Category: Uncategorized

REVIEW – PASSION ON PARK AVENUE (The Central Park Pact, Book 1) by Lauren Layne

Leave a comment

SYNOPSIS

From the author of the New York Times bestselling Stiletto and Oxford series, the first in a sizzling new series following the unlikely friendship of three Upper East Side women as they struggle to achieve their dreams and find true love and happiness in the city that never sleeps. 

For as long as she can remember, Bronx-born Naomi Powell has had one goal: to prove her worth among the Upper East Side elite—the same people for which her mom worked as a housekeeper. Now, as the strongminded, sassy CEO of one of the biggest jewelry empires in the country, Naomi finally has exactly what she wants—but it’s going to take more than just the right address to make Manhattan’s upper class stop treating her like an outsider.

The worst offender is her new neighbor, Oliver Cunningham—the grown son of the very family Naomi’s mother used to work for. Oliver used to torment Naomi when they were children, and as a ridiculously attractive adult, he’s tormenting her in entirely different ways. Now they find themselves engaged in a battle-of-wills that will either consume or destroy them…

Filled with charm and heart and plenty of sex and snark, this entertaining series will hook you from the very first page.

 

 

*****Patty’s Review*****

*****FOUR STARS*****
{Netgalley ARC}

If the kiss on Saturday had been the promise, this was the delivery. The sort of kiss that ruined a girl for all other kisses in the future.

I’ve been a fan of Lauren Layne’s writing for several years now. I haven’t always loved every story she’s written, but the ratio of her books that I love definitely outweigh the ones that I did not. ”PASSION ON PARK AVENUE” went at a very slow pace for almost the first half of the book. I was worried that this was going to go on the shelf of books that I just couldn’t connect with but, I do love this author, so I stuck it out. Thankfully, the pace started to pick up during the second half of the book and I really did enjoy the story. This is an ”enemies to lovers” story that began when the Hero and Heroine were just young children. So many years have gone by since they last saw each other but it seems that one of them wasn’t able to move on from the past.

At the heart of the ”Central Park Pact” series is the friendship that develops between three women who find out at the funeral of the man they each were involved with that, he was a lying womanizer. Instead of tearing each other down, they form a bond and make a pact to help to steer each other away from the “bad boys”.

Our first Heroine to find love is Naomi Powell, a self-made billionaire. She, unlike her two new friends, came from impoverished beginnings. She lived with her single mother who made so many poor life choices. For a brief portion of her life, she lived in a luxurious apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, on Park Avenue, when her mom got a job as a live-in maid. The couple had a son who was a few years older than Naomi and lived to bully her. When her mother ends up having an affair with the man of the house it eventually ends disastrously and Naomi and her mom are kicked out on to the streets. Naomi never forgot how horribly the family treated her and her mother. Fast forward to present times, and Naomi has a shot at buying an apartment in that very building on Park Avenue. Turns out that the son and father still live there and she can’t help but want to throw her success in their faces. But as she gets to know Oliver, who is no longer the bully she knew from childhood, she starts to question the grudge she’s been holding on to for so many years.

Oliver was the perfect book boyfriend. He was sexy, smart, and self-sacrificing. His father was a horrible person for most of his life but when he was inflicted with Alzheimer’s, Oliver didn’t hesitate to put his life on hold to take care of him. This guy was a saint!

The thing is, when Naomi moves in, she is going by a different last name and Oliver doesn’t recognize her as his nemesis from childhood, and so she doesn’t reveal her identity to him. I had a hard time warming up to her but when she starts to form a bond with Oliver’s father, my heart softened towards her as well.

Naomi isn’t a believer in true love. Life has shown her that men are only after her for one thing and she believes that she will always be the “other woman”. Will her unwillingness to open her heart to love cause her to lose her true soul mate? When Oliver finds out Naomi’s true identity, will he still feel the same?

