Happy weekend everyone! I had an amazing week. I was off work because we were supposed to be traveling. When the trip fell through, I decided to see if I could make some progress on reading challenge books and new-to-me authors for upcoming book signings.
I read two ARCs, two novellas and four books from my TBR this week.
I also completed my version of Jessica Peterson's reading challenge. When I got my first Bingo part way through the month, I challenged myself to see if I could get a full card. I skated in with the final book on the 30th and I was excited. In the process of meeting my self-challenge, I was able to pull and read several books that have been on my TBR for YEARS! I view that as a huge success. I read three new-to-me authors in January out of 27 books. And I am off to a good start this month with two more new-to-me authors this week. I love finding new authors to love, even though it keeps adding to my TBR. I am looking froward to meeting authors at upcoming signings and I love it if I already have an idea of their writing. Of course, there are signings like Readers Take Denver and Book Bonanza where I can't even hope to read everyone. Yet every signing, I give it a shot. I honestly haven't succeeded 100% yet, but you never know when I will.
I hope my reviews help you find some new books and authors to love. Until next week, happy reading!
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ARC: Release Date- 02/02/2023
#MarriageofConvenience #NewAdult #AlphaHero #InstaLove
#FamilySeries #Virgin #ARC
5 STARS
Book two in the series follows Wolf and Vivi and ends with a
HEA. Though it can be read as a
standalone, it does contain spoilers from book one and readers will find it
most enjoyable to read the series in order.
It is written in first person from an alternating dual POV.
Wolf is fiercely protective, a man of the land, tough as
nails, and incredibly loyal. Vivi has
lived a sheltered life where all of her decisions have been made for her under
the guise of protecting her. She is more
like a princess locked in a castle. Her
family is not very nice to her. They are
the complete opposite of the Ramsey family. I appreciated Vivi’s feelings of
needing independence. Her innocence and naivety
is compelling and with some distance she is finally able to come into her own. I
wasn’t thrilled with Wolf to start with, but that changed quickly. Once he sees Vivi he falls hard and doesn’t
even realize it. He has some of the
swooniest dialogue when he makes promises to Vivi. He is also a filthy talker and a little bit
of a dom. This made the book an
incredible hot (read 5 flames) hot read.
There are forces that want to cause the families harm. As a result, there are some scenes with
violence. Sensitive readers should also
know that the heroine has a few scenes where she is manhandled roughly by a
secondary character and one scene where she avoids an attempted rape (not the
Hero). I felt like these scenes were
handled well and the secondary character in question meets an undesirable end.
The author always does a fabulous job creating a world with luxury, lush settings, and steamy insta-love. The premise of the curse and the arranged marriages is interesting. Suspend your disbelief and step into the exotic world she created and enjoy the fantasy. I stayed up way too late to finish this ARC. I couldn’t put it down.
You Can't Kiss The Nanny, Brady Banks (Kingsmen #2)
by Piper Rayne
ARC: Release Date- 02/14/2023
#Workplace #OneNightStand #Sports #SingleDad #ARC
5 STARS
Book two of the Kingsmen series can be read as a standalone
and ends with a HEA. It is written in
first person from an alternating dual POV.
Brady Banks, star wide receiver of the San Francisco
Kingsmen football team, had a one night stand six months ago and he can’t get
the woman out of his mind. She refused
to give him her name or number. Imagine
their surprise when she is hired as his live-in nanny while his son’s mother is
on a travel assignment.
Brady is a wonderful father to Theo, five, and their
relationship is a heart melting thing to read.
I love that he has a good co-parenting relationship with Theo’s mom,
Hannah. I really appreciated that this
was not one of those evil ex books.
Brady has been a player, but he can’t forget the woman who blew his mind.
Violet is a complex character with Korean immigrant
parents. Her familial relationships are
a little dysfunctional and she has some confidence issues and baggage because
of it. She had her only one-night-stand
to get back on the horse (so to speak) after a broken engagement. She hasn’t had much luck in the relationship
department and is distrustful of men and her own judgement. I loved the relationship she built with Theo. The love and understanding she shows that
little boy is perfection.
She and Brady share a sizzling chemistry that cannot be denied. Neither one really expects emotions to get the better of them, but they are wrong. When they had their emotional moments, I could feel them in my soul. Their physical moments are hot and steamy, and his pantry ends up getting a lot of action. I couldn’t put it down. I devoured this book. I loved their HEA more than I can say. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
Mantrum (Winter Brothers #1) by Jacob Chance
Set in Boston, Massachusetts, this standalone is written n first person from an alternating dual POV and ends with a HEA.
Rex definitely has anger management issues. Danika is a parking enforcement officer who has a bad day. Together they end up in the same anger management classes.
I like Danika. She is grounded and has a strong sense of right and wrong. She has a solid couple of friends and an ex-husband that she still gets along with. Rex is the second oldest of 4 brothers and has a daughter who turns 15 in the book. he coparents successfully with his daughter's mother. He co-owns a construction company with one of his brothers and generally does OK except for when his anger gets the best of him. Honestly, I had to shake my head at rex. By 38, and as a father of a teenager, he should have figured out some of his problems before now. At times he irritated me.
This was a steamy read with witty banter and a couple who becomes friends and then lovers. I loved the anger management tips. We can all probably use those at one point or another. The teenaged daughter is a gem and the HEA is super sweet. It was a fun read and I can't wait to read more by this author.
