Tag: romance books

ARC Book Review: Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by Megan Clawson

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Rating: ★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Megan Clawson
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: April 27th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Love is in the heir in this royally good rom com debut releasing in Spring 2023 – perfect for anyone who likes relatable heroines (with great hair), hot and aloof book boyfriends (with great hats), near misses, almost kisses and a corgi or two.

Despite living in an actual castle, happily ever after is evading Margaret ‘Maggie’ Moore.

From her bedroom in the Tower of London, twenty-six-year-old Maggie has always dreamed of her own fairy-tale ending.

Yet this is twenty-first century London, so instead of knights on white horses, she has catfish on Tinder. And with her last relationship ending in spectacular fashion, she swears off men for good.

And then a chance encounter with Royal Guard Freddie forces Maggie to admit that she isn’t ready to give up on love just yet… But how do you catch the attention of someone who is trained to ignore all distractions?

Can she snare that true love’s first kiss… or is she royally screwed?

A right royal rom com, perfect for fans of Red, White and Royal Blue and The Royal We.

Thank you to Avon for the ARC.

NOT FOR ME.

I don’t even much feel like writing this review because this book and I did not get along. I was expecting a cute romance set in London, learning a little about the guard life, sweet dates, some good kissing, etc.

What did I get?:

  • A big history lesson that did not further the ROMANTIC plot of a ROMANCE book whatsoever. Took up too many pages.
  • The love interest is hardly actually in the book. HE LITERALLY RUNS AWAY MULTIPLE TIMES.
  • Multiple bad Tinder dates that beg the question, WHY.
  • Third act wildness that caused me to laugh, because if not, I might throw my book.
  • Everything was over the top and not in a good way (clearly, HA).

I just…this let me down so much. And I’m going to end it here because I would not recommend it.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a mother (off-page), a manipulative gaslighting ex boyfriend

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ARC Book Review: Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Abby Jimenez
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: April 11t, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother’s running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, that’s probably going to the new man-doctor who’s already registering eighty-friggin’-seven on Briana’s “pain in my ass” scale. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game . . . by sending Briana a letter.

And it’s a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn’t actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy who’s terrible at first impressions. Because suddenly he and Bri are exchanging letters, sharing lunch dates in her “sob closet,” and discussing the merits of freakishly tiny horses. But when Jacob decides to give Briana the best gift imaginable—a kidney for her brother—she wonders just how she can resist this quietly sexy new doctor . . . especially when he calls in a favor she can’t refuse. 

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

ALL THE FEELS.

It takes a talented author to make me cool with things I don’t normally love in romance books. Jimenez has accomplished that here (of which I won’t be saying too much more because spoilers).

I loved Briana. I loved Jacob. I JUST LOVED THEM BOTH SO MUCH. For many reasons too. I felt deeply connected to their personal growth stories and the fact that Jacob reminded me of someone in my life really had me going. I adored Jacob and the anxiety representation was raw, real, and emotional. Alongside Briana’s trauma and coping mechanisms that took the strength of love showing up to work through. Jimenez creates stories to make you feel and I love knowing these characters.

With some of the responses that I generally have a hard time enjoying, I thought the way it was handled made me understand why things were happening the way that they were. It’s a testament to the ability to create such a character dynamic you can see and get the why.

There was a bunch of tropes and plot devices that I did absolutely LOVE. And the execution, as always, was top notch for me. I loved the letter writing, soft dates, all the little touches, comforting when the world got heavy and more. Seriously y’all. This is another must read.

**Read the author’s note too!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 2ish brief open; low explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: multiple mentions of different ER scenarios (cuts, wounds, vomiting, etc.), cheating spouse (recounted), chronic kidney disease, divorced main character, clinical anxiety, mention of pregnancy loss and suicide

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Book Review: All the Feels (Spoiler Alert #2) by Olivia Dade

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 385 pages
Author: Olivia Dade
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: November 16th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Following Spoiler Alert, Olivia Dade returns with another utterly charming romantic comedy about a devil-may-care actor—who actually cares more than anyone knows—and the no-nonsense woman hired to keep him in line.

Alexander Woodroe has it all. Charm. Sex appeal. Wealth. Fame. A starring role as Cupid on TV’s biggest show, God of the Gates. But the showrunners have wrecked his character, he’s dogged by old demons, and his post-show future remains uncertain. When all that reckless emotion explodes into a bar fight, the tabloids and public agree: his star is falling.

