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: Boyfriend by Sarina Bowen

Sarina Bowen’s writing college-aged characters again and she’s still great at it. This fits into the Moo U series with Weston being on the hockey team. And Abbi is a waitress at the Biscuit in the Basket. There’s some fake dating in this one, too. It was so close to five stars and I could see upgrading it on a re-read.

Weston has some soap opera style family drama so for Thanksgiving he seeks a fake girlfriend to spend time with instead of going home. Abbi has her own drama and a grabby sort of stepbrother. She’s also had a little crush on Weston so she takes him up on that offer.

They end up clicking: emotionally and physically. So, they continue a friendship and some more fake dating. Naturally, that turns into more. But Weston has commitment issues triggered by the family issues and Abbi wants out of Vermont.

I loved these characters. I often liked one part of a couple more than another, but Sarina Bowen makes it hard to pick one. It’s so easy to see their perspectives and to connect with them.

The romance was so well-paced. I’m not always a big fan of fake dating, but this one worked. There’s great physical chemistry. And they have a great mental connection. You can tell they care about each other beyond the physical. Now the sexytimes were very good too-don’t get me wrong.

This was a great addition to Moo U. It also felt like a Sarina Bowen book. She will write non-traditional families or weird drama, but make it perfectly believable. She also doesn’t just fall back on stereotypes. It’s why she’s a favorite.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Book Review: Showstopper by Regina Kyle

This was good and a fast, easy read. It’s more of a 3.5 star, but I round up.

This felt like maybe it fit more in the Moo U series than Vino and Veritas series. But I do get that V&V is the LGBT+ series. It’s just that the plot and tone felt more like Moo U. I was very happy to see Lex again-he was one of my favorites from Moo U.

Kolby and Adam were both good characters. They were easy to like, but I never 100% cared about either of them. I just never got emotionally invested. Maybe if they were more deeply developed.

The romance was pretty standard, but I have no real complaints. It has very minor enemies-to-lovers elements. Very minor. Kolby and Adam have some cute banter. Their relationship is pretty physical but they also talk a lot which I like reading about in my romances. I could do without multiple grand gestures, but I get why it happens and a lot of people do like it.

I never know how to end reviews. I would recommend picking this up especially if you liked the Moo U books.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Book Review: Superfan by Sarina Bowen

Silas is such a sweetheart and I was happy to finally get to read his story.

I’m so happy this is a second-chance romance. That is one of my favorite tropes. And I liked being able to read their story in the past as well as the present.

I’m not generally a fan of musician characters, but I did like Delilah. It was interesting to read how she grows through the music industry. And you could really feel her passion for her art.

The romance worked for me. I really liked reading about characters navigating difficult situations to stay together. Both Delilah and Silas have high-stress and time-consuming jobs. I like seeing how they deal with cheating a relationship with those hazards/problems. Plus, Delilah deals with the idea of learning how to be on her own which I think is an important topic to explore.

I love the Brooklyn Burisers world and I’m definitely to read more.

Thanks for reading!
Holly