Snowed In With the Bratva Boss (Snowed In #7)
by Ember Davis
#Mafia #AlphaHero #InstaLove #Novella
4.5 STARS
Written in first person from an alternating dual POV, this is a standalone and ends with a HEA.
Nikolai is a Bratva boss with a woman's death on his conscience only because he couldn't save her in time. Mistletoe is the twin of the woman who was killed, and she is out for revenge. When they are snowed in together at Niko's cabin, truths are revealed and love blossoms.
I loved the complexity of the characters and the emotions generated in a story with dark themes in such a short novella. I am seriously impressed that the author was able to create such emotion and storyline as well as the steamy parts in such a short read. I can't wait to read more.
Book one of this series can be read as a standalone and ends with a HEA. It is written in first person from an alternating dual POV.
Aggi (also known as Adeline Snow) has used pro skateboarder Spencer as her muse for her career as a romance author. She never expected to meet him in person. Spencer attends a book convention and signing with his sister as her birthday gift and is entrances by the awkward author who looks like a 50's pinup girl. When they end up on a book tour together, friendship is formed and sparks fly.
Aggi was so fun to read. The is clumsy, nerdy, awkward, has anxiety, and I absolutely loved her. I love that Spencer even becomes a little awkward in her presence. He is such a good guy, and that shines through in everything his character does. I really enjoyed Aggi's perspective as an author of the book signings and her fans. It is a perspective I have not seen as fully in other books with an author MC. I also REALLY enjoyed Spencer's perspective on the signing. I dragged my hubby to his first signing a few months ago and I have to say I think Spencer nailed it. I love how patient he is with Aggi. I love that he finds her quirks adorable. I really appreciate how awe struck Aggi is when she meets Spencer and how it takes a while for her to kind of move past that .
This book had me giggling and laughing out loud all the way through. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read with characters I fell in love with. Physical intimacy scenes are fade-to-black, yet I don't feel like the book was missing anything. The slow burn chemistry between Aggi and Spencer was clear and it was enough. Thoroughly romantic, funny, with witty banter: I am only sorry that it took me so long to read this book that has been on my kindle for ages.
#Forbidden #ForcedProximity #SingleDad #SmallTown
#HealingLove #AgeGap
5 STARS
This is book three in this series, but it is my first book by this author. Though there are many characters that overlap with the author's other books, this can completely be read as a standalone and ends with a HEA. It is written in first person from an alternating dual POV.
Tristan (34) is buried in grief after the sudden loss of his wife. He is doing everything he can to keep his head above water and take care of his kids. His daughter (8) and son (4) are also grieving. The whole family is struggling. When his wife's much younger sister (20) comes back to town he asks her to move in with him and be a nanny for the kids.
Tristan's grief for his wife was deep and heart breaking. It was authentic to how my friends who have been in that situation have felt. I love that he tries so hard and yet feels like he is failing. Ellie is also grieving. In addition, being back in her town puts her in close contact with her parents and the dysfunctional relationship she has with them. Tristan works hard to defend Ellie to her mother and to teach her how beautiful she is. His belief in her is one of my most favorite things.
Deeply emotional and complex: this book moved me. There are plenty of steamy moments and there are a few funny ones too. The emotions the characters experience are raw and real. They are faced with guilt, fear, frustration, love, and anger. They each have moments when they feel unworthy or happiness and each other. Navigating their complicated relationship and their journey through grief takes time. Some of that time has to be spent apart, growing on their own to get where they need to be. Ultimately they get to a place where they can take a stand and be in a relationship where they love each other and make each other happy. Their journey takes them to a place where they recognize that life is short, but taking a chance on the future is worth it. And living in the present while honoring the past is the best.
With complex characters and a complicated plot line, this
book was deep. I believe I will be thinking about it for a long time. I am also
very excited to read more books by this author.
The Red Zone (Summerville Sports #1) by Amie Knight
#Sports #Virgin #FriendsToLovers
5 STARS
Book one in this series can be read as a standalone and ends with a HEA. It is written in first person from an alternating dual POV. Lukas returns home after his mom's sudden death to care for his teenage sister, Ella. Scarlett is Ella's special education teacher. Lukas and Scarlett were friends in high school until they weren't. I don't want to call this a second chance, because they never took the first chance really. The feelings they may have had for each other in high school are nothing compared to the feelings they have for each other when they meet again. They have some serious chemistry. They also have a mutual respect and admiration for each other. Scarlett resists Luk in an effort to protect her heart, but she shouldn't have worried. He was all in and head over heels from the start. I loved that. There are some steamy moments, some laugh-out-loud moments (hairtastrophe) and some sweetly emotional moments woven into this book that is on the sports-lite side of a sports romance. I do still consider it a sports romance though because the dynamics Luk faces as he integrates into his new team and how it impacts his daily life and outlook is important to his story. His struggle as he goes from star quarterback of a winning team to a smaller team where he needs to make friends is a big deal. His struggle as he learns to parent his special needs sister is heartfelt and real. I also really appreciated that he was too busy to properly grieve and the impact that had on him. There are some very touching moments with Luka and Ella as well as the realness of his feelings that he shares with Scarlett. There are a few surprises along the way while making found family an important part of the story. The story was deeper than I expected, and the characters were complex and interesting. This was a new-to-me author and I admit that I can't wait to read more.
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