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ratetheromance's Reviews (659)
Typing this review sucks. I absolutely LOVE the other books in this series, but this one just missed the mark for me in a lot of ways.
I found the lead male and female both incredibly frustrating. I love it when characters have flaws but the his and her flaws in this book were decided on and then played out over and over and over again. It plays like this:
"Just let me explain!"
"No, I don't want to hear it!"
*later realizes she should have let him explain*
"I'm so sorry. I should have let you explain instead of shutting you out."
TWO CHAPTERS LATER:
"Just let me explain!"
"No, I don't want to hear it!"
*later realizes she should have let him explain*
"I'm so sorry. I should have let you explain instead of shutting you out."
NEXT CHAPTER:
"Just let me explain!"
"No, I don't want to hear it!"
*later realizes she should have let him explain*
"I'm so sorry. I should have let you explain instead of shutting you out."
I just couldn't re-read the same scenario over and over again and have the book feel engaging.
I found the lead male and female both incredibly frustrating. I love it when characters have flaws but the his and her flaws in this book were decided on and then played out over and over and over again. It plays like this:
"Just let me explain!"
"No, I don't want to hear it!"
*later realizes she should have let him explain*
"I'm so sorry. I should have let you explain instead of shutting you out."
TWO CHAPTERS LATER:
"Just let me explain!"
"No, I don't want to hear it!"
*later realizes she should have let him explain*
"I'm so sorry. I should have let you explain instead of shutting you out."
NEXT CHAPTER:
"Just let me explain!"
"No, I don't want to hear it!"
*later realizes she should have let him explain*
"I'm so sorry. I should have let you explain instead of shutting you out."
I just couldn't re-read the same scenario over and over again and have the book feel engaging.
This is a novella that takes place after the first book in this series, Starfish. First off, I'm not really a novella girl. They feel too short for me to sink my teeth into, but I liked Starfish enough that I wanted to give this a read.
It's really good...I just wish it were a full length book! I know, I know, I brought this on myself. As I was reading I was almost distracted by my own thoughts of how scenes could have been added or lengthened to make this book even better. There is a situation that put the leads into a "forced togetherness" trope and I was getting excited for tension, snappy dialog, and sparks to fly while they were forced to work together. But then it never happened. Because this is a novella. I should really just stop reading novellas at this point. The writing and characters are so good that I wanted more! Curse you, Lisa Becker! GIVE ME MORE!
If you like novellas this is a great one! It's a quick read with great characters and some awesomely steamy scenes.
It's really good...I just wish it were a full length book! I know, I know, I brought this on myself. As I was reading I was almost distracted by my own thoughts of how scenes could have been added or lengthened to make this book even better. There is a situation that put the leads into a "forced togetherness" trope and I was getting excited for tension, snappy dialog, and sparks to fly while they were forced to work together. But then it never happened. Because this is a novella. I should really just stop reading novellas at this point. The writing and characters are so good that I wanted more! Curse you, Lisa Becker! GIVE ME MORE!
If you like novellas this is a great one! It's a quick read with great characters and some awesomely steamy scenes.
Wooooo-Weeeee! The final book in the Brides on the Run series is the steamiest of all and I AM HERE FOR IT.
(Is it wrong that I always want some sort of acknowledgement of stretch marks when the female is a mom? The sexy-time scenes need some sort of stretch marks discussion. I know this is ridiculous and would kill the mood, but I'm needy like that.)
Back to my review. Oh heavens...this book. This leading man. This single mom. This adorable kid. I just loved it all. Beau is a upcoming Country Music star and has landed in this small town in Texas until his coming move to Nashville. Beau is such a charmer and relentlessly flirts with women, but he is also so sweet and cutely corny. I just adored him.
Beau had first-meeting sparks and then a friendship with single mom, and local bar owner, Hailey. Hailey is smart, stubborn, and feisty. She is so lovable! But I also loved that she starts this book with some emotional hurdles. She is desperate to win over the small town she was raised in and who remembers well her teenage pregnancy. She makes herself a doormat and I just loved the very real tenor of this part of her story. She's strong in some ways and weak in others and we get to watch her grow and change during the course of this story, with the help of some very tough love from her close friends.