Enter Lauren Clegg, the former ER therapist hired to keep him in line. Compared to her previous work, watching over handsome but impulsive Alex shouldn’t be especially difficult. But the more time they spend together, the harder it gets to keep her professional remove and her heart intact, especially when she discovers the reasons behind his recklessness…not to mention his Cupid fanfiction habit.

When another scandal lands Alex in major hot water and costs Lauren her job, she’ll have to choose between protecting him and offering him what he really wants—her. But he’s determined to keep his improbably short, impossibly stubborn, and extremely endearing minder in his life any way he can. And on a road trip up the California coast together, he intends to show her exactly what a falling star will do to catch the woman he loves: anything at all.

I FELT ALL THE FEELS.

Not mad one bit I finally decided to pick this one up. Oh my goodness, I absolutely ADORED IT Y’ALL.

I LOVED Alex. I liked his personality, the way he was boisterous and caring and all of that protectiveness over Lauren had me downright swooning. The banter was cheeky and well timed with sizzling chemistry from the get-go. I loooove forced proximity and this is present in spades.

There’s plenty of dynamics to love, grump x sunshine (where she’s the grump!), celebrities and great representation. This story had me hooked from the beginning and I flew through the audio in a day with a continual drive to see where the story would go. I took a 1/2 star off because the conflict leaned more towards miscommunication and I got a bit disgruntled.

Otherwise, this is a fantastic contemporary romance. It had too much spice for me (which doesn’t affect my rating, but wanted to note). The entire plot was stellar and I’m happy to have picked this up.

**I have not read Spoiler Alert. There were a few brief times when I was a little confused, but I don’t think it hindered my reading experience overall.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: multiple open; high explicit
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: fatmisia, domestic abuse

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Book Review: A Duel With The Vampire Lord (Married to Magic #3) by Elise Kova

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 536 pages
Author: Elise Kova
Publisher: Silver Wing Press
Release Date: August 18th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

On the night of the blood moon, the Vampire Lord must die.

Floriane’s position as the forge maiden of Hunter’s Hamlet is one of reverence, for it is her skill that arms and protects the vampire hunters. She knows her place and is a faithful servant to the Master Hunter and her community… until the night of the blood moon. Until her brother is dying at the hands of the Vampire Lord Ruvan.

Wanting to defend her home at all costs, Floriane fights the vampire lord, ready to give her life if it means taking his. But Ruvan doesn’t want to take her life… he wants her.

Kidnapped and brought to the vampire castle, Floriane is now blood sworn to the vampire lord. She is bound in mind and body to her worst enemy. But Ruvan isn’t the fiend she thought he was. She learns the truth of the vampires: They are not mindless monsters, but a proud people, twisted and tortured by an ancient curse.

Ruvan believes that Floriane might be the key to ending his people’s suffering. All Floriane wants is to defend her home. Loyalties are tested and the lines between truth and lie, hate and passion, are blurred.

When her dagger is at his chest, will she be able to take the heart of the man who has claimed hers?

A darkly-reimagined Snow White meets inspiration from Beauty and the Beast in an epic fantasy world of hunters, vampires, and curses that run deeper than blood. This stand alone is complete with a “happily ever after” ending. It’s perfect for fantasy romance fans looking for just the right amount of steam and their next slow-burn and swoon worthy, enemies to lovers story.

GREW ON ME.

It’s no secret, vampire books and I don’t generally get along. But Elise Kova is one of the few authors who I would give a chance to and I truly did end up enjoying this one!

I really liked the exploration of vampire lore. This felt like a new discovery on the age old assumptions and it was interesting to see how Ruvan’s history and the curse played into the human’s perceptions of vampires as a whole. There’s a great dose a mystery that has to be unraveled and I liked the twists at the end as everything was revealed.

Pacing wise it lost me a bit in the middle. A standalone fantasy at 500+ pages means there’s plenty of substance, but some if it was lost on me. I thought the romance was moving alright, the wider plot was okay too. It really took the later half to bring me back in and I realized how much I did enjoyed Ruvan and Floriane together.

I loved the Floriane was a smithy. I always like different dynamics that aren’t commonly seen and this was one of them. She was tenacious and hard working. Filled with determination to get back to her brother and end the curse once for all.

Another good read for this series. Ultimately there really wasn’t any discourse for the previous books (only vague mentions), but I did see hints for what looks like TWO more books and I’m excited to continue!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: light
  • Romance: vague open door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, murder, loss of loved ones, creature attacks, physical and magical attacks, small battle scenes

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