Category Archives: Uncategorized

ARC — When Life Gives You Vampires — Gloria Duke

Author: Gloria Duke
Narrated By: Meg Sylvan

Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 stars
Narration: 5 mikes
Content Warnings: Discusses fatphobia, crash dieting, infertility, and kidnapping. Describes fires, death, drinking blood, and hate crimes. Includes some sexual content.

“When Life Gives You Vampires” follows Lily Baines, a 25-year-old New Yorker that was turned into a vampire by a virtual stranger against her (and his) will. Lily meets Tristan at a bar and they hit it off pretty quick, but Tristan did not mean to turn her—that’s actually against all vampire laws. That’s why, now, they’re being threatened and hunted down by, lets say, the president of vampires. How will they fight this double death that is knocking on their door? This and more is what this amazing story has to offer.

This book is fun and funny. It’s about vampires without being pretentious—it might even be a bit satirical when it comes to our young generation’s perception of vampires. I loved how they broke the fourth wall here and there. I did not want this book to end, it was the light-hearted, suspenseful read I needed.

Also, I had never heard a book narrated by Meg Sylvan, but I can honestly say I will be following her work from now on. Her voice really kept me engaged, which is actually a really big feat when it comes to me—my mind is all over the place when I’m listening to audiobooks, yet Meg’s narration really caught my attention.

Don’t expect this book to be life-changing, because it isn’t, but it does touch on important topics like loving yourself, body positivity, and trusting family and friends. It also has quite a cute love story, with all its ups and downs.

I would highly recommend this read and this audiobook if you’re looking for a light-hearted but short and captivating read. With its strangers-to-lovers trope, it’s quite unique, I can’t think of any book to compare it to—but definitely grab this book if you like books with plus-sized main characters and if you won’t be offended by a joke or two about vampires.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, and published by Sourcebooks, in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: October 4, 2022

ARC — Bad Girl Reputation — Elle Kennedy — Avalon Bay #2

Author: Elle Kennedy
Narrated by: Lee Samuels and Summer Morton

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 stars
Narration: 5 mikes
Content Warnings: Discusses parent death, parent neglect, abandonment, alcohol and drug abuse, police/authority abuse, and includes sexual content.

“Bad Girl Reputation” follows Genevieve (Gen) West, a rebel who escaped the small town of Avalon Bay, running away from her past and her reputation—but then, after being a year away, her mother dies unexpectedly, and she is forced to come back and help her father with their family business. So in comes Evan Hartley, Gen’s on-again-off-again high school ex-boyfriend and personal bad boy. As soon as they see each other, they know there’s still something there, and so Gen has no option but to run away from him, constantly. If she wants to break out from old cycles, then she needs to start with Evan. She can’t be dating him if she’s planning on not being her past, irresponsible self. But what if she isn’t the only on that has changed? What if this time apart has also been good for Evan? What if she does have another shot at love after all.

“Bad Girl Reputation” is worth the hype. This second chance romance is both fast-paced and, well, romantic. I was lucky to get my hands on the audiobook ARC of this book, with Summer Morton narrating as Gen and Lee Samuels narrating as Evan. In my opinion, Summer was the perfect cast. Her voice was all I imagined Gen’s voice to be. Evan, on the other hand, took me a few chapters to get used to. I wasn’t feeling his voice, even if the narrator was doing a great job—and even by the end I wasn’t 100% sold on it.

I am happy to say, tho, that I liked “Bad Girl Reputation” so much more than the first book in this series, “Good Girl Complex”. The first book in the Avalon Bay series felt one-dimensional at times and perhaps even a bit bland. “Bad Girl Reputation”, on the other hand, has so many layers and parallel situations that all show their relevance by the end of the book, even if at times they felt like unnecessary filling. Everything from problematic friendships to awkward dating to strained parental relationships being mended to volunteering were discussed and it was precious.

