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ourxstorybegins's reviews
582 reviews
Business Casual by B.K. Borison
Charlie spends most of the book in Inglewild, taking over the Farm while Stella is on her honeymoon. He's also dealing with his dad being an absolute menace while he's gone, but because he loves Lovelight and Inglewild, he tries to mainly focus on that while he's in town.
He's been helping Nova get her tattoo parlor set up and they clearly have the kind of relationship where they tend to butt heads teasing each other and whatnot. So when they finally decide to start hooking up (keeping it "business casual" in this case means casual but exclusively), neither of them super expect to catch feelings but BOYYYYYY do they. They keep their activities secret, especially because they don't particularly want Beckett (who in this book plays the role of Nova's protective brother) to find out because Charlie prefers being alive.
I'm not going to get into the details of the grand gesture at the end of the book, but part of why I love it is becausethere's not actually a third act breakup. Charlie has to move back to New York, and the gesture is more from the town to him in an effort to get him to just move to Inglewild and I love it SO MUCH .
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Honestly, if you've been reading the entire series this is the PERFECT way to wrap it up. Charlie & Nova's story has us totally set up for success:
- It opens with Stella and Luka's wedding! Yay!
- Nova is Beckett's sister, so we get a lot more time with the Porter family than I feel we even had in the first one, especially Nova's sister.
- Charlie has made appearances in all of the stories so far so he's made for a fantastic side character, but we finally get to see him fully realized and see how he lives his life when he's in New York vs when he's in Inglewild. And since he's made his appearances in so many different locations of Inglewild, we end up seeing him all over the place in this book as well.
Charlie spends most of the book in Inglewild, taking over the Farm while Stella is on her honeymoon. He's also dealing with his dad being an absolute menace while he's gone, but because he loves Lovelight and Inglewild, he tries to mainly focus on that while he's in town.
He's been helping Nova get her tattoo parlor set up and they clearly have the kind of relationship where they tend to butt heads teasing each other and whatnot. So when they finally decide to start hooking up (keeping it "business casual" in this case means casual but exclusively), neither of them super expect to catch feelings but BOYYYYYY do they. They keep their activities secret, especially because they don't particularly want Beckett (who in this book plays the role of Nova's protective brother) to find out because Charlie prefers being alive.
I'm not going to get into the details of the grand gesture at the end of the book, but part of why I love it is because
Mixed Signals by B.K. Borison
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
CALEB ALVAREZ, YOU CUTIE PATOOTIE
Look, I met Caleb in the first couple of books and we knew he was obsessed (in the cute way not the stalkery way) with Layla. But I generally avoid reading romances where the hero is a police officer cuz it's an ick. But I was willing to do it for Caleb! So tell me why we open the book learning that he was fired for being too nice. Bless that sweet summer child, I love it. So instead this story ends up being about a bakery owner and a substitute teacher?! Yes absolutely adorable give me more
I could go on about how much I love the people of Inglewild but if you're reading this because you want my specific opinion on this book then you already know that because Inglewild is my favorite part of this story. Truly, this series has me realizing that I love small town romances -- WHO KNEW?!
Layla is absolutely my favorite of the owners of Lovelight Farms and I was just happy to see her realize her worth in this one, even if it did take a man to help her realize it. My biggest issue with this one was definitely justthe third act breakup, but that's pretty typical of romance stories in general. It just felt very unnecessary in this particular one, but whatever IT'S FINE I GUESS.
Look, I met Caleb in the first couple of books and we knew he was obsessed (in the cute way not the stalkery way) with Layla. But I generally avoid reading romances where the hero is a police officer cuz it's an ick. But I was willing to do it for Caleb! So tell me why we open the book learning that he was fired for being too nice. Bless that sweet summer child, I love it. So instead this story ends up being about a bakery owner and a substitute teacher?! Yes absolutely adorable give me more
I could go on about how much I love the people of Inglewild but if you're reading this because you want my specific opinion on this book then you already know that because Inglewild is my favorite part of this story. Truly, this series has me realizing that I love small town romances -- WHO KNEW?!
Layla is absolutely my favorite of the owners of Lovelight Farms and I was just happy to see her realize her worth in this one, even if it did take a man to help her realize it. My biggest issue with this one was definitely just
In The Weeds by B.K. Borison
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Okay so we've got a one (three) night stand-turned-second chance romance when Evelyn St. James shows up back in Inglewild?? Again??
Evelyn just needs to slow down somewhere. It's clear that, sure, she also wants to see Beckett when she goes to Inglewild, but really she just wants to go somewhere that it's possible to slow down, relax, and reflect. We met Evelyn in book one and when she saw Beckett for the first time she quite literally ran away, and we get a glimpse of the talk they had when she was there for the contest in the first book. Then, we jump to her being completely overwhelmed with her booming social media career and wanting to find a way to shut off. The last place she felt happy was Inglewild, so that's where she goes.
And thenthe town absolutely conspires against? for? her and she ends up having to sleep at Beckett's house. From there, everything just falls into place for the two of them. But honestly? Best cast member of this book? Those KITTENS. Truly well done.
