The Brand That Binds is book 2 in the Forbidden Omegaverse series, and it can be read as a complete standalone.
This is yet another forbidden3.5 stars
The Brand That Binds is book 2 in the Forbidden Omegaverse series, and it can be read as a complete standalone.
This is yet another forbidden stepsibling romance. There is no blood relation between Nick and Kira, but they are bonded as pack siblings. In this case, Nick and Kira are separated and reunited twice—the first time as teenagers in foster care and the second time as adults when Kira gets abducted.
I was a huge fan of the heroine right away. She was so self aware and kept berating herself for making the stupid decision of coming back to her childhood small town. Her self awareness made her smart, especially compared to the other heroines of this series lol.
I had a good time reading this smutty romance. My only complaint is that the author went into too much detail when describing the abuse that Kira and her foster siblings endured at the hands of their foster parents. It made me sooo uncomfortable and angry. I was here for a good smutty time. I didn't sign up for the detailed abuse ...more
Eva Mercy is busy juggling her life as a single mom and her work as a bestselling romance author. When she accepts an invitation to a literar4.5 stars
Eva Mercy is busy juggling her life as a single mom and her work as a bestselling romance author. When she accepts an invitation to a literary event, she runs into Shane Hall, a reclusive and award-winning literary author. The last time she saw Shane was 15 years ago, after they had spent a torrid and drug-induced week together.
Shane and Eva first met when they were in high school and their young relationship screamed codependency. But at the same time, the context and circumstances made it easy for me to understand why these two were so drawn to each other. Their second chance romance as adults happens after both Shane and Eva have gotten the help they needed, and continue to work on themselves. Shane and Eva's romance is angsty with the perfect amount of banter, and it takes a long time for them to find their HEA. They both deserve it so much after all that they went through and I appreciate the characters knowing when it was time to take a break and recalibrate.
I was very impressed with how the author deftly handled the chronic pain and disability representation. I also think the author did a great job tackling the theme of generational trauma. We get to see firsthand how Eva tries to break the generational trauma with the way she raises her daughter Audrey. The women in Eva's family are so interesting that I could easily read an entire book about her lineage.
Despite the heavy topics, this book had a good balance of humour and romance. My favourite character was definitely Audrey. Her interactions with other characters were the best.
Overall, I really loved Seven Days in June. I listened to it on audio and the narrator was so good. The author's prose is fluid and it was so easy to immerse myself in this world. There were soooo many swoonworthy quotes that I saved ...more
Before I Let Go is a second chance romance between a divorced couple. Yasmen and Josiah were the couple. Everyone expected them to last forever. But tBefore I Let Go is a second chance romance between a divorced couple. Yasmen and Josiah were the couple. Everyone expected them to last forever. But tragedy after tragedy hit their family, leading to their divorce. Now, two years later, Yasmen and Josiah live apart and are co-parenting their two kids and working together to run their restaurant.
I think this is quite possibly the best marriage in trouble romance I've read. Yasmen and Josiah's love made me feel all the feelings. I went through an emotional rollercoaster with these two and I have zero regrets. I loved every minute of their relationship. Was I happy they dated other people while divorced? Noooo, but I understand why it had to be included in the story. Yasmen and Josiah's romance is emotional, poignant, and healing. The mental health representation is solid, and it highlights important topics such as finding the right therapist for oneself and the stigma associated with going to therapy, especially for Black men.
In addition to the romance, we explore the Wade family dynamic post-divorce. Yasmen's relationship with their daughter Deja was particularly interesting, and to be honest, relatable. I really liked how the author approached this complicated mother-daughter relationship. Likewise, I really appreciated Josiah's relationship with their son Kassim, especially when it came to normalizing therapy. The incompatibility in grieving was another topic that the author handled deftly. I am not a mother, so I will never understand the depth of Yasmen's grief, but I understand depression. I understand grieving. I understand complicated family dynamics. I understand mother-daughter relationships. I feel like there is a little bit of healing for everyone in this book.