I would highly recommend grabbing this audiobook, even if you haven’t read the first book on this series, as it serves as a standalone novel mostly. Gen are Evan are the sweetest couple and the narration is clear—so clear, actually, that I was able to listen it at 3 times the speed with no problem whatsoever.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Audio and published by St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: October 4, 2022

Love Her or Lose Her — Tessa Bailey — Hot & Hammered #2

“I think I said, ‘If you loved me, you’d understand what I’m going through.’ ”
“And I said, ‘I do love you, Rosie. That’s why I want to go through it with you.’ ”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 4.5 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses army service and parent death. Also has a ton of very explicit sexual content, as to be expected in any book by Tessa Bailey.

“Love Her or Lose Her” follows Rosie and Dominic Vega, two high school sweethearts who, after surviving long-distance due to Dominic’s army service and then being married for 5 years, are deciding to separate. Well, ‘are deciding’ makes it sound plural. It’s more like Rosie finally came to terms with how Dominic isn’t fulfilling her anymore—or even trying to talk to her—and so she decides to leave. Dominic is not okay with it. At all. He knows Rosie is, and always has been, the one. And so they both agree: couple’s therapy it is.

This second chance romance was most literally just the book I needed to read. I don’t remember the last time I read a book about a separated couple that tries to work through their differences. These are the kinds of book we should be reading now. The ones that tell us that love is worth fighting for, not only when you’re chasing after your crush, but when its been years and things get rough.

I think Tessa Bailey isn’t a hit-or-miss author for me. I think I love all her books, even if I love some more than others. And I definitely loved “Love Her or Lose Her” the most.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I was utterly mad at their couple’s therapist, but overall, it’s a lovely, steamy read. I wouldn’t change a thing—definitely enjoyed it more than the first book in this series.

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“We build resentments toward our loved ones. Sometimes we’re not even aware of them. But they grow so strong, they prevent us from remembering what we loved about our partners in the first place. Maybe one or both no longer wants to give their significant other the satisfaction of showing their amusement, so the other person stops trying. And the laughter dies.”

Fix Her Up — Tessa Bailey — Hot & Hammered #1

“I’ve met her twice in my life. This time, I was smart enough to fall in love with her.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 4.5 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Describes child abuse, verbal assault, and sexual content. Involves gaslighting and diminishing younger members of a family.

“Fix Her Up” follows Georgie Castle, the youngest of the Castle family siblings, part of the family who runs the best renovating company in town—but Georgie deals with nothing of the sort. She went for working as a clown and planning children’s birthday parties instead of making houses pretty. She’s set on expanding her business when, unexpectedly, her childhood crush moves back to town after an injury kicked him out of major league baseball. These two things should have nothing to do one with the other, yet they do. Because Georgie’s family has no respect for her or her business, still seeing her as a child. But dating an ex-professional athlete could change that, right? Or so she hopes.

It has already been well-established that we love and stan Tessa Bailey in this blog. But gosh, was I not ready for this book. I am an absolute sucker for childhood crush books because I was lucky enough to end up with my childhood crush.

Georgie, although annoying and immature at times, was sweet and considerate and down-to-earth. Funny how a clown wasn’t funny tho. Or maybe that was just my perception. Nonetheless, “Fix Her U really delivered on how spicy it was. This book series is called Hot & Hammered for a reason, that’s all I’m saying.

If you like fake dating romances and books with professional athlete main characters, then “Fix Her Up” is for you. Can’t wait to see where this series will take me next.

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“If I ever start to lose strength again, I’ll just think of how it felt to lose the girl who loved me, even when I couldn’t love myself.”

ARC — Christmas at the Ranch — Anita Hughes

“You’re afraid of being afraid. (..) You’re braver than you think.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Spicy Meter: N/A, it’s clean
Content Warnings: This is all about two emotionally cheating characters, I hated it all. Other than that, they also discuss abandonment and extreme poverty.

“Christmas at the Ranch” follows Samantha Morgan, a best-selling adventure/action author who’s faking to be as adventurous as her main character, as she is invited to attend her publisher’s monumental Christmas party. In the plane, she meets Drew Wentworth, the nicest guy amongst all other nice guys, only to find out that he is her publisher’s son, who is engaged to a gorgeous woman. But that gorgeous woman does not want the same things from life as Drew wants right now—so, is she the one for Drew? That’s for him to find out and for Samantha to stay out of, because it’s none of her business… right?

