Tag Archives: Romance

The One — Kiera Cass — The Selection #3

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Content Warnings: None that I can think of.

If you’re looking at this review, I’ll assume you’ve read the other two books or at least know the premise to the series. But, essentially, America is a girl in a dystopian future who’s competing to get her country’s prince’s heart.

In my personal opinion, this third installment of The Selection series was so much better than the second one. The characters in “The One” resembled the ones we met in “The Selection” so much more. America was back to being her confident self.

To be honest, I was not happy with the ending. I feel like it was extremely rushed and slightly unnecessary. Oh, and let’s not even mention the epilogue. Is that really all we’re going to get from this book?

I guess I would recommend this book more than I would recommend the second book in this trilogy. There’s more suspense in this once, but honestly this series as a whole as a bit of a disappointment. I was expecting 3 5-star reads, when really the only one I truly enjoyed was the first book.

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The Elite — Kiera Cass — The Selection #2

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance
Actual Rating: 2.5 stars
Content Warnings: Beatings and cheating.

In “The Elite”, the second book in The Selection series, America is still stuck fighting for love—she just isn’t sure whose love she’s fighting for. Following the exact same pace as the first book, just with less contestants and more rebel attacks, there is really nothing new to this series.

I think this is the definition of a filler book. I mean, honestly a filler series. It seems like The Selection, The Elite, and The One could have easily been condensed into a single book, tops two books.

And suddenly everything that I loved about America in the first book is completely lost this time around. Maxon and Aspen were both horrible, but America was even worse. Where is her independence? Compassion? Understanding? She seemed like an entirely different character. I’m hoping we get her back for the next book in the series, The One.

I would recommend this series to dystopian fiction and YA lovers. I described the first book in this series to The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor, but I don’t even think that description is accurate anymore. I’ll be reading “The One” because I’ve already committed too much time to this series only to leave it halfway through.

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The Selection — Kiera Cass — The Selection #1

“No, I’m not choosing him or you. I’m choosing me.”

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance

Actual Rating: 4 stars

Content Warnings: None that I can think of.

Are you a fan of The Hunger Games and/or tv shows like The Bachelor/The Bachelorette? Well, this book is for you. The Selection follows a girl named America Singer, in a dystopian reality where the United States has a monarchy and people are divided into castes that define their job prospects and future. In a much anticipated tradition, America is selected, along with 34 others girls, to participate in a competition of sorts where the price to win is the prince’s heart (and crown).

The thing about this book is that it’s greatly predictable and there is some character development, but not as much as I expected. None the less, I love this series already. By the time you’ll be reading this, I might’ve even finished The Elite (The Selection #2). It’s that good. I loved how fast-paced this book was, there were no dull moments.

Would it be wrong if I said I fell in love with America? Like, I understand that the main focus is supposed to be loving Prince Maxon versus loving Aspen, but I was just completely blown away my America as a character. Her compassion, her originality, her dreams. I was moved by her greatly.

I guess I already set up the parameters for my recommendation in the introduction, but yeah. If you’ve liked series like The Hunger Games or Divergent, and if you enjoy dating shows like The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, then it seems like this series might be for you. This is a fun, young adult read, I would certainly recommend it as a gift for young, teenaged readers.

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Spoiler Alert — Olivia Dade — Spoiler Alert #1

Genre: Romance, Comedy
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses fat-shaming.

“Spoiler Alert” follows April Whittier, a geologist and fanfic-writing stan of a popular tv show, and Marcus Caster-Rupp, one of the actors of said popular tv show and a fanfic-writer himself. April and Marcus have been chatting on online forums for years under aliases. When April finally posts a picture of her cosplays online—under another alias—it goes viral and trolls go off with their insults because of her plus-size take. Without knowing that April is his fandom bestie, Marcus invites her on a date to spite the trolls and because he found her cute. But what will he do when he finds out she is his closest friend from the fanfic forums? That’s for you to find out once you grab this book.

How have I never heard of Olivia Dade before? This book was perfect. Her writing was descriptive without being boring, and her characters were well defined and complex. The dialogue was witty and funny, and did not seem forced at all. Was it predictable at times? Yes, sure. But come on, everyone was rooting for the exact ending we got, what’s wrong with that?

I would recommend this book to anyone who’s ever read or written fan fiction—or anyone who loved the Disney movie Starstuck. Essentially, if famous person-normal person romances are something you’d enjoy, read this book ASAP. It was so good, I seriously couldn’t recommend this book enough.

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Regretting You — Colleen Hoover

“Right after something tragic happens, you feel like you’ve fallen off a cliff. But after the tragedy starts to sink in, you realize you didn’t fall off a cliff. You’re on an eternal roller coaster that just reached the bottom. Now it’s gonna be up and down and upside down for a long, long time. Maybe even forever.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses racism and discrimination.

This is the first Colleen Hoover book I’ve reviewed on this blog, but this is not the first Colleen Hoover book I’ve read, far from it actually. Oh gosh, I don’t even know how to describe this book after finishing it. I am shattered, but let’s move on… “Regretting You” is written from two perspectives: Morgan’s and her 16-year-old daughter Clara’s points of view are explored after a big life-altering event (in the form of a car accident) changes their family dynamics forever. Filled with love, friendship, family, and heartache, this book will absolutely tear you apart and pull you back together in about 350 pages.

