Tag: romancebook

Book Review, Fiction, Romance

Mistakes We Never Made by Hannah Brown ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪
Genre: Romance

Mistakes We Never Made is the road trip journey of Emma and her will-they-won’t-they friend Finn as they attempt to track down a runaway bride, Sybil, in the days leading up to the wedding. I love me a road trip story, but this one reallyyy dragged. Emma kept making dumb decisions and assumptions about where Sybil was, like I could have found this woman faster. That said, I did enjoy her conversations with Finn and watching them untangle their past and the problems that had stood in the way of them getting together.

There were a lot of loose ends in this book which really frustrated me. We never fully figured out what went down with Emma and Finn on prom night, which is harped on incessantly, and we don’t even find out what happens with Sybil?? It felt like lazy writing! Like no one wanted to take the time to figure out what happened.

Parts of this book were fun flirty romps around the the country, but I cannot recommend it just for those sections.

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Buy Mistakes We Never Made at an indie bookstore near you
Mistakes We Never Made on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Romance

Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez ~ Book Review

Morgan

Genre: Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

Part of Your World is a classic, warm hug of a romance. When Alexis has her car towed by a handsome stranger, she thinks nothing of it. When she runs into him again though, she can’t deny their chemistry – and neither could I. Daniel is ten years younger than her and the opposite of the kind of person her family expects her to be with.

The romance between Daniel and Alexis felt so organic and I couldn’t help but root for them. I appreciated watching her navigate her internal conflict between her high-profile family and life as an ER doctor, and his more laid back approach to life.

This story deals heavily with emotional abuse and we watch Alexis try to heal from the effects of her ex, and struggle to get her loved ones to understand that there was a much darker side to their relationship.

There were parts of this story that seemed overdone, like Alexis’s terribly snobby and rude ‘friends,’ but overall it was a sweet, enjoyable romance and a fast read.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy Part of Your World at an indie bookstore near you
Part of Your World on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Romance

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center ~ Book Review

Morgan

Genre: Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪

I love a romance between a famous person and a regular person, so the premise of Hannah being assigned as the bodyguard for hunky movie star Jack Stapleton sounded right up my alley. Jack is staying at his family home helping out since his mom is sick, and he needs someone to keep him safe from his stalker. He doesn’t want to put more stress on his family, so rather than admit what’s going on, he tells them that Hannah is his girlfriend.

I liked the romance fine in this book, there was chemistry between Jack and Hannah and I liked them both as characters. Hannah’s insanely misogynistic ex-boyfriend seemed way too over the top. It seemed like every scumbag characteristic had been dumped on him, which made me respect Hannah less since there was nothing redeeming about him.

The ending was such a mess for me. It went from zero to one hundred in a bizarre twist that did not add to the story and was so random. It’s a no for me.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy The Bodyguard at an indie bookstore near you
The Bodyguard on Goodreads

Book Review, Holiday, Romance

The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer ~ Book Review

Morgan

Genre: Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪.5

I so badly wanted to love this book. I’m Jewish, and the premise of a book about a Jewish woman writing Christmas novels under a pseudonym was intriguing and relatable, as a Christmas-movie lover myself. I really appreciated the depiction of Rachel’s chronic illness and the ways it impacted her life and was misunderstood by those around her. Her character was layered and I liked learning about her. I did not, however, like her or the main male character Jacob, as people.

The two of them initially met at summer camp when they were kids and had a short-lived romance that ended in a clear miscommunication. When they reconnect as adults, Jacob tries to woo Rachel by making her wear a bizarre costume while volunteering for his upcoming Matzah Ball. This approach to a relationship and the subsequent reactions were immature and unbelievable and made it impossible for me to care what happened to the two of them.

Jacob’s inadequacy at planning the Matzah Ball when he was supposedly such an impressive event planner was baffling. Rachel’s career, family life, friends, and backstory kept me reading, as did my passive interest in seeing how the Matzah Ball worked out, but I would not recommend it.

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Buy The Matzah Ball at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fiction, Romance

One Last Gift by Emily Stone ~ Book Review

Morgan

Genre: Holiday Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

When Cassie loses her brother, Tom, she feels unmoored. Having lost their parents at a young age, the siblings were incredibly close and spent lots of time together, often accompanied by Tom’s best friend, Sam. Following Tom’s death, Cassie finds an envelope with the first clue to a scavenger hunt that Tom had planned to give her for Christmas. So Cassie begins what she knows will be her last annual hunt, and her last gift from Tom, with no idea what to expect or how she will feel when she finishes it.

I love a romance book that also focuses on familial love. The bond between Tom and Cassie was palpable even though he was not actually present in the majority of the story. The clues he left behind for her made it clear how much he cared. Throughout the hunt, Cassie was reminded of different moments with Tom that painted vignettes of the two of them together, allowing the reader to get to know him.

Throughout the whole story, Sam’s relationship with Cassie is looming. They are not on good terms for much of the narrative, tiptoeing around each other to avoid addressing their past feelings for one another. It was interesting to see the different ways they responded to their grief over losing Tom and how that informed their reactions toward one another.

Parts of this story reminded me of Me Before You with a focus on showing someone your love by helping them push themselves to their full potential. The way that Tom continued to influence Cassie’s life for the better long after his passing was beautiful.