“Tomorrow she’d wake up and worry about the future. Right now, it felt like a Christmas miracle.”

A Christmas miracle??? Really? That you’re a homewrecker?? That you legit ripped apart an engaged couple? A Christmas miracle? Really?

Here’s the thing. This book was losing from the get-go. I hate the whole cheating or the falling-in-love-with-someone-while-in-a-relationship-with-someone-else trope. And this is exactly what this book was about. Yes, it’s set in a Winter wonderland, surround the holidays. But that doesn’t stop Samantha and Drew from being the douchiest of bouchebags. Technically there is no physical cheating, but the emotional cheating was there, alright?

In regards to the writing, this book is exceptional written and very entertaining. A bit slow-paced in the beginning, but then it picks up. The characters are interesting and lovable (if you ignore Samantha’s and Drew’s biggest flaw). Jackson Hole is a lovely town to set this book in. The bits of mystery woven into this story were great. The older characters and their advice were priceless.

I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a December or Winter-y read and don’t mind the cheating trope—which I do. Anita Hughes seems like an amazing author and I won’t shy away from some other of her books. It’s just this one wasn’t it for me.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: September 27th, 2022

“Native Americans have many legends about love. My Ojibwe friend taught me the story of a young girl named Dandelion. Her hair is the color of spun gold and she’s so lovely, the South Wind and East Wind both fall in love with her. The South Wind is too shy to reveal his intentions, but the East Wind is very confident. He loves to hear himself talk, so when he courts her, he blows parts of her away. After a while, her golden hair is gone, and all that remains is her heart. Dandelion stops being a girl and becomes a flower instead. There’s nothing more important than love when it’s nurturing, but love can also be the reverse. It can sap your energy and leave you with nothing.” (…)
“I never heard anything like that.” (…)
“It wouldn’t sell many Valentine’s cards but it’s a good lesson. You have to choose the kind of love that works for you.”

Good Girl Complex — Elle Kennedy — Avalon Bay #1

“I lived my whole life without Cooper Hartley. Then, six months together and I’ve forgotten what it was not to know him. Six months, and only minutes to shred it to hell.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis (spicy, but not my cup of tea)
Content Warnings: Discusses cheating, parent death, sexual harassment, and addiction. Has quite a bit of sexual content.

Full disclaimer: I only grabbed this book because I was approved to read an advanced reader copy of “Bad Girl Reputation”, the second book in this series… but I am so happy I did.

“Good Girl Complex”, the first book in the Avalon Bay series, follows Mackenzie (Mac) Cabot, a trust-fund kid who moves to Avalon Bay to get her undergrad degree at Garnet College. In this small town, she meets Cooper Hartley, a local bad boy. Due to her people-pleasing nature, Mac hasn’t lived much—until Cooper came along. But secrets are being kept. Secrets that could tear their friendship and relationship apart.

Here’s the thing. I am surprised this book has so many mixed reviews. Being a people pleaser myself, I couldn’t have loved this book more. There wasn’t that much character development, and the ending feels a bit rushed if you ask me, but this book was still such a fun read.

This was my first Elle Kennedy book and I can already tell I will like everything she writes. Her narrative and alternating timelines kept me hooked the whole time. I literally read this book in a day.

I would highly recommend this book if you like the good girl-bad boy trope. You know the Rory Gilmore-Jess Mariano dynamics in “Gilmore Girls” and the Kat Startford-Patrick Verona dynamics in “Ten Things I Hate About You”? Well, mesh that into a book and you get “Good Girl Complex”.

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ARC — Vanessa Jared’s Got a Man — LaQuette

“Michael’s place was not her home, yet she clearly understood that she’d be lying if she said part of her didn’t wish it could be.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 5
Spicy Meter: 4.5 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses cheating, gaslighting, parent death, car accident, codependency, and describes sexual content.