This book is wonderful! You will swoon and sweat and fall in love.
(Is it wrong that I always want some sort of acknowledgement of stretch marks when the female is a mom? The sexy-time scenes need some sort of stretch marks discussion. I know this is ridiculous and would kill the mood, but I'm needy like that.)
Back to my review. Oh heavens...this book. This leading man. This single mom. This adorable kid. I just loved it all. Beau is a upcoming Country Music star and has landed in this small town in Texas until his coming move to Nashville. Beau is such a charmer and relentlessly flirts with women, but he is also so sweet and cutely corny. I just adored him.
Beau had first-meeting sparks and then a friendship with single mom, and local bar owner, Hailey. Hailey is smart, stubborn, and feisty. She is so lovable! But I also loved that she starts this book with some emotional hurdles. She is desperate to win over the small town she was raised in and who remembers well her teenage pregnancy. She makes herself a doormat and I just loved the very real tenor of this part of her story. She's strong in some ways and weak in others and we get to watch her grow and change during the course of this story, with the help of some very tough love from her close friends.
This book is wonderful! You will swoon and sweat and fall in love.
I recently re-read all four of these books in order and I fell in love all over again. The writing is just stellar, going well beyond your average Contemporary Romance and breaking through tired tropes to reinvent them in the best kind of way.
Books 1, 2, and 4 all get 5 STARS from me (you can check my READ shelves for individual reviews of each book). The 3rd book didn't quite do it for me, but that's just me. You might love it!
Books 1, 2, and 4 all get 5 STARS from me (you can check my READ shelves for individual reviews of each book). The 3rd book didn't quite do it for me, but that's just me. You might love it!
Where can I get a dreamy, tattooed, bad boy, Irishman? This book will make you want one of your very own!
I read the first book in this series, and even though this is a stand alone, I really recommend starting at the beginning because these characters are just perfection! Sarah is the female lead of this story and her best friends, Kiki and TJ, are just the greatest. You get the full scope of their friendship and lots of laughs if you read this series in order. There is also a lot of mention of Kiki's older sister and you won't really get the humor if you don't read the first book. Ugh, just read the series in order already....don't MAKE me turn this car around!
Back to Lex and Sarah. Lex is a great leading man with lots of broody goodness. It's kind of hard to read how man-whorey he is in the beginning of the book, but I can get past it because he is well-written, sensitive, and sweet underneath his blatant badass exterior.
Sarah was less likable for me. This story often mentions how emotionally strong she is, having had a crappy upbringing, but her actions in the story suggest otherwise. Her character is very inconsistent. She tells of creeps who hit on her, but then can't get up the guts to ask a man out that she's had a crush on for two years. She is a strong business woman, but dissolves into tears when her love interest is speaking to another female backstage at a concert...literally just speaking. She is decisive about what she wants out of life and her career, then stays with an awful boyfriend who is mildly controlling and kind of a dick for months. This writing doesn't feel like complexity as much as inconsistency. This character inconsistency made me take a star off of my review.
Also, and yes I'm a cranky grammar bitch, there are multiple uses of the word OWE when someone is exclaiming in mild pain. It should be spelled OW. Is it stupid that it really bugged me? Yes. Did it really bug me? Also yes.
A huge bright spot in the book was a side character and his romance with another man. It's a lovely thing to see a family embrace one of their own as he "comes out" and also a same sex relationship that is sweet and satisfying. I love, love, loved it!
I received an advanced digital copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
I read the first book in this series, and even though this is a stand alone, I really recommend starting at the beginning because these characters are just perfection! Sarah is the female lead of this story and her best friends, Kiki and TJ, are just the greatest. You get the full scope of their friendship and lots of laughs if you read this series in order. There is also a lot of mention of Kiki's older sister and you won't really get the humor if you don't read the first book. Ugh, just read the series in order already....don't MAKE me turn this car around!
Back to Lex and Sarah. Lex is a great leading man with lots of broody goodness. It's kind of hard to read how man-whorey he is in the beginning of the book, but I can get past it because he is well-written, sensitive, and sweet underneath his blatant badass exterior.
