kell_x's reviews
508 reviews

Wild As Her by Erin Branscom

4.0

As I've said in the first book of this series I've fallen in live with this town and all it's characters. They make this story so much more and bring it to life. 

This is a story about love. Love for each other and self love. About being true to yourself and being strong even with the several adversities life throws your way. And it's also about learning to trust, yourself and others. 

Cami is a rancher girl, stuggling to keep her ranch in her possession after family's bad decisions. She never had a caring and warm childhood, so she learned to fend for herself and to be as independent as she could. If she didn't rely on others she wouldn't be let down. 

Jack is a rancher, and has been all his life. His childhood wasn't easy and he has a few ghosts to scare away, but all that made him a trusworthy and reliable man, who goes way and beyond for those he cares about. 

When he learns that Cami needs help and is about to lose what she loves most, he jumps in and takes the lead. Even if she doesn't want him to at the time. 

They had a past, and after some years appart they reconnect as enemies. There were some trust issues and bad decisions as teenagers clouding jusdments. But they have to start working closer and with the addiction of a tv show on the ranch thay are in each others spaces all the time. And in that time they fight, they pick on each other and we have so much banter. The tension.. ohhh, the angst. We could feel it imprinted in the pages all through the book. It almost could make the pages combust espontaneously if one more scene was added to the mix!

But, also we could feel their love in every interaction, in every word. Mainly him.. The way he is completly head over heels in love with her...

🥰

"I’m gonna love you when you’re fiery and loud and when you’re quiet and scared. I’m gonna love you when you don’t think you deserve it and when you push me away and when you’re trying so damn hard not to need anyone. I'm going to do it even harder"

Fate, Fireworks, and Finish Lines by Marion De Ré

4.0

As usual Marion's books have the ability to make us feel good. Her stories are heartfelted and true and she makes us fall a little in love with each character every single time. 

In this one we are set in Italy in the heart of the F1 world and races. 

Elio is a F1 driver and quite a celebrity, and a little bit of a playboy. He is cocky, adventurous, fearless and is greatful for life itself so he tries to enjoy it at its best. He is also sweet and caring and a true giver. 

Lucy is a sports journalist and when a collegue is sick she replaces him doing a cover on F1 and on a life of an F1 driver and winner (Elio). She expects him to be arrogant and a player and to have a celebrity complex but she finds herself so surprised when all those misplaced expectations aren't true. 

She learns to love a new sport and to 'not judge a book by it's cover' when it comes to Elio. 

Slowly they fall for each other and find their place and where they belong. 

Another big hit, that's for sure!

Blindsided by Fake Love by Abby Greyson

4.0

This book was charmingly sweet. Since the beggining it gives us a feel good kind of feeling and is sweet all through the story. 

It's swoony and light hearted and can be read in one setting. 

Both characters are very relatable and their interactions and banter are quite funny and it provides some laugh out loud moments and gives us a way to chill and decompress with a sweet love story.

Salvation by J.M. Johnson

5.0

I was dying to get my hands on this final chapter since I finished reading Saved. I've really grown to love this characters and their excentricities and flaws. I continue to think Rachel is a bad@ss woman who could rule an empire with her strength. She is a force of nature. 

Since leaving Dante she turned her life around and made a new life for herself. But..the past has a way to sneack up upon us, and she was no exception. Dante found them and brought them home, with no choice to leave (in a Dante and shady kind of way). 

Dante is still a morally shade of very dark grey. He can be so attentive sometimes and at the same time a complete jerk that makes want to shake him up!. 

I can honestly say thay I gasped a couple of times.. I was surprised by some twists along the way, that I never even saw coming, and also by the characters actions, and also their development. We can really see their growth in this story. In this final chapter we see both Dante and Rachel a little more controled (or trying to be) mainly because of the contract they have to one another but then we realise that even when they biker, and poke, and fight they are really trying. 

And even if it is a little unhealthy relationship, well.. there's love there. 

And, through it all we finnaly have communication between them. It may be weird and completly disfunctional but it's there 🤭

I'll be really looking forward Vienna's book next!

