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Book Review: Class Act (The Thornback Society #1) by Aspen Hadley

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 288 pages
Author: Aspen Hadley
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: July 18th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It started out innocently enough . . .

Hailey Thomas is perfectly content living a quiet life as a second-grade teacher. She’s definitely not looking for a husband. But when one of her students can’t stop bragging about her single dad, she decides to do some sleuthing and what she finds turns her into a part-time internet stalker, complete with daydreams she can never admit to.

When the object of her research shows up at her school and accuses her of scheming with his eight year-old daughter, she vows to put an end to all of it and avoid him at all costs. Ford Whittaker may be a wealthy businessman and ridiculously handsome single dad, but he’s definitely not the man she’d imaged he was.

Only, avoiding Ford is becoming impossible thanks to her honorary uncle, her four best friends, and the daughter that actually is a schemer. Every week it’s something new, and the more they get thrown together, the more Hailey wonders if maybe she’d been a little bit lonelier than she realized.

And maybe Ford was too.

Class Act is a closed-door, sweet and swoony romance, with all the sizzle and no explicit content.

SWOONY.

I looooove a good swoony love interest and Ford hit all of those marks for me. I could not get enough of every single time he and Hailey were forced together (because forced proximity is one of the best tropes out there). There was fantastic relationship development. And the best part? NO THIRD ACT BREAK-UP. We’re all adult here folks.

My one eh thing is that I basically skipped over any of the (too long) scenes of Hailey talking to her friends. It was setting up for the future books and I think when that is written more subtly it comes across better. This was a bit much and made things drag out too long.

I adored Ford’s kids too. They were a nice charming touch. This book had me smiling and chuckling at some of the scenes and I always adore a book that can bring out those kind of feel good emotions. I look forward to more stories!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a spouse (off page, but recounted)

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Book Review: To Hunt a Demon King by Madeleine Eliot

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 287 pages
Author: Madeleine Eliot
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: May 1st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Little Red Riding Hood meets spicy romantasy in this witchy retelling of a classic fairy tale.

Elara has only one goal in her life: to convince her mother to treat her like the fully grown witch she is and let her attend a Coven meeting. But on her twenty-fifth birthday, Elara discovers that her mother had good reasons for keeping her away from the Coven and her grandmother, its unfeeling Crone.

Now forced to run for her life to hide a magic she shouldn’t possess, Elara is told to find the wicked Demon King and claim his protection. But when she runs into a handsome hunter and his wolf in the forest, her journey takes on a dimension she never expected.

CONFLICTED.

I really wanted to LOVE this and I did enjoy a lot of it. There were a few things though that are holding me back and writing this review is going to help me figure it out.

The Little Red Riding Hood vibes are perfectly there. It was a fun retelling in those aspects. Elara comes off pretty naive and bugged me sometimes, but she does have the FMC starting point I often see in fantasy books. I can see her rise in power over the series.

I was mostly into the romance. I wanted a slower burn though. When Elara mentioned herself that it’s been a week and they already slept together I was like, yeah girl too fast for me. From reluctant allies/strangers to lovers would have worked better it would have been drawn out a bit more. And then it went past my personal line of smut over plot and I was ready to be finished in the second half.

It does read super fast. And I did like the world building aspects and am kind of curious about the way the magic systems work and more of Elara’s past. I have theories and thoughts and am still deciding on reading book two.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: multiple open; high explicit
  • Violence: moderate

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Book Review: The Enemy and Miss Innes (Tales from the Highlands #2) by Martha Keyes

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 311 pages
Author: Martha Keyes
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: June 2nd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

All that stands between him and freedom? Turning her hatred to love.

Elizabeth Innes has a tongue too sharp for her own good, and she is never more ready to employ it than when faced with the MacKinnons. With just one piece of evidence connecting their clan to a near-deadly attack, she is determined to prove the laird guilty and see him brought to justice. So, when chance throws her in the company of one of the MacKinnon men, she resolves to take advantage of the opportunity to glean more information.

