Book Review: The Excalibur Curse by Kiersten White

I was pretty confused by this. I originally thought it was my fault because it had been over a year since I read book two. After finishing, I read some reviews. Now, I think it was the book’s fault. It was mainly that characters were doing things I wasn’t expecting.

Generally, I still enjoyed this. I thought there were very good and impactful moments. Fina was also an addition. I wouldn’t complain if I got to read more about her. 

The overall plot was a bit convoluted and the packing was off sometimes. Then, there’s the relationships which make no sense. I felt some friendships were pushed aside. And I have no idea what’s going on with the romance. Like WTF was going on?

Also what was the purpose of this? Not that every story has to have a message, but this felt like it was trying to.Part of me thinks this is about sacrifice, but there’s a bit lacking. I don’t want to go into spoilers, but I think certain characters delivered on that. 

And what was that ending? Pick a side!

I do think this would’ve been better as an adult book instead of YA. I just think she could’ve gone a little farther if it was adult. 

Sorry for the random collection of thoughts.

Thanks for reading!
Holly 

Book Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. I think I had a bit of a bias because I heard this started as a Rylo fanfic and I’m an anti-Rylo shipper. But this ended up being adorable and gripping. My ratingin is probably more of a 4.5.

Where to start?

This made me very happy. And I read it in one day, which I wasn't expecting. I would describe this as sweet. That’s weird, because it does address some serious issues. And the steamy scenes were spectacular. There weren’t many, but it felt like the right amount. 

Hazelwood does a good job of writing well-rounded and intelligent characters. I don’t have any experience with academia, but it felt like it was there. I also am a sucker for a competent character. So, I think Hazelwood will be an auto-buy author for that reason. 

The romance was cute and well-paced. There was a huge conflict surrounding a refusal to talk to each other. I hate using that in a romance and this one lasted a long time. Olive and Adam were fake dating and I loved their conversations. Like always, I would like Adam’s perspective, but this book barely suffered from that.

The friendships here were also great. Both Olive and Adam have great friends. I love a supportive and loving friendship.

This lived up to the hype and I’m still happy I gave Ali Hazelwood a chance. Now I have to wait for more books though.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Book Review: Stuck with You by Ali Hazelwood

I wasn’t expecting to read this in one sitting, but I couldn’t stop. I would’ve loved a second pov, but I always feel that way if a romance is written from only one perspective.

This was told in a past and present way. The tension from that kept me going. I especially wanted to know what happened in the past. It was very well-paced. 

I loved the chemistry between Sadie and Erik. The banter was especially great. You could tell they were physically attracted to each other, but they’re personalities clicked, too. I don’t care about soccer, but I loved their conversations about it. The sexy times were quite steamy. I don’t remember the first one being this intense. Erik was also very kind in those scenes which was sweet. 

I’ve been enjoying my experience with Ali Hazelwood. I think I’m going to give The Love Hypothesis a try now. I’m also just waiting for my library hold on the next book in the series.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Book Review: Forget Me Not by QB Tyler

I wanted to love this, but I was a bit disappointed. And it wasn’t nearly as angsty as I thought it would be. Maybe it would’ve if I read it in a shorter timespan. I read via audio if that makes a difference.

This is an interesting concept with adding amnesia to a marriage-in-trouble romance. I tend to be a fan of marriage in trouble or second chance romances. The hero did cheat on his wife which I’m not a fan of. There’s a lot of discussion surrounding miscarriage and fertility issues if that bothers you.

One reason I like this trope is because it often involves lots of deep emotion and conversations between the couple. I’m a sucker for that shit. This seemed to rely more on the sexual parts of their relationship. They did talk, but I would’ve preferred a more even split.

A lot of the conflicts are predictable here. I’m rarely bothered by that. It was annoying how quickly things were resolved-in multiple ways.

I will continue to read books by QB Tyler. I don’t know what to try next though.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Book Review: Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall

This was a bit of a disappointment. I hate negative reviews, but here I am. 

Is this supposed to be a farce or satire? Is it supposed to be like The Importance of Being Earnest? It’s been like 10 years since I read or watched that, but maybe that was the attempt. If this was supposed to poke fun at the historical romance genre it failed.

