Book reviews for books read May 26th-31st

 

I can't believe it is June already! This last week of May I found myself binging a series by Swati M.H.

I have made working on author backlists one of my goals this year. Next weekend I will be assisting this wonderful lady at the HEA Reader event. In an effort to finish reading the books in her backlist I grabbed this series from Kindle Unlimited. And then I didn't want to stop.

I will be doing a series spotlight in a few days when I get my thoughts together. In the meantime, check out my reviews. Then add this whole series to your kindle and read it. I promise, you won't be sorry.

Until next time, happy reading!

My Beautiful Chaos (Feel the Beat #2) by Swati M.H.

#FakeRelationship #SecondChance #FriendsToLovers

Yes, no, maybe so? Make it a definite “Yes”.

Written in first person from an alternating dual POV, this book stands on its own and ends with a HEA.

After meeting both Jeena and Wayland in book one of this series, I was really looking forward to their story.  Jeena seems so put together on the outside, but she is a seriously hot mess on the inside. Wayland is strong, stoic, reliable, and has been utterly besotted with Jeena since he was 13. He isn’t interested in a fake relationship with Jeena; he wants to be all in on the real thing. I adored the chemistry and heat between these two. I loved that they each had some baggage and healing they had to do. Wayland had guilt and grief to address along with his fractured relationship with his father. Jeena has a ton of baggage from being left at the altar by her only serious adult relationship. Her crisis of self-confidence, and fear of heartbreak lead her to make wrong decisions, but ultimately, she figures out how to live a life that brings her joy. Both character arcs were beautiful and necessary for their HEA.  I adored the relationship Jeena shares with her sister, Anisa. I also appreciated the way her parents are portrayed. They are not villains. The dissonance between Jeena and her parents comes because of Jeena’s insecurities and people-pleasing tendencies. I also related to her desire to please her parents as many first-born children/daughters do.

The writing in this book was stellar. It was poetic prose that defined a relationship that was always meant to be and characters that were realistically flawed. I strongly related to Jeena’s clumsiness, especially when she was around Wayland. Wayland was the ideal book boyfriend. He may have even displaced Garrett from 1^st place in Swati’s heroes.  I even told my husband that the man was seriously swoony. He says the right things. He delivers comfort, care, and downright worship to Jeena. He is patient. He loves her because of her imperfections, not in spite of them. He is always trying to do the right thing. And the man handed her his heart on a silver platter with unquestionable belief that it would work out eventually. Gah! He is also a little broken and scarred by his past yet he has done the work to try and heal. The number of passages that I highlighted in this book borders on ridiculous. This book may be the most underrated book of this author’s I have read yet. I think this is my 8^th read of hers. (?) I have loved them all, but the writing and these characters are something very special.

My Darling Neighbor (Feel the Beat #3) by Swati M.H.

#AgeGap #EnemiesToLovers #OneNightStand #SurprisePregnancy

“It’s you and me.”

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

Sita is a strong, successful attorney to celebrities. Tall, beautiful, confident, intelligent and intimidating to a lot of men. Underneath the surface, she has anxiety and OCD issues. As her mom descends into the struggle with Alzheimer’s, Sita is doing her best to take care of her while maintaining her job’s expectations. She also has a crush on her grumpy neighbor and is low-key stalking him even though he won’t acknowledge her at all. I really enjoyed her quirks, her fierce loyalty, and her self-control.

Penn is a bar owner who has buried his grief and pain in his bar. He is grumpy and difficult and surly most of the time. He is struggling with a fresh grief when he ends up getting very personal with the neighbor he has desperately avoided.  As the book progresses, readers learn about his past, his pain, his guilt, and even his anger. Once I understood hi,. I sympathized with him and the way he had chosen to live his life.

Initially, Sita and Penn fought. I appreciated that even though Penn would throw out words, Sita stood firm on what she would take from him. She sets boundaries and he comes to realize where he went wrong. Spicy times, new misunderstandings, separation, togetherness, and a twist finally led to a beautiful HEA. I appreciated that shared grief experiences bring them closer. I loved how they each “see” and accept each other, good & bad. I loved how Penn is all in with Sita’s surprise. I loved that their connection is deeper than the physical even from the beginning. This was the perfect end to the series and I loved reading as Sita finds her someone.