Whisked Away by Noel Bailey

4.0

This story has a sweet and cozy feel, and transports us to a little perfect and magical small town making us feel like we just steped into an hallamark movie with a feel good kind of vibe. 

Ethan is the perfect main male character. He is sweet, loving, kind, attentive, gentlemanlike... so swoony! He is a baker in a small town. He has magic and uses it to help bring goog feelings. He needs to keep his ability a secret and is bound by the town to never relay the magic they all have. He wants the world to know his baking and be recognised even if in a small little town.
Alex is a strong and driven woman, who has had to be responsible for taking care of her sister. She applies herself in her job and puts some dreams aside to be the best at what she does. 
She is a food critique, and when some news arrive about a perky little bakery in a small town that is described as magical, her boss sends her there to destroy that mith and relay the truth. 
But what if all that what was said was true? What if the bakery, the town, the people and even Ethan were the real thing? They look and sound so perfect in her eyes! But some secrets are being held, and how will she react to them and how will the town react when they know she discovered their most precious secret?

Both main characters were so easy to relate to and to grow fond of. We could understand their anguish and both their dreams and couldn't hope more for them to succed and to find all they were looking for. 
Also, the side characters were sweet, conforting and even meddling but in the best way possible. 
I really enjoyed this story and hopefjlly I'll return to this small magical town soon. 

Roommate's Guide to Love by Chelle Sloan

4.0

In this third book in the Bank's sisters stories, we get to know Quinn and Porter. They have been friends with bennefits for years, and are content with that. Or are they?

Well.. Quinn really is a force of nature. Strong minded, oppinionated, impulsive but extremely loyal and with a very stong moral compass. She may have a bad girl and troublemaker reputation since high school, but all pranks had their motive. But.. underneath all that bravado, still lies a plus size girl, with insecurities and fear that no one will love her real self. 

Porter is reliable, sweet and homey. He makes people feel at ease and at home. He has a huge heart, and a big part of that heart belongs to Quinn. Even if they don't know it yet. 

When Quinn moves back home alter a major mess at her shcool and Porter has his life upside down being a 'new dad' she can't say no to his cry for help. They become roomates to raise Grace and to protect her at all costs. But being so close to each other makes them realise that their relationship maybe, and just maybe is not just a physical one. There are huge feelings to be accounted for and they just need to open their eyes to see them. When they do, well.. it's for life. 

And in a true Banks family fashion there's drama, meddling and a big intervention and support system when one or mote of them need help. 

I really enjoyed this story. I connected to both character since the beggining and was rooting for them all the way. It was enjoyable to see them grow and change with each other without abandoning who they truly are. 

A Simple Twist of Fate by April Asher

5.0

I don't think I can really translate into coherent words how much I just loved this book. I just loved everything about it!

The writing, the world building, the plot, the characters, the simple twists and surprises...

It was the perfect story, at the perfect moment! 

Harry is a witch and lives in NY, and helps her best friend raise her teenage daughter. When her powers start to grow out of control, and they can't even begin to understan what Grace really is from, her mom goes on a quest to find answers. And that leaves Harry with a teen and some wacky powers. When it all breaks, she decides to return to Fates Haven, her small town, the same place she swore never to return. A place with great magic.

She had run 13 years back, since a dreadfull mating cerimony had gone wrong. And she was ok (or trying) living with that. But big girl panties were needed because Grace needed her help, and in her 'borrowed 'mama bear mode she returned, knowing she would eventually meet Jax.

Jax is a shifter, and is the alpha. He learned a long time ago to live is life as best he could, and tried every single day not to miss Harry. Better said then done, right. 

When she returns they have so many unfinished business that takes them a while to work it out. But with some meddling friends and family the love and care of that town grows on them. With patience they manage to find some answers that can help Grace and maybe help them heal from the past. 

I laughed so hard with the banter both between main characters, but also with the side ones also.

Grace was such an important part of this story, almost as the main ones. Her teenage sass and sarcasm and way to feel as only a 16 year old can were perfectly translated in this story. We could feel so many things along side with her.. And waching her bloom, grow confidence and love? 

And the others?

I kept changing my favorite character through out the book. I guess I just can't decide. I want so badly to learn all their stories..

