kell_x's reviews
510 reviews

Perfectly Faked: A Sweet Hockey RomCom by Grace Worthington

4.0

Well.. I really do like a good enemies to lovers story, and if you add a really grumpy man (with a marshmallow heart underneath) I'm a gonner. This book had just that!

Leo is a hot headed hockey player that has a probation in is time playing due to his temper. He expects everything except the punishment chosen for him. He has to help a figure skater woman practice while her partner is injured. But is it any woman? Of course not! It's his ex. The one who got away! The one he never got over. 
Victoria has the dream of taking her career forward and making to the nationals. But she is having a series of bad luck events and her partner getting injured is just the last one on the list. Having Leo helping her? That’s a recipe for disaster. They are too much alike and sparks fly when they interact.

I really believe that the enemies to lovers was done really well, and the transition was subtle but the banter and bickering didn’t disapear when they finnaly gave in to their feelings. Both characters had strong personalities and clashed but also complemented each other and their interactions were fierce and funny at the same time. 

As in the previous book we have several meddling friends who added so much more sparkle to the story that it wouldn't be the same without them. 

Perfectly Wedded by Grace Worthington

3.0

In this story we start getting to know Vale and Sloan. Even if the characters were already in another story/series it didn't affect this one as a standalone. I managed to get into their dynamics easily enough and see how their relationship worked. 

Sloan is a shy an insecure woman that has a medical condition and need some experimental meds for her treatment. Her insurance doesn't cover for them so she has no way to start that treatment. 

Vale is a hockey player, and is Sloan's best friend. So when he learns that she needs help he does what he needs to do so she can get treated. He proposes that they should get married and let his insurance cover her meds. So they elope in vegas. Even if that may solve the problem it brings several others. Well, first they need to lie to everyone around them and pretend that the wedding was true. And second.. they love each other secretly, so can they maintain the fake part in the agreement? 

We see them navigating through their fake and not so fake relationship and see them struggling a bit with all that arises. 

When will they admit it's not fake anymore?

Vale was a true sweethart. He was sweet, a gentleman, caring, protective and so loveable. He always thought about her and her wellbeing first. 

She was shy and way insecure. Sometimes it was just too much. She was a little downer in some ways. 

And the way they made the whole thing akward..  Ok, it was an arranged marriage and they had secret feelings but after the wedding they started acting as strangers and not best friends. It seemed they stoped knowing how to behave with one another. It was a little weird that transition.

The friends were funny. Their closeness and meddling was a major point in this story! I really enjoyed them.

Overall was a nice and easy read. I'll be checking Leo's story next! 

Just One Season by Chrissy Hopewell

4.0

I truly enjoyed this rom-com! I laughed out loud several times and man.. that felt good! The humor is perfectly placed and gives this story all the seasoning it needs. 

In here we have Lucy, a sweet woman who moved to another city, and to another job to escape her cheating ex-fianceé and her neglective/medling/insensitive father. She buncks up in her brother's apartment and starts working in his hockey team as a PR person. 

She meets the team in the most awkward ways (yes.. more than one 🤭🤭🤭), and immediatly can't take her eyes of Kellen. 

Kellen is a professional hockey player, who is a single dad and the most marshmallow kind of man you can ever find! He is so sweet and loveable!! He is also the type of man who does everything for his family! Even fake date one of his best friends sister to keep his job! She is in it to keep both her dad and ex-fianceé of her back, so it's a win-win, right? 

With the help of extremely meddling friends the fake and decieve beggins! But.. with time some things just don't feel fake anymore. And they have a deadline until she leaves to another country. So what do you do when temporary starts to feel permanent? When you don't what it to end?

And seriously, how many names can one dog get ?🤭🤭

I loved all these character and really hope that this turns into a series where we can follow each and every one of them. I loved their interactions, their friendship and their banter. It felt like family!

The Greatest of these by Erin Fitzgerald

5.0

Another round, another big win!

This book got me hooked, and I couldn't put it down until the very last word. It was that good!

Erin creates real life characters with real life problems and surroundings and this makes me fall in love with her stories even more. 

I like the that vibe of what you see is what you get in both main characters. The raw honesty in them!

Both main characters are driven, fierce and workaholics, but always with the tought of having better lifes and for the love of their work. Is admirable to read about someone who truly loves something so much that they fight tooth and nails to get it and to make it succed. 