"I told her it wasn't that I wanted to take my life [...] But that I didn't want to live it."
There's so much more to say about this book, but I don't think I can write a review that truly does the story justice. You just gotta read the book for yourself. It is angsty and emotional, but it is also so incredibly healing. I finished the book feeling soothed and happy that Yasmen and Josiah found their HEA again.
"Life is not about always being okay. It's about getting help when we aren't. About letting our family and friends help us."
This is a review for Mary Balogh's Almost Persuaded only, which is a Persuasion retelling with a reincarnation twist.
This version of Anne and WentwortThis is a review for Mary Balogh's Almost Persuaded only, which is a Persuasion retelling with a reincarnation twist.
This version of Anne and Wentworth have lived many previous lives, but they were never able to achieve their HEA. They kept getting reborn and now we know them as Captain Robert and Jane.
The insta-love is the dumbest thing I have ever read in my entire life. The man proposed marriage after 2 hours of knowing her. Why? Because his guru in India had guided him into meditation and trance and that's how he remembered all of his past lives. Why was he in India? Because that's where his regiment was. The author chose India because of the reincarnation trope, but fails to even mention that India was under brutal colonization by the British empire.
There is no build up, no tension, no angst, no pining. The second chance romance comes into the form of the reincarnation trope. I can't even begin to explain just how ridiculous this novella is. I would be surprised if Mary Balogh was indeed the author....more
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Charlotte and the Seductive Spymaster is the final (maybe?) book in the Lady CharloI received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Charlotte and the Seductive Spymaster is the final (maybe?) book in the Lady Charlotte's Society of Angels series—a historical romance version of Charlie's Angels. If you're new to the series, I think this book actually stands well on its own.
Charlie's husband passed away 12 years ago...or did he? ...more
I was really excited to read this one because the reincarnation trope is so rare in romance novels. It's a semi-popular trope in kdramas, but3.5 stars
I was really excited to read this one because the reincarnation trope is so rare in romance novels. It's a semi-popular trope in kdramas, but I rarely come across it in romance novels.
Norse beserker Aidan found his mate in Valkyrie Regin the Radiant. But alas, their love story ended tragically when Aidan was killed. Since then, Aidan has been reincarnated into different identities. But each reincarnated version of Aidan ends up dying after he regains his memories.
This time, Aidan has been reincarnated as Declan Chase, a human soldier working for The Order, whose goal is to hunt all immortals. Regin gets caught by Declan and is held captive—and tortured—along with other immortals. If you've seen season 4 of Buffy, it's similar to The Order arc.
Look, I won't lie. Declan isn't likable at all. Yes, I understand his tragic backstory and the fact that he'd been brainwashed, but his actions are still not justified. I understand he didn't order for Regan to be experimented on, but he still ordered the same on other good immortals. I totally get why readers struggled with him.
I will say I really liked the flashbacks with Regin and each reincarnated version of Aidan. I really like the way the author inserted those flashbacks. They also felt very historical in terms of the descriptive language that was used. The flashbacks felt very immersive as a result.
As for Declan, he does grovel at the end. But...I needed some more groveling tbh. I think his redemption arc started too late in the book. I was also a bit annoyed at how he told Regin to show him her world. That's not her responsibility, especially after what Declan did. The onus is on him to take initiative to educate himself, learn, and shake off his biases. He also made all these plans for himself and Regin, assuming that she would go along with them. It was frustrating because he should have been spending his energy to grovel some more instead. I also needed more conflict between Aidan and his mentor Webb, just to really highlight how he was brainwashed and lied to about the Lore. They did have a good moment when he confronted Webb about his beserker identity, but not much other than that.
All this to say—the chemistry was great, the reincarnation trope was well executed, the supporting characters were a hoot, and the plot was very readable. I just needed a bit more grovel to really strengthen Declan's redemption. I won't lie though...I was more interested in the Lothaire chapters than anything else ...more
When I read the author's note at the beginning, I immediately had a good vibe about this book. It was clear to me that the author was very passionate When I read the author's note at the beginning, I immediately had a good vibe about this book. It was clear to me that the author was very passionate about Persuasion and was determined to do justice to the story and its characters.
