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ratetheromance's Reviews (659)
It's IMPOSSIBLE to read this book and not fall in love with Henri (short for Henrietta). She is quirky and sweet and hilarious and smart and GAH!!....I ADORE HER! Her propensity to fall in love easily never feels like a gimmick in this story. The reader knows exactly why she falls in love so easily and it's because she loves EVERYTHING easily! I love that this was her STRENGTH and not her weakness. She shines in this book.
Luca is so damn sexy. His level-headed thinking is the perfect balance to Henri's kookiness and it makes this book HILARIOUS! You will snort-laugh for sure.
Pippa Grant does such a good job of the subtle shift from two strangers who are so opposite to friends to lovers. This is not easy to write and Pippa does it perfectly here! And, don't forget the hot kitchen counter sex! Whew! These two are steamy and sexy when they finally get it on.
I took off a star from the rating because sometimes the funny scenes are so manic that it was hard for me to follow what was happening and a few seemed to really slow the story.
I loved this book with it's quirky characters, laugh-out-loud dialog, and super-sweet moments. You will love these characters and their love story.
RATING:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
STEAM LEVEL: Rated R
Luca is so damn sexy. His level-headed thinking is the perfect balance to Henri's kookiness and it makes this book HILARIOUS! You will snort-laugh for sure.
Pippa Grant does such a good job of the subtle shift from two strangers who are so opposite to friends to lovers. This is not easy to write and Pippa does it perfectly here! And, don't forget the hot kitchen counter sex! Whew! These two are steamy and sexy when they finally get it on.
I took off a star from the rating because sometimes the funny scenes are so manic that it was hard for me to follow what was happening and a few seemed to really slow the story.
I loved this book with it's quirky characters, laugh-out-loud dialog, and super-sweet moments. You will love these characters and their love story.
RATING:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
STEAM LEVEL: Rated R
4 1/2 STARS!
Lucy Score is the Madonna of romance authors. In the 80's she gives us a bunch of pop. Then she goes all Sex Book & Justify My Love. One minute it's Spanish inspired songs and the next album is filled with cowboy-hat-wearing-techno.
There are certain romance authors where you always know what to expect. They stay in a certain lane of story-lines, steam levels, and character style. That can be fantastic because you know what you like and you know that author is gunna give it to you.
Lucy Score is NOT that predictable sort of author and I both love her and hate her for it. In this case, it's LOVE. My favorite of Lucy Score's books was the Blue Moon Series, which was the perfect blend of sexy heat, small town crazy characters that make you laugh out loud, and sweet love stories. Then came the more mainstream Rock Bottom Girl. After that there was the super-steamy (too steamy for my taste) Price of Scandal and By A Thread. And now we come full circle.
RILEY THORN is a return to what I personally liked most from Lucy Score. A small, tight-knit group of completely crazy and endearingly unusual characters. Laugh out loud moments. A swoony leading man and a strong, kooky, balls-to-the-wall heroine. But Lucy Score adds to the perfect blend with RILEY THORN. Riley has a completely hippy-dippy woo-woo family who share varying levels of psychic abilities. Riley herself is psychic and fighting it. She is embroiled in a murder that she sees in vision before it happens and the PI who takes the case is super hot. THIS is a completely fresh take on contemporary romance that I have never read before and THAT is its strength.
The only thing I can say I didn't love about this book was the story really lagged right before hitting the middle point. I felt the author spent waaaay too much time on the kooky neighbors and it slowed the entire story down. It seems that she is setting up to write a series around this group and that's why she spent so much time on them, but it made this specific book grind to an almost halt. There could have been 50 pages less and it would have been perfect for me.
Lucy Score is the Madonna of romance authors. In the 80's she gives us a bunch of pop. Then she goes all Sex Book & Justify My Love. One minute it's Spanish inspired songs and the next album is filled with cowboy-hat-wearing-techno.
