Tag: interracial romance

REVIEW: The Dating Plan by Sara Desai

REVIEW: The Dating Plan by Sara Desai

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Berkley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Ten years ago, Liam destroyed Daisy’s fragile teenage heart when he stood her up for the prom and disappeared from her life. Good riddance!

But now he’s back. Just when her family is pressuring her with yet another fix up. And her ex is still hooking up with her ex-boss. Introducting Liam as her fiancé, in the heat of the moment, was… temporary insanity.

If Liam wants the chance to inherit the business that has been in his family for generations, he has two months to get married. If not, his brother will raze it to the ground. Even though Daisy hates him, maybe she’d be willing to take this pretend engagement to the next level.

Liam and Daisy are both getting something out of this fake relationship. Thanks to their upbringing, each of them has significant relationship baggage that keeps them from making a real commitment to anyone. And they both are perfectly fine keeping this fake relationship purely business. But what happens when their feelings about each other become all too real?

Review

This was fun! I thoroughly enjoyed the main characters, both alone and together. Their work, their families, and their history were fascinating. And I was absolutely invested in seeing how they pulled things off. But I would have liked a little more time spent on dealing with the last “secret” Liam was keeping. (It was pretty obvious in the reading, but I expected it to have a bigger punch in the reveal.) After waiting so long for it to be revealed, I wanted a meatier scene or response for it. The ending, though, was supremely satisfying.

This is the first book I have read by the author even though this is the second book in the series. I don’t feel like I was missing anything having not read the first book. I do have book 3, The Singles Table, on my wish list though. It sounds fantastic!

This was fun and funny and sexy with a happy ending – everything a reader could want from a romcom. I love fake relationship stories, and this is a great example of the trope. Don’t miss this one! (Language, sex TW: domestic violence, child abuse/neglect, abandonment)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

REVIEW: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Avon in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

On a random Tuesday, on her usual mid-day walk, Chloe Brown almost died. If she had been just a couple feet in the other direction, the drunk driver would have hit her instead of that coffee shop. She was unhurt, but in shock. The whole thing sent her chronically ill body into a tailspin. But it wasn’t only physically jarring. She also realized her life is bland, and she has nothing to show for her years on this earth. Maybe it’s time for Chloe to get a life!

Step one is moving out of the family home and getting her own place. Done! The other six items on her “get a life” list are taking longer. Well, actually, the last one – Do Something Bad – she has technically already completed, too.

Redford Morgan is the supervisor for Chloe’s apartment building. And every time she runs into him there’s some drama going on, and she ends up at the center of it, looking like a fool or a shrew. She tries to avoid him whenever possible. But in the evenings, he often paints in his living room with the curtains open. And his shirt off. His apartment is right across from her’s. She couldn’t help but see him. She knew it was a serious invasion of his privacy to keep watching, hiding behind her own curtains, but she was drawn to the sight of him, lost in his work.

When Red finds Chloe stuck in a tree after trying to rescue a cat, they actually have a couple moments of civility with one another. And Chloe starts to wonder if maybe Red could help her check off a couple other items on her Get a Life list.

Review

It took me awhile to warm up to these two characters, especially Red. They were both abrasive to each other early on, and Red was crass even in his own thoughts and perspectives on things. But as the characters warmed up to one another, I started to like them more, both as individuals and as a potential couple.

While Chloe’s bucket list/Get a Life list launches her journey towards Red and helps move the relationship along, I never felt she was really attached to it. She even admits this over time. So it was a plot device that didn’t ever click for me.

But in the end, I loved Chloe and Red together. I appreciated that they recognized they might need therapeutic help with their individual baggage. I loved how attentive Red was to Chloe, almost intuiting at times how her illness was impacting her. It felt like he was the first, maybe ever, to care about her enough to pay that level of attention. It was awesome. I especially liked that this book honestly and thoroughly (at least as much as I could tell as an “outsider”) dealt with Chloe’s chronic illness.  There were several factors in the story that were a lovely departure from a standard, stereotypical romance novel couple (interracial couple, Chloe’s illness, Chloe’s weight, etc.).

This is going to be the first in the Brown Sisters series, so the subsequent books will address Chloe’s sisters. I was happy to see this because I found myself wanting more interaction with the two women as this novel progressed. I think that would have been a great addition to this story, but it will be good for each of them to tell her own story, too. (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥½