RATING: 3/5 GENRE: Romance, Sports Romance TROPE: Forced Proximity, Hot Neighbour SPICE: 3/5 The novel begins with Astrid being left at the alter by her professional hockey player fiancé, Tig Jones. After the whole ordeal, Astrid swears off hockey players and honestly anything hockey even putting a “Hockey Jar” in the bar she sometimes worked at to keep it away from her… Then she meets Cal while working and has an amazing one night stand turns into having to see him everyday because he works for her dad…. I want to mention that Astrid as a character is funny and tough and i really loved how she was written but otherwise this novel was just flat and boring. The only redeemable quality was the spice. If you’re looking for something that is easy, fluffy and has spice then I recommend this book but the romance isn’t even that deep for me. *** I received this book as a gift from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
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RATING : 4.5/5
SPICE: 2/5 GENRE: Romance, Plus Size, Sports TROPE: Fake Dating, Friends-to-Lovers, Virgin Trope I want to start off by saying that I am someone who is picky and critical when it comes to the books I read, and more so when it comes to the tropes. That’s why this book was has a 5-Star rating for me, as it has done something that no book has managed to do for me: Change my opinion on a trope. Firstly, I couldn’t put this book down. I have been eyeing this title for a while because it has a lot of the elements I look for when trying to decide what to add to my TBR. Romance? Check. Plus size Romance? Check. And I have been recently dabbling my hand in the Sports Romance genre and this book fit the bill. Especially after the Superbowl! Perfect read. Trixie (MC) and Chris (LI) have been friends for a long time and when Trixie is faced with a few Mean Girls who peaked in High School, she lies and tells them that in fact she and Chris are dating. Let the FAKE DATING scheme commence! Now, back to my VIRGINITY TROPE comment, please note below there are some MILD spoilers. Trixie hasn’t had it hard because she a plus size gal and men “don’t desire” plus size babes. That is what most of the books I have encountered with the plus size characters and the virginity trope imply. In this case, the reason for Trixie being a virgin so long is that her mom was a porn star. The novel explains that due to the over-sexualization of her mother, she often came across guys who would overly sexualize her in association to her mom. For example, she had a long time boyfriend, and when they were at the moment to have sex for the first time he suggested they put on porn FEATURING HER MOM! What are are men?!?!?! Honestly though, its something I can picture a man suggesting. It made it so real and the explanation super understandable… I also enjoyed how her loosing her virginity wasn’t a huge planned out magical spectacle. I won’t describe it here because… it was HOT. *** I received this book as a gift from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
RATING: 5/5 SPICE: 3.5/5 GENRE: Romance, Plus-Size, Witchy, Spicy TROPE: Friends-to-Lovers I absolutely loved reading this. I don’t know what it is about this year, but the books have just been hitting! This is the third book in the Supernatural Singles series by April Asher. The series focused on three plus size witch-sisters and their stories of falling in love. I have absolutely loved Asher’s previous novels, but this one really takes the cake. Olive is the timid teacher who moves in with her Angel friend Bax. He offered up his spare room to Olive knowing that she wasn’t in the safest living environment. There are definitely some sexy encounters that start from the moment she moves in… The trouble starts when Bax is assigned to be Olive’s Guardian Angel. There are three rules to being a guardian angel, and one of those rules, and most important one is DO NOT FALL IN LOVE with your assignment. Oops! This read was fun and romantic and sexy. Asher writes very well and I really commend her on making the characters (and dialogue) feel very real. April Asher should be added to your “instant-buy” authors. She is for me. *** I received this book as a gift from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*** RATING: 3/5 SPICE: 4/5 GENRE: Romance, Sapphic, Spicy, Forced Proximity So there is a lot to say about this book. Firstly, I did get this as an audiobook over the summer and withing a few minutes the narrator did not get me into it, so i left it on the back burner… The only reason I decided to push through and give this a chance (which honestly i am glad i did) is because i had zero pending audiobooks on NetGalley, and i had a week to wait for my next Audible credit. Anyway, so i restarted the book and it did start off really well. The story is a dual POV bouncing between young smart Cassie and distinguished and beautiful Erin. Cassie is avoiding parent’s weekend at her University because her family won’t be there and it isn’t really her thing, so she hits on the sexy older woman at the bar, Erin. Honestly, other than the wild sex they have in the car, it is a very good one night stand between two women. The problems begin with the drama… turns out the reason Erin was even at the bar is that it is parents weekend and she was there to see her daughter… but her daughter was spending that evening with her dad. Oh and that daughter so happens to be Cassie’s newest best friend. The plot is definitely THICK and dramatic. The whole relationship honestly gave me anxiety from that point forward, but that was beside the point; and honestly the premise and sex scenes were probably the best parts of this book. The issues I had with the novel are firstly, Parker (Erin’s adult daughter) acting like an immature child the entire time, making it hard to reconcile the fact that Cassie is both in a mature relationship with Erin and also friends