womens fiction – GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Dylan Newton
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: July 13th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

What happens when the queen of romance falls for the king of horror–you get “a hilarious rom-com comp,” perfect for fans of Beach Read. (Kirkus, starred review)

Event planner Kate Sweet is famous for creating the perfect happily-ever-after moment for her clients’ dream weddings. So how is it that her best friend has roped her into planning a bestselling horror writer’s book launch extravaganza? But the second Kate meets—or rather, accidentally maims—the drop-dead-hot Drake Matthews, her well-ordered life quickly transforms into an absolute nightmare.

Drake Matthews is tired of the spotlight and tired of his reputation as the Knight of Nightmares. He’s really a nice guy! But he’s not prepared for Kate, a fearless agent of chaos in steel-tipped stilettos, or for that sweet sting of attraction he feels for her. She’s inspiring him to take his writing in a whole new direction—one that no one expects. Because now Kate and Drake are changing up the rules, and this plot twist might just surprise everyone . . . including themselves.

ALL THE FALL VIBES.

Sometimes I just really love the atmosphere of a story. The surrounding aura that creates a well defined structure (even in a contemporary vs. fantasy). For How Sweet It Is, there was an inherent sense of fall and Halloween and I ADORED it all.

Kate and Drake were pretty dang sweet on each other. I thought from the get-go they had a humorous meet-cute and a natural progression to their relationship. I liked the banter and how sweet on Kate that Drake was. I loooove getting the hero’s POV chapters and a few throughout this book helped me get inside his head too.

I didn’t love all of the conflict. It felt very forced, especially since Kate explicitly explained the problem and apologized (it was a true accident) and Drake refused to listen. And I’m sitting here wondering how you just slept together and are all about trusting and then threw that out the window the first chance you got? Eh, no good there. Otherwise, a strong romance, but the conflict can easily bring down a story for me.

The event planner meets horror novelist was fun and inventive as far as couples go in romances I’ve read so far. I love the Halloween release party at the end and all of the antics that went into creating a fantastic party. I’d be open to reading another book by Newton and seeing what other stories may entail.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary romance
Language: some
Romance: kisses to open door
Trigger/Content Warnings: cheating recounted, mentions of domestic abuse, PTSD (military related), suicide mentioned, terminal cancer recounted, death of a mother recounted

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Book Review: Meet Me in Paradise by Libby Hubscher

December 9, 2021May 25, 2021 GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Libby Hubscher
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 23rd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Marin Cole has never:
Seen the ocean
Climbed a mountain
Taken a risk on love
….But if her sister’s plan works, she just might do all three.

Ever since her journalist mother died on assignment, Marin has played it safe, refusing to set foot outside the state of Tennessee. Her wild-child younger sister, Sadie, has trotted the globe as a photographer, living off of art and adrenaline.

When Sadie returns from a tough assignment abroad and looks a little worse for wear, Marin reluctantly agrees to a sisters’ spa weekend on the tropical island of Saba. But her lifelong fear of travel is affirmed when Sadie misses the flight, Marin’s luggage gets mixed up with another passenger’s, and an episode of turbulence sends her hurtling into the lap of Lucas Tsai, the handsome stranger who stole her sister’s seat.

For the first time in a long time, Marin has to step outside of her comfort zone as she explores the island with Lucas and learns what she’s been missing out on. With each breathtaking new experience, Marin gets closer to her real self, the man she’s falling for, and the heart-wrenching truth about why she’s there in the first place.

EMOTIONALLY BEAUTIFUL.

LOVED THIS BOOK SO DANG MUCH Y’ALL.

This was filled with so much!!

I love the strong bonds of sisterhood. Marin and her sister, Sadie were partners in life and everything else. I adored both of them with all of my heart and their family dynamic hit home in many ways. I’m going to start crying just trying to type this review out.

The romance was incredibly tender. It was somehow quick-moving but perfectly paced. I was all in from the moment Lucas sat beside Marin on the plane. It was incredibly romantic and had me swooning and cheering them on. It was everything I love to see in an passionate island getaway.

The setting had me wanting to brave my own fear of flying and get on a plane ASAP. It was enchanting and the locals were fantastic. I love that Marin got to meet many new people and really explore for the first time in her life.

Marin had incredible growth. She stretched and found a whole new world to stand in. Marin chose herself [finally] first and it allowed her to be able to see where she wanted to go next and with who.

Many times I was brought close to tears and the pure raw emotion emanating from the pages. This story will break you completely down and still be able to hand out hope in the end. I love how this combined life and love together to create one magnificent read. I couldn’t put this down and I loved every second of it (even if I wanted to cry half the time).

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary romance
Language: a little
Romance: kisses to closed door
Trigger/Content Warnings: a dicey plane ride, a loved one with terminal illness, loss of a parent

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Book Review

Book Review: The Extra (The Extra #1) by Megan Walker and Janci Patterson

August 28, 2020August 24, 2020 GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 265 pages
Author: Megan Walker and Janci Patterson
Publisher: Garden Ninja Books
Release Date: April 6th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Gabby Mays wishes she had her future figured out, like her gorgeous roommate Anna-Marie, who has just landed a role on the hit soap opera Passion Medical. Gabby would give anything to find a career she’s half as passionate about as Anna-Marie is about acting—and a love life that isn’t comprised of nights with a party-sized bag of Doritos and her Netflix account.

When Gabby becomes a recurring extra on Passion Medical, she finds a job she’s surprisingly great at. Even better, her old crush and ex-boss—the sexy, sweet Will Bowen—is writing the scripts, allowing Gabby lots of quality flirting time at the craft services table.

But between feuding divas, fake Emmys, and Gabby’s growing concern that Will might not see her as anything more than a friend, her life on set is quickly becoming a drama worthy of the soaps.

Thank you to the author, Megan Walker, for a copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own!

ENTERTAINING.

I had a good time with this one! I didn’t know much going in but found myself easily drawn in to the writing style and the story at large.

Gabby was a well thought out main character. She had a lot of struggles and over a small amount of pages really showed some growth. I liked that she started to take charge of her life and didn’t rush into what she wanted to do. It’s so hard to pick out what you want to do with your life (hello, I still have no idea) that I felt and have thought the same things Gabby has.

The romance was sweet! It didn’t take up as much page time as I thought it would (or hoped), but it’s cute nature easily charmed me. The emotional cheating aspect was one of the harder things to read. I did like the way the authors addressed this though and thought it was handled much better than I’ve seen in other books (where it’s not even addressed at all, it is a form of cheating!).

You have to lean into the drama in The Extra. Knowing the synopsis and the general idea of the book helped me know it was going to be a bit dramatic, and I ended up really loving the flair of it all. Yes, a bit over the top, yet was the right kind of quirk this story needed. The soap opera plot line was humorous and totally ridiculous, and I was all in for it.

I’m curious about the other books in this series and look forward to checking those out some time!

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary romance
Language: some strong
Romance: kisses / make-outs; a lot of mentions of off-screen sex
Trigger/Content warnings: divorce, emotional cheating, physical cheating, bullying, a loved one with a drug addiction