Tag Archives: Romance

An Offer From a Gentleman — Julia Quinn — Bridgertons #3

“It suddenly made sense. Only twice in his life had he felt this inexplicable, almost mystical attraction to a woman. He’d thought it remarkable, to have found two, when in his heart he’d always believed there was only one perfect woman out there for him.
His heart had been right. There was only one.”

Genre: Historical Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses parent death, child birthed out of wedlock (in the regency period), child labor and mistreatment, classism, and attempted rape.

“An Offer From a Gentleman” follows Benedict Bridgerton, the second eldest of the Bridgerton siblings, and his one true love, Sophie Beckett, who’s the bastard child of an Earl. These two meet one night at a masquerade ball, fall smitten in love with their masks on, only to not see each other for years—that is because Sophie has been working as a servant to her stepmother ever since her father died, and she had only been in that ball as an act of rebellion. Fast forward a few years, and Sophie is working for another family after her stepmother kicked her out, when the son of said family and his friends are set on raping the young maid, who is then saved by the brave Benedict Bridgerton. He gets a feeling that they’ve met before but doesn’t really recognize her, all he knows is that he doesn’t want to part ways from this clever girl dressed in maid’s clothes.

If we don’t get to see Benedict’s story on the Netflix series I will be royally pissed. I know they’ll be making Book 4 instead of Book 3 into Season 3 of the Bridgerton series, but God will I riot if we don’t get this happily ever after for Ben. The only reason I didn’t give this book the full 5 stars was because it was extremely predictable, in true Cinderella fashion.

I felt like the connection between Benedict and Sophie was explored better than the romantic connections in the previous Bridgerton books, but I think it had to do with the fact that Benedict and Sophie were in a secluded cottage for half the book, rather than in the middle of the London season as we saw with Daphne and Simon, and Anthony and Kate.

This is a truly lovely book. I would recommend “An Offer From a Gentleman” if you’re looking for a regency era romance where the main characters are from different social classes. A.k.a. if you’re looking for a spicier version of Cinderella, grab this book.

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“I shall have to make sure you take me up on my offer to find you employment with my mother. You do bring out the best in me, Miss Sophie Beckett.”
“This is the best?” (…)
“I’m afraid so.”

The Viscount Who Loved Me — Julia Quinn — Bridgertons #2

“You have to live each hour as if it’s your last and each day as if you were immortal.”

Genre: Historical Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses parent death and describes panic attacks.

“The Viscount Who Loved Me” follows Anthony Bridgerton, the eldest of the Bridgerton siblings and the one who inherited the viscountcy after their father’s death, and Kate Sheffield, the orphan (and the eldest) daughter of a modest family who’s in London for the season in hopes of marrying off her little sister. Anthony wants to marry Kate’s little sister but she is completely against it, given his reputation as a rake—or is it because she’s called to him as well?

Anthony, oh how I love you. Julia Quinn really did go for my heart with this one. We get to see Anthony’s inner monologue and repressed guilt, which is something that they tried to portray in the series, but in the book it’s even more intense, more heartbreaking. But not only that, we get to see Kate’s trauma up close, and we get to love her through it all too.

There is no real love triangle in this one, which I much appreciated. Anthony and Kate end up together under extremely different circumstances as those portrayed in the series. Anthony recognizes his love for Kate at another time and for another reason as well.

I would recommend this book a hundred times more than the first book in this series. It is the perfect book for fans of regency period dramas and romance book. If you’ve seen Season 2 of Bridgerton, the Netflix series, expect to be surprised. “The Viscount Who Loved Me” is almost nothing like Season 2, making it even better.

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“Listen to me, (…) and listen well, because I’m only going to say this once. I desire you. I burn for you. I can’t sleep at night for wanting you. Even when I didn’t like you, I lusted for you. It’s the most maddening, beguiling, damnable thing, but there it is.”

The Duke and I — Julia Quinn — Bridgertons #1

“His mouth captured hers, trying to show her with his kiss what he was still learning to express in words. He loved her. He worshipped her. He’d walk across fire for her. He—
—still had the audience of her three brothers.”

Genre: Historical Romance
Actual Rating: 2.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis (but -10 on one scene)
Content Warnings: Sexual climax without consent (I consider it rape but others disagree).

