REVIEW: Embracing the Change by Kristen Ashley

 

OUR REVIEW:

I've been waiting for this book for what seems like forever...or, ever since Nora and Jamie showed up on the page together and every single character in this series has been dying for them to get together. Nora and Jamie did not disappoint and Kristen Ashley did the best job of making their romance completely over the top in every single way. From their extreme wealth, their forced proximity on a yacht, their housing, clothing, and accoutrement to the dramas that filled their days and the page, I was hooked the first scene and didn't blink until I was done. I loved escaping into their lives, lives so far removed from mine that it felt like fantasy. I loved catching up with all of the other characters from the previous books in the series. And I loved that even though Nora and Jamie live a life I'll never live, I found them to be likable and genuine and characters you couldn't help rooting for. 

Of course it doesn't hurt that Kristen Ashley is like my own personal catnip; I am addicted to the worlds she creates. I'm almost finished rereading all of her previously released novels and it's honestly ruined me for so many other reads because these characters just feel like home.

All of this to say: Embracing the Change was another 5 star Kristen Ashley read for me and, of course, I cannot wait for what she releases next. 

BUY HERE: https://amzn.to/3MZixKA

SYNOPSIS:

That Kiss…

Gorgeous New York socialite, Nora Ellington has been waiting a very long time for her happily ever after.

So long, she’s given up on it and has decided, even though she’s the plus-one friend without benefits to a man she’s head over heels in love with, an HEA will forever be out of her reach.

Handsome billionaire Jamie Oakley thought he’d had two happily ever afters in his life. However, neither lasted long, and both ended in tragedy. He’s not about to try it again or put his children through the trauma Jamie has learned from experience undoubtedly will come their way.

And he’s made this decision even if the woman who’s become his constant companion is a woman he loves straight to his soul….and wants with everything that is him.

But then, one night, Jamie loses control and kisses Nora.

He can’t go there.

She can’t go on without it.

They’ll never be the same.

Or will they?

REVIEW: The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez

OUR REVIEW:

The Next Best Fling had a cute premise--two people in love with other people who help each other out when the people they're in love with become engaged to each other. Did you catch all that? 

Marcela and Theo have been in each other's circle of acquaintances for a while but get to know each other when Theo's brother (Marcela's original love interest) and his girlfriend (Theo's original love interest) become engaged, much to their chagrin. Marcela and Theo become each other's plus one to all sorts of events and it's through these dates that they get to know and care for each other. It becomes clear, from early on, that Theo's brother is a complete douche and Theo is the superior brother of the two. Thankfully, Marcela picks up on that sooner than later.

While I enjoyed the idea of this novel, some of the execution didn't work for me. Something was a little off with some of the dialogue, which I found distracting. I also thought it went on a little long and so I found my interest waning. That being said, there were some cute scenes and a lot of potential for future books in this series. 

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SYNOPSIS:

Two broken hearts decide that the best way to get over their first loves is with a no-strings-attached relationship in this spicy and charming debut romance.

Librarian Marcela Ortiz has been secretly in love with her best friend for years—and when he gets engaged, she knows it’s long past time to move on. But before she gets the chance, she has a bigger problem to contend with in the form of Theo Young, ex-NFL player and older brother of the man she’s in love with. When she discovers Theo's plans to confess his feelings for his brother’s fiancée at their engagement party, Marcela is quick to stop him—despite how tempting it is to let him run away with the bride-to-be. She manages to convince Theo to sleep off his drunken almost-mistake at her place and when they arrive at a family brunch the next day together, everyone wrongly assumes they hooked up.

Since Theo needs a cover for his feelings for the bride and Marcela needs a distraction from her unrequited feelings for the groom, they decide to roll with the lie. Until one late night at a bar, they take it a step further and discover a layer of attraction neither realized existed. Soon, they find themselves exploring the simmering chemistry between them, whether in library aisles or Marcela's bed. There are no boundaries for the rebound relationship they form—just a host of complicated feelings, messy familial dynamics, and uncovered secrets that threaten to tear them apart before they can even admit to themselves that their rebound is working. Maybe a little too well.
 

REVIEW: The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey

REVIEW:

I loved the first book in this series and I f-loved this book too. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a good sports ball romance and while this was more focused on the relationship between Tallulah and Burgess, there were some good diversionary hockey-focused scenes. 

Tallulah and Burgess were fun to read in a very opposites attracts way. He's a broody, single father, hockey player, who has the biggest heart. She's a sunny, smart, bubbly graduate student who has been burned so badly by her ex-boyfriend that she has isolated herself for years in order to protect herself from that ever happening again. When he hires her to be a nanny to his young daughter, Tallulah definitely questions her choices and almost backs out, but his obvious care and love for his daughter, and willingness to do anything to make Tallulah feel safe and comfortable wins her over. As the spend more time together, they discover that they're good for each other. She nudges him into living more of his life and he nudges her into doing the things her previous isolation had prevented her from doing. Pushing those boundaries created the opportunity for their attraction to build and grow and before you know it, they were falling for each other. Things were going so very well until they weren't and dang, it hurt to see them hurt, as they were both such likable characters, but it definitely made that HEA that much sweeter at the end.

