Tag: romance

REVIEW: Searching for Billy Shakespeare by Crista McHugh

REVIEW: Searching for Billy Shakespeare by Crista McHugh

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Kate is a graduate student, studying Shakespeare and writing the dissertation for her PhD. When she catches her fiancé with another woman, her world is turned completely upside down.

Her friends come to her rescue, and she finds an amazing, rent-controlled apartment with “Princess Barbie,” Ari. In exchange for some cooking and cleaning, Kate gets a great apartment and a rent she can swing while she nurses the wounds of her broken relationship and finish her degree.

Kate was not counting on Ari’s brother, Gabe, to be part of her new life. At first, his middle of the night phone calls for his absent sister are an annoyance. But over time, Kate looks forward to talking to Gabe. His voice is sexy, and he truly seems to listen to her. He takes her work on Shakespeare seriously. As an actor, Gabe can use Kate’s help preparing an audition monologue. Gabe quickly becomes a bigger part of Kate’s life than she ever imagined.

Review

This was so fun! It’s a quick, romantic story of Kate’s evolution with a backdrop of Shakespearean references. Readers don’t have to know the references to enjoy the story.

Kate’s transformation is my favorite part of the story. She’s so unsure of herself at the start of the book that she’s in a long term relationship she doesn’t even enjoy. While she is devastated by her fiancé’s unfaithfulness, it is exactly what she needs to course-correct her own life. Throughout the book, people try to change Kate, usually for her own good. But Kate has to find her own way, her own style, and her own voice if she is going to feel confident in her own life.

We don’t get a lot from the other characters in this except Gabe. The rest generally serve to move Kate and Gabe forward. And I was satisfied with that. I really enjoyed this and would read other things from this author (some language, trigger warning for suicide).

Thanks to Netgalley and Season Publishing for an electronic review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Every Dog Has His Day by Jenn McKinlay

REVIEW: Every Dog Has His Day by Jenn McKinlay

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Zachary Caine was content with his bachelor life. He had Rufus, the dog he was fostering for a friend, his “Maine crew” to hang out with, and his work.

But a yowl changed all that. The adorable daughters of his neighbor knocked on his door, begging for help. Their kitten was stranded on Zach’s roof. Of course Zach had to help them!

The last time Zach had talked to the girls’ mother, Jessie, he’d called her “sweetheart,” and she had told him off in no uncertain terms. This interaction was at least civil. And Zach got a kick out of the girls. The kitten on his roof opened up a more neighborly relationship between Zach and Jessie. And that comes in handy when a blizzard hits and they lose power. They pool their resources to wait out the storm together. And while they wait, things begin to thaw between them even more.

Review

In many ways, this series is very different from the Jenn McKinlay cozy mysteries I have enjoyed for years. There’s more language, inuendo, and other mature content in this romance series than you find in the mysteries. But no matter the series, McKinlay writes fantastic characters!

I have loved this whole “Maine crew” from the beginning. I’ve enjoyed the individual stories about the various couples. But I also love how the group operates – the way they show up for one another, the way they care for each other, and their protectiveness for anyone in their circle. As well as those who join the circle along the way.

The little group of Zach, Jessie, and her girls are magic. Zach treats the girls as individuals of value even before he starts to fall for their mother. They are never a means to something else or a hinderance in his mind. He is intentional with them, he responds to their different personalities, and they respond to his love and respect. The loneliness Zach and Jessie have experienced makes them a good fit with potential to “get” one another in ways others can’t. And with the exception of a couple of (reasonable) conflicts and misunderstandings, I loved how honest they were with one another. This is not a plot based on lies and secrets or anything like that where you find yourself thinking, “Just tell them already!” Things are out in the open and mature between them.

This is a great romance series, and I highly recommend it for adults who enjoy the genre! Book 2 is probably my favorite of the three in the series, but this is a close second! Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for an electronic review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Prince in Disguise by Stephanie Kate Strohm

REVIEW: Prince in Disguise by Stephanie Kate Strohm

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

It’s hard for Dylan to live in her sister, Dusty’s, shadow. Dusty is tall and gorgeous and popular and confident. She was Miss Mississippi. And now she is marrying Ronan, a Scottish lord-to-be that she met on the Bachelor-style reality show Prince in Disguise. Next to Dusty, Dylan feels geeky and awkward and out of place.

This is especially true when she finds herself at Ronan’s Scottish castle for their Christmas Eve wedding. First, the best man leaves her standing in the cold for almost an hour, waiting for a ride to the castle. She’s rescued by another groomsman, Jamie. At least he’s her age, smart and funny. But at the castle, she feels the cameras all around her. Dusty may be fine with all the TV attention, but Dylan wants no part of it.