There are certain romance authors where you always know what to expect. They stay in a certain lane of story-lines, steam levels, and character style. That can be fantastic because you know what you like and you know that author is gunna give it to you.
Lucy Score is NOT that predictable sort of author and I both love her and hate her for it. In this case, it's LOVE. My favorite of Lucy Score's books was the Blue Moon Series, which was the perfect blend of sexy heat, small town crazy characters that make you laugh out loud, and sweet love stories. Then came the more mainstream Rock Bottom Girl. After that there was the super-steamy (too steamy for my taste) Price of Scandal and By A Thread. And now we come full circle.
RILEY THORN is a return to what I personally liked most from Lucy Score. A small, tight-knit group of completely crazy and endearingly unusual characters. Laugh out loud moments. A swoony leading man and a strong, kooky, balls-to-the-wall heroine. But Lucy Score adds to the perfect blend with RILEY THORN. Riley has a completely hippy-dippy woo-woo family who share varying levels of psychic abilities. Riley herself is psychic and fighting it. She is embroiled in a murder that she sees in vision before it happens and the PI who takes the case is super hot. THIS is a completely fresh take on contemporary romance that I have never read before and THAT is its strength.
The only thing I can say I didn't love about this book was the story really lagged right before hitting the middle point. I felt the author spent waaaay too much time on the kooky neighbors and it slowed the entire story down. It seems that she is setting up to write a series around this group and that's why she spent so much time on them, but it made this specific book grind to an almost halt. There could have been 50 pages less and it would have been perfect for me.
I need to start with something completely and amazingly BADASS about this book. Because all reviews are "here's the blurb", "here's what I liked", "here's my rating" and I need to acknowledge some awesomeness before you start skimming...
Grace is 44 years old and was married to her late husband for 20 years before his recent death (this isn't a spoiler—you know it from the first chapter) and not once does the author ever feel the need to over-explain why Grace doesn't have kids. It's never even mentioned and THAT is a beautiful thing. It's not a factor. No need to let the reader know why. It just is. I think we need MORE of that in books (and life)!
Okay, now back to the usual review mumbo jumbo.
Grace and Andrew are FIRE. I love their snarky enemy banter, love their instant sexual chemistry, and love how their characters both grow and change as the story unfolds. These characters are complex snd flawed and so damn lovable.
The steamy scenes are HOT. You'll never look at homemade pizza making the same way again.
Grace is 44 years old and was married to her late husband for 20 years before his recent death (this isn't a spoiler—you know it from the first chapter) and not once does the author ever feel the need to over-explain why Grace doesn't have kids. It's never even mentioned and THAT is a beautiful thing. It's not a factor. No need to let the reader know why. It just is. I think we need MORE of that in books (and life)!
Okay, now back to the usual review mumbo jumbo.
Grace and Andrew are FIRE. I love their snarky enemy banter, love their instant sexual chemistry, and love how their characters both grow and change as the story unfolds. These characters are complex snd flawed and so damn lovable.
The steamy scenes are HOT. You'll never look at homemade pizza making the same way again.
I loved Susannah Nix's "Chemistry Lessons" series so I was super excited to see her adding to the Pennyverse! Funny enough, that series felt a bit too young for my personal reading preference and MAD ABOUT EWE feels just a bit too "old". I know, I am a horrid ageist when it comes to romance reading! #selfloathing
There were a lot of really great parts of this book! I loved that our female lead is divorced and the male lead is TWICE divorced (a rarity in romance reading for sure). There is such a stigma about being divorced more than once and Nix tackles it with compassion and realism.
There are wonderfully swoony moments, crazy-hot steamy scenes, and peeks at characters from Penny Reid's "Knitting In The City" series that were well placed and really fun to read! And all of the knitting info and teaching was fun for me, as a knitter, to read as part of the story!
There were a few things I wasn't so keen on in this book. The leads in this book are both 47/48 years old and the dialog and storylines around their ages felt very over-emphasized. There were non-stop refences to Silver Fox, salt-and-pepper beard, salt-and pepper-body hair, women "her age" have to pee much more frequently, etc. It sometimes felt like the ONLY part of this love story was their age. As a 43 year old reader I certainly hope that I am not skirting the edge of geriatrics in 5 years as this book suggests.
I also had more than a few eye-roll moments at the characters' preoccupation with High School (where they first met). I mean...people in their 40s who are still not over the ridiculous social structure of High School are puzzling to me. If you still care and are hurt about not being at the "cool kids table" 30 years later then you need to sort it out soon. I would hope that people this age would have easily recognized that those "cool kids" were exactly the same as you. NO ONE feels accepted, "normal", or socially safe in High School. NO. ONE. And by your 40s, when you have lived life and experienced true bring-you-to-your-knees tragedies (which I am convinced everyone has experienced by their 40s) you give zero effs about what happened in High School or who was classified a jock or a nerd.
So, these characters seemed equal parts overly old and also extremely immature to me throughout this book. It was still a good read, but not a GREAT read for me.
RATING:⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
STEAM LEVEL: Rated R
TRIGGERS: Cheating ex, cancer, divorce, hysterectomy, plastic surgery shaming (by MCs)
FEELS-O-METER: 3/5 *Tackled some tough topics*
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
There were a lot of really great parts of this book! I loved that our female lead is divorced and the male lead is TWICE divorced (a rarity in romance reading for sure). There is such a stigma about being divorced more than once and Nix tackles it with compassion and realism.
There are wonderfully swoony moments, crazy-hot steamy scenes, and peeks at characters from Penny Reid's "Knitting In The City" series that were well placed and really fun to read! And all of the knitting info and teaching was fun for me, as a knitter, to read as part of the story!
There were a few things I wasn't so keen on in this book. The leads in this book are both 47/48 years old and the dialog and storylines around their ages felt very over-emphasized. There were non-stop refences to Silver Fox, salt-and-pepper beard, salt-and pepper-body hair, women "her age" have to pee much more frequently, etc. It sometimes felt like the ONLY part of this love story was their age. As a 43 year old reader I certainly hope that I am not skirting the edge of geriatrics in 5 years as this book suggests.
I also had more than a few eye-roll moments at the characters' preoccupation with High School (where they first met). I mean...people in their 40s who are still not over the ridiculous social structure of High School are puzzling to me. If you still care and are hurt about not being at the "cool kids table" 30 years later then you need to sort it out soon. I would hope that people this age would have easily recognized that those "cool kids" were exactly the same as you. NO ONE feels accepted, "normal", or socially safe in High School. NO. ONE. And by your 40s, when you have lived life and experienced true bring-you-to-your-knees tragedies (which I am convinced everyone has experienced by their 40s) you give zero effs about what happened in High School or who was classified a jock or a nerd.
So, these characters seemed equal parts overly old and also extremely immature to me throughout this book. It was still a good read, but not a GREAT read for me.
RATING:⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
STEAM LEVEL: Rated R
TRIGGERS: Cheating ex, cancer, divorce, hysterectomy, plastic surgery shaming (by MCs)
FEELS-O-METER: 3/5 *Tackled some tough topics*
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I know this book has received very mixed reviews. I went into it with no expectations either way and I ended up really liking it. Here are some things you should know.
This book is set in the world of American politics, the main characters being a Democrat and a Republican. It's pretty obvious that the intended take-away from the book was that you can have very strong political opinions without making a sweeping judgement about the character of a person on the opposite side as you. The book attempts to do this by highlighting certain hot-button political topics and showing you both sides of that issue. It doesn't quite hit that mark. The reader gets to see the more human side of 1-2 of these topics, but always from the male lead's standpoint. THAT is why many reviewers are saying this book favors Republican politics. We don't really get the same from the (Democratic) female lead's perspective. Having said that, I am a very firm Democrat, but I'm someone who doesn't get very riled up by opposing political views. Therefore, this aspect of the book didn't really bother me. I don't feel like the author "had an agenda". I think she tackled an insanely touchy topic and didn't quite even out all of the perspectives.
