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ratetheromance's Reviews (659)
Classic "first-book-in-series" blues.
I totally understand that when you are writing the first book in a series you have to set up an entire world and establish relationships between characters that will feature in your future books. But the amount of extra writing in this book to facilitate creating that world is pretty excessive to the point where it detracts from the love story featured here.
There are entire chapters sprinkled throughout this book that are dedicated entirely to other relationships and characters that do nothing to propel THIS story forward. I feel like the author could have had a much lighter touch with that information and let it unfold slowly in the next books.
Having said that, the lead characters in this romance, Leo and Zara, are GREAT. Zara is hard-working, smart, funny, and perfectly neurotic! I adore her and her feisty attitude. She is a woman who gets shit done. Leo is the perfect easy-going and fun half of the equation. His no-worries attitude never seems flippant. And talk about HOT! The steamy scenes between these two are amazing!
I really loved that both of these characters modeled setting healthy boundaries within relationships in their lives that were toxic (so vague...trying to avoid spoilers). A lot of books like to showcase healing and forgiveness in stories of estranged families, which is great, but no always possible in real life. I always appreciate when authors understand that some relationships must be exited when they can't be healed.
I really liked this book and I will definitely read the coming books in this series!
I totally understand that when you are writing the first book in a series you have to set up an entire world and establish relationships between characters that will feature in your future books. But the amount of extra writing in this book to facilitate creating that world is pretty excessive to the point where it detracts from the love story featured here.
There are entire chapters sprinkled throughout this book that are dedicated entirely to other relationships and characters that do nothing to propel THIS story forward. I feel like the author could have had a much lighter touch with that information and let it unfold slowly in the next books.
Having said that, the lead characters in this romance, Leo and Zara, are GREAT. Zara is hard-working, smart, funny, and perfectly neurotic! I adore her and her feisty attitude. She is a woman who gets shit done. Leo is the perfect easy-going and fun half of the equation. His no-worries attitude never seems flippant. And talk about HOT! The steamy scenes between these two are amazing!
I really loved that both of these characters modeled setting healthy boundaries within relationships in their lives that were toxic (so vague...trying to avoid spoilers). A lot of books like to showcase healing and forgiveness in stories of estranged families, which is great, but no always possible in real life. I always appreciate when authors understand that some relationships must be exited when they can't be healed.
I really liked this book and I will definitely read the coming books in this series!
THE GOODBYE GUY is a non-fat vanilla latte in book form.
This book is a light read that has some deep themes, but never manages to be deep enough. It skims along the surface of topics like loss, fear, family expectations, socio-economic divisions, infertility, and belonging but you never get a deep down and honest look at any of those topics.
This story is an insta-love (which is admittedly not my favorite in general) and it even adds a kid insta-love with our leading man's 10 year old daughter. Said daughter is a delightful cardboard cut-out version of a pre-teen girl who never gets angry, never talks back, never rolls her eyes, and never disobeys. Do really nice and obedient kids exist in the real world? Yes. Does this character feel real or genuine? Hell no.
We get some steamy scenes that are well written and a decent amount of chemistry between the leads. The leads are likable and you are definitely rooting for their HEA. Overall this story is light, pleasant, and predictable. If you're looking for an easy and enjoyable read this is a good one.
I received an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.
This book is a light read that has some deep themes, but never manages to be deep enough. It skims along the surface of topics like loss, fear, family expectations, socio-economic divisions, infertility, and belonging but you never get a deep down and honest look at any of those topics.
This story is an insta-love (which is admittedly not my favorite in general) and it even adds a kid insta-love with our leading man's 10 year old daughter. Said daughter is a delightful cardboard cut-out version of a pre-teen girl who never gets angry, never talks back, never rolls her eyes, and never disobeys. Do really nice and obedient kids exist in the real world? Yes. Does this character feel real or genuine? Hell no.
We get some steamy scenes that are well written and a decent amount of chemistry between the leads. The leads are likable and you are definitely rooting for their HEA. Overall this story is light, pleasant, and predictable. If you're looking for an easy and enjoyable read this is a good one.
I received an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.
You can't win them all
I love this series, but you can't win them all. This book was my least favorite so far.
This story includes some tropes I struggle with: age gap, imbalance of power, and sex with the nanny. But, besides those issues I just never connected with these main characters.
Phoenix felt really impulsive and mildly manipulative. She talks about her dad saying she was destined for stardom with her singing talent, but I never hot the feeling that singing set her soul on fire or that is was her all-consuming passion.
Griffin came off as a bit creepy and also a bit sleazy. He gives his word to her brother that he won't pursue her and breaks that promise because he's hot for her. He seems to push her a bit too much when she repeatedly tells him they shouldn't become romantically involved since she is his son's nanny.
I will definitely continue reading The Bailys series, but this book just didn't work for me.
I love this series, but you can't win them all. This book was my least favorite so far.
This story includes some tropes I struggle with: age gap, imbalance of power, and sex with the nanny. But, besides those issues I just never connected with these main characters.
Phoenix felt really impulsive and mildly manipulative. She talks about her dad saying she was destined for stardom with her singing talent, but I never hot the feeling that singing set her soul on fire or that is was her all-consuming passion.
Griffin came off as a bit creepy and also a bit sleazy. He gives his word to her brother that he won't pursue her and breaks that promise because he's hot for her. He seems to push her a bit too much when she repeatedly tells him they shouldn't become romantically involved since she is his son's nanny.
I will definitely continue reading The Bailys series, but this book just didn't work for me.
This book started out fairly strong. A good story and good characters. The first half of the book has a good pace and sets up the story nicely. About halfway through the book stalls and then declines rapidly.
The main characters (Sierra, Tristan, and Alfi) all took the same Communications class in college and now, 10 years later, all meet up by chance in the same local bar....ummmm...not likely, but okay. I can move on and accept that. The real problem here isn't the implausibility of this set up, it's that all three of these characters are so hung up on a situation that happened 10 years ago. They are now in their 30's and two of them are business owners. And they are still completely bent out of shape over a one-time mishap in college?
From the build up we get for entire story I assumed the "incident" that impacted all of them would be something pretty significant. Spoiler: It's not. It's kind of a minor prank gone wrong that, at worst, could be described as kind of embarrassing. But these characters act as if they might never recover, emotionally.
Oddly, as the story continues and we learn more about these characters they become exponentially LESS likable. And by the end I didn't care what happened to any of them. I almost stopped reading when there was only 15% left because at that point I was completely apathetic. They are all immature, petty, and mean.
I received a free ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
The main characters (Sierra, Tristan, and Alfi) all took the same Communications class in college and now, 10 years later, all meet up by chance in the same local bar....ummmm...not likely, but okay. I can move on and accept that. The real problem here isn't the implausibility of this set up, it's that all three of these characters are so hung up on a situation that happened 10 years ago. They are now in their 30's and two of them are business owners. And they are still completely bent out of shape over a one-time mishap in college?
From the build up we get for entire story I assumed the "incident" that impacted all of them would be something pretty significant. Spoiler: It's not. It's kind of a minor prank gone wrong that, at worst, could be described as kind of embarrassing. But these characters act as if they might never recover, emotionally.
Oddly, as the story continues and we learn more about these characters they become exponentially LESS likable. And by the end I didn't care what happened to any of them. I almost stopped reading when there was only 15% left because at that point I was completely apathetic. They are all immature, petty, and mean.
I received a free ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
Let's just all agree that I won't read novellas any more. I don't like them. Why do I do this to myself?
Oh, how I love The Baileys! And this book was a great one. Juno and Colten have been friends their entire lives and it's only when Colten gets engaged to another woman that Juno realizes that she is in love with her best friend.
This book has ALL THE FEELS. Love, loss, romance, heat, sweetness, friendship, and the loud and crazy Bailey family. I also loved a scene in this book which describes teens losing their virginity because it was so realistic! Awkward and perfect.
The steamy scenes between Juno and Colten are SO HOT. And the glimpses we get into their lifelong friendship are so cute.
This book has ALL THE FEELS. Love, loss, romance, heat, sweetness, friendship, and the loud and crazy Bailey family. I also loved a scene in this book which describes teens losing their virginity because it was so realistic! Awkward and perfect.
The steamy scenes between Juno and Colten are SO HOT. And the glimpses we get into their lifelong friendship are so cute.
I am a true contemporary romance fan where I read normal life romances between normal people in fairly normal circumstances. You know, "small town florist falls for her brother's best friend" stuff. But, once in a while I want a hot, high stakes, "hostage being rescued by a secret billionaire" stuff and THIS BOOK checks that box...hard.
Taylor is a crazy-smart, brave, and amazing heroine who gets abducted while doing a geology study overseas for her employer, a US-based mining company. She is rescued and then cared for by former military man turned owner of the mining company, Hudson.
This gruff and strong hero is so sweet and equally hot as he cares for Taylor and sparks begin to fly. Their chemistry is written so well that when they finally steam up the pages of this book you are frantic for this love scene. Holy hotness!
While there was really good attention and care paid to the effects of trauma and the healing process, both physically and emotionally, our heroine seems to be emotionally healed in an unrealistically quick time frame. Although, it's clear that the author would need that healing time to be abbreviated in order to move this story along.
I liked this book so much that I'll definitely go back to the beginning of this series next time I'm in the mood for some intrigue and an action-packed romance.
Taylor is a crazy-smart, brave, and amazing heroine who gets abducted while doing a geology study overseas for her employer, a US-based mining company. She is rescued and then cared for by former military man turned owner of the mining company, Hudson.
This gruff and strong hero is so sweet and equally hot as he cares for Taylor and sparks begin to fly. Their chemistry is written so well that when they finally steam up the pages of this book you are frantic for this love scene. Holy hotness!
While there was really good attention and care paid to the effects of trauma and the healing process, both physically and emotionally, our heroine seems to be emotionally healed in an unrealistically quick time frame. Although, it's clear that the author would need that healing time to be abbreviated in order to move this story along.
I liked this book so much that I'll definitely go back to the beginning of this series next time I'm in the mood for some intrigue and an action-packed romance.
THE SUMMER OF WISHFUL THINKING is a sweet story about family, loss, and love. I love it when a romance has flawed, but loveable lead characters and Sam & Gemma really fit the bill. I really loved how they learned from each other as the story progressed.
This book started out a little slow for me, but picked up afterwards and kept a good story pace after that. After the slow start the ending felt rushed, but was very satisfying.
I found the writing choppy in places, jumping too quickly between characters and scenes, but that was a minor issue. Overall this was a great book with complex, but sweet relationships between friends, family members, and extended family. And the ending was wonderfully satisfying.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This book started out a little slow for me, but picked up afterwards and kept a good story pace after that. After the slow start the ending felt rushed, but was very satisfying.
I found the writing choppy in places, jumping too quickly between characters and scenes, but that was a minor issue. Overall this was a great book with complex, but sweet relationships between friends, family members, and extended family. And the ending was wonderfully satisfying.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.