I'm a big Persuasion fan and I've been on a mission to read as many Persuasion retellings as possible. As you can imagine, it's not easy to find solid retellings. So I'm happy that Once Persuaded, Twice Shy ended up being such a pleasant surprise. I honestly didn't expect to love it as much as I did.
Set in the small Canadian town of Niagara-on-the-lake, Anne is a town councilor and the executive director of her late mother's theatre company. As the original story goes, society treats Anne as the responsible problem-solver. She not only takes care of all the problems at the theatre, but she's also the only responsible member of her family, stuck in a rut taking care of her narcissistic father and sister.
Anne's mundane life turns upside down when her ex Ben shows up in town to help his aunt and uncle, who are the new owners of Kellynch Winery. Ben, whose heart Anne broke 8 years ago. Ben, who's now made a name for himself as a venture capitalist. Anne and Ben are forced to confront their complicated feelings while working together on a joint project between her theatre and the winery. Cue tension, pining, and jealousy. Delicious. Truthfully, the beginning is a bit slow. Anne and Ben meet again at the 21% mark, which was a bit late for me. But the wait made me as anxious and as nervous as Anne LOL.
There are certain arcs that most retellings butcher, but Melodie Edwards does such a great job executing these arcs in her own retelling. For example, this adaptation makes sure that Anne and Ben's respective third-party love interests are not the centre of attention, and clearly emphasizes that the romantic interest doesn't go beyond a light flirtation. For some reason, other authors tend to focus all of their attention on developing the love square against the second chance romance between the main leads. I don't know why they do that, but Melodie Edwards is clearly wiser than these authors and I am glad for it. Instead of falling into that love square trap, Melodie Edwards puts all of her time and energy on developing Anne and Ben's second chance romance. She pushes them together into circumstances that parallel the original story and force them to slowly confront their complicated feelings and understand their past choices. She does such a great job of translating the classic Anne and Wentworth moments into a contemporary setting that fits her own version of the characters.
Out of all the adaptations I've read, this one has the best retelling of the Louisa Musgrove arc. It was brilliantly executed. Other adaptations either go overboard with this arc, or they rewrite this arc with moderation. This retelling strikes the perfect balance and it is written in such a way that it pushes Anne and Ben into even closer proximity. Brilliant!! It lives rent free in my brain!! It was at this point that I knew this would be one of my favourite retellings.
We don't get in-depth details about how Anne's family had previously treated Ben, but we get enough to understand where things had gone wrong. There is no growth for Anne's sister and father, but neither did the original story have any sort of redemption arc for these two characters. The only character who's missing is Wentworth's sad friend, James Benwick. But I respect the author's choice to exclude him because to be honest, I always thought his marriage to Louisa was so sudden. And this is something that most retellings struggle to make sense of in a contemporary setting.
The moment when Anne reads Ben's letter and runs to find him. When she finally sees him and makes her move. It's soooo good. Ben's reaction is everything I expected it to be. This is a sweet romance that fades to black and I know this is a turn off for some readers. But trust me when I say that the build up is soooo romantic and steamy in its own way. There is a healthy dose of pining, secretive looks, and angst, all leading up to when they finally get back together. I most definitely swooned.
My only gripe with this book is that Jane Austen exists as an author in this world. We know for sure that Pride and Prejudice exists in this world because Elizabeth and Darcy are mentioned. But...I'm assuming Persuasion doesn't exist because otherwise Anne would have definitely drawn parallels. I really wish retellings would just not mention Jane Austen lol. It gets too meta and takes me out of the story. But overall, this is my only complaint in an otherwise solid Persuasion retelling....more
Love and Other Words is a childhood friends to lovers romance, until Elliot and Macy break up and then reunite 11 years later. The story is t4.5 stars
Love and Other Words is a childhood friends to lovers romance, until Elliot and Macy break up and then reunite 11 years later. The story is told in alternating timelines between the past and the present. We get to experience Elliot and Macy's relationship growth and development from childhood friends to lovers. And then we are thrust back into the present when they run into each other as adults. You don't find out what drove them apart until the very end. Everything builds up until the truth is revealed and Elliot and Macy finally talk about what happened.