The other thing worth mentioning about this book is it shares many of the same story points as The Hating Game. I loved The Hating Game and really liked this book, so it worked out for me. But there are many very similar parts...
- hate-banter at work
- a main character's signature color (based on their eye color)
- the other character seeking out and purposefully wearing that color
- a scene after the first cracks are starting to show in the HATE portion where the male lead takes care of the female lead during illness (this time she's very drunk) including her revealing feelings while delirious, him catching her vomit in a container and cleaning it, him spending the night, etc.
- his repeated use of her parent's nickname for her (Katie Cat instead of Shortcake)
- their much discussed height discrepancy
- her over-compensating for her stature by using high heels (rather than flamethrower red lipstick)
- her repeatedly smelling him
- him holding off on sex until she is over her relationship issues
- a revelation that one of them had strong feelings for the other long before they actually interacted (this part bordered on slightly creepy in this book)
Just like the politics of this book, these similarities didn't ruin this book for me. I really liked it, but I can also see why it might rub other readers the wrong way.
I found it hilarious, sweet, really hot, and totally engaging.
This book is set in the world of American politics, the main characters being a Democrat and a Republican. It's pretty obvious that the intended take-away from the book was that you can have very strong political opinions without making a sweeping judgement about the character of a person on the opposite side as you. The book attempts to do this by highlighting certain hot-button political topics and showing you both sides of that issue. It doesn't quite hit that mark. The reader gets to see the more human side of 1-2 of these topics, but always from the male lead's standpoint. THAT is why many reviewers are saying this book favors Republican politics. We don't really get the same from the (Democratic) female lead's perspective. Having said that, I am a very firm Democrat, but I'm someone who doesn't get very riled up by opposing political views. Therefore, this aspect of the book didn't really bother me. I don't feel like the author "had an agenda". I think she tackled an insanely touchy topic and didn't quite even out all of the perspectives.
The other thing worth mentioning about this book is it shares many of the same story points as The Hating Game. I loved The Hating Game and really liked this book, so it worked out for me. But there are many very similar parts...
- hate-banter at work
- a main character's signature color (based on their eye color)
- the other character seeking out and purposefully wearing that color
- a scene after the first cracks are starting to show in the HATE portion where the male lead takes care of the female lead during illness (this time she's very drunk) including her revealing feelings while delirious, him catching her vomit in a container and cleaning it, him spending the night, etc.
- his repeated use of her parent's nickname for her (Katie Cat instead of Shortcake)
- their much discussed height discrepancy
- her over-compensating for her stature by using high heels (rather than flamethrower red lipstick)
- her repeatedly smelling him
- him holding off on sex until she is over her relationship issues
- a revelation that one of them had strong feelings for the other long before they actually interacted (this part bordered on slightly creepy in this book)
Just like the politics of this book, these similarities didn't ruin this book for me. I really liked it, but I can also see why it might rub other readers the wrong way.
I found it hilarious, sweet, really hot, and totally engaging.
A bookstagrammer asked me today for recommendations of light-hearted Rom-Coms. The irony is that I was in the midst of reading this book, which TORE MY BESTING HEART FROM MY CHEST, DESTROYED IT, then HEALED IT and SHOVED IT BACK.
This is my first read by K. Bromburg and I'm pretty sure I am both obsessed with and slightly scared of her. She's going into my SO MANY FEELS list next to Brittney C. Cherry and Mia Sheridan.
HARD TO LOSE is an absolutely fantastic book. Well written, a complex female lead, great side characters, hotter than sin, melt your heart AND your panties.
Chase is a fantastic female character. She's driven, determined, a very hard worker, if a bit self-involved at the beginning of the book. Gunner reads as a bit too-good-to-be-true (for which I took off 1/2 star from my rating). He is just overly perfect in every way, with no flaws, until the very end of book in response to the book's central conflict.
These two have sizzling hot chemistry paired with equal sweetness. I am ALWAYS here for Hot Kitchen Counter Sex and these two deeee-lllliiiiii-vvverrrr! You will instantly be rooting for their HEA even while you know exactly where their conflict will lie.
This is an emotionally heavy read, but also a great one!
RATING:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
STEAM LEVEL: Rated R
TRIGGERS: Past Domestic abuse, death of parent, military death, military injuries, PTSD.
FEELS-O-METER: 5/5 *Heartbreaking and beautiful.
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
BUY IT HERE: https://amzn.to/2PsBpHP (aff.)
This is my first read by K. Bromburg and I'm pretty sure I am both obsessed with and slightly scared of her. She's going into my SO MANY FEELS list next to Brittney C. Cherry and Mia Sheridan.
HARD TO LOSE is an absolutely fantastic book. Well written, a complex female lead, great side characters, hotter than sin, melt your heart AND your panties.
Chase is a fantastic female character. She's driven, determined, a very hard worker, if a bit self-involved at the beginning of the book. Gunner reads as a bit too-good-to-be-true (for which I took off 1/2 star from my rating). He is just overly perfect in every way, with no flaws, until the very end of book in response to the book's central conflict.
These two have sizzling hot chemistry paired with equal sweetness. I am ALWAYS here for Hot Kitchen Counter Sex and these two deeee-lllliiiiii-vvverrrr! You will instantly be rooting for their HEA even while you know exactly where their conflict will lie.
This is an emotionally heavy read, but also a great one!
RATING:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
STEAM LEVEL: Rated R
TRIGGERS: Past Domestic abuse, death of parent, military death, military injuries, PTSD.
FEELS-O-METER: 5/5 *Heartbreaking and beautiful.
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
BUY IT HERE: https://amzn.to/2PsBpHP (aff.)
Enemies to Lovers + Bakery/Chef Romance + Second Chance At Love = HEAVEN.
I will never understand what sorcery Sarah Adams uses to make Closed Door romances feel hotter than hell. How? HOW?! But she does and I love her books.
THE ENEMEY has the perfect bland of Enemies to Lovers snark and sweetly swoony moments.
June is the perfect Heroine! She is ALL OF US. The very first chapter of this book is pure perfection! SO funny and awkward and the perfect set up for this book. And Ryan will make you curse every day of your life that you have to spend without a sexy chef in your kitchen. June and Ryan's pranks on each other were hilarious! Their shared past really added to this book and made their happily-ever-after that much more satisfying.
Sarah Adams is my favorite Closed-Door Romance author because she gets it right every time! Always laugh-out-loud funny, always plenty of sizzle (even without the sex) and always a sweet HEA that will leave you with a smile on your face.
I will never understand what sorcery Sarah Adams uses to make Closed Door romances feel hotter than hell. How? HOW?! But she does and I love her books.
THE ENEMEY has the perfect bland of Enemies to Lovers snark and sweetly swoony moments.
June is the perfect Heroine! She is ALL OF US. The very first chapter of this book is pure perfection! SO funny and awkward and the perfect set up for this book. And Ryan will make you curse every day of your life that you have to spend without a sexy chef in your kitchen. June and Ryan's pranks on each other were hilarious! Their shared past really added to this book and made their happily-ever-after that much more satisfying.
Sarah Adams is my favorite Closed-Door Romance author because she gets it right every time! Always laugh-out-loud funny, always plenty of sizzle (even without the sex) and always a sweet HEA that will leave you with a smile on your face.
Fun Holiday Romance with a fresh premise. Matt is a writer who had very little commercial success until his book series was optioned for a television show (this is a clear nod to Game Of Thrones). Now he is suddenly under pressure to finish the final book in his trilogy on a timeline that meets the show-runner's expectations and he can't go to the store without being recognized. He holes up in a small town to try and force himself to finish, but soon realizes he needs some help around his rented house so he can focus on writing. Enter Dani, a newly divorced single mom in desperate need of a job.