Set in the Regency period, “The Duke and I” follows Daphne Bridgerton, the fourth of eight Bridgerton siblings, and Simon Bassett, the Duke of Hastings, as they meet and conspire to make their season more pasable. Daphne is looking for a love match, but no prudent gentleman is interested in her much, while Simon is looking to never marry but wants the mother of all eligible ladies to leave him alone—and so they come up with an agreement: they’ll fake a connection. Men will find Daphne more suitable if a Duke is after her, and some mamas will lay off on the matchmaking if they believe Simon is already claimed. Sounds like a perfect plan… as long as they don’t fall for each other.

This is the novel the first season of Bridgerton is based on, and it shows. The series is almost a scene by scene retelling of the book, with some very minuscule exceptions. I mean, physically the actors match nothing of how the characters were described, but other than that the plot stays the same. Simon is easier to forgive the unforgivable. We get to hear Daphne’s inner monologue when she pretty much rapes her husband, and italia aa horrible as that sounds. I don’t feel like she deserved that happily ever after. But maybe that’s just me.

I would recommend this book to fans of regency period dramas and classical and historical romance books like Pride and Prejudice or Jane Eyre, but making those a little more spicy.

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Teach Me — Olivia Dade — There’s Something About Marysburg #1

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses divorce, discrimination, power imbalances, and inequalities in education and opportunities.

“Teach Me” follows Rose Owen and Martin Krause, two AP high school Social Studies teachers in the lovely town of Marysburg. Martin is the new guy, the one who inadvertently stole Rose’s favorite subject to teach, who Rose is set on being nice-ish to. They have an undeniable connection that they’re both denying, each because of their own reasons but they both agree on the same principle: it’d just be extremely complicated.

Well, these books definitely work like standalones. Take it for me, I’ve read this series out of orderbut I mean I did like it better than the second book in this series 40 love. I can’t say I didn’t like “Teach Me”, but in all honesty I’m writing this review and I’ve already forgotten half of the plot line. So, that’s basically it—it’s a good book but it’s somewhat on remarkable. But, I mean, I did like it better than the second installment in this series, the book titled “40-Love”. Which is sort of a letdown because Olivia Dade is one of my favorite authors and the last books I’ve read by her have been a bummer.

Anyways, I would recommend this book to readers who are looking for a read set in the high school/teaching setting. It’s not a bad book, and it’s definitely really good in the spicy sense, but it just wouldn’t really be my first choice when recommending Olivia Dade.

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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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See You Yesterday — Rachel Lynn Solomon

“I’ve wanted you for weeks. But I don’t just want you in September. It’s not enough. I want you in winter, too. I want you in spring and in summer. I want you the whole fucking year, and then I want you in September all over again.”

Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Actual Rating: 2.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Discusses bullying and sexual harassment, and describes panic attacks.

“See You Yesterday” follows Barrett and Miles, two freshmen university students who are inexplicably stuck in a time loop. Barrett is passionate about journalism, and suffered through high school due to just that, while Miles is a Physics major who’s the son of two professors. With a bit of a bumpy start, will this pair find a way out of reliving their first day in university over and over again, or will they find a way into each other’s hearts instead?

I loved this book right up until the end. The conflict and rising actions were pristine, but the turning point and the resolution weren’t worth it, at least not for me. Yes, we get a happy ending, but really? Like that? I don’t know. This book went from a 4-star to a 2.5-star read real quick.

I really like the characters tho. Especially Barrett. It isn’t often that we see a mid-size main character, one that isn’t extremely overweight or has the perfect body. Just a curvy, regular, young adult. Much like myself. Much like a good chunk of the population. Apart from weight representation, we also got to see mixed-race, double-identity crises, a character with same-sex paternal figures, and characters living through a religion that isn’t highlighted ofter enough in YA book, Judaism. It wasn’t the characters or even the concept of the plot that let me down, it was more about how the ending was executed.

I would recommend this book to any reader looking for a “Groundhog Day”-style book, with a time loop where two strangers are stuck reliving the same day and they have no clue why.

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40-Love — Olivia Dade — There’s Something About Marysburg #2

“Love couldn’t solve everything, but without love, there was nothing to solve.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Considerable age difference couple, physic injuries, competitive sports injuries, and mentions of cheating and fat-shaming.

Where to begin. 40-Love follows Tess Dunn, a just-turned-40-year-old high school assistant principal on an all-inclusive island vacation, and Lucas Karlsson, a 26-year-old tennis instructor at the resort Tess is staying. Following a questionable meet-cute, Tess knows this summer flings will only crush her, but what if it went past that? Lucas wasn’t looking for another fling and was more than sure Tess was what he wanted right now. Will their chemistry overcome all odds or will the age difference pull them apart?

