Tag Archives: Gallery Books

Something Wilder — Christina Lauren

“I had to let you go once, (…) you think I’m letting that happen again?”

Author: Christina Lauren
Narrated by: Christina Lauren, Patti Murin, and Jon Root

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis
Narration: 4 mikes
Content Warnings: Discusses parent death, murder, and kidnapping. Describes hiking and violent injuries. Has explicit sexual content.

“Something Wilder” follows Lily Wilder, daughter of a notorious treasure hunter, and Leo Grady, her first (and, really, only) love, as they are reunited by chance in the middle of the wilderness they adored. A series of events sends them through the treasure-hunting trip of a lifetime. This is definitely an adventure you don’t want to miss.

Have you ever wanted to tackle a lovers-to-estranged-enemies-to-lovers trope book? Well, here’s your chance. “Something Wilder” will take you on horse rides and hikes that only few get a chance to see, all while reuniting two soulmates that only drifted apart due to distance and miscommunication.

I liked the narration of this audiobook, but it took me a few chapter to get used to Leo’s voice—it just wasn’t my cup if tea, but then I learned to love it. If you’re going to grab this book, definitely consider listening to it as an audiobook, it helped the visualization aspect for me, which in this adventure book was a plus.

This wasn’t my favorite Christina Lauren book, both plot- and spicy-wise, but I still enjoyed it truly. I found it weird that the villains could rationalize truly insane behaviors, it almost had a cowboy-soap-opera feel to it. The bad guys were just ridiculous.

But either way, if you’re looking for an outdoorsy romance that has its fair bit of adventure, treasure hunting, and code breaking, then “Something Wilder” is for you.

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Heartbreak for Hire — Sonia Hartl

“I’d gotten stuck in a cycle of resentment and revenge. And I didn’t know how to find my way out again.”

Genre: Romance, Comedy
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Extremely toxic work environment, mentions cheating, abandonment, and dealing with narcissistic personalities.

“Heartbreak for Hire” follows Brinkley Saunders, a grad school dropout who’s been working for a woman-owned business called Heartbreak For Hire—where they do just that: get payed to break the heart of egocentric douchebags. But what if they’re not all so bad? In comes Mark, one of her ex-targets now turned coworker, who’s an adjunct professor with some nerdy hobbies and passions. Their attraction is both undeniable and inappropriate, but Brinkley is set in not falling in love and in saving up for her dream of opening up an art gallery, so pursuing their love would be a waste of time, right? Right?

I had a love/hate relationship with this book. I loved the concept but really hated how so many important points were left untied. Like, for example, we saw how abusive Margo, Heartbreak For Hire’s boss/owner, was, and we saw how Brinkley dealt with that, but we didn’t really get to see how that outcome impacted Margo and her business or if Brinkley ever suffered from PTSD after that. I don’t know. I feel like the “evil” characters should have a more clear downfall.

Other than that, I really enjoyed the book and I feel like the characters were really likable. I’m not sure who I would recommend this book to, but, basically, if you have nothing else to do, might as well grab it. It’s not a bad book, it’s just not a great book either. Hence the 3-star rating.

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To Sir, With Love — Lauren Layne

“Because you said you loved him. Because you deserve your fairy-tale ending. And because I’d do anything for you, Gracie Cooper. Even if it means letting you go.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1.5 fire emojis
Content Warning: Discusses parent loss, cancer and other sicknesses, and the loss of a business.

“To Sir, With Love” follows Gracie Cooper, the managing owner of her family’s champagne business in Midtown Manhattan, and Sebastian Andrews, who’s technically the landlord of where Gracie’s store is located and who’s company wants to buyout Gracie’s lease in order to build something else in its place. Gracie feels unexplainably pulled towards Sebastian from the get-go, but she feels like she’s cheating—even though she’s technically not—because she’s in love with an online pal she met in a blind dating app. But said online pal, who she calls Sir, is not even available, his friends set up his account as a joke, he isn’t even single. So, will Gracie get her happily ever after with Sebastian? With Sir? That’s for you to find out as you grab this read.

I think this will be one of my favorite books this year. I think that through it I finally understood that I love books where I know something the main character doesn’t. It’s pretty obvious from the start who Sir is, but seeing Gracie not know was a marvel. I think the progression of Gracie’s relationships were wonderful and realistic, and the ending was sweet and gratifying. The one thing I found it lacked was the spiciness I’ve come to expect and appreciate in a romance novel.