Sarah was less likable for me. This story often mentions how emotionally strong she is, having had a crappy upbringing, but her actions in the story suggest otherwise. Her character is very inconsistent. She tells of creeps who hit on her, but then can't get up the guts to ask a man out that she's had a crush on for two years. She is a strong business woman, but dissolves into tears when her love interest is speaking to another female backstage at a concert...literally just speaking. She is decisive about what she wants out of life and her career, then stays with an awful boyfriend who is mildly controlling and kind of a dick for months. This writing doesn't feel like complexity as much as inconsistency. This character inconsistency made me take a star off of my review.
Also, and yes I'm a cranky grammar bitch, there are multiple uses of the word OWE when someone is exclaiming in mild pain. It should be spelled OW. Is it stupid that it really bugged me? Yes. Did it really bug me? Also yes.
A huge bright spot in the book was a side character and his romance with another man. It's a lovely thing to see a family embrace one of their own as he "comes out" and also a same sex relationship that is sweet and satisfying. I love, love, loved it!
I received an advanced digital copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
If there's one thing Amy Daws can do, it's get my panties to combust with steamy scenes and insane sexual tension. This is the third book is the Harris Brothers series and I had an issue with some of the earlier books because I felt the other brothers tended to be too raunchy and a bit disrespectful towards women. But sweet Booker just melted my heart. He is extremely sensitive and fiercely protective of his family, friends, and his own heart.
Poppy was a similarly amazing character. She is smart, comfortable in her own skin, fun, and irreverent. I adored her on ever level. The story of these lifelong friends and their friendship, heartaches, separation, sex, and love is just steamy, sweet, perfection.
And, oh my word. The eventual "declaration if feelings" scene is in my top 3 of all time. It is just so epically swoony your heart will explode.
This is my favorite book of this series so far.
Poppy was a similarly amazing character. She is smart, comfortable in her own skin, fun, and irreverent. I adored her on ever level. The story of these lifelong friends and their friendship, heartaches, separation, sex, and love is just steamy, sweet, perfection.
And, oh my word. The eventual "declaration if feelings" scene is in my top 3 of all time. It is just so epically swoony your heart will explode.
This is my favorite book of this series so far.
This book had an absolutely FANTASTIC first chapter! And then...it fizzled. Bring out my sad face.
Yes, the story still kept me engaged enough to continue reading, but it was easily 75 pages too long. There comes a point when you think to yourself, "Is this author trying to hit a certain word count?" and it's a damn shame because the story has good bones and the characters are great. Why we need so many chapters (at about 3/4 through the book) filled with information that in no way moves the story along is beyond me.
The entire story summary is carrying unnecessary blame/guilt for things beyond your control. By the end of the book you feel as if you have been flogged to death with this theme.
This book isn't terrible. Some might very much like it. The chemistry between characters is sizzling and there is a lot to like, just prepare yourself for 10,000 instances of, "I feel like this is all my fault." met with, "It's not all your fault, it's all MY fault!" And "What happened in the past was not your fault." "But I feel like it WAS all my fault." "But it's not your fault." "Still it feels like I'm to blame."
Yes, the story still kept me engaged enough to continue reading, but it was easily 75 pages too long. There comes a point when you think to yourself, "Is this author trying to hit a certain word count?" and it's a damn shame because the story has good bones and the characters are great. Why we need so many chapters (at about 3/4 through the book) filled with information that in no way moves the story along is beyond me.
The entire story summary is carrying unnecessary blame/guilt for things beyond your control. By the end of the book you feel as if you have been flogged to death with this theme.
This book isn't terrible. Some might very much like it. The chemistry between characters is sizzling and there is a lot to like, just prepare yourself for 10,000 instances of, "I feel like this is all my fault." met with, "It's not all your fault, it's all MY fault!" And "What happened in the past was not your fault." "But I feel like it WAS all my fault." "But it's not your fault." "Still it feels like I'm to blame."
There is nothing new or special about this book. It's the same story, with the same tropes, and the same lines, and the same scenes, and the same characters, we've all read before. I just longed for it to be so much more.
