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Thanks to Kenadee and Naughty Nook PR for the ARC opportunity!
Featured tropes: sports romance, forced ARC review for Fear of Falling by Kendaee Bryant
Thanks to Kenadee and Naughty Nook PR for the ARC opportunity!
Featured tropes: sports romance, forced proximity, found family, instalove, dominant MMC
Triggers: reference to past physical abuse, reference to past abandonment by a parent, past death of a parent
Review: 3/5
This was Kenadee's debut novel, a hockey romance which we all know speaks to my soul despite knowing nothing about and having never seen a hockey game in my life. But I see hockey, I'm probably going to read it. Sue me.
Things I liked: - I loved the found family aspect both Wyatt and Josie had. They each have their people and they are all fiercely protective of one another while still giving each other sass. I also liked Wyatt's family dynamic. I'm a sucker for a close family. - Because of the solid found family aspect, there's a great cast of side characters. I'm intrigued by Tasha and want to know more about the relationship she's sure to develop with Trevor. And I think there's a lot about both Lydia and Landon that we don't know that will be fun to discover in what I'm sure will be their book. Generally speaking, the characters all had great banter and there were definitely parts that made me giggle because of the hell they were giving each other.
Things I disliked or missed the mark: - I found the whole thing a little boring. I really don't think this book needed to be almost 400 pages. There wasn't a ton of angst or drama which is okay, but then the length just made the story feel unnecessarily long. I was bored enough in the last 50% that I found myself skimming the chapters. We finally get a little drama at 86% and from there I started actually reading again. - This is dual POV but only about 25%. There's 44 chapters but only 10 of them are from Wyatt's perspective. Of our two MCs, I liked Wyatt more so the fact he was only 10 of the chapters was a bummer for me. It's not that I disliked Josie but I found her a little boring which, therefore, made me less excited for her perspective (and probably why I found the book overall a little blah). I think she could have been a very interesting character if we had a little more insight to her history. We learn about her relationship past but, really, it's all boiled down to one conversation with Wyatt and I think it made it all seem glossed over when it could have really developed her into a more nuanced FMC.
Overall, this was fine debut novel for Kendaee. There's a strong foundation for additional books in the series and, while I might not be first in line on their future release days to read them, I'd probably circle around to reading them eventually....more
Thanks to Q.B. and Good Girls PR for the ARC opportunity!
Featured tropes: cheating (not between the MCs ARC review for Our Little Secret by Q.B. Tyler
Thanks to Q.B. and Good Girls PR for the ARC opportunity!
Featured tropes: cheating (not between the MCs but like, he's working on it, okay?!), forbidden romance, age gap, workplace romance, billionaire, second chance, slight daddy kink, instalust
Trigger warnings: cheating (again, not between the MCs) and this is really the biggest one. There's also divorce and a brief bought of parental judgment but really, cheating is the big one.
Review: 4/5
Okay, okay, I know. Cheating. It's a big issue for a lot of people and for good reason. And this book has cheating. Like, a lot of it. It's, quite literally, the premise of the MCs entire story. But really, I think you should give this one a chance. Honestly, it's worth it.
Things I liked: - Despite his obvious issue (his regular infidelity) Chris was really a super sweet MMC. When he finds his person, he really goes all in. - Marissa is a pretty great FMC. For being 21 at the start of the book, she seems confident in herself which is really saying something. Good for her for loving herself! - The banter. Man, oh man, the banter. I loved all of the sarcasm between Marissa and her family and Marissa and Chris. It made me smile. - I liked how this is part of a series but also kind of a standalone. There are two other books in this series. But you 100% don't need to read the prior stories to go into this one. This book's timeline actually starts before the timeline of the prior book so the stories are happening in the same world and there is character crossover but they are independent stories and fun to read the different perspectives/timelines as they happen.
Things I disliked or missed the mark: - I wish we would have gotten some more details surrounding Chris and Holly's divorce. Chris says if Marissa would have read his emails she would have known what happened but we don't get any of the tea after the fact. And also, that plot point is never wrapped up. Like did Marissa block him? It just seemed strange that for two people who work at one of the top security agencies in the country, they didn't think it strange his emails didn't come through. - I would have liked to see a little more about Chris' family. We meet all of Marissa's family and Chris' family is referenced but there is really no insight as to his relationship with them or their thoughts on Holly, his infidelity, etc. - The end seemed rushed. It all seemed to wrap up super quickly, boom, boom, boom and all of a sudden, poof, it was done.
Really, I quite enjoyed this book. Maybe it was because of the taboo nature of their relationship or the many things working against them, but I just couldn't help rooting for Chris and Marissa. Again, I know there's cheating. I get it. But I think it's worth it to overlook that little blip in Chris' judgment and give these MCs a chance....more
ARC review for Loving the Unexpected Earl by Christina Diane
Thanks to Christina for the ARC opportunity!
Featured tropes: miscommunication (this 100% dARC review for Loving the Unexpected Earl by Christina Diane
Thanks to Christina for the ARC opportunity!
Featured tropes: miscommunication (this 100% deserves to be listed first cuz there's miscommunication on top of miscommunication), forced marriage/proximity, virgin MMC, unexpected inheritance, instalove, historical romance
Trigger warnings: not really any. Gossip maybe? Light bullying from classic mean girls. And really, those are stretches.
Review: 2.5/5
This is a debut novel set in Regency England (think Bridgerton times).
Things I liked: - Our MMC, Graham, is a sweetie. Simply put, I just had heart eyes for him. - I liked that Diana was a capable FMC. Oftentimes in Regency era books, the FMC is just kind of there or doesn't have much personality or character development. Diana was a welcome member to her households and a valued companion to her friends. - Some of the banter made me LOL.
Things I disliked or missed the mark: - This was so reminiscent of The Duke and I (Bridgerton) that I struggled a bit. So much of the early plot seemed practically play-by-play of how Daphne and Simon come together that it gave me some ick. - I don't profess to be an expert in Regency era vernacular but the dialogue felt so off to me. It didn't really feel Regency but it also wasn't modern. It was...I don't know...just not right. - The miscommunication. Yeesh. I'll openly admit, it is not my favorite trope. But this was NEXT LEVEL. Nearly the whole book is Graham hears something about Diana, misinterprets, spirals in self-doubt, resolves to talk to Diana, then doesn't. Then Diana hears something about Graham, misinterprets, second guesses everything, resolves to talk to Graham, then doesn't. Start the cycle over and repeat for nearly 300 pages. I get this is Regency era so Diana is likely conditioned to not be forward but she had no issue with that during their wedding night so I struggled with how she did in all other instances. As for Graham, he was advised to talk to his wife more times than I can count and he just...didn't. Seriously, grow a pair and TALK TO EACH OTHER!! - Chapter one after spending 26 years as a country gentleman raising horses, Graham finds out he is the newly inherited Earl of Powis...and just says "okay!" and leaves. Like, what?! I get duty and responsibility were paramount in those times and he didn't really have a choice but there was literally no conflict surrounding his inheritance of the title, he just hopped on a horse and went to London. Like, bye literally everything I've ever known. Nice knowin' ya. It just seemed abrupt. Even two pages of dialogue with some second-guessing and doubt would have felt more natural.
If you really love historical romances, this will likely be enjoyable to you, but if you're a stickler for accuracy, I think this dialogue will take you out of it. Christina does a good job of building up all of the characters so she's definitely set the scene for additional books....more
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