The big issue was how unlikable almost every character was. Belle is an awful person and if she gets a book I will actively avoid it. Bonny wasn’t as bad as his sister, but a lot of the stuff he said to Valentine rubbed me the wrong way. Valentine was the only one I ever liked or cared about. 

I never connected to the romance. I think a huge part of that was because I didn’t think Bonny deserved Valentine. But I never really felt the chemistry or attracted to them. Valentine, please run and find someone worthy of you.

The hijinx were just ridiculous and I’m actually a fan of a ridiculous or campy story. Belle was obnoxious, immature, and endangered so many lives. Bonny just made excuses for her. Peggy eventually stood up to her. I could be a Peggy supporter if she got her own book.

Valentine was interesting and I would’ve liked more. Is she asexual? Neurodivergent? Something else? I think something really could’ve been done with him. That’s another disappointment. 

I’m going to call this one a fluke. I plan to read more books by Alexis Hall, but not in this series.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Book Review: Seatmate by Cara Bastone

It’s official, Cara Bastone is a favorite author. I need to pick up her full-length books. I also need to re-read Sweet Talk so I can decide if this is replacing it as a favvorite. 

This takes place in a day-less than a full day. But I completely fell in love with these characters and their story. It’s so cute and has those rom-com feels. There’s tons of situational comedy which is done very well. It is a clean romance-I don’t think they even kiss, but they have great chemistry.

Sam, the hero, is a great guy. Bastone writes nice guys so well. He cares about his family and friends. I also just realized his friend Vera is probably the Vera from Call Me Maybe. I loved him and then he mentioned toe beans and I fell completely in love.

Gwen is equally great. She’s confident in who she is. She’s also unique without being a “not like other girls” heroine. I loved how she pushed and supported Sam.

The romance was adorable and made me so happy. LIked I just had a huge smile on my face the whole time. Even though it’s short, Sam and Gwen also have their own journeys. BAstone successfully put so much in this story. 

Audible, again, did a great job with the audio book production. Each narrator was amazing and that background noises madde this really come alive. I’m really curious if the two main narrators record together or not. I know they usually don’t, but the chemistry here feels like it had to be together. 

I highly recommend this!
Thanks for reading!
Holly

Book Review: Love Lessons by Sarina Bowen

I will never not be excited to return the Brooklyn and these characters. And as many of the (now) side characters have grown and evolved.

This has a trope I struggle to describe. IT’s the the “I’ll teach you about smexy times so you can impress someone else.” It isn’t my favorite, but Sarina Bowen has some sort of witchcraft that makes me enjoy a trope I normally don’t. 

Vera and Ian are neighbors who have some conflict-mainly on Vera’s end. He is an enforcer for the Brooklyn Bruisers and is dealing with a fight that went bad last season. Vera is a shylist who recently started her own business. She’s also friends with Charli and Neal from the previous book. While there is some animosity, Vera and Ian are very physically attracted to each other.

The bulk of this takes place in Italy. Vera, Ian, and other Bruisers/Bombshells go on a summer trip to Italy. Brooklyn’s great, but it’s nice to travel a bit.

This definitely felt a bit steamier than other Brooklyn books, but maybe it’s just been too long since I read those. I love the chemistry between Vera and Ian. It felt real and organic. It did occasionally feel like Vera was more important, but overall I was happy with them.

I listened to this on audio and I definitely recommend that version. Both Joe Arden and Rose Dioro brought these characters to life beautifully. 

As long as Sarina keeps writing these books, I’ll keep buying and reading them.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Book Review: It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

I’m a bit all over the place with this one. It may be my favorite Tessa Bailey. It was good and I cared about these characters, but the romance was just a bit too rushed for me. 

People say this is grumpy/sunshine, but I don’t fully agree. Piper is very sunshine, but I don’t see Brendan as a grumpy hero. He’s exacting and set in his way, but not grumpy. I never would’ve expected it but the materialistic and vain heroine is becoming a favorite.

I do also like a fish-out-of-water trope and a small town romance so I shouldn’t be surprised I liked this. Both Piper and Brendon learn from each other. They push each other to grow and become better people which I’m a fan of in my romance. 

The romance was also very intense when it comes to sexytimes. I always forget Tessa Bailey does write steamier. It also was steamier than I expected from a traditionally published  novel. This is not a complaint.