Here are my overall ratings:

Hero: 5
Heroine: 4
Plot: 4
Angst: 4
Steam: 3
Chemistry Between Hero & Heroine: 4.5

”PASSION ON PARK AVENUE” is currently available.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2TNiGnh

REVIEW – UNDENIABLE (Cloverleigh Farms, #2) by Melanie Harlow

Leave a comment

SYNOPSIS

When we were eleven, Oliver Ford Pemberton dared me to jump off a barn roof. He said you couldn’t break a leg from a 12-foot-jump.

He lied.

(You can also break a collarbone, which served him right as far as I was concerned.)

I wish I could say it was the last dare I ever took from him, the last bet I ever made with him, the last time I ever trusted Oliver Ford Pemberton.

But it wasn’t.

Because he had the nerve to grow up gorgeous, charming, and sexy. And as we got older, the dares only got dirtier—and the betting stakes higher—until finally, he left me in pieces. I swore I’d never talk to him again.

But twenty years after I took that flying leap, he’s back in my life, daring me to risk everything for him: my job, my self-worth, and my heart.

How many chances does love deserve?

 

*****Patty’s Review*****

*****FOUR STARS*****
{ARC Generously Provided by Author}

We’d had our ups and downs, but our chemistry was undeniable. We knew exactly how to light one another on fire in every way, good and bad. But that weekend—that weekend—had made me believe we were soul mates. I honestly thought we’d spend the rest of our lives together. I thought I’d been wrong about him. So stupid.

 

 

The second book in the “Cloverleigh Farms” series about the beautiful Sawyer sisters and the epic loves that come into their lives, put me on an emotional rollercoaster. I felt a connection to the Heroine, Chloe, but I can’t say the same for the Hero, Oliver. When the Hero doesn’t light that spark for me, it ends up dimming my enjoyment for the story. The plot was entertaining but the angst caused by the total and utter douchery of Oliver, had me seeing red throughout most of the story. This is what I would label a ”frenemies-to-lovers/5th Chance romance”. I honestly lost count as to how many times Oliver strung poor Chloe’s heart out to dry. I only wished that in the end, she made him suffer so much more than she actually did.

 

 

Chloe and Oliver were born into their friendship. Their mothers were the best of friends, which meant the two spent plenty of time together throughout their youth and into adulthood. The story goes back and forth from past to present, but it’s really easy to follow and pertinent to the progression of the plot.

 

 

 

 

Chloe is trying to expand her family’s business but doesn’t have the money to do it on her own, so her parents convince her to go in as partners with her arch-nemesis, Oliver Pemberton. It’s the last thing she wants to do but when she realizes he’s her only shot, she decides to give the venture a chance. While spending the weekend together looking at a potential location for their expansion, they can’t seem to fight that chemistry that always ran hot between them, but Chloe tries to keep her heart protected. Every time in the past that they’ve come together, Oliver always ended up acting like an immature boy instead of a grown man with integrity. Chloe’s heart was broken time and again. Now it would seem as though Oliver has finally matured from his spoiled rich boy ways, but he’s keeping a huge secret from Chloe. Will this be the final straw that tears the two lovers apart for good?

Here are my overall ratings:

Heroes: 3.5
Heroine: 4
Plot: 4
Angst: 4
Steam: 4
Chemistry Between Hero & Heroine: 4

UNDENIABLE is currently available!

 

 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2EjE51C

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/UndeniableMH

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2VKluH2

REVIEW – A FIVE MINUTE LIFE by Emma Scott

Leave a comment

SYNOPSIS

Remember us…when I can’t.

Thea Hughes has five minutes to live.

A car accident stole her parents and left her with the second-worst documented case of amnesia in the world. She now has only minutes of experiences, of consciousness, of life…before her memory is wiped clean. The once effervescent artist with a promising future is reduced to scribbling with pens and paper, living an empty, quiet life, three hundred seconds at a time.

Jim Whelan is on autopilot.

