Amanda
Just a little overstuffed with side characters for me - I don't care so much about whatever actors are doing acid on the tennis court or trashing the good china. I wanted more Kit and maybe a little less Hud and Jay the ex-girlfriend drama just wasn't that interesting, especially since she was barely a character, but I loved Nina and how much the book focused on her. This was a super-quick read and very enjoyable.
Early Beverly Jenkins - pre-Civil War, main characters meet because of their work on the Underground Railroad in Michigan. I love the story and Hester, the female lead, is so great. I always learn something from a Beverly Jenkins book, but this one is a little bit clunkier at integrating the actual history into the story than her later books. Still excellent and one I enjoyed a lot!
I am very much here for plus-size representation in romance, less so when the internal monologue for the MMC can't seem to describe the heroine without calling her “round” or “plump,” even things like her arm. I also never got a sense that these two had any real chemistry - the story goes from him needing a “minder” (this man is almost 40 years old, somehow in Spoiler Alert I'd thought he was in his 20s) and constantly teasing/mocking her to them supposedly being in love? Please show your work.He's ridiculously protective of her and it's described as him speaking to her angrily when she doesn't defend herself after someone's treated her badly, and dude, yikes. It's not up to you how someone else handles a situation, especially one they've been in more often than you have. If you don't like that they're in that situation, maybe be angry with the person who put them there. Honestly, while there are backstory reasons for it, it didn't make it any more fun to read, and also, being upset with a person you're in a relationship with for how other people react to them is kind of potentially abusive, pal. Even if you say it's because you love them so much. Also, especially in the beginning of the book, Alex really says some mean things to Lauren (calling her a shrew/harpy/bird-woman), and even if it's teasing or displaced anger at his bosses, it's still not great.So basically, I don't understand why anyone would like Alex, and the book doesn't show me enough of that development from enemies-ish to friends to lovers to make it believable. Lauren's POV thoughts about Alex are mostly about how hot he is, which sure, but that doesn't seem like a recipe for lasting love with this 39-year-old man who still thinks using a short woman as an armrest is funny. I was really looking forward to this book because from the glimpses of these two in [b:Spoiler Alert 50496918 Spoiler Alert (Spoiler Alert, #1) Olivia Dade https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1584239588l/50496918.SY75.jpg 75471187], this seemed like a bantering/fun relationship where they each gave as good as they got and were having fun. None of that chemistry made it into this book, which is really disappointing.
3.5 stars, rounding up. More than a little overstuffed - fake engagement! imposter mother! secret siblings! I'm pretty sure someone faints! - but enjoyable. I could've done without some of the plot points, especially the fake mother, who was essentially one joke repeated too many times, and I'm not sure if I'll read the next one, since the character being set up as the male lead has the same name as my dad, but that's not the author's fault. Fun, but I'm glad I got this from the library instead of buying it.
Second chance isn't my favorite romance trope, but considering the “first chance” in this book is more along the lines of high school BBFs/sweethearts, I liked it in this one a lot. This was a lot of fun and funny, so I might even call it a rom-com. This entire series is just chill and sweet and I can't recommend it enough.
Started this series because apparently [b:Scoundrel of My Heart 52662535 Scoundrel of My Heart (Once Upon a Dukedom, #1) Lorraine Heath https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1596278892l/52662535.SY75.jpg 78469222] is a spin-off of the last book in this series, but when the series is about six illegitimate children all raised in the same household, I feel like starting at the beginning is a good idea (and having read the first three books now, it definitely is, considering how much they build off each other's storylines). I honestly didn't see the twist in this one about who Mick's mother is coming, and I'm not sure I'm entirely satisfied with the resolution of that, but overall I did enjoy this one quite a bit.
Halle! You are a lawyer (of some kind, it's not really clear) - do not talk to the hitman you've hired on your PERSONAL CELL!! Mafia romance isn't really my thing, but this one was enjoyable enough. I just can't read anything that touches on criminal law without putting my attorney hat on and yelling at everyone for doing dumb stuff.