I would recommend this book to readers who love romance books but who aren’t looking for the too-explicit stuff, just looking for a cute love story. I feel like “To Sir, With Love” would be a great gift for a young reader, since it’s pretty PG.

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“I don’t think you can plan for the right time. Or the right woman. As far as timing’s concerned, maybe sometimes you’ve got to make it the right time and simply trust it’s the right woman.”

Shipped — Angie Hockman

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Content Warnings: None that I can think of.

This book follows Henley and Graeme, two coworkers who go off on a cruise to get an immersive experience of the company they work for, as they’re both competing for a promotion. Mostly set in the Galápagos Islands, this is a tropical, entertaining read.

I wouldn’t call this a romance book, not even as a joke. It’s fiction (Women’s fiction, if you will) and it might’ve even been a good fiction book at that, it’s just not a good romance book. The plot is engaging, especially for people who are intrigued by nature and wildlife. Nonetheless, the character development was horrible. Actually, it’s so bad that it didn’t make sense at times. The relationship between Henley and her sister fluctuated so much and without reason. Henley and Graeme fell in love through lustful eye contact, I guess? Because they barely talked in the beginning. I don’t know. The characters weren’t it for me, but the plot was different and so I enjoyed it and that’s the only reason why I rated it the way I did.

I would recommend this book to conservation and biodiversity enthusiasts and someone up for a nice, filler book. This will not satiate your need for romance, take my word on it.

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p.s.: It’s described as “The Unhoneymooners meets The Hating Game”? Really? This book reminded me of anything but those books. I guess they’re comparing it to them because the characters are competing for a promotion (The Hating Game) and because they’re forced to go on a vacation together (The Unhoneymooners)? But, like, in The Hating Game the dynamic between the characters was wildly different and in The Unhoneymooners they shared a room in their vacation and were legit pretending to be together. If Henley did not want to interact with Graeme while they were on the big-ass cruise, she could’ve done that. I don’t know, maybe it was just me.

In a Holidaze — Christina Lauren

“The only person whose expectations you have to live up to is yourself.”

Genre: Romance, Comedy
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Content Warnings: None that I can think of.

Have you ever seen a time-loop kind of movie? Like Groundhog Day or Before I Fall? Well, this is just that but in a book, and surrounding the holidays. This book follows Maelyn Jones as she is stuck reliving her Christmas holiday week after wishing for a shot to find happiness. And oh, does she find it.

“In a Holidaze” did not take the path I thought it would. Maelyn does not end up with who I thought she would end up with, but good for her, I guess. I liked it anyways.

This is a light, funny read, set in a cozy cabin in the middle of Utah. It’s literally a perfect holiday read. It’s surrounding Christmas but isn’t solely about the holiday, and it’s short and snappy. I mean, what can I say? The duo Christina Lauren never disappoints.

I would recommend this book to people who’ve read other Christina Lauren books and loved them. I would not necessarily recommend this be your first exposure to the authors, as they have longer, better-constructed books (like “The Unhoneymooners” or “The Soulmate Equation”), but “In a Holidaze” is a good holiday-y read.

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Roomies — Christina Lauren

“I’ve never done this before. I just know I’m falling for the girl I married.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Content Warnings: None than I can think of.

“Roomies” follows Holland, an aspiring author who’s working in a Broadway show thanks to some lowkey nepotism, and her subway crush Calvin, a talented classical guitarist who’s overstayed his student visa and is trying to make ends meet in New York City. One thing leads to another, and they end up in a marriage of convenience, where Holland is helping her uncle and Calvin is getting his green card. But after real sparks fly, will they follow through on their plan or will they listen to their hearts?

Oh, wow. I love the Christina Lauren duo. Their writing has always engulfed me, bringing me into whatever world they build. This time around they didn’t disappoint, but at the same time, I think I’ve never been this frustrated with two of their characters before. I’m not sure who messed up more, Calvin or Holland, but HOLY did they mess up. Continuously. Consistently. Making each mess up increasingly worse. The only reason why I’m not giving it a higher rating is because of all the stress and frustration I suffered thanks to their fuck ups. But oh well, it’s a good romance novel when all’s been said and done.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy romance novels, especially if you’ve enjoyed books by authors like Colleen Hoover, Emily Henry, Sally Thorne, or Alexis Daria.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

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“Maybe the reason I can’t write about fictional life is because I haven’t actually lived.”