Book Review: The Last Eligible Bachelor (Seasons of Change #3) by Ashtyn Newbold

November 3, 2021February 26, 2021 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Regency Romance
Length: 234 pages
Author: Ashtyn Newbold
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: June 25th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A ruse can only last so long…
Tillie Sherbrooke was born a lady, but lost her place in society by her father’s folly. Quiet, resourceful, and loyal, she now makes the perfect lady’s maid for her mistress Sophia. When Sophia’s parents give her no choice but to travel across England to be matched with a mysterious young bachelor, Mr. Hill, she has no interest, especially since there are several other ladies vying for him. Who better to send in her place than Tillie? What gentleman would notice a maid, even one disguised as a lady? So when Sophia asks this favor of Tillie, or rather—threatens her into it, Tillie must rely on her past, the life of a proper lady, if she hopes to keep her position at Sedgwick Manor.

Disguised as her mistress, Tillie takes a coach across the country to a new place, one both unfamiliar and frightening. With so much at stake, she does all she can to stay quiet and invisible. But when she inadvertently catches Mr. Hill’s attention, she realizes she may have more to lose than her livelihood. She may very well lose her heart.

CHARMINGLY CUTE.

I love a feel good regency romance. They make me smile. It’s clearly going to be a happy ever after and I’m not upset one bit about that guarantee.

This was my second book by Ashtyn Newbold and she’s quickly becoming one of my favorite regency romance authors. I love the way she writes her stories. The witty banter between the couples, the flirtations and side glances, and that long sought after kissing scene. It’s a great combination that fuels my love for these stories.

I adored this set-up and liked how everything played out. Some of the other women at the manor were absolutely ridiculous (though I expected nothing less). I liked Tillie and her compassion and care for those she loved. She continued to do what was right even if that was a tough decision to make. I loved Mr.Hill too! I do wish there was more background information on him. Honestly, I’m not even sure he had a first name because I can’t remember it being used once.

A sweet read that does NOT have to be read in order! I picked this one out of the series purely for the author. If you’re looking for more simple regency favs, look no further.

Overall audience notes:

Regency romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Content Warnings: a family member imprisoned

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Book Review: The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

October 28, 2021May 22, 2021 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: May 18th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Single mom Jess Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. Raised by her grandparents–who now help raise her seven-year-old daughter, Juno–Jess has been left behind too often to feel comfortable letting anyone in. After all, her father’s never been around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn’t “father material” before Juno was even born. Jess holds her loved ones close, but working constantly to stay afloat is hard…and lonely.

But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that’s predicted to change dating forever. Finding a soulmate through DNA? The reliability of numbers: This Jess understands. At least she thought she did, until her test shows an unheard-of 98% compatibility with another subject in the database: GeneticAlly’s founder, Dr. River Pena. This is one number she can’t wrap her head around, because she already knows Dr. Pena. The stuck-up, stubborn man is without a doubt not her soulmate. But GeneticAlly has a proposition: Get to know him and we’ll pay you. Jess–who is barely making ends meet–is in no position to turn it down, despite her skepticism about the project and her dislike for River. As the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the “Diamond” pairing that could make GeneticAlly a mint in stock prices, Jess begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist–and the science behind a soulmate–than she thought.

Funny, warm, and full of heart, The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be calculated.

A NEW FAV.

My love of CL books goes up and down. But I can easily say this is one of my top favorites of their books. I adored this one y’all. So if you’ve been hesitant too, I think this one is worth checking out.

I love the unique plot. I honestly don’t know how believable it is (genetics/romance/etc.) but that didn’t bother me one bit. I thought it would actually be pretty cool if something like the DNADuo was available. It was incredibly nerdy listening to Jess and River discuss statistics and genetics and I loved it. As someone who is allergic to math, I didn’t quite follow everything, but that doesn’t take away from the story.

River was such a cinnamon roll!! Oh goodness, just the sweetest. I love the dates he and Jess went on and the clear chemistry between them. Then his relationship with Jess’s daughter, Juno, was ADORABLE. I love a great single parent story and this one is it. I also thought Jess’s friendship with Fizzy was perfect. They were truly best friends and I couldn’t get enough of the support that went both ways between them. Fizzy was hilarious and brought such a great vibe to the book.