My favourite chapters were the ones set in the past. I loved seeing Elliot and Macy's friendship slowly turn into romantic interest. The authors really nailed the teenage phase. There were many humourous moments that made me giggle. As for the present chapters, the pain doesn't really hit until the moment of revelation. The entire time, I was playing the guessing game, trying to figure out what exactly drove Elliot and Macy apart. I think the reason why I enjoyed the flashbacks more than the present-day chapters is because they felt very insular. The flashbacks were solely focused on Elliot and Macy and their little bubble of friendship, whereas the present-day chapters included other characters that I wasn't too interested in.
When Macy and Elliot finally talk about what had happened in the past, I cried. Not so much about their relationship, but about the other incident. I'm sure there are plenty of readers who are firmly on the train of this-could-have-been-resolved-years-ago, but I don't really agree with this. If Macy was a different type of person, then yes, maybe then this could have been resolved years ago. But she was always an aloof person who kept people at a distance. So her reaction afterwards made complete sense to me and I don't fault her for it.
My only criticism is that the book focuses so much on Macy's pain and trauma that we don't get to explore Elliot's pain and trauma. I'm surprised that the authors failed to even start a discussion on Elliot's truth. It's quite troubling in fact, given the circumstances. Aside from this, the lack of social media felt very odd to me. Do neither Elliot nor Macy have social media accounts? Have neither of them tried searching each other up online? Maybe it was mentioned at some point and I missed it?
Anyway, aside from these two issues, Love and Other Words was truly an experience. This book made me cry and that alone made me bump my rating a bit. Macy and Elliot are two people who belong together. They were meant to be, and nothing could ever change my mind about it.
Citadel is the 5th book in the Kindled series, but it can be read as a complete standalone. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, we meet Del and her olderCitadel is the 5th book in the Kindled series, but it can be read as a complete standalone. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, we meet Del and her older sister Breanna as they try their best to survive and protect each other. When their safe haven is under threat, the sisters have no choice but to trust Cole, a lone man who had once helped Del.
I'm honestly so happy that we are getting so many stories set in the Kindled world. What's interesting here is that Cole and Del have a second chance romance. After Cole, Del, and Breanna find a community to settle in, Cole leaves Del without saying goodbye. They meet again 2 years later, but Del can no longer trust Cole and she's determined to stay far away from him. But when Breanna goes missing, Del has no choice but to accept Cole's help to find her sister. And that's when the second chance romance really kicks in.
I just love the way Claire Kent transitions the romance from aloof sexual interest to deep love and intimacy. Even though Cole and Del try to pretend that their relationship is only based on sex, there is still a deep and believable emotional connection between them from the start. I was swooning by the time Cole and Del finally approached a new level of emotional intimacy and their love declaration was so sweet. In addition to the romance, I really enjoyed their conversations about Cole's sacrifice for his brother, especially in contrast with Del's connection with her sister Breanna.
I can always expect a good book from Claire Kent. I'm really excited for Aidan and Breanna's book! They are both interesting characters and I can't wait to dive deep into their story!...more
I was surprised to find out that Sophie Lark's debut was a Persuasion retelling. If you've never read her before, I would recommend that you start witI was surprised to find out that Sophie Lark's debut was a Persuasion retelling. If you've never read her before, I would recommend that you start with one of her mafia series. Always is not a good indicator of Sophie Lark's skills as a writer.