A foster kid shuffled around the system since birth, he’s lived his entire life without knowing love…and it’s taken its toll—until he learned to fight back, carry his armor, and keep his head down.

Working as an orderly in the Blue Ridge Sanitarium, deep in Virginia countryside, Jim looked up…and found Thea.

When Thea has the chance to break free of her five-minute prison with a risky, experimental surgery, it could lead them both to an epic love they never thought possible… or one that could require the ultimate sacrifice.

***
50 First Dates meets Awakenings in this emotional love story by international and best selling author, Emma Scott.

A Five-Minute life contains subject matter that might be sensitive to some readers.
#standalone #newadultromance #notparanormal

 

 

*****Patty’s Review*****

*****FIVE ++++++++ STARS*****
{ARC Generously Provided by Author}

We kissed to seal the pact, but it wasn’t enough. A feeling I didn’t have a word for made my chest expand. I couldn’t describe it except that when I looked in Thea’s eyes, or held her, or kissed her, or listened to her talk, it grew bigger. Sunk in deeper. Embedded itself into the marrow of my bones, and yet I was fucking petrified it would crumble and vanish.

 

 

”A FIVE MINUTE LIFE” is Emma Scott’s latest EPICromance! This story is another testament to the amazing talent of this gifted author. It was mesmerizing and heartfelt. There is no way you will not fall head over heels in love with this story and the characters who live and breathe within its pages. Thea and Jim’s love story is hauntingly beautiful!

Life has broken Jim and Thea in completely different ways but somehow something deep within them calls out to each other’s soul. Jim grew up being transferred from one foster home to the next. Suffering from verbal and physical abuse. Bullied by kids in school because he was afflicted with a severe case of stuttering. Only ever having experienced brief moments of true kindness, he grew up to be a gentle soul whose only purpose in life was to try and help others. It’s only after he sees the beautiful girl with dazzling blue eyes at his new job at Blue Ridge Sanitarium, that his heart comes to life.

Thea was once a vivacious and happy young woman with a promising career as an artist waiting ahead of her until a terrible accident steals it all away. She’s been a patient at Blue Ridge for two years. Thea suffers from a catastrophic brain injury which destroyed her memory. Her memory resets every five minutes. She’s destined to repeat the same five-minute conversation for the rest of her life. That is until the beautiful man with the kind eyes walks into her life.

Jim sees something in Thea’s drawings and in her eyes that no one else takes notice of. He can see the woman fighting to break free of the prison that her broken mind keeps her entrapped within. It all seemed to be such an incredibly hopeless situation. I wondered where the author planned to take these two characters. I soon learned to never doubt Emma Scott. Jim and Thea will go on an epic journey filled with so much love and hope. My heart was bursting for them, but the worry was never too far behind.

This story was a true masterpiece. It’s one of those books that you wish would never come to an end!

Here are my overall ratings:

Heroes: 5++++
Heroine: 5++++
Plot: 5+++++
Angst: 5++++++
Steam: 4.5
Chemistry Between Hero & Heroine: 5+++++++++

”A FIVE MINUTE LIFE” is currently available! I have no doubt that this book is going to be getting a plethora of “Five Star” reviews!!

 

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2EaBVBk

Amazon Worldwide: mybook.to/AFiveMinuteLife

REVIEW – ELI’s TRIUMPH (Reapers MC, #6.7) by Joanna Wylde

Leave a comment

SYNOPSIS

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Joanna Wylde comes a new story in her Reapers MC series…

Peaches Taylor spent the last seven years slinging drinks and dodging drunks at the Starkwood Saloon. Some might call it a dead end job, but to her it was an investment—another six months, and she’d have enough money to buy the place.

Life would’ve been perfect if Eli hadn’t come home.

Eli King is ready to settle down. He stood by his brothers when they needed him, paying the price for their freedom with his own. Now it’s time to claim his reward—the Starkwood Saloon. He’s got the cash to buy the bar, the skills to run it, and just one person standing between him and his dream: Peaches Taylor.