Malcolm MacKinnon has long lived under the thumb of his cousin and laird, Angus, who keeps a secret with the power to ruin him. With his mother and siblings entirely dependent upon Angus’s capricious generosity, he cannot afford to offend his cousin. When Angus proposes a way for him to finally be free of his shackles, Malcolm is more than ready to oblige. All he must do is help Angus seek revenge upon the rival, neighboring clan. The way to do it? Gain the trust—and love—of one of their young women.

As Malcolm and Elizabeth pursue their goals, they find their tasks much more difficult than anticipated, with challenges to their loyalties at every turn. Both must decide how far they are willing to go for revenge—and love.

A GOOD E2L.

I snagged this on audio and devoured it in a day! I love the way Martha Keyes tells stories and this was no different. I really appreciate that this felt true to the enemies to lovers trope and gave me all that angsty banter I love so well.

The storyline was good and moved at a steady pace. I liked the rebuilding aspects (which I felt was an overall illusion to more) and that we got to see the couple from the previous book too! There’s a good dose of drama that doesn’t go over the top and seeing the villain shut down is always one of my favorite parts of a book.

It’s an easy read and I love picking up books in this genre when the mood strikes.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: medium
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: fires, assault, physical altercations, mentions of past domestic abuse, extortion, animal injury

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Book Review: Finding Gene Kelly by Torie Jean

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 406 pages
Author: Torie Jean
Publisher: Sunset and Camden Creative
Release Date: September 20th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When five-year-old Evie O’Shea married her next-door neighbor in the wedding of the century, she had no idea she was swearing an oath to love the man who would grow into the bane of her existence until the end of time. Or that in ten years time, she’d start a long and winding journey to an eventual endometriosis diagnosis.

Now, aged twenty-six, Evie O’Shea lives in Paris, balancing precariously close to her Charlotte Lucas birthday. A burden to her parents, with no prospects and no money, Evie’s humdrum life needs a shake-up.

Enter Liam Kelly, the man Evie married at the age of five and promptly divorced at seven when he had the audacity to throw a muddy football at her while she was reading Eloise in Paris. Clad in a Henley and equipped with toned forearms and eye crinkles that rival Gene Kelly himself, Evie is determined to keep her ultimate temptation at a distance while she flails wildly navigating life, love, and endometriosis on the banks of the Seine.

But when a family announcement shakes up Evie’s world weeks before her brother’s wedding, Evie seeks Liam’s help to get through the wedding with some semblance of sanity intact.

Her request? Fake date.

Making a deal with the Devil always comes with a cost, though, and when Liam’s conditions which include elaborate backstories and practice dates, reignite passions her disease smothered long ago, Evie has to learn to fight for her dreams and break free from her life measured in ibuprofen pills and heating pad settings. Or else risk being alive but never truly living.

DON’T SLEEP ON THIS.

Like I almost did!? Definitely should have picked this up sooner because I enjoyed the heck out of it. This was a unique romance that had things I don’t regularly see and I felt the impact of that and all of the emotions.

I adored Evie. She is doing her best and you continually see that. I also loved seeing how good a friend she is to those close to her and her overall growth. I understood her initial gruffness with Liam and the thoughts surrounding that situation. BUT, the best part was that (before it was stretched on too long) you could see Evie have some productive thoughts about change. About seeing Liam’s side of the story and finally letting some of the past go.

Liam and Evie were gosh dang sweet and the childhood friends to lovers, second chance scenario had me clutching my chest. THE FEELS. Liam has clearly loved Evie for so long and I loooooooved him. The way he handled things, the charm her provided and how cute he was doing things for Evie. They are without a doubt a match. Even with the third act, I thought it made sense for the characters and story and, even better, not intensely drama filled. Add a little grand gesture at the end and I was smitten from start to finish.

I loved the way chronic illness and pain was discussed and approached. I loved the real way everything felt and the sentiments that hit so many of us. Such a beautiful read and I can’t wait for more now!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: a few almost scenes
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: endometriosis, toxic Mom, ableism, anxiety and panic attacks, fatphobia

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