Their passion is palpable through out the story and they reallh have a lot of chemistry on top of everything.

Charlie comes from a large family, but has been a little drown in all that chaos. She manages to by out her father's business (the one she loves) and is content with her life (except fot those bloody migranes, of course). 

Dan has had his rug pulled from his feet sometime close to a year before this story starts, and in trying to put himself back together with time. When he meets Charlie he is attracted but would never guess they would end up together. 

We see them interact more and more and fall and trust each other over time. 

In addiction to romance we have some mistery and also, so when Charlie gets in danger we see Dan get into protective mode (not that she needs it! She can take good care of herself. But.. sometimes it also feels good to rely on someone for support, and he he is really good at keeping her steady!

Besides the main ones, lets just take a little time to talk about some of those side ones...

All the Benson brothers are perfectly flawed and that gives them just the perfect amount of personality they need to complement their traits. Their interactions and banter is just plain funny and caring and we can see the affection between that group in every word. Then Donna.. I think she was the glue that kept that family holding together and still is in some ways. She meddles in ways that don't everbear them and is just always there as a mother should be!

I Wanna Be Your Lager: A Brother's Best Friend Romantic Comedy by Gia Stevens

4.0

This book, just as the previous ones was a steamy rom-com with a perfect mix of laugh out loud moments, a good teary eye and a good mix of really interesting and relatable characters enjoy.
Eve is an independent, badass and sassy woman who discovers her boyfriend is married to another woman and that she (omg) is the other woman. So she does the only possible thing.. she dumps him and doesn't look back. Then she meets Lach and in order to erase her bad memories has a one night stand.
Lach is a sweet and protective man, with a good sense of humor. He is amazed by the woman he meets and eve though he doesn't even knows her name he can't get her out of his head.
So imagine how amazed and blown away they are when they discover that they know someone in common: her brother and his best friend! But instead of making things easier, this little detail only makes it worse. How can he tell his best friend that he has a thing for his sister? How can she disapoint her brother once again? So.. with a little lack of courage they keep ther feelings a secret. And with time is even harder to come to terms with the truth. When Eve finds out she is pregnant she believes she lost even more... she believes she will lose him too. But what if she doesn't? What if he is all in and wants them both? How will her brother react to both news?
Well, they really could have avoided such complications if they could have told Jake the truth, but then we wouldn't have this plot and this amazing story written this way and it sure is worth it!
They both loved fiercely, but his words were always right there in the right moment!

" I love that you’re a hot mess because I want to see all of you. The good, the bad, and the hot mess. I want to be your rock during all those times. To help you. Comfort you. Cheer you on. Anything you need me to do. I’ll be a hot mess with you. I love you."

And... I really want to get to know Jake's story and see him unfold!

My Demon Hunter by Aurora Ascher

5.0

What a hell of a book and story! I loved everything about it! A hidden gem!

I was glued to it until I reached it's end, and even then I wanted to keep being in this story and in this world! I'm going to binge the next ones as soon as I can! 

Lily is just a shy woman, living her best life and running away from her legacy. She is a witch, but she never wanted to be one or practice, unlike her sister. She is sweet, sees the good in everyone, and is a good girl. She is not aware of the secrets of her past. She has some insecurities, but when the need comes..  she is strong and fierce and just amazing. 

Who doesn't love some damaged heroes (or villains, I guess) who turn out to be kind of softies on the inside? Mist was just that. A marshmallow on the inside covered with a thick layer of mistrust and pain. He has always been the hunter. He always belonged to another as her slave. He never had free will. Until he met four other rogue demons who showed him that rules can be broken and that he deserved to break them for himself. He learned what it was to have friends. And along with those friends he met Lily.

At first, when they met, he was disguised as human, and they instantly hit it of. There was attraction. And with that attraction came some truths and her learning his real form and learning that she liked a demon. A real one! And on top of that there was real danger above them. To him and to her. So in some awkward way, with his lack of understanding of the human feelings and her strength growing as a witch they have gone through several bumps and bruises to make it alive. 

We see them learning to love with such an intensity that is really overpowering!

We have several interactions with other side characters and I liked every one of them. I can honestly say that I'm intriegued bu Iris, and to know how she will learn to lower her guard and trust and to love. I gues I better start reading the next ones! 