(2022 Summer Romance Bingo: Mafia, don't think it would work for anything else.)
Men will literally get blind drunk and break up with their (much younger) girlfriends instead of going to therapy.
Okay, there's more to it than that, but ... this was fine? It's the fourth book in a series and several of the other couples from the earlier books show up, so I feel like I did miss out on a little bit, but it wasn't in a way that really interfered with my enjoyment of the book. I do sort of feel like any slow burn for this couple might have been more apparent in the earlier books. The plot was a little bit all over the place, with a crisis/issue/whatever arising, then being resolved, and something totally different coming up, without much real sense of an overarching theme/plot. I had kind of thought going in that this would be more about working to save the animal shelter, instead of yet another emotionally closed off MMC with unresolved daddy issues like something like 75% of them have, and honestly it's a little boring. Anyway, this was decent and I'll probably go back and read the rest of the series at some point, but glad it's on KU.
(2022 Summer Romance Bingo: animal shelter. Would work for bath, loosely for Halloween.)
I really just adored this book so much - I raced through it, in part because the hold list at the library was massive and I didn't want to lose out before finishing, but mostly because this was just so enjoyable and FUN. It dealt with some pretty intense topics - definite CW for biphobia/homophobia/transphobia - but I thought it did a good job with those while also staying true to the tone the author was going for. I couldn't tell if Simone was intended to be neurodivergent or not, but I definitely read her that way, and that was an interesting layer as well. I need to buy this one so I have it on hand for a reread. I definitely want to come back to it.
(2022 Summer Romance Bingo: food on cover. Would also work for work rivals, loosely.)
I put this on my to-read shelf way back in 2014 and I have absolutely no memory of doing so or where I heard about this book - maybe a friend recommended it? Anyway. This was fine. The ending was really abrupt, or at least it seemed that way, because it ended at like 87% on my Kindle and the rest of the book was excerpts from other books by the same publisher, which was less than ideal.
I also wanted some sort of epilogue to make this feel more like an HEA than an HFN, though again that may have to do with my expectations of how much book was left being messed up by the other stuff crammed in at the back. It does seem a little bit rushed to go from not being able to stand the guy you're riding with to quitting your teaching job two weeks before school starts to continue riding cross-country with him and maybe starting a new business together? And maybe also getting married?
I'm being critical here, but I did enjoy the premise - I don't think I've ever read or even heard of a book being set on an endurance challenge like this before, and probably that's because my friends who have done stuff like this tell me you're way too exhausted by all the biking/hiking/etc. to even consider also having athletic sex with anyone. Suspension of disbelief for romance covers that, though, and also covers how Tom was apparently doing this 2400+ mile ride in stuff like cargo shorts and never had any chafing at all.
(2022 Summer Romance Bingo: bicycle.)
I devoured this one and it was just a delight from start to finish! Rom-com is overused (and often misused) in describing books, but even though this touches on some heavy topics, it manages to have a fun, lighthearted tone throughout. Rashid in particular cracked me up. Not a lot to say here - for some reason it's much easier to write reviews of things I dislike or things that didn't work for me, which means when I love a book as much as I did this one, the review is short.
(2022 Summer Romance Bingo: work rivals. Would also work for mistaken identity, loosely for property inheritance.)
(2022 Summer Romance Bingo: amnesia. Would work loosely for second chance, would work for bath, mistaken identity.)
I'll read anything Shea Serrano writes, even about topics I'm not that informed on - while I'm definitely a basketball fan, I don't know a whole lot about NBA history, but I learned a bunch here and kept YouTube handy to watch some of the highlights mentioned in this. (Scottie Pippen's dunk at Madison Square Garden? OMG.) Not five stars because some of the chapters got a little too stat-heavy and not as entertaining for me as the ones about who you'd choose to dunk on and Karl Malone vs. a bear.
Meh. Too much plot, too convoluted, and it really bothers me more than it should that the cover art has a petite dark-haired model when Lily is described throughout as blonde and buxom. The bath scene is a standout, but otherwise this was average at best.
(2022 Summer Romance Bingo: bath. Would also work for second chance or at a stretch for high tea or property inheritance.)
It was fine? Definitely high heat level, which was a nice change of pace after the last book I read. Premise was ridiculous but also hot, though in this specific case wouldn't you think she'd recognize her boss's voice, considering that they work together? Plot was kind of nonexistent for most of the book and things I expected to be a big deal just weren't - he's only had one other girlfriend, they were together for twelve years, he's slept with several other people in the office, yada yada, none of those are major conflicts in any way. Anyway, like I said, it was fine. Not interested enough in it for me to keep reading the series, though.
(2022 Summer Romance Bingo: number in title. Would also maybe work for mistaken identity or work rivals.)
Fun, uncomplicated YA, and there's nothing wrong with that. I enjoyed the glimpses into Persian culture in the US and the main character's voice was a lot of fun and easy to spend time with. This read a little bit like a middle-grade book, or the younger end of YA, with a bit too much Valuable Lessons Learned, but overall I enjoyed this.
(Read Harder 2017: #15 Read a YA or middle grade novel by an author who identifies as LGBTQ+.)
Really glad I got this from the library and didn't pay for it - the story was fine enough, though it could've benefited from being longer, I think, as it was well under 100 pages and I didn't feel like the world-building was all that well explained. The bigger issue, though, was the editing. I try not to be a dick about an occasional typo or grammar issue, especially in self-published works, but this was verging on incomprehensible at some points. It seemed to get worse as the story went on, or maybe I just noticed it more, but this really felt like reading a rough draft. An interesting idea and setting, but needed a lot of fleshing out and definitely a hard edit. Three stars for the premise but that's honestly generous, unfortunately.
(2022 Summer Romance Bingo: steampunk. Would also work for mistaken identity, made-up country, or work rivals.)
Middle section dragged like crazy for me. Didn't pick up again until the case broke. Cannot believe how different trials were then - no Miranda? No mandatory appeals? Capote seemed to think that alleging ineffective assistance is a personal affront, but it's not. I don't know. I'm looking at it from a defense lawyer's perspective.
Meh. Nothing new if you've read the column/listened to the podcast for any length of time, and if you haven't done either of those things, I sort of doubt you'd be interested enough to pick up the book. Bumped up a star for the stuff about his mother's death and the final chapter, which are both more personal (and way more effective) writing.
Eh. Not bad, but not great. I think this may have suffered from being read right after [b:I Don't Care About Your Band: Lessons Learned from Indie Rockers, Trust Funders, Pornographers, Felons, Faux-Sensitive Hipsters, and Other Guys I've Dated 6723170 I Don't Care About Your Band Lessons Learned from Indie Rockers, Trust Funders, Pornographers, Felons, Faux-Sensitive Hipsters, and Other Guys I've Dated Julie Klausner http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51FjoctJuAL.SL75.jpg 6919324], which I liked a lot more.
Cute! More like cartoons collected into a book than a story, but cute. Read this to my friend's daughter Kat.
(Bookriot Read Harder 2016 Challenge: #4 Read a book out loud to someone else)
If you're interested in this book, get the audio version, because Meryl Streep reads it and she's amazing and so funny - her delivery of some lines had me laughing out loud in my car. The story/structure of the book is kind of a mess, with a lot of digressions and flashbacks (which may have been easier to follow in written form, but I don't know). What Ephron really excels at is creating a strong voice for her main character, who essentially narrates the whole thing in one long stream of consciousness. I probably wouldn't have read this if not for the BookRiot challenge, but I definitely enjoyed it.
(Bookriot Read Harder 2016 Challenge: #8 Read a book originally published in the decade you were born)