whole lot less of it.

The reader is kept in the dark as much as Orlaith and I liked that plot choice. I was kept enough in the loop to keep me going and that was fine with me. I figured more would be explained throughout the series and was getting a big enough taste to want to read those books.

There’s some plot holes involving Orlaith’s drug addiction and other tidbits that I thought were thrown to the side and needed more closure about, small plot things kept jutting out to me that left a little flustered.

But now after seeing some reviews and speaking with friends who’ve read the second book I’ve decided, at this time, not to pick it up. I have some major thoughts on the romance arc (that I won’t go into here because of spoilers) that I would need answered to give the whole series a go.

Overall audience notes:

  • Dark Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: high innuendo; 1-2 open scenes
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: abusive relationship, PTSD, agoraphobia, panic attacks, nightmares/night terrors, self-harm, drug use, drug addiction, blood/gore depiction

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph