Andie
This book was EVERYTHING! My favorite romance of the year for sure.
Obsessed with these characters... I loved them so much!
FRTC
Cyrus Malcolm is a hot, sexy, chill superstar. He got a superhero role in a series of movies, and he gained a lot of fans because of that. There's a necessity to strengthen his security, so he needs to get a few new bodyguards as soon as possible.
Beth moved to LA because she got her dream job. She's getting her first assignment working as a security specialist for an A-lister whose identity she doesn't know yet. However, the night before she's going to start her dream job, she needs to do a favor for a friend and impersonate her friend on a blind date. Can you guess who ends up being her date?
After a hilarious first date, and a mistaken identity, Beth and Cyrus are in a team meeting realizing they'll be working very close together because Cyrus is the mysterious client, and Beth is one of his undercover bodyguards.
I loved how Cyrus and Beth's story started. Their first date was hilarious! So funny! Their chemistry was instant, and the banter... PERFECTION! I adored Cyrus, he knew what he wanted, and he fought so hard for Beth's heart. He was impulsive at times for sure, but he was so sweet and caring. So swoon-worthy! Beth was a strong character too. She was very invested in her job, so it was easy to find her relatable when she tried to stay professional because she wanted to be the best at her job. Getting involved with her first client was not the best idea. But Cyrus was mining her resistance every step of the way, just by being herself.
Their romance was super slow-burn. Beth took her time to give in to their connection and attraction. It frustrated me at times because Cyrus had such a big heart! The snowstorm, forced proximity trope, took a while to reach. It was really fun anyway. When Beth accepted that she had feelings for Cyrus, and finally let him get close to her... these two were sweet, and fantastic together.
Even though Homecoming King, the first book in this series, remains my favorite, I had a lot of fun reading Drama King. It can be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend both of these stories. Penny Reid never fails to make me fall for her characters. I loved the setting, the secondary characters, the slow-burn romance, and the chemistry between Cyrus and Beth. It was a sweet fun read! Can't wait to read the next book in this series.
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Adaline and Emmett have history. The classic case of the right person at the wrong time. 5 years ago, they were attracted to each other and had a connection. When Adaline confessed about having feelings for Emmett, Emmett was about to be drafted so he put football first. The timing was off, so they ended up not getting together and Emmett moved to Florida to play in the NFL.
Now, after a certain scary event, Emmett realizes that maybe his priorities were wrong. After talking with Parker, his friend and Adaline's brother, Emmett finds out that Adaline is now single... And he wants his chance with her. Adaline is not ready for a relationship. She also promised herself that she would never get involved with another athlete. Will the timing be right for this two after 5 years? Or are they in different mindsets again?
Even though Emmett and Adaline didn't have a relationship when they were younger, their story felt like a second chance story. I guess it really was, just because they weren't involved, that didn't mean they didn't have feelings for each other. Their connection was very strong from the moment Emmett showed up in Adaline's life again.
I loved how Emmett was completely sure that he wanted a relationship with Adaline from pretty much the beginning. I also enjoyed how he held back at first for her sake. He gave Adaline the time she needed and it was amazing to see how he put her needs first. I loved how their relationship progressed and how Emmett slowly convinced Adaline that they would work.
Another aspect I enjoyed in it was the focus on the hard life an athlete like Emmett has. Sure, they make tons of money, but the hard work, the crazy hours getting fit, training, bonding with their teammates, playing, the press, the fans, the constant traveling, the possibility of getting traded and moving to another city without much notice... That takes a toll on their personal and family life. And their families can sometimes suffer from their absence. I definitely understood Adaline's worries about having a steady relationship with an athlete.
Emmett and Adaline were so sweet together, I couldn't help falling in love with both of them. I enjoyed the family moments in this one too. Their families were great. I loved to see Allie making a cameo too! However, I wanted a little more from their past together. We didn't get to see the beginning of their connection and how they fell in love with each other in the past. Both of them talked about it, but I still felt like something was missing.
Overall, a sweet, super entertaining read, with lovable characters, strong chemistry and steamy moments, great banter, a few emotional moments, and stellar writing.
I loved every word!
THIS. WAS. EVERYTHING.
Rebecca Ross' writing is transcendent!
RTC
Princess and the Player is the second book in the Strangers in Love series, but it can be read as a standalone. I haven't read the first book yet, and I didn't feel like I had missed any piece of the story.
Francesca and Tuck meet in a unique, fun way. Francesca ended her engagement after catching her fiancée in a compromising situation, and Tuck isn't interested in a serious relationship. Their attraction is instant, hence the decision to share a one-night stand. Their chemistry is off the charts, so that night is much more than either of them hoped. However, they walk away from each other that same night just like they agreed. Fortunately, a few weeks later they bump into each other and realize they live in the same building, and their chemistry is even hotter after one night...
I enjoyed the first half of Tuck and Fran's story a lot. Tuck's emotional struggle with his past, his parents, and even his genes was so well written. I loved how flawed and real that side of him was. Fran also had a complex past and it influenced how she handled what was happening in her life and her relationship with Tuck. Trust didn't come easy for these two. It made perfect sense considering what both of them went through. Regardless, that lack of trust went on for too long. Francesca keeping the pregnancy from Tuck for that long exasperated me. The story also had a lot going on at the same time. Fran had to deal with the surprise pregnancy, a new job, a friend's decision that had an emotional impact on her, and a huge discovery she ended up making about her family, Tuck was struggling with his career, his feelings for Fran, talking about creating a nonprofit, dealing with stuff about his mom... It was just too much going on. It came to a point when it was mostly “tell” than show, and things felt rushed in the end. Fortunately, I still liked how things wrapped up.
I wanted to love this book, but sadly that didn't happen. However, there were several things about this book I liked:
- Found family;
- Strong backstories and flawed characters;
- Tuck and Fran's walks in the park;
- The chemistry between them;
- Tuck's sports career;
- The first fast-paced half of the story;
- Jasper (Tuck's teammate and friend).
I still want to read the first book in this series and I'll surely read Jasper's story if he gets one.
ARC was provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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4.5 stars
Jack is summoned home to Cadence. He's not sure why until he reaches the island and is told that young girls are disappearing. Adaira is the heiress of the east. Her role isn't exactly what she wanted for herself, but as the only leaving heir of the laird, she doesn't have much choice. She understands her responsibilities and knows she needs to find the disappearing girls to return them safely to their parents. That means she needs to work with her childhood enemy. Jack and Adaira need to unite their efforts in order to solve the mystery.
Torin, Adaira's cousin and captain of the guard, and Sidra, the clan's healer and his wife, were my favorite characters from the beginning. I loved both of their POVs. Their callings, their relationship, and their character development were done in a beautiful way. I also enjoyed Jack's POV and his own journey regarding his complicated relationship with his mother and the clan. I loved the moments with his sister, and I liked his dynamic with Adaira. The glimpses we had into their past were fun to read. It took me some time to warm up to Adaira. At first, I wasn't sure what to think about her, and in my opinion, her character was a little underdeveloped. It got better as the story progressed. I enjoyed her relationship with Jack and loved her friendship with Torin and Sidra.
I loved the setting! The eerie island vibes were remarkable. The magic system and the isle spirits were intriguing and compelling. The pacing wasn't perfect, a lot was packed in the last chapters but I still loved this story. The writing was beautiful, the mystery kept me invested and I needed to know what was going on! I guessed some of the mysterious details but my enjoyment didn't waver.
A very atmospheric, beautiful, intriguing, emotional tale. Can't wait to read the next book!
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Only a Monster was so enjoyable and entertaining. I had a lot of fun reading it. The monster families' secrets and powers were very compelling.
The world-building was captivating, and the dynamics between humans and monsters as well as the time-traveling kept me engrossed in the story. The characters were solid too. Joan was ok, I did like her more towards the ending. Aaron and Nick were the most complex characters in my opinion. Aaron was an intriguing character and probably the most promising. His hideous family also seems to be the most thrilling of the twelfth monster families, I bet there are a lot of secrets regarding them.
I'm curious to see how it will play out in the next book. Nick was a layered character but I didn't like him much. Certain revelations in the final third of the book did make him more interesting though.
We follow the story through Joan's POV. It might have been more beneficial if we had more than one POV. The writing was ok, I loved the London setting (especially the Whitehall Palace) and the timeline details.
Overall, it was a fascinating and unique perspective of heroes vs monsters stories.
What's better than a second chance romance? An emotional second chance romance written by Sarina Bowen! Sarina Bowen is one of my favorite romance authors and she did not disappoint with A Little too Late.
Reed and Ava had me at hello! They dated in college, but things didn't quite work out. However, even though it's been years, they never moved on from each other.
Reed comes back to his home town, after his father informed him and his two brothers that things would be changing in his life. As soon as Reed steps into his father office, he runs into Ava and everything in him comes alive.
Ava has been working for Reed's dad for years. Running into Reed was never a concern of hers because he never came to his hometown. So, she's stunned when he suddenly materializes in front of her desk. And the spark is definitely still there.
This story was super emotional! I loved how Sarina Bowen set up Reed and Ava's history together and their backstory. Their fears and dreams, their feelings for each other, and I loved how they opened up to each other. It felt natural, inevitable. These two belonged together!
It was really interesting how both of them were aware that they didn't move on from each other. There were some very steamy moments too (bathtub... Whoa!) their chemistry was fantastic! But I think the strongest aspect in their story was their emotional connection. Perfection! The setting was amazing too! I wanted to go skiing after reading it. The secondary characters, especially Ava's coworkers and friend and Reed's assistant were funny and interesting too.
Overall, A Little too Late was a perfect opening to this series. It was an emotional romance, with great characters, steamy moments, so much love, and very interesting secondary characters. I loved this one! Highly recommend it. Can't wait to read the next one in the Madigan Mountain series.
The pacing at first almost killed me. It was too slow. It got better, but I was bored with it at first.
However, the creepiness was there and it had its gory moments too. The gothic vibes were excellent, and after a certain point, I was intrigued by what was going on.
I liked it, but I don't think it'll stay with me for long.
The world-building wasn't the best, probably because we spent most of the time inside the House of Hunger, but even so, it could've had a little more depth.
I was debating between 2.5 to 3 stars, but CAWPILE pushed it to a 3 star.
An okay read, I guess. The writing was good but it was very predictable. Even though the author tried to insert some doubt, it didn't work for me. I knew very early on what happened in the past (by only one sentence in a dialogue between 3 characters) and guessed who was doing it in the present as soon as the character appeared.
The MC, besides being an unreliable narrator drunk and high 24/7, did so many stupid things. I was baffled most of the time. And then the far-fetched details kept piling up...
Didn't really work for me.
2.5 stars
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Sadly, this book wasn't my favorite. I went into it expecting so much more.
Let's start with the positive. The characters were interesting. All of them were morally grey and unlikeable, and I enjoyed some of the character growth. The magic system was intriguing and the atmosphere was probably the biggest strength of the story. The Alexandrian society and the mysteries surrounding it were captivating and kept me invested in the story.
However, some things bothered me: too much telling vs showing, inconsistent pacing, the time jumps were weird (the execution was poorly done and what was happening off-page should've been on page), and there was so much info dumping about the subjects of their research. At points, it felt unbalanced. Additionally, the author clearly favored some characters and that annoyed me. I think the story has so much potential, though. I'll read the next one because I'm curious and hopeful that it'll get better.
4.5 stars
A fantastic sequel! Can't believe that ending!!! That cliffhanger killed me!
The angst, the slow-burn romance, the plot twists made this a very addicting read.
I love these characters (Kiva, Jaren, Tipp, Naari, Torell, and Caldon) and I was SO invested in this story. I needed to know what was going to happen!
It was a roller-coaster for sure. I guessed a few details but I didn't even mind. I was so entertained!
I loved this book!
The only reason I'm rating it 4.5 stars was Kiva's befriending a certain character. It was a little too naive, considering the character wasn't even in her “circle” (trying very hard not to spoil anything here!). Why would Kiva trust Rhess to that extent? I get some of her decisions considering Kiva's loyalties were torn but she trusted Rhess way too soon.
Lynette Noni's writing is addictive and I can't wait for the third book!
I enjoyed the story, but the pacing wasn't the best and that impacted my enjoyment. There were a lot of time jumps during the time they were filming the TV show, and I feel like the pining was cut short because of that. It also meant that there was a lot of telling instead of showing as a result of the time jumps.
I loved the chemistry and banter between the characters, and the body positivity was amazing! I had lots of fun reading the texts between the cast too. I wasn't a fan of Maria's actions when Peter got a job offer to film in another location. They're actors... I don't know what she expected, and her irrational behavior got on my nerves. By that point, it felt like they were two very different people. Not sure if their relationship would work IRL.
Overall, I liked it but sadly didn't love it.
I forgot to rate this one.
3.5 stars
Really cool premise. The execution had flaws, it was particularly slow at the beginning, not very suspenseful, and a specific plot device didn't make much sense not listening to the whole tape? Seriously?.
However, it was entertaining, especially The Hydes' scenes, and it kept me interested.
3.5 stars
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Lucy Foley is the queen of unlikeable characters.
I enjoyed the creeping apartment building vibes, the secrets, the characters, the different POVs, and surprisingly the slow pace worked for me. The story did drag in the middle of the book and nothing interesting happened for a while.
The cast of narrators was great, and the audiobook made the story more enjoyable for me. I didn't see the final twist coming and I liked it a lot. There were some details that were definitely far-fetched, so there's that.
Overall, I had fun listening to it and trying to figure out what happened. An enjoyable and entertaining thriller.
This was such a cute read! A great romance to read during the spooky season.
Vivi and Rhys were fantastic. The chemistry between them was amazing (great library scene btw...) and their dynamic was so good! The hilarious moments were perfect too.
I loved the town vibes and loved Vivi's family even more.
I wanted a little more from Vivi and Rhys' past relationship though.
Overall, very entertaining, witchy, funny, cute, with a sprinkle of steam.
https://bookscoffeeandpassion.wordpress.com/2022/08/22/book-tour-review-belladonna-by-adalyn-grace/
4.5 stars
Belladonna is a gothic, atmospheric, paranormal, mystery YA story.
Signa, a 19-year-old girl, was an orphan since she was a baby. Every single one of her greedy guardians had an unpleasant end, which led her from one place to another without ever feeling like she belonged anywhere. Now, Signa is going to travel to Thorn Grove, a dark, depressing estate, where the Hawthornes live. Everything seems odd in Thorn Grove. Her cousin Percy and her uncle Elijah have an awful relationship, her cousin Blythe has the same strange illness that killed Blythe's mother, everyone is grieving, there's a mysterious stable boy and the manor seems haunted... Signa allies with Death, that has been in her life since she was a baby, to uncover the murderer.
This story gripped me from the start and it was so entertaining! I had a lot of fun reading it. I don't think it's necessary to know much more about the plot. The story was beautifully written and I was immersed in it. I needed to know what was going on! The characters were fantastic! Signa wanted to belong, to have a family and I loved to follow her journey between figuring out if she wanted a life following society's parameters or if she was truly meant for more. Her relationships with all of the characters were interesting and added an even more mysterious atmosphere. I had a few theories and I guessed a twist or two, but overall I was surprised by how the story progressed.
Signa's hate for Death and their relationship was intriguing and so well done. I also loved the way it ended, with a surprise appearance of a character that was mentioned here and there... I'm very curious about the next book. The pacing was a little off sometimes, but my interest in the story never lessened. Some of the story was predictable, but there were also some motivations and developments I didn't see coming.