The wedding-prep days include a lot of surprises for Dylan – things she’d like to keep off camera and to herself. Not the least of which are her feelings about Jamie. But she may find there are more important things than protecting her own privacy.

Review

I’m not sure I have words big enough for how much I loved this book! It was outstanding! I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a book like I did this one. It’s SO funny! It’s romantic. Sweet and fun and fiesty! I wanted it to go on and on. I loved the characters and wanted to spend even more time with them. This will definitely be a re-read for me! If the author decides to write a sequel, I will be the first in line to buy it!

Everything worked for me in this. The reality TV plot was terrific. It forced characters to decide what was for public consumption and what wasn’t. And how they would handle the difference. The family relationships changed and developed in the story in great, realistic ways. The chemistry between Dylan and Jamie was endearing. I loved them together. There were some fun surprises and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. This could easily be my favorite book of 2017.

Many, many thanks to Netgalley and Disney Hyperion for the opportunity to read an electronic review copy of this spectacular book in exchange for an honest review. I honestly adored it. I read another book by Stephanie Kate Strohm earlier this year – It’s Not Me, It’s You– and I loved it too. That book made it onto my Holiday Hint List for 2017 – and if I had read this before I published the list, Prince in Disguise would have been on there, too.  Hand both of these books to the teens in your life – especially the ones who might not want books with the language and mature content found in some other books for teens and young adults.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥+++

REVIEW: The Sisters of Sugarcreek by Cathy Liggett

REVIEW: The Sisters of Sugarcreek by Cathy Liggett

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Lydia lost her husband, a volunteer firefighter, in the fire at Faith Community Church. But even more, she lost her anchor to everything. Henry was a private man. He did everything around the house himself except cook and garden, which Lydia did. They didn’t have neighbors over often, and they never lingered after church. They lived a quiet life, and Lydia was often alone. Without Henry, she’s adrift and feeling out of her depth.

Jessica lost her Aunt Rose in the fire. Rose had raised her as a child when she lost her parents. She welcomed her back as a young pregnant woman when her marriage fell apart. Now Jessica owns Rose’s craft store, Rose’s Knit One Quilt Two Cottage. But Jessica doesn’t knit or quilt. She’s not prepared to run a store like this. She’s definitely in over her head.

Liz is grieving Rose’s death, too. Her best friend and partner in “crime.” Rose and Liz had started a secret encouragement ministry, leaving food and handcrafted items for folks in need of a little hope. She talks Jessica into helping her keep it going. And Lydia is going to be their first recipient.

Review

This was delightful. Each of the three main characters was strong and interesting in her own right. There wasn’t a part of the trio that sagged. The pieces of their stories wove into each other’s well. The romantic pairings were obvious from the outset, but I enjoyed the story so much I didn’t care if that was predictable.

I have not had a lot of luck with finding Christian fiction I love. I have a few “go to” books that I read over and over, but otherwise I find the stories or characters can be flat or the message feels heavy-handed. This was NOT the case here. The faith pieces made sense where they entered the story. It felt natural. I didn’t feel like the author was trying to make a point. She just told a great story about people of faith.

This was excellent. I will be adding it to my small collection of Christian Fiction mainstays and telling others about this great story!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

REVIEW: Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Alice buys a lottery ticket for her best friend, Teddy, for his 18th birthday. And it’s a winner. Over 140 million dollars!

Suddenly everything changes. Teddy’s spending money left and right. He’s on talk shows. Kids at school are hanging all over him – or jeering jealously behind his back.

And when Teddy tries to give half to Alice since she bought the ticket and picked the numbers, she turns him down, leading to their biggest fight in 9 years of friendship.

Alice’s life is upside down. Her best friend is living the high life, and she’s afraid he is headed for a big fall. Her aunt and uncle are encouraging her to consider other colleges when they know it is her dream to go to Stanford. And her cousin has broken up with his boyfriend even though they are obviously in love. A cute guy is asking her out but she can’t get past the feelings she has for Teddy. Through it all, she wonders if the choices she’s making for her life are really hers, or if she’s trying to do what she thinks her parents would have wanted.

Review

While this is a lottery story, it is so much more. It’s about friends and family, money and charity, and the past and the future. All three of the main characters – Alice, Teddy and Leo – are driven by their past or fear of the future. Teddy goes overboard with the money because of how hard things were after his dad lost all the family’s money and ran off. Alice is trying to recapture a sense of home from before her parents died. And Leo is afraid of losing Max when they are both in college, maybe in different places. He’s seen Teddy and Alice face such hardships in life, and he’s afraid he is due for a personal disaster.