She’s been driving him crazy since they were kids, and not in the good way. When she was six, she shoved a spider down his pants. When he was ten, he locked her in a closet overnight. Then she hot-wired his car at seventeen, and things got ugly…

They’re adults now, and the Starkwood isn’t a toy to fight over—it’s the hill they’ll die on. No prisoners. No compromises. No mercy.

Peaches Taylor and Eli King are going to war.

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

 

 

*****Patty’s Review*****

*****3.5 STARS*****
{ARC Generously Provided by Author}

 

 

The ”REAPERS” are my favorite fictional MCs. I have loved this series from the start, but I think it’s time that Joanna Wylde stops writing these novellas and gets back to the full-length novels. ”ELI’s TRIUMPH” is the third novella in a row, and I’m starting to feel just a tiny bit cheated. This one was just ok for me. The Heroine, Peaches, was overly dramatic for my taste and I was missing some of that action that we normally get from a Reaper’s story. I’ll still continue to read whatever this author publishes because I love her style and I know it’s probably impossible to write a five-star worthy novel every time.

Here are my overall ratings:

Heroes: 4
Heroine: 3.5
Plot: 3.5
Angst: 3.5
Steam: 4
Chemistry Between Hero & Heroine: 3.5

ELI’s TRIUMPH is currently available.

Amazon https://amzn.to/2Vu9Fnt
Amazon UK https://amzn.to/2DFvV3s
Amazon AU https://amzn.to/2vwU1ZU
Amazon CA https://amzn.to/2UQF4vF

REVIEW – BRED by Ginger Scott

Leave a comment

SYNOPSIS

A coming-of-age romance inspired by Great Expectations

My life was irrevocably changed the moment I stepped foot inside Elena Alderman’s grand front doors. A lifeless tomb on the edge of Chicago’s Southside, the Alderman home sat in one of the city’s oldest and wealthiest neighborhoods, and Elena Alderman was the queen.

She was also mad.

Not the kind of madness that’s readily apparent. No, her psychopathy was far more surgical—more…insidious. She was surrounded by beautiful things—most notably her grand piano and her adopted son, Henry.

I fell in love with both.

My gift blossomed when my fingers touched her black and white keys. But my life began when I became haunted by the boy. Henry Alderman was a handsome blend of arrogance and seduction, and as we grew up together, I found it more and more impossible to separate him from my thoughts. I envied his life. I imagined how my name—Lily—would look with his. I became his closest friend…and more. I gave him my kiss, locked away his secrets, and loved him even when it was hard to.

But we were just a game. Elena Alderman made the rules. And when she decided to change them, she broke everything.

Almost.

 

 

*****Patty’s Review*****

*****FOUR STARS*****
{ARC Generously Provided by Author}

At some point we began to rock our steps, and as Henry’s eyes reflect against the setting sun, the brown and green mix in a hypnotic gaze that stops my heart ever so briefly. It skips. I die, just for a breath. I die—and I come back.

 

 

BRED is Ginger Scott’s incredibly angsty version of one of her all-time favorite stories, ”Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens. This is a coming of age romance between two teenagers who are from completely opposite scales of society but find they have more things in common than they do differences.

Lily’s living with her last remaining relatives after her parents died in a tragic car accident. She’s a lonely girl who finds a bit of happiness in the beautiful boy she meets during her aunt’s job interview with the boy’s mother. Henry is also drawn to the beautiful and shy young girl. Over the course of the first year of their friendship, his adopted mother, Elena, offers to provide piano lessons to Lily. Lily proves to have a gift and picks up the piano quickly. She ends up getting a scholarship to attend the same prestigious boarding school that Henry is going to as well. From there the angst ensues and it’s the conniving Elena that plays with their minds and hearts as if they are pieces of a chess game.

The story started off at a pace that was a little too slow for me. The plot turns interesting when things start to change between Henry and Lily, and earth-shattering secrets are revealed. I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen next for the young couple. Overall, this was a super angsty and enjoyable read.