And even when I didn’t think Colleen Hoover could wreck me even more than she’s done in the past, she goes and does it again. I broke for Morgan. I cried for Clara. I hurt for Jonah. I fell for Miller. It was all too much.

I don’t even know how to recommend this book. Just read it. Please. Do yourself a favor and read it. This book is a romance, but it’s also so much more, it explores familial love and sickness and friendship and adoration. READ IT READ IT READ IT. Add it to your TBR. If you don’t trust me, trust its 4.23 stars rating on Goodreads (from more than 120,000 readers).

p.s. It’s settled now. I will never have a favorite Colleen Hoover book. My favorite Colleen Hoover book will always be the last Colleen Hoover book I’ve read.

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We Met in December — Rosie Curtis

“But it’s really just hit me. I’m 30 and life is happening all around me, and I can’t spend any more of it doing what looks like the right thing just to keep some imaginary observer happy. I’ve only got one life, and I want to start living it now.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses racism and discrimination.

“We Met in December” follows Jess and Alex, a mismatched pair of flatmates that grow a friendship out of walks around London. Jess had an instant crush on Alex, but 1) There was a no dating policy between flatmates and 2) He was already dating someone else—she thinks. And Alex just made a huge life change, leaving his profession as a lawyer and going back to school to be a nurse, so he’s supposed to focus his energy on anything but dating. Taking place in a year, this book is magically written but also painfully slow.

The characters are lovely but not too memorable. I almost DNFed at 75% because I was not engaged in the story yet—but by 88% it had won me back. For this reason, I can’t rate it any higher than 3 stars. I loved the ending but hated the getting-there part. This seemed more like a plain fiction book, not a romance book.

I would recommend this book to fans of Woman’s Fiction. This is the slowest burn I’ve seen in a romance, if you can even call it that. The ending was worth the wait, but it’s up to you if you’re willing to stick it out. You’ll barely get a few pages of romance out of this.

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Love at First Like — Hannah Orenstein

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 2.5 stars
Content Warnings: None that I can think of.

“Love at First Like” follows Eliza Roth as she fakes an engagement (and wedding—if she finds someone willing to be her fiancé) in order to safe the jewelry business she owns with her older sister.

I wanted to love this book, I really did. I really like Hannah Orenstein as an author. And it wasn’t that the writing was bad, really, it was more that the story was unbearable. I have seen few characters as manipulative as Eliza, the way she gaslighted everyone around her was impressive. She essentially conned herself into a wedding with a decent guy, and when that didn’t work out, she did it again with another nice guy.

I’m not sure who to recommend this book to. Maybe read it if you have the free time and someone already gifted you this book? Yeah, that’s it.

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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.

The Date Swap — Lydia Westing (Scribd Audiobook)

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

This audiobook follows Lyla and Daniel as they fake their way through two family weddings—they did not have dates and were both heading to adjacent resorts, so might as well, right? Set in Hawaii, this could be a fun listen if you’re going on a tropical vacation.

For what I understand, this seems to be an exclusive audiobook for Scribd, which is kind of cool, but I must say I was a bit disappointed. This audiobook felt like a Wattpad story of sorts. Just make any of the main characters a famous pop star, and there you’d have it. I also wouldn’t call this a romance. It did not bang (truly). But it was fun and short, and entertaining enough to listen.

The audiobook is about 3 hours long (or 1.5 hours long if you listen to it in x2, like I do). I think if it would’ve been any longer, this might’ve been a DNF for me. But if you have Scribd, by all means, give it a listen. I’m not sure who I’d recommend this book to, but it serves as a quick filler or pallet cleanser after any book that’s touched a heavy or dark subject.

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Second First Impressions — Sally Thorne

“That red string never gets it wrong, and unlikely puzzle pieces always fit together.”

Genre: Romance, Comedy
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Content Warnings: None that I can think of.

This books follows Ruthie Midona, an employee at the Providence Luxury Retirement Villa, who’s both reluctant and curious about re-entering the dating scene. So, in comes Teddy Prescott, the son of the new owner of the Retirement Villa, who’s looking to earn some money in order to buy his way into a tattoo studio a few towns over. Between them comes an un expected friendship filled with sexual tension, but if there’s one thing they both agree on is that they wouldn’t be right for each other; Ruthie is looking for something serious and permanent in Providence while Teddy is only passing through town, eager to move on. Set in a retirement villa, this book is quirky, funny, and perpetually entertaining.

If I’m being honest, I’m not too fond of the “preacher’s daughter” trope (and hence I had a hunch I wouldn’t like Ruthie—or this book), but I can say I was pleasantly surprised. Overlooking that Ruthie is a preacher’s daughter and Teddy is a tatted-up bad boy, I still loved this book because the characters were so much more than their stereotypes. Sally Thorne, as per usual, has done an exceptional job on her character and world building. I honestly pictured myself working alongside them, happily helping in turtle rehabilitation.

This book is definitely a romance book and oh, does it bang. The sexual tension was patiently built, having us more than 70% through the book and still not having something as simple as a kiss. The only reason this book didn’t get a higher rating was because I felt like it was childish at times, especially when the main characters fought.

I would recommend this book to readers who have enjoyed books by authors like Emily Henry, Christina Lauren, or Sally Thorne herself. This isn’t a mind-blowing romance book, but it is still pretty great and entertaining, and so I would still recommend it.

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“Tidy, messy. Give, take. Adorer, adoree. Together, we can be all these things.”