I want a thousand more books in this world. Fates Haven is just amazing! Can't wait for the next ones.

Hold Me For Now: A Dark Romance Novella by Lexi Davis, Lexi Davis

5.0

I can seriously say that this novella was not what I was expecting at all! It was so much more!!!!

At some point, I was hoping it was a full romance, and not just a novella so I could keep reading it!

I think there wasn't a thing I didn't enjoy! As usual Lexi's writing style has a way to draw us in, and this story, even with some more forbidden topics was just.. it! 

We have several dark romances and so many relationships and lovers stories, but this was the first one I've read the approached a $exual disfunction as a real problem and reported how badly it affected both main character both mentally and regarding others and their relationships. 

Kristi is a woman who is desperate. She has a medical problem and is willing to do anything to get herself 'fixed'. She believes she is broken and that there's nothing able to mend her and she has been trying for ages to manage it. She has tried everything, even being at mercy from not so nice men or situations so that she could feel complete again. She feels that because of that, she can't be appreciated or loved. So she enters a clinic with a very different approach on the problem. Is it possible that such a out of line approach can help her? 

T. seems a bit shy and kind of sad, as if the wheight of his problem was burying him down under. But there's something about him that we see unravel through the story and we grow fond of him very quickly. He is sweet, caring and attentive. As his confidence grows, he also takes the lead and is kind of swoony.

Their identities are secret but they find out that even for different reasons and that even being complete opposites from each other they have the same problem. 

So why not go for it and help each other? What was supposed to be a $exu@l and intimate healing experience suddenly started to feel a hell of a lot more. But in such weird circunstances, how could it mean anything real? Is it all in their heads?

Well.. now I want more! 🤭

Tourist Trap by Morgan Elizabeth

4.0

This story was a light rom-com with a beachy feel, that as always was spot on in a true Morgan Elizabeth's way.  She has a way of making us so immersed in the story that we almost feel as our characters. 

These two characters reminded me so much of Ava and Jamie. It's like a version 2.0, set up in a beach town. 

Claire is a day by day kind of girl. She lives her life with no big plans, giving it her all to be happy and make the moat out of life (with one hell of sass and attitude). She goes to the small town of Seaside Point, next to her best friend, and takes a summer job as a lifeguard. She needs a place to stay, and she gets one. In no other than Mile's spare room. 

Miles is a grumpy and contained man, with an amazing sense of loyalty and responsability. He is hard working and is saving to buy his house. He has one soft spot: Claire. He had fallen for her so many years before, but timing was never right. And now they are sharing one appartment. That has to right, yeah? 

Well, Clare has had a crush as well, and both are trying to keep it together. But she is so not suble about anything! She makes it her mission to make him laugh, have fun and come out of his shell, that all summer we watch them come together and see him learn to live and her to learn to settle. 

They complement each other and with the help of an amazing group of side characters, they make the most of what life brings their way.

Roller Coaster Romance by Kate Moseman

4.0

This story is really about working rights and union rights, and the romance comes in second place, and is much more suble.

Vanessa finaly got her dream job at Destiny Park, an amusement park she always desired to work as manager. After getting there and learning how things worked and how the crew members were handled by their superiors it was clear that some things needed to change. She then discovered there was an ongoing battle between owners and crew about union rights. 

Thomas was a crew member at Destiny Park. He worked hard, enjoyed his job but knew they needed better working conditions and was willing to get things done. But when Vanessa arrives he doesn't know what to expect. Can she be trusted? Is she like other superiors? 

With their interactions is clear they are on the same side, but so many problems arise between their friendship.

I really liked Vanessa. She was sweet, caring, had a right sence of justice and was empathetic. She was easy to relate to. 

Thomas was more guarded and shy, but in his way protective and loyal. 

Their interactions was always mainly in their workplace and in a professional manor. We had hints about their desires and feelings, but they were really subtle throught out the book. Once again, the romance part in this book is not the main plot/subject, and can mislead some when starting this story. 

Anyway, I've enjoyed the story all the same, and how it was relayed. It translated a kind of impossible situation, and how the two main characters reacted and resolved all those issues made the story. 

I listened to this story in audio, and was happily entertained through out the book.