with Parker. Then you have the god-awful dialogue and internal monologue and overall narration. If you don’t care for much of those details and just want some decently written sapphic sex, then pick up this book but if you need there to be some substance and good writing you should pick up something else. GENRE: Romance, Spicy RATING: 2/5 SPICE: YUCK/5 *TW: SA mention* I had given this book a higher rating but in retrospect, I think I am going to lower it. (for those of you wondering… yes I did). There are a few things I did enjoy about this book. Firstly, that it was a easy read, perfect to have by the beach or by the pool. This was the mindset I had when starting the novel. I knew it wasn’t going to be something super deep. It was going to be a fun fluff romance with some spice. I enjoyed it at first, it was giving “Pretty Woman” meets “Fake Fiance” (that movie with Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence) with the added forced proximity trope. Then there were things that really bugged me and I couldn’t ignore them. MC’s sister was CONSTANTLY defending her rich-af-fake-fiance’s behaviour and it really felt like “its fine because he’s rich.” which nope not for me. Another issue is with the spice in the novel. While normally, I would give it a 3/5 because there was a significant amount of spice in the novel… I want to give it a huge ICK/5 and that’s because it glorified SA. There is a scene in the novel where MC initiates sex with her Fake-Fiance WHILE HE IS ASLEEP!!!!! And while his character does say afterwards how much he enjoyed that… it really grossed me out. I think that those are things you and a partner have to discuss beforehand and they absolutely DID NOT in the book. I didn’t like this in 50 Shades of Grey when Christian Grey did it; I do not like it here. I don’t think we should be upholding these toxic types of double standards. So while I do have another Meghan Quinn book on my TBR (because well I already spent the $) unless it really has a different tune on the SA front, Meghan Quinn will be going on my NEVER authors list. GENRE: Summer, Romance, Spice RATING: 4/5 SPICE: 3.5/5 So, I want to start off by saying that I came into this book very negatively. By this I mean, I already had a preconceived notion of my opinions of Elle Kennedy’s writing because I absolutely LOATHED “The Deal” - specifically how the novel addresses SA and being supper abrasive with the language. Someone who has experienced SA would not be so BLANTANT in the language and would not forget to add a trigger warning at the beginning of the novel… that being said… THE SUMMER GIRL was an amazing read. It really changed my opinion of Kennedy as a writer and I am now going to be more open to her works in the future. While there were a few ICKs at the beginning of the novel (namely Cassie basically admitting to excusing Tate’s repulsive/pervy behaviour because he is attractive). SIDE NOTE: This book comes out tomorrow (JULY 18, 2023) and I think that it may have been a better option not to use the name TATE for our love interest… no matter what happened all I could picture was Andrew Tate (barf!) As the novel progresses, you forget the unfortunate fact of his name, and his shitty behaviour at the beginning of the novel because Tate becomes overall a very great and fun love interest. Without giving spoilers here are some aspects of the novel I loved:
If you need something fun and romantic and quick to read this summer, you should definitely pick up THE SUMMER GIRL by ELLE KENNEDY. ***I RECEIVED THIS BOOK FOR FREE ON NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW*** RATING: -1000000 / 5 GENRE: Erotic Fiction, Science Fiction, Dinosaur Erotica???? I absolutely hated this book. I am so open to reading really weird books, including weird sex books. I am book reviewer, it is what I do! And other than not promoting or sharing content about problematic authors, I try to read everything I can (within reason). For the most part, if the story is good, I can accept the writing to be lacking. Some storytellers aren’t the best at writing, but that is a skill that improves and honestly I love a good story. When it comes to this monstrosity, not only is the story HORRENDOUS but the writing is so bad, that if you were looking to hate read something this summer this could be a great contender. I wasn’t in the mood for a HATE-READ session… So this was not it for me, and likely I will never revisit this author or this book. **I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*** WATCH MY REVIEW BELOW:
GENRE: Romantic Comedy RATING: 5/5 SPICE: 4/5 SUB-GENRES: Fake dating, Enemies to Lovers, Mental Health RELEASE DATE: APRIL 4, 2023 "I'm not here to fix you! I'm here to love you!" I could not put this book down. It is my second 5-star book of the year, and it was so unexpected and wonderful. "The Plus One" by Mazey Eddings is a romance novel that tells the story of two childhood enemies, Jude and Indira. Despite their initial hatred for each other, they end up fake dating, and their relationship grows into something more. One of the standout aspects of the book is the witty banter between the two characters and how Eddings expertly weaves in emotional moments that tug at the heartstrings. The book tackles deeper issues such as sensory overload and therapy, which adds an extra layer of complexity to the characters. Eddings explores these issues in a sensitive and nuanced way that is both relatable and thought-provoking. Additionally, Eddings' writing style is engaging and easy to follow, making it a quick and enjoyable read. The characters are well-developed and their chemistry is palpable. Their relationship is not without its challenges, but it's heartwarming to see them work through their issues and grow closer. Honestly, "The Plus One" is a must-read for me. If you love humor, heart, and spice with well-developed characters and emotional depth. Mazey