NEW REVIEW: The Good GIrl by Nikki Sloane

 

She's ready to be naughty.

The Good Girl by Nikki Sloane is now live! 

What are you supposed to do when your best friend's little sister—a classic good girl—asks you to help her go bad?

You should say no.

You shouldn't pretend to date her so she can piss off her parents.

You definitely shouldn't agree to take her virginity and show her all the experiences she's been missing out on.

And you really shouldn't keep it a secret from her brother, the one who's your best friend and business partner.

But I don't always make the best choices. In fact, I can be kind of a dick sometimes.

And I know if I don't do it, someone else will . . . and I can't have that. If anything, it means I get to be the good guy for once.

I just wasn't prepared for how gifted this good girl would be at going bad.

OUR REVIEW:

This series just gets hotter and hotter. In the latest book in the Nashville Neighborhood series, we finally get Preston's book. He's been hovering in the background for a while and it was interesting to get into his head, especially when it concerns a certain friend's little sister....ahh how the mighty fall. Mr. Hook-Up finally finds the girl he can't seem to stay away from, even if it means potentially ruining a friendship and maybe even his business. And Sydney? Well, she can't resist the opportunity to get to know the person she's been crushing on for a long time.

In alternating viewpoints we watch them really get to know each other, try to resist each other, and fall for each other, all under the guise of teaching Sydney lessons of an intimate nature. This one is a quick and fun read. Go get it.

  Download today on Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo!

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Meet Nikki

USA Today bestselling author Nikki Sloane landed in graphic design after her careers as a waitress, a screenwriter, and a ballroom dance instructor fell through. Now she writes full-time and lives in Kentucky with her husband, two sons, and a pair of super destructive cats. She is a four-time Romance Writers of America RITA® & Vivian® Finalist, a Passionate Plume & HOLT Medallion winner, a Goodreads Choice Awards semifinalist, and couldn't be any happier that people enjoy reading her sexy words.

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REVIEW: The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

 

OUR REVIEW:

The Grace Year is a quick read that builds on the dystopian novels that have come before. What I mean by that is that there seems to be a nod to female driven narratives that pit women against the oppressive societies that rule them, a nod that acknowledges that you know where we're coming from so let's just dive right into the action without a lot of the backstory of how they got there. In The Grace Year, that's not the point. I think the point is that Tierney and the other girls are in it now, so now what?!

In this novel, young women are sent away for a year to dispose of their 'magic' and when they return they'll return to assigned roles, like in a caste system. Some will marry and some will be laborers and some will be sex workers or outcasts. Tierney, our main character, assumes that she'll be a laborer because she's purposely led a life that would make that so. Her assumption is wrong and she starts her journey to their 'grace year' property in a state of shock and determination. Once all of the grace year girls arrive at their grace year destination, the immediate devolution of civility begins. There's peer pressure, bullying, and mob mentality at work ...among other things. Tierney tries to set up a society that would be equitable and helpful and within days, it's all destroyed. Within weeks she's an outcast and not long after that, she finds herself on death's doorstep. It's only when someone who should be her enemy nurses her back to health that she begins to really understand all of the elements working against the grace year girls, and begins to try to work against them to make things right, better for them all. Ultimately, when Tierney makes it back to her original home and has some time to reflect on it all, she gains some clarity and leaves us with a sense of hope for better days.

While I really enjoyed The Grace Year--it's definitely a 4.5-5 star read for me--I did want a little more backstory and information about how in the world they got to this point to begin with, where are they, and when is this all taking place. Other than those things, The Grace Year held my attention, was a quick read, and offered insights about being a woman in the world, insights that I wish we didn't have to learn because we lived in a truly equal and free society. 

BUY IT HERE: https://amzn.to/440HE6O

Synopsis:

The instant New York Times bestseller, Kim Liggett's The Grace Year is a speculative YA thriller in the vein of The Hunger Games and The Power, now in trade paperback.

No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.

In Garner County, girls are banished for their sixteenth year to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage.