Here are my overall ratings:

Hero: 4
Heroine: 4
Plot: 4
Angst: 5
Steam: 3
Chemistry Between Hero & Heroine: 4

BRED is currently available!

REVIEW – THE UNHONEYMOONERS by Christina Lauren

Leave a comment

SYNOPSIS

For two sworn enemies, anything can happen during the Hawaiian trip of a lifetime—maybe even love—in this romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling authors of Roomies.

Olive Torres is used to being the unlucky twin: from inexplicable mishaps to a recent layoff, her life seems to be almost comically jinxed. By contrast, her sister Ami is an eternal champion . . . she even managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a slew of contests. Unfortunately for Olive, the only thing worse than constant bad luck is having to spend the wedding day with the best man (and her nemesis), Ethan Thomas.

Olive braces herself for wedding hell, determined to put on a brave face, but when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. Suddenly there’s a free honeymoon up for grabs, and Olive will be damned if Ethan gets to enjoy paradise solo.

Agreeing to a temporary truce, the pair head for Maui. After all, ten days of bliss is worth having to assume the role of loving newlyweds, right? But the weird thing is . . . Olive doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, the more she pretends to be the luckiest woman alive, the more it feels like she might be.

With Christina Lauren’s “uniquely hilarious and touching voice” (Entertainment Weekly), The Unhoneymooners is a romance for anyone who has ever felt unlucky in love.

 

 

*****Patty’s Review*****

*****FOUR STARS*****
{ARC Generously Provided by Author}

Being with Ethan increasingly feels like spoiling myself with a perfect new pair of shoes or an extravagant dinner out. I just remain unconvinced that I deserve this daily …or that it can last.

”THE UNHONEYMOONERS” is an enemies-to-loversromantic comedy that is light in the steam department but makes up for it with numerous laugh out loud moments. I have to admit that it took me a while to get into this story. I wasn’t feeling the chemistry between Olive and Ethan. I didn’t even really like them in the beginning. Olive was a pessimist and always had a black cloud hanging over her. She believed she was the twin whose life was consistently plagued by bad luck, while her sister, Ami, was her polar opposite who led a charmed life. Ethan starts off having no personality. It seemed like he felt ambivalence towards Olive.

When Dane and Ami’s entire wedding party and guests, except for Ethan and Olive, contract a violent case of food poisoning, the two end up going on their siblings’ romantic honeymoon to Maui. Ami won the honeymoon trip through a contest and urges Olive to go in her place otherwise the trip goes to waste as there is no option to postpone it to a later date.

Ethan and Olive end up going together but must pretend to be their siblings who are on their honeymoon. It is awkward at first and the story seemed to drag until things start to spark between them. After spending so much time with each other, Olive is starting to doubt that her first impressions of Ethan were accurate. She’s surprised to realize that he’s not the judgmental douche she always thought he was and that he actually has been attracted to her and deep down she’s buried the same feelings for him.

They learn a lot about each other during their stay. They actually have a lot in common and enjoy going on different adventures together. But Olive can’t ever accept that her life can be this good and is wondering when it’s all going to blow up in her face.

Will they be able to continue what they started in Maui when it’s time to go back to Minnesota? Or do they go back to being indifferent and merely tolerating each other’s company when they’re at family functions?

Here are my overall ratings:

Hero: 4
Heroine: 4
Plot: 4
Angst: 4
Steam: 3.5
Chemistry Between Hero & Heroine: 4

THE UNHONEYMOONERS is currently available!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2UW0g4b

REVIEW – SHARE ME by K. Webster & Ker Dukey

Leave a comment

SYNOPSIS

From international bestselling authors, Ker Dukey and K Webstercomes a steamy reverse harem standalone story from their KKinky Reads collection!

They have one job.

Keep me safe.

But none of us are safe against the allure we have when we’re together.

Control and professionalism used to be something they prided themselves on.