“Vanessa Jared’s Got a Man” follows Vanessa Jared (surprise surprise), a divorcee who, after being bossed around and manipulated by her ex—and getting to keep half his fortune after the divorce—, is approached by Michael Park, the sheriff of a small town called Monroe Hills, who’s little sister is about to marry Vanessa’s ex. Vanessa, naturally, wants nothing to do with it, until she sees the ring her ex used to propose to his new fiancée. Vanessa’s grandmother’s ring. Which was coincidentally “lost” in the middle of her ex moving out in the middle of the divorce. There is no way Vanessa can then let her ex get away with it, and so she agrees to go with Michael to Monroe Hills and tell his little sister who Vanessa’s ex really is. But perhaps she’ll find more than exes and anger in Monroe Hill. Perhaps she’ll even find love.

This book is so so good. Don’t take how long it took me to read it as a sign of it being boring, but take it as a sign of me being extremely busy. Yes, it took me 4 months to finish this book, but I also read it in huge sprints. Once I started reading, I would refuse to put it down—that’s how good it was.

“There was something too intense to describe about Michael. The more time she spent in his presence, the more apparent it became. That kind of power and confidence could ruin a woman.”

I don’t think any review would make this book justice. Michael is most literally my dream man. I loved Vanessa and her support system. Their chemistry was so real. I loved the small town feel of it all. I literally would not change a single thing about this book, hence the 5-star rating it got.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy romance novels with strong leads. Both Vanessa and Michael are stubborn, loyal, and independent as hell. If you’re more into shy characters, this is not it. Also, be read for some real spiciness. The sexual tension is worth the wait.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: September 20, 2022

“Whether the results are good or bad, my choices are my own. I’ve lived with a man who controlled everything from how I wore my hair, to what shade of lipstick I was allowed to put on. I can’t do that again.”

ARC — Something in the Heir — Suzanne Enoch

“I love you, William Pershing.” (…)
“I have waited a very long time for you to say that, Emmeline Pershing.”

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Women’s Fiction
Actual Rating: 2.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji (if that)
Content Warning: Mentions physical and emotional child abuse, domestic violence, classism, and death of parents.

“Something In The Heir” is all about marriages of convenience and fake adoptions. It follows Emmie and William Pershing, as they deceive their family into thinking they have kids, just so they can inheriting Winnover Hall. (Is it weird it’s called Winnover, when this whole books is about winning over this Estate? Anyways, let’s move on.)

You see that endorsement on the cover? Nice stuff. Julia Quinn saying Suzanne Enoch is “one of (her) favorite authors”… See how she says nothing about the book per se? That tells you pretty much all you have to know about that. I had to know I would hate it as soon as I read her last name was “Pershing”. Or as soon as I saw how the Pershings were willing to take two orphans through a ride of faking being their kids, cementing those strong abandonment issues.

I love books from the Regency period—think “Pride and Prejudice” or the Brigertons series—so I had very high hopes for “Something In The Heir”. Oh, how wrong I was to expect so much. I feel like this book was 150 pages longer than it should’ve been. In the end, I had to skim through it because the descriptions were too long and downright boring, and I felt absolutely nothing for any of the characters. This did not feel like a romance book at all. I am not even sure why I tortured myself getting through it, I’m thinking I should’ve just DNFed.

I’m not sure who to recommend this book to. But here we are. Writing this review anyway. I guess grab “Something In The Heir” if you want a slow-paced read with lying characters that want to be quirky and clever but aren’t, with two first-endearing-but-then-annoying kids, and a somewhat happy ending.

This is the first St. Martin’s Press book that wasn’t a hit for me, but that doesn’t me it can’t be a hit for you. Reviews on Goodreads are mixed, so might as well give it a try if you like historical and Regency Era novels.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: September 20, 2022

ARC — Something Bright and Burning — Whitney Amazeen

“He does the most dangerous thing a person can do; he lets me hope.
And this kind of hope-the kind that makes me feel like somehow everything’s going to turn out okay in the end-will only end in disappointment.”

Genre: New Adult, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1.5 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Is all about teenage pregnancy, discusses rape and blackmailing leading to sexual assault, sexual content in general, suicide, underaged drinking, incest, miscarriages, financial hardships, parental death and abandonment, and religious guilt.