I knew from the start that Always would lean heavily into the love triangle between James, Anika, and Marco. So I was prepared for it even though I don't like this trope. But omg...James and Anika AKA Wentworth and Anne barely spent any time together?! Marco AKA Mr. Elliot gets more screen time than James. And there are two detailed intimate scenes between Anika and Marco that made me gag ...more
Find Wonder in All Things is a modern Persuasion retelling set in a small lake town. Laurel and James met when they were kids, and she always4.5 stars
Find Wonder in All Things is a modern Persuasion retelling set in a small lake town. Laurel and James met when they were kids, and she always had a crush on him. James is from the big city and he only ever visited the small town in the summer. James and Laurel are reunited years later when James accepts a job at Laurel's father's marina. At this point, Laurel has graduated high school and James is in college. And that's when their romance truly begins.
What's different about this retelling is that the story is told in chronological order. In Part 1 of the book, we briefly see how Laurel and James knew each other as kids. And then we delve deep into their reunion as young adults, when they start dating, when they fall in love, and what made Laurel break up with James. The author includes Part 1 and Part 2 intermissions, which is such an interesting creative choice. I only mention these details because I actually loved how the author formatted the story. Part 2 of the book is when the second chance romance starts, packaged with the forced proximity, pining, angst, and tension.
Out of all the Persuasion retellings I've read so far, I think Laurel and James are probably the most accurate depictions of Anne and Wentworth that I've come across. Anne's kindness, her reclusiveness, and the way she supports her family were translated really well in this modern retelling. It's not easy to write a contemporary Anne Elliot because society today does not place as many restrictions on women as it did back then. But I think the author did a great job showing us how and why Laurel was stuck in her circumstances, and what motivated her to finally get over her fear and to leave the "mountain nest."
What's a bit different with James is that even though he blames Laurel for breaking up with him, he also admits that he was young and impulsive. He understands Laurel's misgivings a lot better as an adult. And this is partly because the story is dual POV!!! It's so rare coming across a dual POV retelling of Persuasion, and this one was so well-done!! The inclusion of James's POV added a lot more depth to the story and to his own characterization. What I love the most here is that Laurel and James took time to both reflect on themselves and to communicate with each other before starting afresh. Again, the dual POV really helped make that clear. The steam was also a bonus! I totally was not expecting it because most retellings keep it closed door or fade to black.
Something else that I really appreciated about this book is that James and Laurel don't cross the flirtation line with Heather and Cooper, respectively. Some of the other modern retellings actually have the main characters hook up with these supporting characters, which left a bad taste in my mouth. But here, there's only mild flirtation and one-sided interest, which is true to the original story. So I'm very happy on that end.
The only minor complaint I have is about the writing style. Don't get me wrong, this book was very well-written. It's just that sometimes it gets dialogue-heavy, to the point where I forget if the characters are standing or sitting and what the setting actually is. But this could also just be a me-problem because I was reading really fast LOL. I would have to re-read to confirm this.
Overall, I truly loved this retelling. I would say it's my second favourite Persuasion retelling so far. I just love that it's accurate story-wise and character-wise. I'm definitely going to check out the author's other classic retellings....more
I received an ARC from NetGalley and an ALC from Libro FM in exchange for an honest review.
Forget Me Not was such a pleasant surprise! It's a second cI received an ARC from NetGalley and an ALC from Libro FM in exchange for an honest review.
Forget Me Not was such a pleasant surprise! It's a second chance romance between a wedding planner and a florist. I honestly wasn't sure I'd like this one because there were some minor hiccups in the beginning that annoyed me. But the delicious romantic tension and chemistry made up for these minor flaws.
This is everything that I love in a second chance romance. The chemistry, the tension, and the angst gave me so much life ...more
Sway is the kind of Persuasion retelling that has very clear parallels with the original classic. There are some differences, but for the most part, tSway is the kind of Persuasion retelling that has very clear parallels with the original classic. There are some differences, but for the most part, this is a solid Persuasion retelling with very obvious parallels. The author did a pretty good job modernizing the story and its characters.