But now that we’re secluded and alone, lines blur and control quickly loses to need.

Someone is trying to snuff out my life, but they may not get the chance if I’m devoured whole by my saviors first

 

*****Patty’s Review*****

*****3 Stars*****
{ARC Generously Provided by Authors}

 

 

K. Webster happens to be one of my favorite authors. She can take my mind to some pretty dark places, but she also has written some fabulous romantic comedies. She tends to write a lot of seriously dirty erotic novellas and SHARE ME falls in the last category. I’m almost always automatically signing up to review her books. It’s like a reflex I can’t control. I saw a teaser but didn’t really pay attention to the blurb. I was expecting an MFM romance but instead, I found myself reading a reverse harem story. I’ve never read a romance between one woman and four men. Let me just say there isn’t much of a story to be had here, just some truly erotic and downright dirty sexy times.

 

 

 

I can’t even say this ever was a fantasy of mine and I’m not sure how a normal woman could possibly handle four men all at once. A porn star maybe. Is it even possible to love four men at the same time? What man would want to share one woman with three other dudes? Have any of these people heard of using a condom? There is never a mention of wearing protection and I don’t recall Clove ever saying she was on birth control. This was just an out of control, never-ending orgy.

I’m not going to lie, the sex is super hot but this really isn’t my favorite trope and there was a little journey into the MM side which I did not love at all! That being said, I ended up reading the entire story and my eyes might have popped out quite a few times. The book is entertaining but definitely, eye-rolling inducing as well. This is purely meant to be a guilty pleasure read and it does it serves its purpose!

 

 

Here are my overall ratings:

Heroes: 3
Heroine: 2
Plot: 2
Angst: 1
Steam: 5
Chemistry Between Heroes & Heroine: 5

”SHARE ME” is currently available!

REVIEW – BOYFRIEND BARGAIN by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Leave a comment

SYNOPSIS

“Who can turn down a sexy hockey star with a big . . . stick? Zack is hot hot hot, and Sugar is the perfect blend of sweet and sassy! Their chemistry sizzles in Boyfriend Bargain!”

— Melanie Harlow, USA Today bestselling author

Boyfriend Bargain, an all-new sexy and emotional sports romance from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Ilsa Madden-Mills, is available now!

Wanted: one hot guy with rock-hard abs and a big stick

 

Broke and desperate, Sugar Ryan has no use for arrogant, bad boy athletes . . . until she’s forced to bargain with the cockiest of them all.

 

If only he knew she was alive.

 

Her mission? Get on this hockey player’s radar any way possible.

 

Zack Morgan is the king of the ice and the bedroom—but nothing prepares him for the mystery girl who shows up everywhere he does—frat parties, his favorite bar, and finally his front door with an offer he can’t refuse. The only rule in her boyfriend bargain: no falling in love.

 

But after one (um, two) smoking-hot hookups, he’s done with pretending and vows to make their fake relationship real. Too bad she can’t trust a player with a reputation for breaking hearts.

 

Will this hockey star score his forever girl or will their Boyfriend Bargain end in heartbreak?

 

 

*****Patty’s Review*****

*****FIVE STARS*****
{ARC Generously Provided by Author}

She’s everything.
She’s Mine.
She’s a symbol of me getting life right.
My Love, my hope. Always.

 

 

 

If you love sports romances about sinfully sexy and cocky as hell hockey players as much as I do, then BOYFRIEND BARGAIN by Ilsa Madden-Mills is right up your alley. Zack Morgan is the captain of his university’s hockey team and all-around big man on campus. He’s got a lengthy list of coeds looking to warm his bed but no one has been able to steal his heart. He’s plagued by some serious guilt over a tragic accident from a few years back and it’s bleeding into his everyday life and affecting his game.