But not all of them will make it home alive.

Tierney James dreams of a better life―but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that there’s more to fear about the grace year than the brutal elements and the poachers in the woods.

Their greatest threat may very well be each other.

With sharp prose and gritty realism, Liggett's The Grace Year examines the complex and sometimes twisted relationships between girls, the women they eventually become, and the difficult decisions they make in-between.

REVIEW: Accidental Attachment by Max Monroe

OUR REVIEW:

It's been a while since I've picked up a Max Monroe rom com and so I decided to pick up Accidental Attachment. True to my expectations, this writing duo plunged the reader right into the comedy part of the romcom, but the romance wasn't far behind. 

 Accidental Attachment is the story of Brooke and Chase, a writer and her editor, and how she accidentally sends him a draft of a novel that hasn't been requested or sold. It's essentially her fantasy if she was an on air anchor and he was her producer. Chase reads it, loves it, pitches it and when he's successful, has the joy of telling Brooke-who has no idea that she sent the file that she sent. Once she discovers her oopsie, she basically dies and then tries to avoid doing anything with it. Of course that can't happen and the rest of the novel is divided up between her making peace with the fact that she's publishing her fantasy and trying to figure out how to be around the object of her affection without blowing it, all while being trapped in an RV, with her crush, on a cross country road trip to promote her previous hit turned Netflix series. 

As you can imagine, there's lots of comedy: physical comedy, puns and word play, and the always fun second hand embarrassment hilarity that ensues from their various snafus. The romance is slow burning and sweet and a nice counter to the constant funny. All in all, a fun, slightly nutty read.

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/430qAwr

SYNOPSIS:

A successful writer accidentally sends her new (and super-dreamy) editor the wrong manuscript. Instead of the full-length paranormal novel she promised Longstrand Publishing, she sends the fan fiction she’s written about her crush…on him—including every detail of the hot, steamy “physical activity” she’s fantasized about happening between them.

And Chase Dawson may be the hottest man alive and a super-talented editor to boot, but he’s completely oblivious that he’s the star of the manuscript he just convinced his boss to green-light.

Brooke Baker has been through a lot in her thirty-one years of life.

A divorce.
A career change.
A move to New York City from “small-town” Ohio.
Not to mention, she has a bit of a medical condition that involves occasional fainting spells, mild embarrassment, and the companionship of her adorable service dog and canine sidekick, Benji.

But none of it has prepared her for this.

None of it prepared her for Chase Dawson.

Strong jaw, blue eyes, cut muscles, and a perfect swoop of superhero-worthy black hair, Chase’s features are those of a book boyfriend and then some. Obviously, Brooke would know—she literally filled an entire manuscript with it.

A manuscript no one was ever supposed to see.

Will she survive two months of revising and editing the sizzling romance she imagined with Chase in extremely close quarters with him? Or will the constant white lies and overwhelming attraction make her spontaneously combust?

 

NEW REVIEW: Son of a Gun by Jay Crownover

OUR REVIEW:

I've been loving this series-following the 2nd generation of Marked Men children and now with Son of a Gun, characters from The Point. It's always interesting to see how an author envisions her characters and what they're up to long after their story has been published and while it's been a while since I've thought of some of these characters, it didn't even matter. Jay Crownover did a great job of making Son of a Gun stand alone if you haven't read any of the other novels (or have forgotten characters). 

I'd been waiting for Daire and Campbell's book and it did not disappoint. Ever since they met and seemed to rub each other the wrong way, I knew these two would be fun to read about. They were. Both Daire and Campbell are grappling with finding their way and figuring out who they are in this world, and it works so beautifully because they soon discover that as opposite as they are, their situations are strangely complimentary and can teach them each a little something about how to see things from a different perspective. 

I enjoyed all aspects of their romance-how they were thrown together, how they bond, how they learn from each other and fall for each other. I also enjoyed that their problems were never really with each other, but with those on the outside. It made those inevitable hard moments easy because it was them against the world, and not them against each other. In a novel that had a lot of other drama, it was nice that it was never drama they created to make things worse. 

