christinareadsontheroad's reviews
615 reviews

adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Insta love
Age gap
Inexperienced heroine
Single dad
Forced proximity

This was a quick read - just needed a palate cleanser after a tough day to disassociate a bit.

The Love Penalty by Stef C.R.

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

What to expect:

Hockey Referee FMC/Hockey Player MMC

Golden Retriever/Black Cat

Friends to Lovers

Workplace/Forbidden Romance

Found Family

Slow Burn

I loved how Robbie and Olivia leaned into their friendship and let feelings develop naturally. It was also cool to see the inner workings of the hockey referee world, even though it was difficult to see how she was treated as a woman in the sport at times. Robbie was so smitten with Olivia and wanted to give her the world, but I love how he appreciated her boundaries around treating her and equality in their relationship, even though they had different jobs and backgrounds. I breezed through this one and really enjoyed it - I wish I had read it sooner!

Thank you to the author for sending me a review copy. The Love Penalty is out now and you can check it out in ebook, audio, paperback & KU. I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series, Bar Down (MM, Friends with Benefits, Hockey Teammates Romance)!!

Flirting With Disaster by Naina Kumar

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Thank you prhaudio and Dell for the review copies.

Five. Perfect. Stars.

This is for everyone who watches Sweet Home Alabama when it’s on TV, even though you’ve seen it a thousand times. I can’t get over how much I loved getting to know Meena and Nikhil — not only how they dealt with being together after years apart, the unexpected challenges that the hurricane brought, and the realties of their lives being so different but their love being so strong, but also how their past selves had hurt each other in small ways, with well intentioned actions guided by misplaced priorities, that chipped away at their whirlwind partnership.

Once again Naina Kumar managed to make me laugh and cry (real tears), made me blush, and broke my heart and fixed it right up all within the span of a day. Because I absolutely read this book in one day.

The Game Plan by Allie Lasky

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emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A

3.75

College age romance isn’t usually my thing but I enjoyed this one. Definitely felt authentic and realistic to the age range. I loved the dual POV and found Miles to be so sweet and Sam to be a loyal person to the people she loves.

Some of the inner monologue was repetitive… both verbatim and also like in themes. But, overall, I liked this and want to read more of the series.

Let's Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Things I liked:

Loved the friendships, both among the adults and the kids.
Excellent grief representation. It’s not linear and it’s wildly complicated.
Spice was spicin’
The grand gesture and epilogue were classic romance swoon. It almost redeems how frustrating the characters were — not only as people but in how they frequently treated each other.

Honest review time - This book was frustrating to read. The characters bothered me, and reading single POV meant we were stuck with a very unreliable narrator and a grudge that impacted their relationship for years without her being willing to hear him out. For someone who had gone through the unthinkable - losing her husband - you’d think she’d be able to offer some grace (call a truce??) or be open to hearing out folks instead of just icing out with childish pranks and office “wars.”

If Amy’s able to elicit these feelings out of me in a debut, I can’t wait to see where her writing goes from here. If you like super flawed messy characters, with Hating Games vibes, this is for you. Thank you St. Martins Press for the review copy.

The Penalty Box by Megan Cousins

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emotional inspiring lighthearted fast-paced