Hello everyone! How are you all doing? I know, I know, that you must be getting tired of being asked this question! But, seriously, I hope you’re okay and even if you’re not..that’s okay too.
Today, I’m bringing you a book review of an adult romance that has A LOT of baked goodies and angst! Without any further ado, let’s dive into it…
Continue reading “Book Review: A Sweet Mess, written by Jayci Lee”
Almost Just Friends(Wildstone #4) by Jill Shavis
Publication date: January 21st, 2020
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Pages: 384
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary
Buy: Book Depository | Wordery
Synopsis:
Piper Manning’s about as tough as they come, she’s had to be. She raised her siblings and they’ve thankfully flown the coop. All she has to do is finish fixing up the lake house her grandparents left her, sell it, and then she’s free.
When a massive storm hits, she runs into a tall, dark and brooding stranger, Camden Reid. There’s a spark there, one that shocks her. Surprising her further, her sister and brother return, each of them holding their own secrets. The smart move would be for Piper to ignore them all but Cam unleashes emotions deep inside of her that she can’t deny, making her yearn for something she doesn’t understand. And her siblings…well, they need each other.
Only when the secrets come out, it changes everything Piper thinks she knows about her family, herself…and Cam. Can she find a way to outrun the demons? The answer is closer than she thinks-just as the new life she craves may have already begun.
– My Thoughts –
“Chin up, Princess, or the crown slips.”
I can’t remember the last time I read a Jill Shalvis book. When I saw this pop up on the available eARCs on Edelweiss, I had to request it.
Almost Just Friends has multiple POVs, Piper(our mc), Camden, and Piper’s brother Gavin’s. There are two romances as well, one of which is an M/M romance that I would have loved to read more about.
Piper has raised her siblings since the day their parents died. She had to push her dreams and hopes aside to see to it that her siblings’ are fulfilled, until now. Her brother and sister are grown-up enough that Piper can finally sell the Lake House and go to university.
Then she meets Camden Reid at her birthday celebration. Although she bids goodbye to Cam soon after, a storm brings them face-to-face again! Surprisingly, both of them have a lot in common and that includes grief. Recognizing the pain in each other, they form a tentative friendship, a friendship that involves kisses everywhere.
That’s not the only surprise in store for Piper. Her sister and brother turn up announced at the lake house with secrets of their own. Will Piper be able to achieve her dreams? Can she and Cam have any future together?
Piper is my kind of woman. She is a planner and in her journal, she has all her hopes and dreams written to be checked out. When her siblings come back home, her planner doesn’t work anymore. I loved the whole family dynamics in this story. Each character has their backstories are that well fleshed out and it’s a treat to read their character growths as well. As I mentioned before, there are two romances. Cam and Piper’s can be described as “strangers at first but found out acquaintances later” kinda romance and the other romance was a “second chance” one.
I loved every bit of the story which was about overcoming grief, accepting help, being vulnerable and to let the love of others heal you. This story is also about hope and there are so many instances of it(all them are spoilers) that I couldn’t help but feel peaceful.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book. This has a heroine who journals, sibling love, two romances that’ll make you emotional and blush a lot. If you want to read a beautiful story where people who were never supposed to find love does so and in turn heals others, then go to your nearest bookstore or the library and pick this one up!
Thanks to the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
– About the Author –
New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras with her family and far too many assorted quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental.
Look for Jill’s ALMOST JUST FRIENDS and get all her bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold. Visit http://www.jillshalvis.com for a complete book list and fun blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.
Thank you for reading! Have you read Almost Just Friends or any of the author’s previous books? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Publication date: August 27th, 2019
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Pages: 199
Genre: Womens fiction, Adult, Romance, Novella
Buy:Book Depository | Wordery
Synopsis:
From #1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon Sylvia Day comes a hotly anticipated and passionate new love story.
Once, I would never have imagined myself here. But I’m settled now. In a place I love, in a home I renovated, spending time with new friends I adore, and working a job that fulfills me. I am reconciling the past and laying the groundwork for the future.
Then Garrett Frost moves in next door.