Sugar Ryan, didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in her mouth like the rest of the kids who go to her university. She’s had to work her butt off to pay for her tuition and has her sights on attending Vanderbilt Law School after graduation. Sugar is on the wait list and thinks that with a little help from the biggest player on the hockey team, that she might be able to finagle an acceptance letter. The only obstacle is that she and Zack don’t run in the same social circles, but she’s determined to get his help.

They meet at a frat party and soon enough sparks are flying. These two have crazy chemistry. You feel it from the moment they find themselves within a few feet of each other. Sugar asks Zack to be her fake boyfriend for a while just so that she can impress Vanderbilt’s Dean of Admissions, but she’s not fooling anyone but herself. Zack and Sugar are 100% into each other and you feel it from the very beginning.

 

 

 

Zack is the epitome of a book boyfriend readers fall head over heels in love with. He’s funny, alpha, gorgeous, and just a bit broken. When he falls in love with a woman, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to win her heart. I think he just might be my favorite of all of Ilsa Madden-Mill’s Heroes. Sugar is a strong Heroine with an endearing sweetness to her as well. She is a challenge for Zack, who is used to women falling at his feet. I loved these characters and found their story to be truly addictive.

Here are my overall ratings:

Heroes: 5
Heroine: 4.5
Plot: 5
Angst: 5
Steam: 5
Chemistry Between Hero & Heroine: 5+++++

BOYFRIEND BARGAIN is currently available and not to be missed!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2DMnEuO
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/BoyfriendBargain

 

REVIEW – THE LYING HOURS (How To Date A Douchebag,#5) by Sara Ney

Leave a comment

SYNOPSIS

ABRAHAM DAVIS—Honest Abe to his friends—IS IN OVER HIS HEAD…

He’s a fixer and a do good-er. The all-knowing, resident “grandfather” on the wrestling team who everyone relies on to fix their problems. His teammates go to him for everything; advice, homework, or when they need a sober driver at three in the morning–whether he likes it or not.

Abe’s current mission is easy: mend his roommates broken heart by helping him find a girlfriend on the LoveU app–without getting caught in the lie…

SKYLAR GABRIEL. IS. OVER. IT.

Over her bad grades. Over her meddling older brother and his two best friends. And over dating douchebags. What she wants to know is: where have all the nice guys gone?

She longs for a handsome, sweet, and honest guy who can make her laugh. In one last ditch effort to prove that he exists—Skylar turns to LoveU.

On her worst day, Skylar has no filter (it’s a miracle she hasn’t been ditched mid-date).
On her best, she’s as wholesome, and sweet, as pie.
On Thursday? She matches with Abraham Davis’s roommate.

Skylar Gabriel is falling for the wrong guy—she just doesn’t realize it yet.

Why?

BECAUSE ABE DAVIS IS A LIAR.

 

 

*****Patty’s Review*****

*****4.5 STARS*****
{ARC Generously Provided by Author}

”The second I saw Skylar, it was like a punch to the gut. I knew I wasn’t going to make it out the other side without some collateral damage.” 

 

 

THE LYING HOURS is another romantic comedy that tries to put a new spin on the “Cyrano De Bergerac” story and even though it might be predictable, I can’t deny that it was wildly entertaining. I didn’t know what to make of Abraham Davis at first, but as soon as we find out he’s a huge reader and loves to spend quiet time in a second-hand book store, I was a goner for him. He’s truly a good guy, who might be a bit of a pushover, but his heart is golden.

Skylar is snarky and a little anti-social…my kind of girl. She’s not into partying and getting drunk. Skylar wants to be in a committed relationship but hasn’t had luck in the love department and so she signs up on a dating app after being convinced to do so by her bestie. She soon matches up with JB, and the two have great banter over the app. What she doesn’t know is JB is really Abe, who is chatting up girls for his roommate/teammate who is trying to get over a broken heart. JB is a true douchebag with absolutely no skills with the written word, so Abe agrees to help him find girls in hopes that his friend gets out of the funk he’s in. I’m beginning to realize that it’s the friends in these stories that are the douchebags and not the main characters!