Oh God. I love Olivia Dade. Really. She’s one of my favorite authors for sure. But oh did I feel uncomfortable throughout this whole book. Call me a hypocrite, because I do enjoy some age-difference novels now and then, but 40-Love really wasn’t it. Because putting the age difference aside, there were some very clear power imbalances that I just didn’t feel comfortable with. The romance scenes were great, A+ in the spicy meter, but I just couldn’t get their differences out of my mind. I am sorry, but if a 26-year-old is willing to flip their life around for any person they just met, they should be going to therapy instead because there are some unresolved things there (and that’s ignoring the fact that that person they’re leaving everything for is 40 years old, which just unravels a whole other level of mommy or daddy issues to add upon that).

I think I’m being generous with the 3-star review. I don’t think I would personally recommend this book when recommending Olivia Dade, but if you like big age difference romances then grab 40-Love. This is supposed to be the second book in a series, but it works really well as a stand-alone.

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ARC — The Charmed List — Julie Abe

“This summer’s going to be perfect. This is going to be the summer when my Anti-Wallflower List becomes a reality.”

Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 0 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Mentions cancer, deadly car crashes, and death of parents, and deals with bullying and shame.

“The Charmed List” follows Ellie Kobata and Jack Yasuda, two ex-best friends from magic-aware families in the summer before their Senior year of high school. How they went from best friends to strangers, we’re not so sure, but what we’re sure about is that when Ellie thought about the perfect summer roadtrip it never included Jack—but that’s how things turned out. Driving through California on the way to a magic convention, will Jack and Ellie be reunited, get honest with each other and finally talk about what drew them apart? Or will this be the awkwardest summer ever?

This book has it all—from a summer bucketlist, to a roadtrip, to a friends-to-enemies-to-friends-again-to-lovers dynamic, and a close proximity trope for sure. And of course, it had magic. I loved how this book made it feel like you were in on a secret, like small magic was a simple, everyday thing that few were lucky to experience consciously but many did see it in their lives—describing it as luck or love or happiness.

Some of my favorite things about Julie Abe’s writing was how flow-y it was, the story was well-constructed and used some flashbacks here and there that really made the narrative stand out and be unique amongst so many other magic YA books that I’ve read.

I would recommend “The Charmed List” to anyone looking for a funny, YA romance that centers around lost friendships and magic, and that’ll give you all the summer vibes. It isn’t an explicit romance by any means, all we get is a simple kiss at the very end (they’re kids, that’s fair), so I would highly recommend this book to be given as a gift to young readers. It truly is a lovely, magical book.

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

Publication Date: July 05, 2022

“And, I’ve realized, I don’t have to be all one thing or the other. And just because someone else has slapped a label on me, it doesn’t mean that I have to accept their definition of who I should be. My list was never about standing out and getting attention, but to make myself someone I admire. And I don’t need a bottle of luck or a charm to change my life.”

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.”

Today Tonight Tomorrow — Rachel Lynn Solomon

“Maybe that’s the definition of nostalgia: getting sappy about things that are supposed to be insignificant.”

Genre: Young Adult, Romantic Comedy
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Content Warnings: Deals with racism, discrimination, and antisemitism.

“Today Tonight Tomorrow” follows Rowan Roth and Neil McNair, two rivals and overachievers—hence why they end up being valedictorian and salutatorian—through their last day of high school. Set in Seattle, we accompany them through Howl, a sort of Senior sent-off that takes them all through the city. When Rowan and Neil realize they have more in common than they originally thought, and they realize the only way they’ll win Howl is by working together, will they overcome their past rivalry or will their stubbornness damn them?

I loved this book so much. Seattle felt like the Vancouver of the United States to me, and Vancouver is one of my absolute favorite cities. My biggest regret is that I lived relatively close to Vancity and I didn’t visit it half as much as I should’ve. This book gave me the opportunity to explore a city I’ve never been to and I loved every second of it.

The romance was childish, just like it should be in every YA book. Rowan’s and Neil’s banter was fun and funny and light. This book served as an escape from my everyday, adult life, and I am so grateful for it.

I would recommend this book to readers who like the enemies-to-lovers trope and to those who like exploring new cities, through all their quirkiness and glory.

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“I’ve given this boy the messiest parts of me, and he’s done nothing but convince me he’ll be careful with them.”