He’s obstinate and too bold, a raging force of nature that disrupts the careful order of my life. I recognize the ghosts that haunt him, the torment driving him. Garrett would be risky in any form, but wounded, he’s far more dangerous. I fear I’m too fragile for the storm raging inside him, too delicate to withstand the pain that buffets him. But he’s too determined…and too tempting.
And sometimes hope soars above even the iciest desolation.
– My Thoughts –
“I’m tired of hurting,” he says softly. “You remind me that my body can feel things other than pain.”
I remember reading Sylvia Day’s Crossfire series and it was sexy as hell. That is why I was interested in this novella.
Butterfly in Frost is related to the Crossfire novels and Eva, the heroine of Crossfire series, does make an appearance in this novella. The story is about Dr. Teagan Ransom, a cosmetic surgeon who’s recently divorced. She’s heartbroken as a result and isn’t ready to move on just yet. When a new guy moves in their neighborhood, Tegan’s carefully laid foundations are shaken to the core.
There was a great story in here but I felt it was not covered in great detail. I loved the plot twist and it would have fared better if this was a full length book.
Overall, I would recommend this book if you are a Sylvia Day fan and are looking for a light and easy romance novel.
Thanks to the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
– About the Author –
Sylvia Day is the #1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, #1 Sunday Times, #1 Globe and Mail, #1 Der Spiegel, and #1 international bestselling author of over twenty award-winning novels sold in more than forty countries. She is a #1 bestselling author in twenty-eight countries, with tens of millions of copies of her books in print.
For more about Sylvia, visit her website and her Goodreads page, or follow her on Twitter.
Thank you for reading! Have you read the Crossfire books or will you be reading this novella? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Publication date: May 14, 2019
Publisher: Piatkus(US: Gallery Books)
Pages: 400
Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Buy: Book Depository | Wordery
Synopsis:
Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.
Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.
Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of… lucky.
– My Thoughts –
“When I signed up for this honeymoon, I had no idea it would involve so much nudity…”
I finally finished reading The Unhoneymooners, one of my anticipated read of 2019. I knew that I couldn’t NOT love it because it was a Christina Lauren book but I finished it with some mixed feelings. Let’s unpack..
The story starts with a wedding gone wrong. It was Olive’s sister Ami’s wedding and as if it weren’t bad enough that Olive has to spend the entire day with her sworn enemy Ethan, who happens to the best man, the entire wedding party except for Olive and Ethan then gets food poisoning. Since Ami had won her honeymoon in a contest, she doesn’t want it to go to waste and begs Olive to go instead of her. Now, Olive has to go on a fake honeymoon with a fake husband who is none other than Ethan.
They plan to stay far away from each other and enjoy their time in Maui but all their plans go haywire when they find out all the activities booked for them are for couples and on top of that, there are encounters with a new boss and an ex-girlfriend. What could go wrong with one bed, being fake newlyweds in a honeymoon destination with old and new acquaintances in proximity?
“An eight-hour flight, and there’s no movie,” I say to myself, glaring at the screenless seat back in front of me. “Maybe they’re hoping your life flashing in front of your eyes will be distraction enough.”
Let’s talk about the positives first. I love a book with the combination of enemies to lovers + fake romance + forced proximity. The sexual tension is palpable and the banter between the characters is -as usual- brilliant. The situations they get into are downright hilarious and I had no trouble finishing the book in a day. However, I had problems with how the conflict unfolded between Ethan and Olive. Ethan was so blinded by his affection for his brother that he refused to cut Olive any slack. It broke my heart seeing Olive receive so much flak from her sister and Ethan and when the time came for resolution, I felt that Olive forgave too soon. Let’s talk about the positives first. I love a book with the combination of enemies
Overall, I would recommend this book if you are looking for a funny and relatable summer romance with a beautiful setting. If you’re a sucker for fake dating/marriage tropes with forced proximity, lots of drama, hilarious dialogues and great banter, then get your hands on this ASAP!!
Thanks to the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
– About the Author –
Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/besties/soulmates/brain-twins Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced fourteen New York Times bestselling novels. Their books have been translated into 30+ languages. (Some of these books have kissing. Some of these books have A LOT of kissing.)
Thank you for reading this far! Have you read The Unhoneymooners or is it on your TBR? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Book Rambler 