The money situation from the lottery win shines a light on the choices the teens are making. It also raises great questions about what to do with such a windfall. What’s fun and what’s practical? What’s responsible? How do you know whose motives to trust?

I liked that there were bigger issues addressed outside of the money. I liked the main characters and their families. The final money solution was great. It seemed reasonable for the situation. I’m not 100% sold on the romantic outcome. I liked Alice’s other option better. Overall this was a good story.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: About a Dog by Jenn McKinlay

REVIEW: About a Dog by Jenn McKinlay

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Seven years ago, Mackenzie was jilted at the altar. Then she slept with her best friend’s brother. Before anyone else found out, she left town, planning to never return.

But now her best friend, Emma, is getting married and Mackenzie has to return to Bluff Point. She and her boyfriend are “taking a break,” so she’s going to the wedding alone. Emma’s perfect solution is for Mackenzie to hang out with her brother! Gaven was recently dumped, and Emma reasons it will be good for both of them to have someone to hang out with for the wedding festivities.

Mackenzie is determined to forget that night with Gaven from so long ago. But Gaven thinks there are still sparks between them, and he’s confident he can rekindle things if he can get Mackenzie to give them a chance.

A sweet dog named Tulip helps pull the two together. But she may not be enough to keep them together.

Review

Jenn McKinlay is one of my favorite mystery authors. This is a very different kind of story than I’m used to from her – sexier, more language, and some juvenile humor and innuendo at times – but still a thoroughly enjoyable story.

The will-they-or-won’t-they tension is well-played with reasonable road blocks. Of course, most stories like this would be simply sorted out if everyone would just tell the whole truth from the beginning. But where’s the fun in that?!

The chemistry between the two main characters is great. The whole bridal party is a hoot, even if they can be crass at times. And the dog is an adorable part of the story. This is a fun, romantic romp with great characters.

Book 2, Barking Up the Wrong Tree, will be out in September and will focus on one of the other bridesmaids in Emma’s wedding. I’m looking forward to reading it.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

REVIEW: Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Once upon a time, Rachel and Henry were best friends. And Rachel wondered if it might be more than just friendship. In a moment of great bravery, just before she moves away, Rachel writes Henry a note about how she feels. She asks him to call when he gets it. He never mentions the note or her declaration.

Years later, Rachel returns. A lot has changed. She barely responded to Henry’s letters and emails while she was away. Even in the midst of personal tragedy, she didn’t reach out to him. Now, not only are they in the same town, but she’s working at his family’s bookstore. She’ll see him every day. How’s that going to work?

Henry’s thrilled to have his best friend back. But Rachel has changed. She’s angry and private. She won’t explain why she stopped talking to him. As his divorced parents discuss selling their home and the bookstore, though, Henry will need Rachel, his old best friend, who understands the value of the store and the memories they’ve made there.

Review

Is it possible to both like and not like a book at the same time? While not a happy story per se, this is a beautiful look at grief and loss, friendship and love, and the value of words. The author does an excellent job of describing the losses experienced by the characters and their attempts to move forward in life and in their grief.

I liked the main characters, although I wanted to shake them at times. Henry’s infatuation with Amy was frustrating as Rachel’s assessment of her motives was always completely on target. And that assessment should have clued her into some things that happened in the story. Many of the characters felt stuck, repeating the same choices or feeling like they had no other choices. I liked characters like Martin and Cal who seemed healthy and optimistic about the future.

I struggle to describe this sort of book. I liked it in that it was well written and emotionally honest with characters I wanted to see succeed. At the same time, it’s emotionally heavy. I can’t say that I enjoyed the journey with these characters all the time. If you are looking for a happy-go-lucky sort of story, this is not what you are looking for. But if you want to read something that will hit you emotionally and make you think, give this a try. I would recommend this to older teens and young adults due to language and the emotional weight of the story.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira

REVIEW: Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Phoebe is a devoted book nerd. She is always reading and knows about all the popular and upcoming books. Not caring how it looks to others, she dresses in costume for book releases and author signings. She even looks to her favorite books and characters to help her find romance.

While Phoebe has a crush on the class president, Kris, her best friend is convinced that Dev likes her. Kris doesn’t seem to know Phoebe exists, but Dev is around all the time. So Phoebe attempts some of her bookish moves, trying to channel the strong, confident heroines from her favorite books.