Lately I've needed these easy, fun reads and The Au Pair Affair definitely was that--it practically read itself. So, if you're looking for something quick and fun and romantic, check this one out.

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SYNOPSIS:

A sports rom-com about a burly, surly, single dad who falls head-over-hockey-stick for his quirky live-in nanny...

Tallulah is smart, vivacious, and studying to be a marine biologist. She’s also twenty-six and broke. So when Burgess, a battle-scarred hockey veteran and newly single dad, offers her a job as his live-in nanny, she jumps at the opportunity to get paid while living in a super fancy neighborhood and being around Lissa, his cool but introverted tween.

Her tween charge isn’t the only one who could use some help fitting in, though. According to…well, everyone except Burgess, he needs to get back on the dating scene, and adventurous Tallulah is just the girl to show him how. But as boundaries are slowly crossed and Burgess finds himself pulled between his daughter, who wants her parents back together, and his insane chemistry with Tallulah, a huge rift is formed, and Tallulah does the “right” thing—breaks her own heart and walks away.

Though Burgess knows it’s for the best—he’s too jaded, with too much baggage—a chance meeting, and a new push from his daughter, forces him to put everything on the line and fight to prove he learned his lessons well and is worthy of a happily ever after with Tallulah. 

 

REVIEW: James by Percival Everett

 

OUR REVIEW:

As you know, we're normally a romance focused blog, but every once in a while we'll branch out to something else and feel compelled to share. Today you need to know more about James a look at Huck Finn's adventures from the point of view of Jim (James). 

To be honest, I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it at first. These days I read to escape and I wasn't sure if I wanted to escape into something that would feel heavy but my curiosity about the rave reviews urged me on and I'm so glad I did. I've told all of my friends who read lit fic to try it because it was such a great read. While it did most definitely delve into really heavy, despicable things in our American history, it also had an undercurrent of hope. I loved James's voice, his conversations with philosophers, his sharp, witty, poignant, striking inner monologue, and his empathy and compassion. Percival Everett gave me a novel I didn't know I needed and I'll be recommending it to all those who will listen. 

Please pick up this novel and then let me know how much you love it, because I think you will. 

Happy reading!

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/3YFP4fN

SYNOPSIS:

A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view.

When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.

While many narrative set pieces of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river’s banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin…), Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.

REVIEW: Look on the Bright Side by Kristan Higgins

OUR REVIEW:

I've never read a Kristan Higgins novel before so I had no idea what to expect and I have to say I actually had low expectations. That was dumb. This novel was such an easy, cute, clean romance that I devoured in a matter of hours. It follows the story of Lark, with a few chapters dedicated to Ellie (Lark's mom), and Joy (Lark's landlord). Lark is this super kind and empathetic resident who has just been kicked out of her oncology residency because she's too teary. She's moved to the ER, with the hopes she'll toughen up and perhaps be able to join the oncology department later. As all of this is happening, she's asked to pretend date the biggest a-hole doctor on the hospital's campus, by said a-hole doctor, and somehow she winds up saying yes. It's through her interactions with him and her work at the hospital that we learn more of her tragic past and how's become who she is. And while her past is truly tragic, her present is quite delightful. She has a full life, a lovely family, and she's quite unafraid to give the a-hole doctor some hard truths. Interspersed between her life at the hospital, and her fake dates, we learn about Ellie and her current marriage struggles and Joy and her hurtful past. All three narratives work well together to show a variety of women's experiences and the importance female friendships. They also show the power of all types of love.

All in all a really solid read. 

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/3WvsJ1N

SYNOPSIS:

Lark Smith has always had a plan for her life: find a fantastic guy, create a marriage as blissful as her parents’, pop out a couple of kids and build a rewarding career as an oncologist.

Things aren’t going so well.

For one, the guy didn’t work out. Theoretically, she’d love to find someone else, but it hasn’t happened. Two, she’s just been transferred out of oncology for being too emotional. (Is it her fault she’s a weeper?) Three, her parents just split up.

Deviating from the plan was…well, not in the plan. A potential solution comes from the foul-tempered and renowned surgeon Lorenzo Santini (aka Dr. Satan). He needs a date this summer for his sister’s wedding. His ancient Noni wants to see him settled. In exchange, he could make a few introductions and maybe get Lark back into the field of her choice.

As a sucker for old people and fake relationships, Lark agrees. Teeny problem—she instantly falls for his big, warm family. Especially his estranged brother.

Meanwhile, Lark’s mom has moved in with Lark’s flamboyant landlady, Joy, and an unlikely friendship blossoms. The three women have a long summer and a big beautiful house on the ocean to figure out what’s next…and quite possibly learn that the best things in life aren’t planned at all.