I loved reading a romance where the leads were 45 years old and had lived a bit of life already. Matt and Dani had good chemistry and even better meaningful, intelligent, dialog. I loved them as a couple well before they added sex to the equation. Speaking of sex, we get kissing in this book and we know, without doubt, that these two are sexing it up, but there are no open-door scenes. This is a good book if you are looking for physical connection with a detailed sex scene.
I loved Dani's colorful family and her generous spirit! And Matt was a smart and very relatable MC. This romance is light on the swoony romantic gestures, but heavy on a realistically sweet love story about figuring out exactly what you want and then going after it.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
STEAM LEVEL: Rated PG
TRIGGERS: Divorce (where female is financially impacted)
I loved reading a romance where the leads were 45 years old and had lived a bit of life already. Matt and Dani had good chemistry and even better meaningful, intelligent, dialog. I loved them as a couple well before they added sex to the equation. Speaking of sex, we get kissing in this book and we know, without doubt, that these two are sexing it up, but there are no open-door scenes. This is a good book if you are looking for physical connection with a detailed sex scene.
I loved Dani's colorful family and her generous spirit! And Matt was a smart and very relatable MC. This romance is light on the swoony romantic gestures, but heavy on a realistically sweet love story about figuring out exactly what you want and then going after it.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
STEAM LEVEL: Rated PG
TRIGGERS: Divorce (where female is financially impacted)
The first two chapters of this book had me snort-laughing! Alex wakes up the morning after a tequila binge and realizes she has completely upended her life while drunk the night before! As the events of the previous night come to light I was laughing out loud (something I don't do often while reading).
This book is filled with so many of the best things: good girlfriends, crap ex-boyfriends, wise sisters, risk taking, hilarious awkwardness, a hot and sometimes grumpy Hero, a curvy and optimistic heroine, the city of New York, and plenty of swoony moments.
If you love books (you love books, right? otherwise why are you here?) you will fall in love with so many moments in this book that celebrate bibliophiles and the crazy things that make us happy.
There were a few minor drawbacks for me. Our H is a single dad and I wish we had gotten to know his son a bit more. We get glimpses of him, but not many. I would have loved some more interaction between the main characters and this kid. Also, I love character growth, but there were a few times when I just wanted to smack some sense into the heroine! Maybe I wanted her to be a slightly more mature 30yo than she was.
Now, what's REALLY important. These two had amazing chemistry, many sweet moments, and some seriously steamy scenes that will make you perfectly hot and bothered. Some spectacular smut!
This book will make you laugh, cry, swoon, sigh, and cheer! Michael and Alex are an epically swoony couple that you can't help but root for! This is a wonderful first book and I can't wait to read more by this author.
I received an ARC of this title from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
This book is filled with so many of the best things: good girlfriends, crap ex-boyfriends, wise sisters, risk taking, hilarious awkwardness, a hot and sometimes grumpy Hero, a curvy and optimistic heroine, the city of New York, and plenty of swoony moments.
If you love books (you love books, right? otherwise why are you here?) you will fall in love with so many moments in this book that celebrate bibliophiles and the crazy things that make us happy.
There were a few minor drawbacks for me. Our H is a single dad and I wish we had gotten to know his son a bit more. We get glimpses of him, but not many. I would have loved some more interaction between the main characters and this kid. Also, I love character growth, but there were a few times when I just wanted to smack some sense into the heroine! Maybe I wanted her to be a slightly more mature 30yo than she was.
Now, what's REALLY important. These two had amazing chemistry, many sweet moments, and some seriously steamy scenes that will make you perfectly hot and bothered. Some spectacular smut!
This book will make you laugh, cry, swoon, sigh, and cheer! Michael and Alex are an epically swoony couple that you can't help but root for! This is a wonderful first book and I can't wait to read more by this author.
I received an ARC of this title from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.