But Phoebe isn’t really like those characters. She’s uncertain and awkward. She loves what she loves, and she doesn’t hide it. So when a more confident girl moves in on Dev, Phoebe wonders if she should just stick to fictional relationships after all.

Review

This was SO fun! There are some GREAT bookish lines in the story. As a book nerd like Phoebe, some of these statements really clicked with me.

I loved Phoebe. I enjoyed her “nerdishness” and passion for books and knitting and music. The banter with Dev and Em and some of the other characters was great fun to read. The scenes from Phoebe’s books got old at times – I was far more interested in the characters in this story. But I loved that Phoebe tried to use her passion for fiction to help her in real life.

This reminded me of Fangirl and Geekerella – stories with characters who are passionate about something like pop culture, science fiction shows, book series, etc. I identify with these sorts of characters, and I find their stories fun to read.

This is a great Young Adult book. There’s a little bit of language and a gay relationship in the secondary characters that might make this a better fit for older teens in some cases. Book 2 in the series, Dramatically Ever After, which focuses on Em and Kris from this book, released earlier this month.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Alien Education by Gini Koch

REVIEW: Alien Education by Gini Koch

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Kitty Katt-Martini has defeated alien monsters, foiled evil genius plots, and taken out the Mastermind, the man behind years of take-over-the-world schemes. She’s been head diplomat for the A-Cs, an alien race living on Earth for decades. She’s the First Lady of the United States and Queen Regent of Earth for the Annocusal Royal Family. She has tremendous skills.

You’d think dealing with the PTA president at her kids’ new school would be easy after all that!

With the Mastermind gone, Kitty gets to do some normal mom stuff, like get involved in her kids’ new school. And she does FLOTUS stuff like celebrate the opening of the Intergalactic School. Sadly, though, the Mastermind wasn’t the only enemy Kitty had. There’s still plenty of bad press to spin as well as robot and android plots, not to mention murder attempts and terrorist attacks, to thwart. And don’t even mention the PTA bake sale! But Kitty is just the woman to handle it all! She’ll just do what she always does – go with “the crazy.”

Review

This was a whirlwind read! I completely blew off sleep to plow through this as fast as possible. I know I will read it again very soon in order to go more slowly and catch all the details. For my first read, though, I just want to know what happens as soon as possible.

Once again, Kitty has a secret nemesis. I love trying to work through the hints and clues in an effort to catch who it might be (no clue after my first read). I was close on my Mastermind guess several years ago. I had it narrowed down to two people, and one was right. I’m excited about puzzling out this new secret.

Lots of new players introduced in this book. I’m not sure yet who will end up being a big player and what side everyone will end up on. But that’s part of the fun of this series. My favorite new characters are the kids who either are new or who get expanded roles in this story! Can’t wait to read more about them.

The other parts of the fun of this series for me are the humor and the action – and this book has both in spades. There’s very little down time in the story and many things are introduced but not resolved, pushing the reader forward to the next book in the series, Aliens Abroad, releasing in December 2017. I already have mine pre-ordered!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

@Mink is a film buff on the East coast and @Alex is a film fanatic on the West coast. Ironically, @Alex lives in the same town as @Mink’s dad. @Alex encourages her to come to California and go to a film festival with him. Then they can meet face to face for the first time.

@Mink is Bailey. Bailey is actually moving to her dad’s in California, but she’s not quite ready to tell @Alex. She’s hoping she can puzzle out who he is and see if there’s any chemistry between them before telling him who she is. Bailey has gotten good at protecting herself after what happened four years ago.

Porter is NOT part of Bailey’s California plan, though! At first she thinks he is a complete jerk but with time she sees there’s more to him than she thought. Maybe she doesn’t have to protect herself from Porter. But with Porter in her life, where does @Alex fit?

Review

This was so fun!! Many laugh-out-loud moments between Bailey and Porter. The chemistry between them is terrific! I really enjoyed the story and watching things unfold between them. This was fantastic.

Since the story has been described as a take on You’ve Got Mail, I knew where things were headed, but I completely enjoyed the journey to get there. The setting is great – the California coast and boardwalk area as well as the “museum” where Bailey works. The movie quotes and references made me want to fire up Netflix and watch the older movies I’ve heard of but haven’t seen.

Bailey and Porter are the stars of the story, but the other characters – their families, Grace, Pangborn, Davy – are just as fascinating and just as important to the story. I loved them.

There’s some language and mature content so in my opinion this is best for older teens and young adults/adults. I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher, Simon Pulse, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Simon Pulse for the opportunity to read and review this book! This book releases on April 4, 2017.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½