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3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
DNF at 18% It’s the misogyny, use of the Romani slur, and general ick of romance that is not even romance. It is just gross. DO NOT PICK THIS UP!
3 stories centering 3 different couples before, during, and after Halloween celebrations at the mystical Amelia Rose's cottage in quaint, magical Moonbright, Maine. The setting, especially the b&b rumored to make guests fall in love, was super cute and executed well. However, I didn't fall equally for all the couples themselves- especially the men. Nice, easy read for this time of year, just not a lot of depth.
Spoiler
In the first story, the male protagonist has simply horrible thoughts about the woman he ends up with, such as "I know better things she could do with that mouth" before even stating his attraction to her, simply because she is "bossing him around" on a job where she is, in fact the boss!!
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
i love silly little romance short stories 🥰
Extra-spicy, short romances set around and on Halloween with the first bordering on raunchy, the second ridiculous and the 3rd actually a fun lovely story. The stories are not interconnected except as to locale and one character, so skip straight to Sharla Lovelaces's Enchanted By You about two teen lovers who find each other again 12 years later.
I thought this was magical realism, it was more romance.
That being said, there were magical cookies, a fortune reader and a hotel and a party where everyone who attends finds their true love.
All good ideas. I'm not much familiar with the romance genre so I'm not the best judge of the stories in this book. Not totally my style but still cute stories.
That being said, there were magical cookies, a fortune reader and a hotel and a party where everyone who attends finds their true love.
All good ideas. I'm not much familiar with the romance genre so I'm not the best judge of the stories in this book. Not totally my style but still cute stories.
This is an anthology of three unrelated stories that all take place in Moonbright, Maine during Halloween. The first story takes place before the Halloween party at Rose Cottage. The second is set during the party, and the third takes place the day after the Halloween party.
2 Stars -- Charmed By You by Kate Angell
Both characters didn't make a first great impression. Grace came across kind of uptight and bitchy, but there is a scene with her and some kids at the costume store that made me fall in love with her. Cade, well he came across as a lazy judgmental narcissist asshole. He was hired to help Grace and all he did was whine and act like a jerk every time he was asked to do ANYTHING.
Unfortunately because of the way his character acts from the get go I wanted him to go find a hole to fall into. Not to mention the reason he hated Halloween was so lame. He got caught toilet papering Rose Cottage when he was 17 and had to do community service. So now he HATES Halloween??
The ending was very abrupt also. I wouldn't even call it a HFN scenario
4 Stars -- Mesmerized by You by Jennifer Dawson.
This one was a super sweet and magical friends to lovers story. Jack and Chloe were both likable characters and it was sweet watching them figure out their love for each other. This one also had a better "happy for now" ending.
"Here.” She was already unbuttoning his jeans. He pulled her questing fingers away. “Are you kidding? There are probably ticks all over the place. I can’t have you ending up with Lyme disease.” See, this was why they were so perfect for each other. She huffed, planting her hands on her hips. “Lyme disease? Really? I offer you my body, and you’re thinking about ticks? He shrugged. “I’m a doctor. Best-case scenario you’re out of commission for months. I don’t like those odds. I’ve managed to last thirty years, I can make it back to the room.!
5 Stars -- Enchanted by You by Sharla Lovelace
This was my favorite story of the the three we get. A second chance romance with a nice bit of angst and a sweet little happy for now ending.
Sydney and Sawyer fell in love as teenagers, but insecurities and outside influences place doubt in Sawyer's mind and he leaves Sydney behind with a broken heart. Can these two find magic again in Moonbright?
"Sawyer pulled her to him with a smile he didn’t feel, everything inside him screaming not to let this end this way. Not to let her go."
lighthearted
medium-paced
This anthology has three stories revolving around the annual Halloween party at a B&B, Rose Cottage, in Moonbright, Maine which is apparently an October 31st mecca. There is a touch of fantasy with the owner of the Cottage having a crystal ball that sees the future. Most of the stories are okay but suffer from the regular issues that plague shorter romance books.
Charmed by You by Kate Angell
Grace Alden is trying to get the Cottage decorated with the help of Three Men and a Truck, one of whom is Cade Maxwell. He's having issues because she's a commanding woman and he doesn't like having a female boss. Explicitly, his cousins don't like working for a woman but you get that sense from him as well. While helping her aunt Amelia, the far-seeing owner of the Cottage, is having them set up her fortune telling table Grace sees a man's hands in the crystal ball. Later Cade sees a black cat tattoo. They end up together. I'm not sure why or how but it seems like it might be an HEA?
Two and a half stars
Mesmerized by You by Jennifer Dawson
Chloe and Jack have been friends forever. All of their other friends wonder why they haven't just slept together and gotten it over with. Even her family wonders. Which is why her Aunt Iris, who they are visiting in Moonbright, decides to force the issue. There's only one bedroom left in the last B&B in town. This was also an okay story but there seemed like WAY too much set up as to why the two weren't already sleeping together and then SO MUCH angst about finally doing it.
Two and a half stars
Enchanted by You by Sharla Lovelace
This one was my least favorite of the three. Sidney Jensen works for a horrible human being. One who blames her for a deal imploding and then sends her off to the wilds of Maine to take care of her own (not Sidney's) family business. There, Sidney meets up with the boy (now man) who broke her nerdy heart in high school. They sort of talk and work things out a bit and then have an HEA.
Two and a half stars
Overall, intellectually, this book averaged to two and a half stars but it actually gave me enough good-feels that I'm bumping it up to three.
Charmed by You by Kate Angell
Grace Alden is trying to get the Cottage decorated with the help of Three Men and a Truck, one of whom is Cade Maxwell. He's having issues because she's a commanding woman and he doesn't like having a female boss. Explicitly, his cousins don't like working for a woman but you get that sense from him as well. While helping her aunt Amelia, the far-seeing owner of the Cottage, is having them set up her fortune telling table Grace sees a man's hands in the crystal ball. Later Cade sees a black cat tattoo. They end up together. I'm not sure why or how but it seems like it might be an HEA?
Two and a half stars
Mesmerized by You by Jennifer Dawson
Chloe and Jack have been friends forever. All of their other friends wonder why they haven't just slept together and gotten it over with. Even her family wonders. Which is why her Aunt Iris, who they are visiting in Moonbright, decides to force the issue. There's only one bedroom left in the last B&B in town. This was also an okay story but there seemed like WAY too much set up as to why the two weren't already sleeping together and then SO MUCH angst about finally doing it.
Two and a half stars
Enchanted by You by Sharla Lovelace
This one was my least favorite of the three. Sidney Jensen works for a horrible human being. One who blames her for a deal imploding and then sends her off to the wilds of Maine to take care of her own (not Sidney's) family business. There, Sidney meets up with the boy (now man) who broke her nerdy heart in high school. They sort of talk and work things out a bit and then have an HEA.
Two and a half stars
Overall, intellectually, this book averaged to two and a half stars but it actually gave me enough good-feels that I'm bumping it up to three.
This is a super cute Halloween romance collection. It has three short stories, each by a different author, but all with the same setting. There is one character that is there throughout the stories, but other characters change. It is really cool to see how three different authors write romance and how to compare the similarities and differences. The first story is my least favourite, the other two are much better. I think a large part of that is because I didn’t like the language in the first story. I think the last story is my favourite; it’s just so sweet. I love Halloween and it was so nice to read a book that it just set during Halloween, as I find it a hard holiday setting to find in books.