This mash up of characters and backgrounds worked and I'm so glad that Jay Crownover put these two together on the page; I flew through the pages because of how much fun they were to read.

BUY HERE: https://amzn.to/45zk5Cl

SYNOPSIS:

Heavy is the head that inherits the crown.

The only thing on Daire Archer’s mind when she pulled a disappearing act on Christmas was proving she was worthy of being her father's daughter. She was born an Archer, which was a blessing and a curse, and Daire was determined to show everyone she deserved to carry the legacy that came with her name.

There is power in a name, and being an Archer meant Daire needed to do better, to be better. At least, that’s what she thought she needed, until a boy from nowhere—with a name that meant nothing—showed her that she was already pretty great just the way she was.

Campbell has always rejected everything concerning his maniacal father and his troubled past. When he left Nowhere, he was certain he wanted a nice, quiet life free from the only things he'd ever known: violence and bloodshed. He thought he needed to be a better man. He wondered if there was a kinder, gentler version of himself under his thick armor of scars and tattoos.

It wasn't until he started chasing Daire Archer all over hell and back that Campbell realized he needed to be a man who was better at being bad than everyone else in his troubled world.

Because now, he had a problematic princess to protect. One with an uncanny ability for finding trouble. Where Daire is concerned, being a good guy isn't necessary.

 

REVIEW: Codename Charming by Lucy Parker

 

OUR REVIEW:

When Lucy Parker releases a new novel, we're always ready. Her novels entertain us with snappy dialogue, plunge us into London (and in this case a royal family), and always guarantee a good time. In Codename Charming we get to watch Pet and Matthias go from pretending to be annoyed (or actually just a little flustered) around each other to becoming friends while faking a relationship that we all know will never be fake at all. Both Pet and Matthias come from less than wonderful upbringings and both carry wounds from earlier years; the difference is that Pet is a ray of sunshine while Matthias is perceived to be a grump (he's actually a huge softy) and while these wounds could prohibit them from falling for each other, it's really their disbelief that the other could possibly want them that is the real obstacle. Typical. 

Playing in the background is a royal family that is a hot mess in the most hilarious ways and a nefarious media circus always trying to put them in the worst light--which is how the "fake" romance comes to be. While this is all going on, we get to know more about our main characters and their friends, as well as see more of Pet's brother and sister-in-law and how their dueling bakeries are doing (happy to report all is well there). 

As usual, Parker not only has us invested in what's going on with our main characters, she's building interest in secondary characters, making us hopeful we'll get another book in this series. 

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/3jWWc5x

SYNOPSIS:

Following Battle Royal, beloved author Lucy Parker pens another delicious romantic comedy about a fake relationship between a grumpy royal bodyguard and the charming, sunny assistant who melts his cold, hard exterior.

Petunia De Vere enjoys being the personal assistant to lovable, bumbling Johnny Marchmont. But the job has its share of challenges, including the royal’s giant, intimidating bodyguard, Matthias. Pet and Matthias are polar opposites—she’s spontaneous and enthusiastic, he’s rigid and stoic—but she can sense there’s something softer underneath that tough exterior…

For Matthias Vaughn, protecting others is the name of the game. But keeping his royal charge out of trouble is more difficult than he imagined because everywhere Johnny goes, calamity ensues, and his petite, bubbly assistant is often caught in the fray. Matthias hates the idea of Pet getting hurt and he’s determined to keep everyone safe, even if it means clashing with his adorable new coworker.

When a clumsy moment leads to a questionable tabloid photo, the press begins to speculate that Pet is romantically involved with Johnny. To put an end to the rumors, the royal PR team asks Pet and Matthias to stage a fake relationship and the two reluctantly agree. But as they spend more time together outside of work, they begin to wonder what real emotions this pretend connection might uncover. Especially when a passionate kiss leaves both of their heads spinning…