Overall, Belladonna was pure enjoyment to me. I loved the characters, the setting, the eerie atmosphere, the mysteries, Signa and Death's relationship, and the stellar writing.
Merged review:
https://bookscoffeeandpassion.wordpress.com/2022/08/22/book-tour-review-belladonna-by-adalyn-grace/
4.5 stars
Belladonna is a gothic, atmospheric, paranormal, mystery YA story.
Signa, a 19-year-old girl, was an orphan since she was a baby. Every single one of her greedy guardians had an unpleasant end, which led her from one place to another without ever feeling like she belonged anywhere. Now, Signa is going to travel to Thorn Grove, a dark, depressing estate, where the Hawthornes live. Everything seems odd in Thorn Grove. Her cousin Percy and her uncle Elijah have an awful relationship, her cousin Blythe has the same strange illness that killed Blythe's mother, everyone is grieving, there's a mysterious stable boy and the manor seems haunted... Signa allies with Death, that has been in her life since she was a baby, to uncover the murderer.
This story gripped me from the start and it was so entertaining! I had a lot of fun reading it. I don't think it's necessary to know much more about the plot. The story was beautifully written and I was immersed in it. I needed to know what was going on! The characters were fantastic! Signa wanted to belong, to have a family and I loved to follow her journey between figuring out if she wanted a life following society's parameters or if she was truly meant for more. Her relationships with all of the characters were interesting and added an even more mysterious atmosphere. I had a few theories and I guessed a twist or two, but overall I was surprised by how the story progressed.
Signa's hate for Death and their relationship was intriguing and so well done. I also loved the way it ended, with a surprise appearance of a character that was mentioned here and there... I'm very curious about the next book. The pacing was a little off sometimes, but my interest in the story never lessened. Some of the story was predictable, but there were also some motivations and developments I didn't see coming.
Overall, Belladonna was pure enjoyment to me. I loved the characters, the setting, the eerie atmosphere, the mysteries, Signa and Death's relationship, and the stellar writing.
I finished reading Defy the Night in less than 24 hours. I had so much fun reading it!
The story was captivating, the world-building was interesting and I enjoyed the characters a lot.
Very Robin Hood-esque entertaining story with a slow burn romance. A specific scene wasn't well thought out and seemed very over the top for me, hence the 4-star rating.
The way Tessa entered the castle... sigh.
I'm intrigued about the next book!
3.5 stars
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I love Devney Perry's writing, but I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought.
I loved the writing, enjoyed the banter between Bryce and Dash, and liked the murder mystery in it.
On the other hand, I was expecting Bryce and Dash to resist their attraction a little more. There was a lack of pining here. Bryce gave in to their attraction a little too soon, considering her goals and objectives.
I loved how she didn't let Dash get away with much, though. She was never intimidated and that was awesome!
The fact that the murder mystery wasn't solved in this book was annoying. I feel that the epilogue wasn't as enjoyable because we didn't get the whole picture.
It was an entertaining read for sure, but not a winner for me. I'm curious about the next book, so I might read it soonish.
Books, Coffee & Passion
What I loved most about this book was... the hockey crew! The loyalty, the friendships, and the bromance were perfect! Their group chat was fantastic and these guys made me laugh a lot.
I also enjoyed the chemistry and the banter between Pacey and Winnie. The humor, the setting, and the characters were great.
This was a solid, steamy, funny, sweet romance that kept me entertained. BUT I was somewhat more interested in the secondary characters. Pacey was a great character, but I was more interested in Holmes, Hornsby, and Taters. Winnie was great too. She was sweet, shy, awkward, and surprisingly fierce. I enjoyed her backstory (except her ex-boyfriend plotline – wasn't my favorite).
Katherine and Max, Winnie's besties, felt a little over the top at the beginning of the book. I did warm up to Max by the end, but not so much to Katherine.
Overall, super entertaining. I'm excited to read Hornsby's book next.