“Something Bright and Burning” follows Everly Martin, as she finds out she’s pregnant at 18… and she’s not sure who the father is. Her whole future is ahead of her, she’s taking college classes and working and barely making ends meet. The father could either be Vaughn, the douchebag coworker who’s forced himself on her, or John, the older man she met at a bar. But then there’s also Nicolai, her best friend’s brother, and someone Everly had an instant connection with. In this world, where there are no right answers, will Everly choose to follow what she things if best for her or her baby? Or for both?

Told through journal entries, poems, and a first-person narrative, “Something Bright and Burning” is an ode to hardship and self-improvement. Some characters were a bit cartoonish but, in general, almost all were well-defined, with their diverse personalities, stories, and beliefs.

“I often feel like she willingly allows me to shoulder the weight of our family’s responsibilities. When she leaves the parent role empty, I have no choice but to fill it.”

The only thing I wasn’t 100% sold on was the poetry… It was simply not my cup of it. It was just some instagram-worthy prose, just like the next guy. No poem really spoke to me. It just felt like a little something added to give the main character some hobbies and personality traits.

But oh, was the plot twist so so wild. It has been months, maybe even years, since a plot twist had hit me so hard. Just that plot twist makes this book worth reading. I wish I could go back and read it for the first time all over again.

This book kind of reminded me of Lauren J. Sharkey’s “Inconvenient Daughter” and maybe even a bit to Hanya Yanagihara’s “A Little Life”. It just undertook some very heavy subjects. It did an amazing job of portraying life, with some of its extreme threats.

I would highly recommend this book. “Something Bright and Burning” is a complex read, with a ton of triggering situations (and therefore a ton of content warnings), but if you find the heart to read through them, you won’t regret it.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Swan Pages Publishinf in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: September 20, 2022

“It’s not you, Nicolai. It’s me, I want to tell him. But
those words have never worked for anyone. So, I don’t look back. I grab all my shit, I take a deep breath, and leave.”

Better Than The Movies — Lynn Painter

“Sometimes we get so tied up in our idea of what we think we want that we miss out on the amazingness of what we could actually have.”

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Young Adult
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1.5 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Underage drinking and smoking, other than that can’t really think of anything else.

“Better Than The Movies” is a rom-com style novel all about rom-coms. Liz Buxbaum and Wes Bennet have been next door neighbors their whole lives, sounds cute, right? Well, it doesn’t help that Wes has been trying to be a pain in Liz’s butt for as long as she can remember. But then in comes Michael, her childhood crush that moved away to Texas when they were younger, and she can’t help but fantasize about dating him. But Michael thinks Wes is into Liz… So, in an attempt to convince Michael that Liz isn’t into Wes, they start… fake dating? But only so they can fake break up later on and Michael can be assured Liz is completely available. But as said break up date comes closer and closer, Liz feels unsettled. She’s liked this new friendship that’s grown between herself and Wes—who’s making it a whole lot harder to hate him.

In this fake-dating, enemies-to-lovers tribute to all young adult rom-com movies, you will ultimately fall in love with some of the most infuriating characters ever. Liz, with her blinding stubbornness; Wes, with his trust issues; Michael, with his insecurities—and misguided decisions. I could not get enough of this book.

I think it’ll be amongst my favorite reads this 2022. Where is Netflix when you need it most? This book needs to be made into a movie. Like now.

In this mostly-clean read, you’ll get all the teenager lessons you’ll need: how all lies are discovered in the end, how your family can support you—even if you’re not related by blood, how it’s okay to mess up and forgive and be forgiven, but mostly how high school and first loves and first crushes aren’t the end of the world.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a cute, rom-com-movie-inspired read. If you enjoy fake-dating and enemies-to-lovers this book is also for you. But specifically, if you’re looking for a book to gift to a teenager in their junior or senior years, THIS IS IT. Don’t look any further. This book has the perfect mix of romance and deception and friendship and family and high school and prom and love.

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“Enemies-to-lovers—it’s our trope, Buxbaum.”