I also really liked the relationship between Piper and Hannah. They are very supportive of each other and have a great sister bond. I’m definitely excited to read Hannah’s romance now.
Thanks for reading!
Holly

Book Review: The Marriage Contract by Katee Robert

This was fast and I cared about the characters more than I expected. It’s a little short and the romance was a bit rushed. I would’ve liked an epilogue, but I always would like an epilogue.

This is set around Boston Mob (all Irish I think) families, but the series follows the O’Malley siblings. Callie and Teague are getting married to consolidate power. They also both have some secrets. 

Callie and Teague are immediately attracted to each other. That’s not the same as insta-love, but it did feel like it moved quickly. I was mostly fine with it though. There’s some not talking to each other. Normally, I hate this, but it actually made sense why they kept their secrets.

I did grow to care about these characters and their families. I’m interested to see what happens with Teague’s siblings. They have a lot of different personalities so it’ll be fun to read their stories. This one wasn’t too dark or heavy although it does have sad stuff. But I think the future ones will be worse/darker. 

Overall this felt like Katee Robert, but a little more tame. I liked the audio especially because it included accents. Now, I have to decide if I want to pay to buy the rest on audio-I’m sure they’ll never go on sale.
Thanks for reading!
Holly

Book Review: The Doctor by Nikki Sloane

Books like this still make me a bit uncomfortable, but I did enjoy myself. Riley from Riley Marie on YouTube said this is the middle ground between Penelope Douglas’ Birthday Girl and Katee Robert’s You’re Dad WIll Do. I see what she’s saying, but this is still very heavy on the banging bits.

This was very hot. Greg (I can’t take that name seriously for some reason) was a bit on the dominating side. Not in a jerky way, but in a kind of sexy way. He’s a father, but I wouldn’t say daddy if you know what I mean. I’m happy about the daddy talk in my books.

Cassidy was definitely young, I always would like a slightly older heroine. She just turns 20 during this. That’s a tad young for me, but I just aged her up in my head. But she was also on the immature side. Just in the way she reacted and the drama. Oh, everything was a big thing for her.

It’s been a bit, but this did feel like it had a lot of plot point similarities to Birthday Girl. It also happens basically the way you would expect. At one point, I literally thought of course this would be the conflict! It also was very fast. Cassidy breaks up with her boyfriend of 3 years and immediately falls in love with his dad. That always bothers me in my romance, but I think it’s part of the game. 

Nikki Sloane wrote a gripping and steamy book. I definitely see why she’s popular, and this worked for me. I do plan to read more of her books-especially if I can get them on audio.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Book Review: The Best Men by Sarina Bowen and Lauren Blakely

I definitely recommend reading the prequel novella. The audio is available for free on Sarina Bowen's YouTube channel. I think it sets up the story well and makes the beginning more clear.

This has a lot of tropes that I and many romance readers love. There's bickering, personality clashes, and some forced proximity. There's also "let's just bang...oops I fell in love." Mark is also a recently divorced dad with a daughter, Rosie.

The romance was fairly steamy. You could feel the chemistry jump off the page. Sometimes I would've liked Asher and Mark to talk a bit more, but I still buy their love story. They do have pretty good banter.

I've read a couple Lauren Blakely books so I don't really know her style. This definitely had a lot of the hallmarks of a Sarina Bowen book though. It was funny and I love when she includes bits of her financial background. I also work in that area so I'm sure that's why I like it. Although this was a lot lighter than most of her books. It kind of gave me Good Boy vibes.

Oh, I really liked the friendships here, too. They were mostly little short bits, but they were so good. I love a positive and supportive friendship. They also help make the story feel more flushed out.

Disclaimer: I received a copy from the author. This is my honest review.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Book Review: Super Hot Wingman by Sarina Bowen and Lauren Blakely

This was a surprise. It’s a little prequel novella before The Best Men and I didn’t know we were getting this. It made me even more excited for the full-length story. 

This mostly follows Mark who is a divorced father. His sister starts dating Asher’s best friend so they spend time together. There’s attraction between them, but they also have completely different personalities. This just sets up the tension and I’m here for it. I love a good personality story difference that pushes both characters. 

The ending was great and engaging. It definitely set me up to want to pick up the full-length story.

Teddy Hamilton and Jacob Morgan did a great job with the narration. I mean would you expect anything else? Definitely check it out-Sarina Bowen posted the audio on her YouTube channel.

Thanks for reading!
Holly