Review: Bittersweet by Sarina Bowen
Sarina Bowen kicks off her True North series with a delightful second chance romance that’s full of heart.
Genre: Romance
Review & Excerpt: Idol by Kristen Callihan
Idol definitely satisfied by rock star romance craving. The typical formula for this trope goes something like this. A rock god lives a life filled with tons of groupie sex. He meets the one woman who won’t jump into bed with him which makes him want her even more. Once they hook up, he’s reformed and becomes a one-woman man. Regardless of its predictability, it’s a setup that works for me. Idol enhances that theme and it’s a nice variation.
Review, Excerpt & Giveaway: Grin and Beard It by Penny Reid
It’s official. I’m in love with the Winston brothers. Like so crazy, madly, deeply in love I’d be willing to go full-on Sister Wives for them. I’m not exactly sure how I went from reading a sweet Rom-Com to considering polygamy, but I blame Penny Reid. Damn her and her ridiculously talented mind, the magnetic and quirky characters she creates, and her clever humor. These attributes are on full display in Grin and Beard It, and it’s all kinds of awesome.
Audiobook Review ♥ Beneath This Mask by Meghan March
Audiobook review. I’m not a huge fan of audiobooks. Narrators’ voices can grate on my nerves, my mind wanders so I have to constantly rewind, and the pacing frustrates me. I can read a book in half the time it takes to listen to one, and if I increase the speed the voices sound even more annoying. Color me surprised then that I enjoyed the Beneath This Mask audiobook so much. The story held my interest and the voice actors are phenomenal.
Review ♥ When You’re Ready by J.L. Berg
When You’re Ready is a sweet second chance romance. Clare is a widowed mother of a preschooler, Maddie. She’s doing a fantastic job raising her daughter alone, but is neglecting her needs as a woman. Logan is a successful ER doctor, but he’s rather self-loathing and is essentially sleepwalking through life instead of opening himself up to any meaningful relationships. Life changes for both of them when Clare brings Maddie into the ER one night.
Review ♥ Sweet Thing by Renée Carlino
Renée Carlino is one heck of a writer. The characters she brings to life have great depth, and her stories are well plotted and very engaging, with awesome angst mixed in. Sweet Thing is no exception.
Review, Excerpt & Giveaway ♥ Devil’s Kiss by Ella Frank
I’ve got to admit I was a smidge skeptical about Devil’s Kiss. As much as I adore Ella Frank’s writing, Finley, the precursor to this book, missed the mark for me somewhat, but man oh man does she deliver the goods with this one. I absolutely loved it, but I do not recommend reading Devil’s Kiss without reading Finley first.
Review: One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Reading One True Loves felt a lot like falling in love. For me, it started out as a hesitant attraction to the story and quickly evolved into a passionate affair. I was fully invested and wanted the wonderful feeling to last. As things evolved, however, and complications arose, I braced myself for heartache. I was no longer certain what a fairy tale ending looked like. I just knew the love story would end, and someone would wind up getting hurt.
Review ♥ Breaking Him by R.K. Lilley
Why didn’t someone tell me about R.K. Lilley, and specifically about Breaking Him, before now?! This story is like book crack—positively addictive and emotionally lethal. It gutted me time and time again, and I couldn’t get enough.
Review ♥ Showmance by L.H. Cosway
Showmance is only the second book I’ve read that L.H. Cosway has written independently, but I have to say she has a knack for writing damaged heroes. I was captivated by Damon Atwood, the leery and painfully socially awkward former child star making his stage debut in Moulin Rouge on London’s West End. Rose is a choreographer’s assistant who has been burned in the past by falling for shallow actors. Despite her best attempts to guard her heart, she is understandably drawn to Damon and decides to take him under her wing.
Review ♥ Sugar Daddy by Sawyer Bennett
Wow. Sugar Daddy is every bit as steamy as I’ve come to expect from a Sawyer Bennett novel, only edgier. It’s almost like an addictive, well-written X-rated soap opera. You’ve got a super nasty villain, a determined heroine, and a massively likable hero. Throw in a huge mystery, some devious plotting, and a wildly sexy romance, and I was sold.
Review: Sempre by J.M. Darhower
There are some 500-page books that I can fly through reading and they don’t seem very long at all. Sempre isn’t one of them. It felt very much like it is 528 pages long. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the story, because I did. The mafia, human trafficking, sacrifice, vengeance, and forbidden young love are themes that kept me interested. However, the plot unfolds extremely slowly and is bogged down with more repetitive details than necessary. At times it seems like the reader is experiencing life in the DeMarco household not just day to day, but hour by hour. The story could be told in much less time and still be impactful.