It was also pretty unrealistic. A female, with a full-time job waitressing, rescues a horse on a whim. She then rescues a handful of other animals in danger through stumbling onto them and later by word of mouth. She has zero experience with caring for these animals. She has no money. And she just keeps taking in these animals without any knowledge of how to properly care for them. It drove me crazy. Having a good heart is nice. Caring for a host of barn animals you have no clue how to care for is a bad idea. Agreeing to rescue animals when you have no way to purchase food for them is not really rescuing them at all.
There's also a very religiously manipulative scene in which some strangers drive all night in a church van and show up AT HER HOUSE and essentially say, "We've been praying for days on where to drop of this full-size hog we bought as a PET and can't care for anymore. We saw you on Facebook and God pointed us to you." To which the Lead basically replies, "I have no clue how to properly care for a hog and I have $6 in the bank, but sure, I love animals!"
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review of this book, which I am pretty sure they are regretting right now.
It was also pretty unrealistic. A female, with a full-time job waitressing, rescues a horse on a whim. She then rescues a handful of other animals in danger through stumbling onto them and later by word of mouth. She has zero experience with caring for these animals. She has no money. And she just keeps taking in these animals without any knowledge of how to properly care for them. It drove me crazy. Having a good heart is nice. Caring for a host of barn animals you have no clue how to care for is a bad idea. Agreeing to rescue animals when you have no way to purchase food for them is not really rescuing them at all.
There's also a very religiously manipulative scene in which some strangers drive all night in a church van and show up AT HER HOUSE and essentially say, "We've been praying for days on where to drop of this full-size hog we bought as a PET and can't care for anymore. We saw you on Facebook and God pointed us to you." To which the Lead basically replies, "I have no clue how to properly care for a hog and I have $6 in the bank, but sure, I love animals!"
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review of this book, which I am pretty sure they are regretting right now.
Let me start by saying that I really love this series by Whitney Dineen. These books are great PG/PG-13 stories that I often recommend to other romance readers. This book just wasn't my favorite of the bunch. It's a modern retelling of "Pretty In Pink" and that aspect of it is so fun! I loved the 80's references and music.
I absolutely loved the female lead. Ashley is a great heroine. She is hard-working, a romantic, a caregiver, loving, sweet, feisty, and fun! I adored the scenes in which she cared for elderly patients in a care facility and the moments between her and one particular elderly patient with Alzheimer's had me near tears.
The male best friend/maybe romantic hero in this story is also so absolutely lovable! The scenes with these two together are hilarious. It makes you long for your own fabulous guy friend to help you make it through the horrors of High School.
The other potential romantic hero was harder for me to like. He is a bit wishy-washy for my taste, although he has a sweetness that I really liked. I just wanted him to be a bit more Alpha and less vague about his feelings and in his actions.
There are some great stories of redemption and righting past mistakes in this book. One that I really liked and one that I felt excused a wrong much too lightly. There are certain acts committed that I feel need much more reparation than an "I'm sorry, here's how MY fear made me do that horrible thing I did to you". Maybe I just have a super-awful, unforgiving, black heart (READ: I can't even participate in the Grudge Olympics anymore because I have gone Pro).
If you like a Love Triangle Romance you might like this one!
Trigger Warning: Attempted Sexual Assault
Note: I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
I absolutely loved the female lead. Ashley is a great heroine. She is hard-working, a romantic, a caregiver, loving, sweet, feisty, and fun! I adored the scenes in which she cared for elderly patients in a care facility and the moments between her and one particular elderly patient with Alzheimer's had me near tears.
The male best friend/maybe romantic hero in this story is also so absolutely lovable! The scenes with these two together are hilarious. It makes you long for your own fabulous guy friend to help you make it through the horrors of High School.
The other potential romantic hero was harder for me to like. He is a bit wishy-washy for my taste, although he has a sweetness that I really liked. I just wanted him to be a bit more Alpha and less vague about his feelings and in his actions.
There are some great stories of redemption and righting past mistakes in this book. One that I really liked and one that I felt excused a wrong much too lightly. There are certain acts committed that I feel need much more reparation than an "I'm sorry, here's how MY fear made me do that horrible thing I did to you". Maybe I just have a super-awful, unforgiving, black heart (READ: I can't even participate in the Grudge Olympics anymore because I have gone Pro).
If you like a Love Triangle Romance you might like this one!
Trigger Warning: Attempted Sexual Assault
Note: I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.