I really enjoyed this one, but it was probably the weakest of the four books for me. That said, absolute favorite bit? Beckett has a lot of sound sensitivity and doesn't like crowds for that exact reason, and the scene where Evelyn gives him ear plugs was JUST THE CUTEST.
Evelyn just needs to slow down somewhere. It's clear that, sure, she also wants to see Beckett when she goes to Inglewild, but really she just wants to go somewhere that it's possible to slow down, relax, and reflect. We met Evelyn in book one and when she saw Beckett for the first time she quite literally ran away, and we get a glimpse of the talk they had when she was there for the contest in the first book. Then, we jump to her being completely overwhelmed with her booming social media career and wanting to find a way to shut off. The last place she felt happy was Inglewild, so that's where she goes.
And then
I really enjoyed this one, but it was probably the weakest of the four books for me. That said, absolute favorite bit? Beckett has a lot of sound sensitivity and doesn't like crowds for that exact reason, and the scene where Evelyn gives him ear plugs was JUST THE CUTEST.
Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I decided to read this full series before I jumped back to reviewing them individually, and so much about Lovelight Farms continues to be on my mind. It's the only single-pov book of the series, and I am so glad that it was. Even reading this book from Stella's perspective, it is so obvious how in love with her Luka is from the jump so I'm sure if we got his perspective it would just be a constant state of oh my god she's so pretty and i get to fake date her woowwwwww which would have, in fact, gotten old by the end of the book.
This book is so sweet and Pippa Jayne, the narrator, gave a fantastic performance as Stella. Stella is stressed, has friends and a town who loves her, and a best friend who is constantly driving back to town to "visit his mom." And she is so dumb because once again, even from her perspective, it's clear how much Luka adores her and she is still somehow convinced that everything he does with and for her is platonic. It is truly impressive how she manages to avoid facing the fact that he has feelings for her, too.
Also? The town is FANTASTIC. From the phone tree to the fact that all of the issues the farm is facing is due toa man who just really wants an alpaca farm , Inglewild is so Stars Hollow-coded and I love it. There wasn't a single side character that I didn't want to know more about (besides Stella's dad but he's not part of Inglewild so it doesn't count!!)
This book is so sweet and Pippa Jayne, the narrator, gave a fantastic performance as Stella. Stella is stressed, has friends and a town who loves her, and a best friend who is constantly driving back to town to "visit his mom." And she is so dumb because once again, even from her perspective, it's clear how much Luka adores her and she is still somehow convinced that everything he does with and for her is platonic. It is truly impressive how she manages to avoid facing the fact that he has feelings for her, too.
Also? The town is FANTASTIC. From the phone tree to the fact that all of the issues the farm is facing is due to
Seeing Red by Bailey Hannah
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I’ve been saying that I don’t like the surprise pregnancy trope and was going to call this an exceptions, but I’ve run into so many exceptions that I’m realizing that maybe I just??? Like it? At least when it’s done well and this one does! Cass DOES NOT LIKE Red, but they end up hooking up for the purpose of revenge on her cheating ex-boyfriend, and of course she ends up pregnant. They plan to co-parent and he is just! so! there for her! And they start to fall in love instead and it’s all very cute.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
Glitterland by Alexis Hall
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I can’t speak to the bipolar rep but, assuming Hall got that right, it felt very respectful? The depression side DEFINITELY felt on point, lol. Ash was soooo unlikeable (but he knows this so, intentional) and I loved Darian? Darian and his friends were SO funny and I would’ve been happy to see so much more of them in this. UNFORTUNATELYYYY there was a scene with some absolutely outrageous fatphobia that’s left a really bad taste in my mouth. I think it was there to make a point but OOOOOF it didn’t land.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Suicide attempt
Chasing The Wild by Elliott Rose
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
What in the heterosexual nonsense was this book? Full disclosure: I almost DNF’d but came back to it and I AM glad that I finished it. The storyline overall was very fun and I liked all the side characters. But these two main characters were pissing me off the WHOLE TIME I was reading this book. Layla (FMC) has a bad case of Not-Like-Other-Girls and Colton (MMC) has this self-hatred thing going to such an extent that by the end I was like “Yeah you DO suck actually!” And I don’t think that was the goal lmao. THAT SAID, I will be reading book 2 so I can’t be too mad
Alive and Wells by Bailey Hannah
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Okay so I had not read any cowboy romances until now! I didn’t think I’d enjoy them but here I am, absolutely obsessed with this book and series??? I read this in like, a day and Hannah did such a good job of writing a TRULY DESPICABLE man in her abusive husband and then writing one of my favorite romance heroes in Austin? Cecily is so strong and the full cast of characters in this book just coming together to be her new family is ugh, SO GOOD.
Something's Different by Quinn Ivins
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Look, the whole deal is Caitlyn pretends to be her twin sister Chloe so Chloe could go meet her internet boyfriend without losing her job, and it’s like...why didn’t the guy just come to her? BUT WHATEVER IT’S FINE. Caitlyn absolutely failing to successfully pretend to be her sister and Ruth just being like “huh, she’s being weird” was really funny. I was rooting for Ruth and it was fun to see the two of them team up to win over everyone else. Some of the dialogue felt a little forced (esp when they’re discussing mental illness stuff), but overall it was still a cute read!