Ava and Eric were high school sweethearts, but she broke his heart when her elitist family forced her to leave him. Eight years later, Ava is a pianist graduating with a masters from Juilliard and Eric has become a famous musician. They're reunited when Eric's sister and brother-in-law become the new tenants of Ava's childhood home.
Eric doesn't come into the picture until a quarter into the story, but I liked the build up of Ava's nervousness about meeting Eric again. She tries in vain not to get herself involved in situations where Eric might be present. Their reunion is filled with sadness on Ava's side and pettiness on Eric's end. Cry me a river indeed ...more
By the Book is a contemporary Persuasion retelling set in the field of academia. Anne is an English professor who has a plan to get tenure at her univBy the Book is a contemporary Persuasion retelling set in the field of academia. Anne is an English professor who has a plan to get tenure at her university. But her world is discombobulated when her first love and ex-fiancé Adam is hired as the university's new president.
I don't usually give out 1 star ratings, but this book infuriated me on so many levels. Before I get into it, I would just like to point out that the author's prose is good and her writing style is clear and easy to navigate. I have nothing against her prose and her writing style.
To begin with, this so-called Persuasion retelling turns into Pride and Prejudice when Anne starts dating Rick AKA Wickham. Why create a Wickham when Mr. Elliot is right there in the original classic? Rick doesn't serve a purpose, yet he takes over the entire story! Even the climax is about him! Instead of Rick getting his just deserts, he ends up monetizing the entire situation by getting himself a 6 figure deal! How ridiculous! What's the point of bringing down a villain just so he can get back up? Anne also spends 83% of the story dating him!! In what world would Anne Elliot date Wickham?!?!?! Make it make sense ...more
The Boy is Back is a loose Persuasion retelling and it's told entirely in an epistolary format with texts, chats, newspaper clippings, diary entries, The Boy is Back is a loose Persuasion retelling and it's told entirely in an epistolary format with texts, chats, newspaper clippings, diary entries, letters, etc. At first, I was skeptical about this narrative format, but it was surprisingly really well done. Ten years ago, Reed left his small town and his high school sweetheart Becky and never looked back. Now he's made it big as a professional golfer and he's forced to return home after an Internet post makes his family a national laughingstock.
From where I stand, it would seem that the roles of Anne and Wentworth are sort of reversed because Reed is the one who comes from a rich family. All the family drama is on his side and he was the one who broke up with Becky.
Overall, this book was a quick and easy read. The Boy is Back is not angsty, nor is there a lot of pining, but I had a lot of fun reading it. I'm surprisingly okay with the lack of angst and pining, but mostly because I just love the narrative format of this book. If you're a fan of Persuasion, adjust your expectations because The Boy is Back is a fun and light retelling, instead of the usual angst and pining that is associated with its classic counterpart. I'm surprised I liked it so much because the pining and the angst in Persuasion is what I love the most. But Meg Cabot wrote something fun and unique here and I can't deny that I had an enjoyable reading experience. I would also argue that the roles of Anne and Wentworth are kind of reversed because Reed is the one who's rich and has all the family drama.
Bear in mind that Becky is dating someone else named Graham, but their relationship was fizzling even before Reed's return. Honestly, Becky's boyfriend was irrelevant to the story lol. His absence wouldn't have changed a thing. Becky would have still tried to keep her distance from Reed. She didn't need the excuse of a boyfriend, especially since Graham didn't serve the purpose of Mr. Elliot. Graham didn't annoy me, but Becky kind of did because she really should have broken up with him earlier on. I usually don't like it when the hero or heroine is dating someone else, but I didn't mind it so much here. Plus, Becky spent a lot more time with Reed than Graham, so I'm not complaining.
This book is a bit dated in the sense that the characters use Facebook as their main social media platform and old slang words like "bae" are peppered in the story. There's some interesting social commentary that almost feels like satire and that may ruffle some feathers. It didn't make a difference to me, personally lol. As for the break up and Reed's reasoning for leaving and ghosting Becky...I mean, I get it, but I also don't get it. In retrospect, they were both young, so I don't want to overthink this one LOL....more
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
What happens when an accidental double booking forces two archenemy families to liveI received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
What happens when an accidental double booking forces two archenemy families to live together in the same rental cottage? The short answer is: chaos. Evita and Ryan haven't seen each other since high school...since their respective moms stopped them from dating each other. But sparks fly again when their families are forced to share accommodations for a week.
The story itself isn't bad, but it's nothing exceptional. The adults come across as very immature, so you have to suspend disbelief to go along with the over-the-top shenanigans. I had a hard time believing this long-standing rivalry between Evita's mom and Ryan's mom. Additionally, Evita and Ryan came across as much younger than their 28 years of age. It honestly felt like they were still in high school. I think this book would have been better off as a young adult romance.
Overall, not a bad story. The writing is good and there is character growth. But it just doesn't feel like I read an adult romance....more
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was obviously drawn by the synopsis: the heroine ends up nannying for one of her OI received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was obviously drawn by the synopsis: the heroine ends up nannying for one of her OnlyFans clients, but he doesn't remember her. The synopsis leaves out certain details about their online relationship, which I appreciated because I had fun peeling back the layers of their history. I also liked the tidbits of flashback before each chapter, showing how they met online and how their relationship progressed.
To be honest, this book actually started off well. But I started losing interest when the heroine kept going around in circles. One day, she's determined to keep things professional and not cross any lines with Aiden. But the next day, she basically asks him if he finds her attractive. And of course, she immediately regrets asking him these dumb questions. Rinse and repeat. She just kept going around in circle, repeating the same thing over and over again.
Both Cassie and Aiden are delightfully awkward. They're always making blunders and accidental innuendos are common during their conversations. I had a good laugh here and there, but these blunders eventually became forced, to the point where the conversational turn-taking does not make logical sense. On top of being awkward, Cassie and Aiden are also disastrous overthinkers, which I can 100% relate to. But the issue that I had here is that the author relied too much on awkwardness, accidental innuendos, and overthinking to create tension and push and pull between Aiden and Cassie. It became repetitive and in my opinion, there are much better ways to create organic tension between two characters.
The whole revelation is very anticlimactic and the climax is just so dumb. I'm over martyr characters. Cassie continues to be a martyr even after Wanda talks some sense into her. Speaking of Wanda, she is easily the best character in this book. Cassie had better banter with Wanda than she did with Aiden. Anyway, I have a lot of difficulty liking martyr characters, especially the ones who refuse to communicate. I'm not saying Aiden is the King of Communication, but at least he actually put some effort in reconciling and tried to start a conversation with martyr Cassie.
In conclusion, Wanda is the highlight of this book. If you're looking for a fun grandma type of character, Wanda is your girl....more
It's become a tradition of sorts to read a Jodi Thomas holiday romance every year. I usually get hooked Thank you Harlequin for my complimentary copy.
It's become a tradition of sorts to read a Jodi Thomas holiday romance every year. I usually get hooked to her stories right away, but it took me a while to get invested in this one.
We have three plotlines here: - Cooper, Tatum, and Hayley - Elliot and Jessica - Dani and Tye
I was personally the most invested in Cooper's story, but unfortunately that storyline received the least amount of attention. It took way too long for Coop to finally meet his love interest. Their relationship wasn't as properly developed as the other two couples. I love the addition of Tatum to the family though. He was my favourite.
Arguably, Tye and Dani had the most fleshed out relationship, but they also got together way too quickly lol. I really liked the conflict here, but Dani also overreacted lol.
As for Jessica and Elliot, I didn't really find Jess all that likable. Because this is a second chance romance, their relationship already had a foundation. But I feel like the resolution was a bit rushed.
Lastly, I lowkey wish Creed and Dallas had their own chapters.
Overall, this wasn't a terrible book, but it just wasn't one of my favourite Jodi Thomas books....more
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