Forever To Me by Erin Branscom

5.0

I loved this book! How is it possible to love every character in this town! The people, how life flows more peacefully, the dinamics.. all of it! Erin has made me want to move in there too 🤭

In this story we have two characters who were used by the music industry. Walker is a man who escaped being in the spotlight years ago and that hides who he really is, and tries to have a good life in a small town with his daughter and friends. Violet ran away after being trated poorly and needed a place to recover, and her aunt's small town seemed the right place to be. 

They meet in his bar, and have one night that both believed would be a one time thing, but aftewards... they realise maybe one time wasn't enough. With each day they grew closer and started seeing each other as more and more. 

Violet was a sassy and independent woman who knows her place and her worth (even if it was shaken by her recent events).

Walker was a mix of a cinnamon roll, a teddy bear, a protective hero and a perfect gentleman. All combined with his remaining traits made him the perfect male lead character. I liked his vive from the beggining and was really rooting for him to have his HEA. 

We could see their chemistry from the start, and their banter was spot on. The way they loved each other, was clear in every page and in every interaction they had.

“I love you like my heart always knew you were the one. Like my soul didn’t settle until it found yours.” I shake my head, my voice thick with meaning. “I love you like you’re the song I’ve been humming my whole life without knowing the words.”

The remaining characters were perfectly introduced into this story, and we could see their proximity and have a little bit of each and every one of them in this story. Their banter and familiarity was heartwarming and made me want to get to the bottom of each one's story. 

I really need more of this world!

The Trouble with Love and Coaches by Harriet Ashford

5.0

Have you ever had a dream so big that you gave it your all, your best, your everything just so you could achieve it? Well, that's what April was doing! She had the dream to participate and finish Ironman, as a way to connect and accomplish her mother's dream. So she practiced and was giving it her all, with some effort. When her coach ditched her only a few months before the event she faltered but didn't gave up! She was determined as hell, and even alone she was going to try! She was also down to hearth and hard working, sweet and caring and so relatable I adored her chareacter from the start. And her supersticious thing? Yeahh.. I get it 🤭

Then comes Gabe. He realised she needed help and invited her into his team. He was a softie, with a gold heart and couldn't not help her. He was the perfect gentleman and friend and lover. He cared so much about her and all he could think about was to protect her (even from himself). 

So, when they started connecting and spending time together some feelings started to take place (wanted or not) and that could only complicate things. 

I loved this story. I loved how it made me laugh and sometimes cry. I loved the drive and determination of both characters and how they fought to overcome their fears and obstacles. I think the story was so well written that it flew and we could binge it non stop. 

This is my second Harriet's book, and I really can't wait for all of her next ones. They are perfect!

Stick To Me by Marion De Ré

4.0

This is a sweet friends to lovers romance, where we have two characters pining for each other secretly and loving one another in secret. 

Aaron is not what we expect when reading about a famous hockey player. He is humble and down to earth, and it feels like people can really relate to him. He is a sweet guy and is in true need of someone's love.

Melissa is a shy but determined girl, that found her passion by opening and working in a coffee shop. She loves hockey, but how could she not when the most important people in her life are in it? 

They are best friends, so the relationship is already there but it changes throughout the book and we keep rooting for them from the start. They have friendship, chemistry and attraction and fjnny banter between each other. 

It was good return to this world and reconnect with previous characters but mainly I loved this new group, and I can't wait to read their stories. 

It's Only Ever Been You by LS Phoenix

4.0

In this book we have polar opposites that are drawn to each other and almost could be said to be soulmates. 

Emma is a shy and introveted girl that just loves books and to be in her quiet world. 

Ethan is a boy who loves attention, parties and is social and outgoing. 

They meet at a very young age and from that moment on they become best friends. They support and balance each other and it all goes well until their teenage years, when some new feelings and desires start to arise. With time, things start to blur and get messy and several moments get tangled and confused and missinterpreted. 

I can say that for me, the big theme in this story was mostly miscommunication. It happened several times, and in several moments. 

They fought in different ocasions to overcome those obstacles, and we could see their angst and despair and even some obcession about each other through out all the book.

Sometimes love isn't enough and time can help. There may be a right person, but not the right moment or time, and both of them had a glimpse of that. When the timing was right all their love and effort was worth it.