Eddings has crafted a beautiful love story that will leave readers feeling satisfied and swooning for Jude and Indira. Pick it up at your local bookshop when it comes out April 4th. You won't regret it. Please note: I received this ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. GENRE: Romance, Fiction RATING: 2/5 SPICE: 3/5 This novel by Tessa Bailey started off really strong for me, especially after the intense disappointment of “My Killer Vacation”, which I found to have sloppy and inconsistent writing. This novel was definitely a step up from the previous one I read in terms of writing. I was really loving Hallie and Julien’s story, it grappled me from the beginning and maybe I missed it due to listening on an audiobook vs reading… but the older virgin girl trope that Bailey seems to frequently gravitate to really bugs me. Its a trope that just needs to die. The virgin girl and the sexually experienced man. BARF. Once, twice, its enough. The stakes in this novel were also just bland and unrealistic. The whole concept of the “Secret admirer” was really cute and promising, but it would have been more appropriate for like a post-college storyline… Not for people in their 30s. Like she is worried that he’s going to reject her for being his secret admirer when the chapter before he full on said he was not going back to his job at Stanford to be with her basically. She wrote him like a total of 3 love letters… like c’mon. It was too much… She was missing and like he thought she was dead or kidnapped? like I get he panicked but what a selfish dumb thing to then disappear on her for 17 days and not even answer her phone calls? Nah, I hate it so much. Like I would have given this a solid 3-stars had that not even the resolution conflict at the end of the book. Honestly, this is the 3rd Tessa Bailey novel I’ve read that I absolutely hated. I am so disappointed. I may need to cross her off my list of authors to look out for. GENRE: RomCom, Plus Size, Holiday RATING: 5/5 SPICE: 4/5 - lots of sex but nothing k*nky Heaven, Hell or Vermont? So prior to writing my own review, after excitedly finishing this book, I mistakenly decided to go through Goodreads and see what others had said about this novel. This book, like every book, is not for everyone. If you watch Dumplin’ on Netflix and didn’t relate, understand or appreciate the film, you quite likely will not love this book as much as I did… which to be clear I ABSOLUTELY loved. I am really stingy on what books get 5 stars, and maybe because December is a happy month and my last 3 books have been 5-stars, maybe I am wrong… but I quite doubt it. Conceptually this novel is amazing. The premise is original and hilarious. How would you feel if your favourite boy-band hunk you’ve been crushing on since your teens is now your co-star on a Hallmark-esk film set? How would you feel if that crush had been subscribed to your “Only Fans” (its got another name in the book) for the last 6 years and has a crush on you? That you mistakenly get selected to be the lead in this wholesome Christmas movie and have to hide that you have a very successful film career already! A porn film career that is! This novel really straddled the line between unrealistic Hallmark-wholesome and realistic and down to earth, which is very hard to do. Let’s talk about the characters. Firstly, Nolan, our hunky ex-boyband now turned new-wholesome-film-star was a great character filled with depth and understanding. One of my primary issues when reading novels with male perspectives is that sometimes men don’t feel like men. What I mean by this is, that the women writing the novels are writing what women want without really keeping in mind generally how men are. What I mean by this is, at times, considering the men I have in my life and the things they say, the thoughts they share, etc. it will at times feel like something this character wouldn’t REALLY say but rather what the reader/author would WANT them to say. I am not sure if that makes sense, but I will carry on. I do see some criticism about how Nolan’s character describes his love interest Bee, and his sexual thoughts. I think all criticism is fair but I love when my partner and I talk to each other and “objectify” one and other. In Nolan’s context, it isn’t creepy but just a man looking out for the woman he is enamored with. Bree’s character was perfect. No notes. We love a bisexual, plus size, babe who loves her body and knows what she wants in life and doesn’t take “NO” for an answer. There is a moment in the novel, where Bree is given a big choice, be with the man of her dreams in private or not at all. As a big girl, this is something I have experienced and struggled with before. Often I have found myself in situations where I am told I am beautiful, funny and amazing; that all they want to do is spend time with me, but the moment when it’s time to let people outside of our bubble know… The bubble pops. Gone. And then I am left alone once again, picking up the pieces of myself. This scene in the novel… BROKE ME. I do not want to give anymore away, so I’ll leave it there. Let’s talk about SPICE baby… So I gave this a 4/5 stars, because while YES Bee is a porn star and there is a significant amount of sex in the novel… There was nothing kinky or triggering about it to give it a 5 star rating. So if you’re ok with mostly vanilla sex and it happening frequently through the novel, there is no need to shy away from this novel. Granted… chapter 13 is… HOT and also… there is a sex scene in a church so if that is something “problematic” for you… you have been warned. I am not usually someone who reads holiday novels. I actually tried last Christmas to read one, and it remains dust-covered on my TBR, but if you are looking for a nice holiday read to pick up before you’re snowed in for the holidays, I recommend picking up this book. |
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