One aspect in most romances is that final conflict, which can bust a book or make a book. You can kind of assume what’s going to happen in this story, and even when it did I wanted to keep reading because I still HAD TO KNOW what was going to happen next. I thought the drama was a nice touch and that there was an honest conversation and acknowledgement of wrong doing in the end. I love how Jess and River came back together for their relationship, regardless of what had happened.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: some strong
Romance: kisses to open and closed door scenes (brief, this is a lower steam CL book)
Trigger/Content Warnings: a loved one with a substance abuse problem

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Book Review: Cake (Cake #1) by J. Bengtsson

October 25, 2021February 23, 2021 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 611 pages
Author: J. Bengtsson
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: May 14th, 2016
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Casey

I’ve met the perfect guy. Handsome, talented, and sarcastic as hell, Jake McKallister is everything I’ve ever dreamed of in a man.

There’s just one problem: Jake is everyone’s dream man.

But he sees me—an everyday college girl—and introduces me to a whole new world of music and tour buses and adoring fans. The more I fall for him, the more I realize that Jake might not be all he pretends to be.

I’ve finally found a man worth fighting for…but will he let me win?

Jake

Casey thinks she knows. She doesn’t know. No one knows—but me.
And I’m not talking. Ever.

HMM.

I feel mixed by this story.

There was a lot of trauma and exploration of working through those past issues (see trigger warnings for further explanation). There was a love story. Yet the two didn’t mix that well.

Love story wise, it was charming overall. I did like Jake and Casey together. Sweet meet-cute. Fun traveling, going through some tough times and coming out the other side. The rockstar and normal girl romance was something I hadn’t read recently so it was a nice switch-up.

I didn’t connect with the writing style. The jokes didn’t land well, and some commentary wasn’t appealing. I thought the characters seemed very surface level and trying too hard to be more than that.

I’m finding it hard to write out all the things I thought while reading this. I know it’s well loved, it just didn’t hit that place for me.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary romance
Language: strong throughout
Romance: kisses to open door scenes
Trigger/Content Warnings: child kidnapping, sexual assault and rape (mentions from the past); torture, PTSD, suicide ideation; near death embolism, a loved one in a coma

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Book Review: Shipped by Angie Hockman

October 18, 2021February 18, 2021 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Angie Hockman
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: January 19th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Between taking night classes for her MBA and her demanding day job at a cruise line, marketing manager Henley Evans barely has time for herself, let alone family, friends, or dating. But when she’s shortlisted for the promotion of her dreams, all her sacrifices finally seem worth it.

The only problem? Graeme Crawford-Collins, the remote social media manager and the bane of her existence, is also up for the position. Although they’ve never met in person, their epic email battles are the stuff of office legend.

Their boss tasks each of them with drafting a proposal on how to boost bookings in the Galápagos—best proposal wins the promotion. There’s just one catch: they have to go on a company cruise to the Galápagos Islands…together. But when the two meet on the ship, Henley is shocked to discover that the real Graeme is nothing like she imagined. As they explore the Islands together, she soon finds the line between loathing and liking thinner than a postcard.

With her career dreams in her sights and a growing attraction to the competition, Henley begins questioning her life choices. Because what’s the point of working all the time if you never actually live?

WHERE’S MY CRUISE?

Mostly because I read this book in winter, am I desperately wanting to find myself a cruise ship. Wow did this make me want to travel (which is definitely a bonus point for it).

Shipped was a good, quick read. I didn’t find myself falling in love with it ever. Every time it got close to that level, something would drag me back down. Hard to nail it exactly, things were just missing to make it a complete romance for me.

I liked Henley. She was intelligent, a bit of a workaholic, and had a lot of space to grow. By the end I appreciated her arc and thought it was empowering. Henley found the support of her friends and the strength within herself to make some big decisions that ultimately helped her find her true career passion.

Graeme was adorable. From the first page he popped up on I liked him. I thought there would have been more banter and angst between Graeme and Henley. It was a letdown to see how quickly they became an item honestly. I wanted some more push and pull.

The Author’s Note and the general theme of the book being in the Galapagos Islands was fantastic. It encouraged me to research eco-tourism and want to plan my own supportive trips. This was a bit of romance and larger plots that bounced off of each other well enough.

Overall audience notes: