Tag: romance

Book Review:  Love Is for the Birds, by Diane Owens Prettyman

Image belongs to She Writes Press.

 Title:   Love Is for the Birds
Author:  Diane Owens Prettyman
Genre: Romance        
Rating:  2.5 out of 3

The Texas Gulf: beautiful yet unpredictable..

A beach town destroyed. Her mother’s candy store swept away. This is what Teddy Wainsworth faces when she returns to Bird Isle. Meanwhile, Jack Shaughness, owner of a popular barbecue restaurant chain and widower still grieving the death of his wife, receives permission to cross over to the island with a smoker full of brisket to feed hurricane survivors. Soon after arriving, he meets Teddy and immediately finds himself drawn to her—which makes him feel he is betraying his wife. When the two find a lost dog, Jack convinces Teddy to take the dog home while they attempt to find the owner, creating a bond that brings them closer.

In the wake of the hurricane, Bird Isle residents fear the Aransas Wildlife Refuge will not be ready for the whooping cranes’ annual migration south. Seeing that Jack has important connections and a love for the island, they enlist him to help restore the habitat of the endangered cranes before they fly to Padre Island for the winter. With their rescued dog always nearby, Teddy and Jack work side by side to rebuild Bird Isle for the return of the whooping cranes. But Jack is harboring a secret that may ruin everything he and Teddy are creating—and he won’t be able to keep that secret forever.

I had high hopes for this, because I love Port Aransas, and that’s what this setting reminded me of. But…this was a disappointing read. This felt very predictable and unrealistic. Teddy’s candy store was wiped out by a hurricane, and mere weeks later, it’s totally rebuilt and open for business? Not believable. Teddy herself was juvenile and indecisive, hung up on Jack’s restaurants’ names and the fact that his wife died five years before.

Jack seemed way too good to be true, and the insta-love aspect really drove me up the wall. Everything seemed really rushed in the amount of time elapsed, and Jack expected Teddy to be over her long-term boyfriend in like a week. The thing that really bothered me the most, though, was Jack and Teddy’s reaction to the teenage girl character’s nose piercing. They acted like it was so horrifying and gross. Was this written decades ago, or was it written recently, when nose piercings are everywhere? Frankly, this made the characters and the author seem judgy and hidebound.

Diane Owens Prettyman’s new novel is Love is for the Birds.

(Galley courtesy of She Writes Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  Christmas in Chestnut Ridge, by Nancy Naigle

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:  Christmas in Chestnut Ridge
Author:  Nancy Naigle        
Genre:  Romance       
Rating:  4 out of 5

In the enchanting mountain town of Chestnut Ridge, where tree farms blanket the hillsides and the promise of a white Christmas is ever-present, a heartwarming holiday romance is about to blossom. When Sheila’s best friend convinces her to help decorate a tree in the annual Christmas Tree Stroll fundraiser, she embarks on an unexpected journey of self-discovery, all wrapped in the cozy embrace of a tight-knit community. As she immerses herself in the joy of twinkling lights, hot cocoa, and the camaraderie of the townsfolk, Sheila’s world begins to transform, and she finds the sense of belonging she never knew she needed.

Meanwhile, Tucker, the town’s reliable fire captain, is gathering volunteers to help a family with four young children who have just lost their home to a devastating fire weeks before Christmas. Sheila offers her helping hand, and as the town rallies to support the family in their time of need, sparks of love begin to flicker between her and Tucker.

In this charming town where dreams come true, and Christmas magic is everywhere, come along for a tale of love, community, and the true spirit of the season.

I think this book can be best described as cute and sweet—and very Christmasy. It was exactly what I expected from a Nancy Naigle book, and was a fun binge read. The small town of Chestnut Ridge and its inhabitants are the real stars of the show, and it just seemed too good to be true, but I’m firmly in Sheila’s absolutely-no-small-towns camp.

Nancy Naigle is a bestselling author. Christmas in Chestnut Ridge is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: I Did Something Bad, by Pyae Moe Thet War

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:  I Did Something Bad  
Author:   Pyae Moe Thet War      
Genre:  Romance       
Rating: 4 out of 5

When freelance journalist Khin Hlaing is assigned by Vogue to get a scoop on Tyler Tun, Hollywood’s hottest movie star who has returned home to Myanmar to shoot a film, she’s determined to succeed. If Khin’s able to get an explosive exclusive, there may well be a permanent position waiting for her at Vogue Singapore, and a ticket out of the city that’s felt too small since her recent divorce.

Tyler has done his very best to keep his private life private, and he doesn’t show any sign of letting down his walls for Khin. But then one night on set, a strange man follows Khin into the surrounding park grounds. When he threatens her, Tyler steps in and things escalate fast. Khin knows they can’t go to the police, even if it was self defense. And when she learns that this man seems to have targeted her specifically, she needs to do everything she can to find out why.

As Khin and Tyler work together to hide their secret and find out more about her attacker, they grow closer and Tyler finally starts opening up. The job at Vogue suddenly looks more promising, but Khin can’t help feel a twang of uncomfortable morality-related guilt. Before long, everything hangs in the balance. Will they get away with murder? Can Khin get the exposé she needs for her dream job? And is she willing to risk Tyler’s trust in the process?

This book was a lot of fun! The chemistry between Khin and Tyler was great, and I enjoyed all of their interactions and growing friendship and relationship. The friendship between Khin and her two best friends was wonderful to read, and this was just a fun read.

Pyae Moe Thet War lives in Myanmar. I Did Something Bad is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

 

Book Review:   How to Help a Hungry Werewolf, by Charlotte Stein

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:   How to Help a Hungry Werewolf
Author: Charlotte Stein         
Genre:  Romance       
Rating:  2.5 out of 5

When Cassandra Camberwell returns to her hometown of Hollow Brook to clear out her late grandmother’s ramshackle old house, the last thing she expects is Seth Brubaker on her doorstep. Her former best friend was responsible for the worst moment of her high school life, and she can’t imagine he wants to do anything but torment her all over again.

Until she unearths the real reason this annoyingly gorgeous beast of a man keeps hanging around: he’s an actual werewolf, who’s certain she’s the witch that will ease his suffering. But Cassie just isn’t sure if she can trust him again. So Seth offers a pact: he’ll teach her all about her undiscovered magic, and she will brew the potions he needs. No feelings, no funny business, just a witch and a werewolf striking a deal.

Totally doable. Until they get hit with a do-or-die mating bond. And now the heat is rising, in between fights with formers bullies and encounters with talking raccoons. They just have to not give in. Unless giving in just might be the very thing they never knew they always wanted.

I thought the first half of this was decent, if a little predictable and juvenile. The second half turned into some sort of wannabe-erotica without any believable worldbuilding or plot. I’m not sure what else to say about it.

Charlotte Stein lives in Leeds. How to Help a Hungry Werewolf is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:   A Fire in the Sky, by Sophie Jordan

Image belongs to Avon and Harper Voyager.

Title:  A Fire in the Sky  
Author:  Sophie Jordan        
Genre: Fantasy       
Rating:  4 out of 5

Dragons are extinct. Witches are outcast. Magic is dying.

But human lust for power is immortal.

Dragon fire no longer blisters the skies over Penterra, but inside the lavish palace, life is still perilous…especially for Tamsyn. Raised in the glittering court alongside the princesses, it’s her duty to be punished for their misdeeds. Treated as part of the royal family but also as the lowliest servant, Tamsyn fits nowhere. Her only friend is Stig, Captain of the Guard…though sometimes she thinks he wants more than friendship.

When Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands, descends on her home, Tamsyn’s world becomes even more dangerous. To save the pampered princesses from a fate worse than death, she is commanded to don a veil and marry the brutal warrior. She agrees to the deception even though it means leaving Stig, and the only life she’s ever known, behind.

The wedding night begins with unexpected passion—and ends in near violence when her trickery is exposed. Rather than start a war, Fell accepts Tamsyn as his bride…but can he accept the dark secrets she harbors—secrets buried so deep even she doesn’t know they exist? For Tamsyn is more than a royal whipping girl, more than the false wife of a man who now sees her as his enemy. And when those secrets emerge, they will ignite a flame bright enough to burn the entire kingdom to the bone.

Magic is not dead…it is only sleeping. And it will take one ordinary girl with an extraordinary destiny to awaken it.

I enjoyed the writing in this, and the culture was well-done, if a bit infuriating. I liked both Fell and Tamsyn and enjoyed their chemistry. I felt like the last quarter of the book was a bit rushed, so that detracted a little from my enjoyment, but I’d be interested in reading more, as the storyline was strong enough to carry me through and I’m interested to see what happens next.

Sophie Jordan is a bestselling author. A Fire in the Sky is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Avon and Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  All I Want Is You, by Falon Ballard

Image belongs to Penguin Group Putnam.

Title:   All I Want Is You
Author:     Falon Ballard     
Genre: Romance   
Rating: 4 out of 5

Bitter exes. Professional rivals. Just one bed.

What could go wrong?

Jessica Carrington always wanted her own happily ever after. But, until that happens, she spends her days as a small-time romance writer, penning satisfying Happily Ever Afters to soothe the heartache left by her ex-boyfriend Nick Matthews, a fellow romance writer and now her biggest rival, who has found success writing love stories without happy endings. It’s clearly what he’s good at, after all . . .

So, when their professional obligations find them snowed in – and forced to share a room! – at the same remote inn a few days before Christmas, Jess and Nick are both fuming. But what’s more fitting for two romantic writers in a slump? And when they realize the friction between them might be the only cure for their writer’s block, they decide to turn their frustration into fiction . . . and the pages start flying.

Jess can’t shake the feeling that Nick is the last guy on earth she should be falling for (again), but, as they both finally get back in their flow, is he actually all she wants for Christmas?

There are a lot of tropes happening in this one, but it was still a fun read. I liked Jessica—and her two best friends—and found her a lot of fun. Nick was also a good character and the chemistry between them was great. This was a quick, fun read with a solid dose of heat between the characters.

Falon Ballard is from L.A. All I Want is You is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Penguin Group Putnam in exchange for an honest review.)



















































Website:      http://www.falonballard.com/Amazon:    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CQWVVTF5/ref=x_gr_bb_kindle?caller=Goodreads&tag=x_gr_bb_kindle-20 Title:   All I
Want Is You Author:     Falon Ballard 
   Genre: Romance         Rating: 4 out of 5  Bitter exes.
Professional rivals. Just one bed.What could go wrong? Jessica Carrington
always wanted her own happily ever after. But, until that happens, she spends
her days as a small-time romance writer, penning satisfying Happily Ever Afters
to soothe the heartache left by her ex-boyfriend Nick Matthews, a fellow romance
writer and now her biggest rival, who has found success writing love stories
without happy endings. It’s clearly what he’s good at, after all . . . So, when their
professional obligations find them snowed in – and forced to share a room! – at
the same remote inn a few days before Christmas, Jess and Nick are both fuming.
But what’s more fitting for two romantic writers in a slump? And when they realize
the friction between them might be the only cure for their writer’s block, they
decide to turn their frustration into fiction . . . and the pages start flying. Jess can’t shake the
feeling that Nick is the last guy on earth she should be falling for (again),
but, as they both finally get back in their flow, is he actually all she wants
for Christmas? There are a lot of
tropes happening in this one, but it was still a fun read. I liked Jessica—and her
two best friends—and found her a lot of fun. Nick was also a good character and
the chemistry between them was great. This was a quick, fun read with a solid
dose of heat between the characters. Falon Ballard is from
L.A. All I Want is You is her newest novel. (Galley courtesy of Penguin
Group Putnam in exchange for an honest review.) Book Review:  All I Want Is You, by Falon Ballard

Book Review: The Slowest Burn, by Sarah Chamberlain

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press

Title:  The Slowest Burn  
Author: Sarah Chamberlain
Genre: Romance   
Rating: 3.8 out of 4

Kieran O’Neill should be on top of the world. He’s just won a cooking reality TV show, he’s on track to open his own restaurant before he turns thirty, and he’s even got a high-paying cookbook deal. Still he can’t impress his stuck-up family, his ADHD makes planning ahead impossible and, worst of all, his ghostwriter is the most uptight, humourless woman he’s ever met. But to be seen as a serious chef like he’s always wanted, he needs to finish this book…

Ellie Wasserman is barely holding it together. She’s a thirty-year-old widow living with her needy in-laws, her little brother won’t adult without her help, and instead of working on her own cookbook, she’s ghostwriting one for the chaotic, impulsive Kieran O’Neill. Or would be, if he’d ever answer her emails. But to own her own home like she’s always dreamed of, she needs to finish this book…

As their deadline gets closer and the heat between them builds, can these two driven, lonely people let go of their past hurts and make something truly sweet together? Or will their fragile new love go up in smoke?

I found Kieran to be low-key annoying about half the time, frankly. I liked Ellie, but she spent most of the book being pretty passive about everything…why are you putting your own life on hold and letting everyone around you tell you what to do? The food scenes were fantastic—and everything sounded so good—but the rest of the novel wasn’t as engrossing. Maybe the voice just wasn’t a good fit for me.

Sarah Chamberlain lives in London. The Slowest Burn is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:   Casket Case, by Lauren Evans

Image belongs to Random House.

Title:  Casket Case  
Author:   Lauren Evans
Genre: Romance, fantasy        
Rating: 3 out of 5

In this warm-hearted debut rom-com, a young woman returns home to run her family’s casket business and falls in love with a seemingly perfect stranger. But there’s just one problem . . . he works for Death.

Nora thought she was finished with Rabbittown, Alabama, for good. But an unexpected tragedy turned her life upside down, and she’s found herself back in her tiny hometown running the family casket business.

There aren’t exactly a lot of prospects for a single woman in her thirties in a place like Rabbittown. Until Nora Clanton’s ordinary, casket-selling day is interrupted by a handsome stranger wandering into her shop and asking for directions–as well as a date.

Garrett Bishop seems like the ideal guy. He’s thoughtful, he’s kind, and he has a lucrative job as a logistics coordinator, for which he seems to have a passion. She’s not totally sure what “logistics” entails, but she knows it means long hours, lots of travel, and urgent calls in the middle of the night.

When a few of Rabbittown’s residents suddenly pass away–a heart attack here, a car crash there–and Garrett is spotted at the scenes of, well, all of the deaths, his frustratingly vague job description starts to become increasingly . . . suspicious. What is it that Garrett actually does for a living?

He’s a logistics coordinator for Death.

When Nora discovers the truth, she is unable to reconcile the wonderful man she knows with the unthinkably cruel job he loves. Will she ever be able to understand how he can do what he does, or will she have to lay her best chance at love to rest?

This was an interesting premise, but it felt so slow! And yet, it also included insta-love with no explanation, so that part felt fast. Nora was so passive she got on my nerves. She’s dissatisfied with her life, yet unwilling to take any sort of action at all. And Garrett seems way too good to be true. I never figured out what they saw in each other—or why they got together. The execution of this idea underwhelmed me a bit.

Lauren Evans lives in Atlanta. Casket Case is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  The Bookshop of Hidden Dreams, by Karen Hawkins

Image belongs to Gallery Books.

Title:   The Bookshop of Hidden Dreams
Author:  Karen Hawkins        
Genre:  Romance       
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

When an antique tin of love letters is found hidden in her family home, noted historian Tay Dove rushes home to Dove Pond to investigate. Tay is still reeling from a romantic betrayal, so she’s relieved to refocus her energies on her latest project: a biography of her great-great-grandmother Sarafina, a star reporter who began her career in Dove Pond in the late 19th century before abruptly leaving town.

Tay believes the letters could be the key in solving what happened, but they only add to her questions—especially when they reveal a forbidden love affair with William Day, a wild youth who took part in a notorious train robbery. Some answers might be found in eighty-year-old Rose Day’s bookshop, which doubles as a town archive, but Rose is curiously resistant to give Tay access. Just when Tay thinks she’s reached a dead end, she finds an unlikely ally in Rose’s grandson, Luke, a fellow puzzle lover. Together, they set out to uncover what really happened all those years ago…and find the truth behind a love story that could be more precious than gold.

I do love the Dove Pond Books! I enjoyed the first two more than the third one, but I think this one I just as good as those first two. I love the small-town feel of Dove Pond, and the Dove family is just so much fun. I like the dual timelines in this story and found myself engrossed in both of these, although knowing only one of them could have a happy ending. Love this newest installment in this magical series!

Karen Hawkins is bestselling author. The Bookshop of Hidden Dreams is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  The Break-Up Pact, by Emma Lord

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:  The Break-Up Pact  
Author:  Emma Lord        
Genre:  Romance       
Rating:  4 out of 5

June and Levi were best friends as teenagers—until the day they weren’t. Now June is struggling to make rent on her beachside tea shop, Levi is living a New York cliché as a disillusioned hedge fund manager and failed novelist, and they’ve barely spoken in years.

But after they both experience public, humiliating break-ups with their exes that spread like wildfire across TikTok rabbit holes and daytime talk shows alike, they accidentally make some juicy gossip of their own—a photo of them together has the internet convinced they’re a couple. With so many people rooting for them, they decide to put aside their rocky past and make a pact to fuel the fire. Pretending to date will help June’s shop get back on its feet and make Levi’s ex realize that she made a mistake. All they have to do is convince the world they’re in love, one swoon-worthy photo opp at a time.

Two viral break-ups. One fake relationship. Five sparkling, heart-pounding dates. June and Levi can definitely pull this off without their hearts getting involved. Because everyone knows fake dating doesn’t come with real feelings. Right?

This was a cute read! I loved the banter between June and Levi, and their interactions were both sweet and funny. So many good secondary characters in this! These added a lot of believability to the story, so June and Levi weren’t operating in a bubble. I love the idea of the tea shop, although some of the scone flavors mentioned—Red Bull?—were not to my taste. A fun weekend read!

Emma Lord is a bestselling author. The Break-Up Pact is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)