Of course, when Skylar meets the real JB for drinks, it’s obvious that the two have absolutely no chemistry and JB pretty much screws it all up. Somehow Abe convinces Skylar to agree to another date with JB but this time it’s a double date which Abe and her Bestie, Hannah, will go on with them. It’s during this double date that Abe realizes the girl of his dreams is the one he’s been trying to woo for his buddy JB. How is he going to get the girl, when she’s supposed to be with JB? What will Skylar do when she finds out Abe has been deceiving her from the start? Makes for a pretty interesting plot, right?!!

Here are my overall ratings:

Heroes: 5
Heroine: 4.5
Plot: 4
Angst: 4
Steam: 4
Chemistry Between Hero & Heroine: 4.5

”THE LYING HOURS” is currently available!

 

REVIEW – THE BRIDE TEST by Helen Hoang

Leave a comment

SYNOPSIS

From the critically acclaimed author of The Kiss Quotient comes a romantic novel about love that crosses international borders and all boundaries of the heart…

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions — like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better— that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.

As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working… but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.

With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.

 

 

*****Patty’s Review*****

*****FIVE STARS*****
{ARC Generously Provided by Berkley Publishing Group}

He could give her everything she wanted, a green card, real diamonds, his body, but love? Stone hearts didn’t love.

She knew why he couldn’t love her. She could go to school, change her clothes, and change her speech, but she could never change where she’d come from.

I didn’t think I could love Khai & Esme’s story as much as Michael & Stella’s, but I did! I’m officially fangirling hard over Helen Hoang! This was a story that I easily was swept away by. I completely lost track of time and obligations. That is what made this a phenomenal read for me.

I don’t know why but I really love when the romance doesn’t come so easy for the main characters. When a character faces challenges that most people don’t, it makes the journey infinitely more interesting. Khai is Michael’s (from “The Kiss Quotient) cousin. He too, has Asperger’s as Stella did from book one, but I would say they aren’t on the same spectrum. Khai’s mother goes off to Vietnam to find her son a bride. She worries that he will be alone for the rest of his life unless she steps in to play cupid for him. She meets Esme, by chance, and is so impressed by her that she offers her an all expense paid trip to San Francisco, where she will spend a couple of months trying to get close to Khai, which will hopefully end up with a wedding.

While Khai and Esme may have come from two different worlds, they really do end up being true soulmates. Khai is set in his ways. Likes his routines. He doesn’t think he needs a woman. Khai doesn’t believe he has a heart, and this stems from tragic losses from his past. He’s internalized a lot of his pain and having Asperger’s, doesn’t make it easy for him to understand his feelings.

Esme comes from very impoverished conditions. She works as a hotel maid in Vietnam, to help support her family. Meeting Khai’s mother and being offered a trip to San Francisco was almost too good to be true to Esme, but she has an honest soul and marrying someone just to get a green card to be able to stay in the U.S., was not something she could ever go through with. Her plan was to find her American father, who left Vietnam before she was born and gain citizenship that way. But, when she sees Khai for the first time, there is no denying her heart was beating for him. Poor Esme battles with insecurities. She thinks being poor and not having a college education, make her an unsuitable match for Khai.

Their relationship starts off awkward but eventually strong attraction takes hold and Esme is falling hard for Khai, but he truly believes he is incapable of loving anyone else, and so the angst ensues.

I loved the relationship between Khai and his older brother Quan, who was always there for his brother. He took it upon himself to help Khai maneuver through some challenges that he was not equipped to handle on his own.

You can’t help but root for this couple to find a way to overcome their challenges and end up in a happily ever after that they truly deserved. I was so sad when I got to the end of the story because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to these wonderful characters.

Here are my overall ratings:

Hero: 5
Heroine: 5
Plot: 5
Angst: 5
Steam: 4
Chemistry Between Hero & Heroine: 5

THE BRIDE TEST is currently available! I highly recommend it, and ”The Kiss Quotient”.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Ufba4q