Tag: new adult romance

Book Review: All Out of Love (Boys of Riverside #3) by Gracie Graham

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: NA Contemporary Romance
Length: 548 pages
Author: Gracie Graham
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 27th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Book three in the Boys of Riverside series takes off where book two leaves off, bringing you an epic love story for the boy Mackenzie Hart did not choose.

A GOOD CONTINUATION.

I’ve been wanting to see where this character’s story was going to go and I liked seeing his development! I also am purposely not naming him because he’s a part of the love triangle from the previous two books and the suspense is key!

I liked the romance. It had a lot of good swoon and conversations. I loved seeing both of the main characters grow and change and grasp what they wanted to do with life. It’s perfectly heated and I loved the tension.

I did struggle with suspending some belief about one of the main plot lines. It seemed a little farfetched in the end. And I don’t love a third act martyr situation.

OTHERWISE. I am still very much loving this series and can’t wait to continue.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: physical altercations, child abuse, mentions of infidelity (side characters)

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Book Review: The Dagger and the Flame (The City of Fantome #1) by Catherine Doyle

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Rating: ★★★.75
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 510 pages
Author: Catherine Doyle
Publisher: S&S
Release Date: September 26th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the number one bestselling author Catherine Doyle comes the most fiery enemies-to-lovers romantasy of the year. Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo and Stephanie Garber.  

In the dark underbelly of a beautiful city, two rival assassins are pitted against each other in a deadly game of revenge, where the most dangerous mistake of all is falling in love…

In Fantome, a kingdom of cobbled streets, flickering lamplight, beautiful buildings, and secret catacombs, Shade-magic is a scarce and deadly commodity controlled by two enemy the Cloaks and the Daggers – the thieves and the assassins. On the night of her mother’s murder, 17-year-old Seraphine runs for her life. Seeking sanctuary with the Cloaks, Sera’s heart is set on revenge. But are her secret abilities a match for the dark-haired boy whose quicksilver eyes follow her around the city?

Nothing can prepare Sera for the moment she finally comes face-to-face with Ransom, heir to the Order of Daggers. And Ransom is shocked to discover that this unassuming farmgirl wields a strange and blazing magic he has never seen before… Among rumours of monsters stalking the streets and the rival guilds grappling for control of Fantome’s underworld, Sera and Ransom are drawn together by something more than just magic and must face a deadly choice – forgiveness or vengeance? Kiss or kill? Dagger or Flame? 

Thank you to Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THIS ONE.

Ooooo y’all. This review feels tricky. I enjoyed the story and characters in a vibe kind of way. I liked the audiobook and I was never upset at what I was reading, it just didn’t match.

For a “young adult” (it is definitely not YA) there was so much out of pocket language. I’m not generally bothered by language but with the way these characters were written it didn’t sync with the story. The writing felt young YA and the characters were trying to be new adult. I would categorize this as new adult too based off of the spice that felt very out of place and at the wrong times too.

The reveals are easy to guess from the beginning. I wasn’t surprised in any way. And while that’s not always a bad thing, since I wasn’t fully engaged by the time things were coming together I was ready to move on with a new book.

I do plan to read the next one, I’ll definitely keep going because I’m curious enough to see if book two shakes out these intro cobwebs. Once again begging for traditional pubs to make new adult an actual genre.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: high
  • Romance: 2 open door
  • Violence: high

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Book Review: Love How You Love Me (Boys of Riverside #2) by Gracie Graham

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: NA Contemporary Romance
Length: 392 pages
Author: Gracie Graham
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: May 31st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

All I wanted for so long was to remember the car crash that killed my mother. Like it might somehow chase away the guilt and grief that followed her death.

But now I remember, and everything has changed.
I should be relieved.
Instead, I’m angry at the world. My mother. Father. And especially the boy who stole my heart and crushed it beneath his palm.
Everyone warned me to stay away from Atlas Scott–the bad boy football star, with a reputation for trouble.
Maybe I should’ve listened.
But our bond was seemingly unbreakable, forged in the fire of tragedy.

Until it wasn’t, and everything fell apart.
Now the memories that haunt me are so much harder to manage on the heels of heartbreak.
Graham, my best friend, is, once again, picking up the pieces while I search for vindication in all the wrong places.

Because there’s only one catalyst for healing and redemption.
Love.

HERE FOR THE DRAMA.

Oh my goodness. I binged the first book and this one back to back and I have zero regrets. I loved the high level of drama and the NEED I felt the entire time reading that I had to know what happens next. This was the angsty tension filled love triangle I didn’t know I needed and I will now be forever recommending it to others.

I loved the continuation of this story. I thought the plot points came together well and I left feeling satisfied with part of the story and excited for the continuation of the other. This does finish Mackenzie’s romance and who she ends up with. There’s plenty of swoon and quotable moments and I will ABSOLUTELY be continuing this series.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Sports Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: one closed door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: loss of a father from suicide, mentions of drug/alcohol addiction, attempted assault, gambling addiction, underage drinking

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ARC Book Review: Nothing Like the Movies (Better Than the Movies #2) by Lynn Painter

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: NA Contemporary Romance
Length: 440 pages
Author: Lynn Painter
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: October 1st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling Better than the Movies, Wes and Liz struggle to balance their feelings for each other with the growing pains of being a college student.

For a few beautiful months, Wes had his dream girl: strong-willed girl-next-door Liz. But right as the two were about to set off to UCLA to start their freshman year together, tragedy struck. Wes was left dealing with the fallout, which ultimately meant losing Liz in the process.

Flash forward months and months later and Wes and Liz find themselves in college, together. In a healthier place now, Wes knows he broke Liz’s heart when he ended things, but he is determined to make her fall back in love with him.

Wes knows Liz better than anyone, and he has a foolproof plan to win her back with the rom-com worthy big gestures she loves. Only…Liz will have none of it. Wes has to scheme like a rom-com hero to figure out how to see her. Even worse, Liz has a new friend…a guy friend.

Still, Wes won’t give up, adapting his clever plans and going hard to get Liz’s attention and win back her affection. But after his best efforts get him nowhere, Wes is left wondering if their relationship is really over for good.

Thank you Simon Teen for the gifted ARC.

SMITTEN.

I enjoyed this story so dang much. I love Wes and Liz and I loved seeing how their relationship progressed through this book. It’s messy and complicated, has a bit of drama and struck many chords of life in college and figuring things out. I loved watching the character growth for both Wes and Liz. Each had some tough truths to learn and adapt from and I love that they found their way back to each other in the end.

And this is a subtle baseball romance?? Heck yes. I could not get enough of the baseball content and I loved Liz’s college job! I think it worked perfectly for this story and added to the necessity of some good ol’ forced proximity moments that I crave.

The side characters were fantastic too. I loved all of Wes’s teammates (and please tell me we might get more stories from this UCLA crew??). Liz’s roommates were also so fun and it really reminded me of the joy that being on a college campus can bring.

Bonus points if you catch the little Taylor Swift references throughout. I loved all of the song lyric additions and gosh dang am I obsessed with a good argument scene, bring me all of the passionate confessions. This truly did read like a movie for me and I would watch it in a heartbeat.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: high and present throughout
  • Romance: kisses
  • Content Warnings: loss of a parent (heart attack), grief depiction, panic attacks

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