Skip to main content

Book reviews for books read between October 20-31st

 


It is hard to believe October is over. The second half of the month was so busy I only read two books on my TBR and a novella I somehow missed. I really enjoyed them. It was so good to be back with Maria Luis' Boston Blades. Nikki Castle's debut was my first real MMA romance. And One Taste was a series prequel I somehow missed by Lena Hendrix. Until next time, happy reading.


Slap Shot (Boston Blades #5) by Maria Luis

#FriendsToLovers #MoC #Sports

Written in first person from ana alternating dual POV, this can be read as a standalone and ends with a HEA.

Daisy and Weston are the perfect couple in a return to the Blades series. It was like coming home to me. Weston is such a good guy. He is focused on hockey and maybe a bit on proving his parents wrong with his success. Daisy becomes his best friend in college and remains so even almost ten years later. West would do anything for her. He sees her as “sunshine, strawberries, and hope.”  Though she is his coach’s daughter, that never stands in the way of their friendship.  I adore the banter and sarcasm between them. I love that they are comfortable enough together to give each other grief and tease each other unmercifully.

Daisy has experienced a few life-changing events in her short life. She is strong, resilient, and fierce. I absolutely adored her. I loved how she managed so successfully in survival mode until she didn’t. I understood her character and some of her trauma much too well. I appreciated how Weston treats her when everything is exposed. “It is okay to not be okay.”  I love that he gives her all the space she needs.

Two friends that are incredibly close without revealing that they each love the other until well into their marriage of convenience; this was a fantastic read.  I loved that they take their time with a l-o-o-o-o-n-g extended foreplay before moving their relationship forward physically. I love the romantic ways they care for and communicate with each other. I loved how supportive they were of each other.  They were truly made to complete each other.

The author has had a personally tough few years and I am beyond happy to see this book as her reentry to publication. I understand trauma., I am thrilled she took a time out she needed. I am beyond ecstatic that she is back.  This was a fantastic read that I would recommend to anyone looking for a swoony, romantic, emotional friends-to-lover, marriage of convenience, hockey romance. I have a ton of highlighted passages that made me swoon and I am sure you will too.

(I feel like I need to address some of the early negative reviews. Amazon initially published the incorrect file of this book, and the error was corrected quickly. However, some readers initially received the incomplete file. If Kindle users go to Content and Devices, Digital Content, an update is available. It seems highly unfair to base a review on a corrected problem. The file Amazon is now sending out is the complete book, so you can buy or borrow this one with full confidence.)



5 Rounds (The Fight Game #1) by Nikki Castle

#Debut #EnemiesToLovers #ForcedProximity #MMA #Sports

Written in first person from an alternating dual POV, this can be read as a standalone and ends with a HEA.

This was my first book by this author and my first truly MMA romance. I loved how much I learned about the sport as Tristan is training hard and focusing on getting into the UFC. I loved that Remy also was involved in the sport. I could tell that the author put a lot of herself into Remy’s character and I liked her. Remy is snarky and fun. She is tough on the outside but hides her vulnerabilities. Tristan has been a bit of a playboy. I didn’t think it was very unusual since he was a professional athlete focused on his sport and not on relationships. I appreciated the family dynamics both characters have that are woven into the book. They each deal with some baggage of expectation verses reality. I liked how Remy struggled with the adulthood she found herself in instead of the dream she wanted to pursue. I appreciated Tristan’s conflict with his family as he pursed his UFC dream.

I found this to be a very spicy and entertaining read. The secondary characters were interesting, and I am looking forward to their stories. This was a solid debut, and it makes me want to read more by this author.


One Taste (Sullivan Family #0.5) by Lena Hendrix

#Prequel #InstaLove #Novella

Written in first person from an alternating dual POV, this novella introduces the town of Outtatowner, Michigan.  This town is the setting for the Sullivan Family and King family series.

Cass is a reporter sent from Chicago to cover the fluff piece of a fall festival in the small town. Her guide is to be the local bakery owner, Huck. I love that they are immediately drawn to each other. I love how protective Huck feels for Cass. I loved how safe he makes her feel. I loved their chemistry. I think this was a wonderful set up for the two series and I adored that it comes from the perspective of a local who is impartial to the feud.

This story can stand alone as a sweet and spicy insta-romance, unlike many prequels. I really enjoyed it.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Tale of Three Signings (Spring 2024 book signing recap)

  Over the past seven weeks I attended three book signings, each two weeks apart, I started at the Sweetgrass Author Event in Charleston, SC. From there I visited some family in West Virginia and Pennsylvania before my oldest daughter and I traveled to Ellicott City, MD, for Charm City Romanticon. After that, I returned home to Colorado before driving to Aurora for Readers Take Denver, where I was assisting Sara Madderson/Elodie Hart and also had a reader ticket. Below I will share some pictures and a recap of each signing as it was for me.  Sweetgrass was the fifth signing event I have attended that was put on by Southern Belles. It was also undoubtably the largest. With a stellar author lineup, there were a lot of tickets sold. In my opinion, probably too many. For a six hour signing, I was able to get to a shockingly few authors in my time there. They hit a few snags with this one.  First, let me talk about the city of Charleston.  Rich in history, with out of this world southern cu

Best Reads of 2023

 2023 has come to an end and  as a result I have had some time to look back on my best reads from last year.  It is always fun to remember the fantastic books I read.  I love thinking about the worlds the authors created for my escape and enjoyment.  I also am able to see where I had some gaps in my reading.  I read most sub-genres and tropes, but I did not read a single fantasy romance last year.  That made me sad.  I will need to fix that in 2024.  My reading is typically on the lighter side of the spectrum.  Dark romance readers will only find a couple of books in that category here.  Most of my reads are also steamy, with open door scenes that are sometimes explicit and appropriate for mature readers.  My reviews are available on the blog if you need more details about what I liked about a book.  Also, I am including Amazon links to the books so you can read the blurb and decide for yourself if you think my favorite reads are books you might enjoy. Looking at the numbers at the end

Book reviews from the week of May 19th

  Happy weekend. This week I read three ARCs and two books from my TBR.  All three ARCs will release the first week of June and the two books on my TBR have been on my kindle for a while. They served as perfect palette cleansers between these wonderful ARCs. Both books from my TBR offered heroines with disability. In The Marquess and I, Willow is blind. In Wolf Signs, the heroine is deaf. I felt like the authors handled both situations well within their stories and it made them interesting reads. Check out my reviews and add these to your TBR today if they grab you. I don't think you will regret it. Happy reading! My Royal Showmance (Park Avenue Promise #2)  by Lexi Blake ARC: Release Date- 06/04/2024 #Royal #SecretRomance #ARC Book two in the series is written in first person from Anika’s POV and ends in a HEA. It can be read as a standalone. If you love reality dating shows like The Bachelor, you are going to love this book. Luca, King of Ravalia, is looking for a queen (