Although this may be classified as a holiday book, the only real nod to the holidays was the fact that the ‘one last gift’ was a Christmas present. More centrally, it’s an emotional exploration of two siblings’ love and Cassie’s journey to both grieve and honor Tom.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy One Last Gift at an indie bookstore near you
One Last Gift on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Holiday, Romance

Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison ~ Book Review

Morgan

Genre: Holiday Romance
My Rating: 🍪

Lovelight Farms is a friends to lovers will-they-won’t-they romance that suffered from a lack of creativity in the writing style. The actual storyline – Stella trying to save her Christmas tree farm by applying for an influencer’s publicity contest and lying about having a boyfriend – had all the makings for an adorable holiday romance. Unfortunately the execution was just not there. The number of times the two love interests reiterated “s/he can’t be interested in me, we’re just best friends. I misunderstood” made me want to scream. There was also a thread of mysterious vandalism running through the story that had such a random conclusion and felt so unnecessary. A cute premise, but I could not get on board.

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Buy Lovelight Farms at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fiction, Romance

The Kiss Quotient by Helena Hoang ~ Book Review

Morgan

Berkley
Genre: Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

When one of Stella’s coworkers makes a comment insinuating that she doesn’t have romantic experience, she decides to hire a professional escort, Michael, to show her the ropes. Stella has Asperger’s Syndrome and physical intimacy doesn’t come naturally to her at first. Michael, however, seems to understand her better than she could have anticipated, and her feelings for him quickly grow.

I loved how much Stella valued her job and the way she thought about data in all aspects of her life. Her passion toward it helped to define her character. I also appreciated Michael’s backstory and how we slowly discovered how he’d gotten to where he was over the course of the story.

I got really annoyed by how the two of them were so obtuse about the other person liking them. There was so much repetition and miscommunication and I wish that aspect had been dialed down because it really took away from me being able to appreciate the growth of their relationship.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy The Kiss Quotient at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fiction, Romance

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan ~ Book Review

Morgan

Avon Books
Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

Thank You for Listening is book about an audiobook narrator, written by an audiobook narrator. It felt only fitting that I listen to it. Sewanee Chester was an actress before an accident caused her to turn to narration. Although she believes romance novels are unrealistic, when she finds out that a late beloved romance author requested that Sewanee co-narrate her last book, Sewanee considers it an investment toward getting her grandmother the care she needs.

There were so many layers to this book. From Sewanee’s grandmother’s dementia to the tragic end of Sewanee’s acting career, to her fraught relationship with her father, the story went much deeper than just romance.

That being said, the romance was sooo well done. The flirty banter was, either via texting or conversations, so fun and sexy. And it was funny! Both Sewanees and her co-narrator, Brock, were so amusing, and I’m so impressed with Whelan’s creation of their humor.

To top it all off, the ending totally shook me. I wouldn’t necessarily say it was a ‘twist,’ but it added an extra wrinkle to the entire plot that completely melted my heart.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy Thank You for Listening at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fiction, Romance

The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis ~ Book Review

Morgan

Emily Bestler Books (Thank you to the publisher for my copy!)
Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

I can always count on Lia Louis to make me feel things. In The Key to My Heart, Natalie is living as a shell of herself 2.5 years after the sudden death of her husband. She begrudgingly tags along on nights out with her well-meaning friends and can only bring herself indulge in her musical passion by playing at a public piano at a train station.

Natalie’s struggle trying to honor her late husband while also give herself the grace to move forward with her life was so heart wrenching. The way that her grief impacts her relationships with those around her and the unwitting pain she herself causes added such emotion and intricacy to her story.

I was obsessed with all the secondary characters in this book. Natalie has a rich community around her, from an older woman she befriends at her regular coffee shop to a handsome stranger at a bar who she uses to get her friends off her back about getting back in the dating scene. Everyone had such a detailed backstory and distinct characteristics that they came to life and created such a well rounded support system for Natalie.

The flirty banter in this book was next level. It was sexy and funny and creative and it was impossible not to root for the romance to work out.

This was a 5-star read until the ending, which left me wanting. There was a mystery throughout the book and the conclusion of it felt anticlimactic. I still highly recommend this book, but I wanted just a little more to wrap it up.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy The Key to My Heart at an indie bookstore near you
The Key to My Heart on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Romance

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks ~ Book Review

Morgan

Grand Central Publishing
Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

I saw The Last Song movie years ago and remembered it fondly so I was excited to go into this one. It was a perfect read for the end of summer (yes, this review is very delayed). Ronnie and her brother are dropped off to spend the summer with their dad in his beach town. The characters in this story were flawed and complex in a realistic way, and it played on complicated family dynamics (especially with a moody teenager) that tugged at my heart.

The setting was described in a way that made the town and its inhabitants come to life. I loved the way that sea turtles brought people together, and the passion around saving their eggs was a catalyst for much of the relationship building in the story.

This was an odd book for me because I loved the story itself, but the writing style really bothered me. The descriptions, particularly of the teenagers, made me really aware that a man was writing, and with a female teenage protagonist, there was some disconnect that was noticeable enough that it kept drawing me out of the story.

I also felt like the antagonist was kind of introduced for no reason, and I think the story would have been just as powerful if he was removed. He seemed like a random character and his motivations for pursuing Ronnie so rampantly were not fleshed out beyond him constantly objectifying her.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy The Last Song at an indie bookstore near you
The Last Song on Goodreads