Asia

4.75/5

This is my favourite book in the series. I loved the characters and the plot, although the audiobook was a little rough since I had to endure Connor's French accent, which was sometimes very hard to understand. It wasn't bad, per se, but I already struggle with accents haha.

The chaarcters were well written and rounded; they weren't flat pieces of cardboard with no chemistry. I loved the banter and their relationship - Sebastian's feelings towards Maya have been obvious since the start, but I enjoyed the journey. Maya was a no-nonsense businesswoman who thrived on challenge, and I loved her. Their competitiveness and characters were well-suited; they also knew each other super well. Nobody else would be good for them, Sebastian knew Maya like nobody else.

I LOVED Sebastian's attempts to make Maya feel better after an awful date. ALSO, him saving her from a snake? Husband material. No question. I would also like to kiss him right then and there. And I also HATE snakes. I was expecting an only one bed trope, but what we got was better and more thrilling than that.

I was hoping for more spicy scenes though, I think that's the one complaint I have. But a stairwell sex? Ana Huang proves again that her couples love a public setting haha. And I appreciate her for that.

I loved the romance and the plot outside of it. Them working together to launch a partnership between their companies, Sebastian's journey to opening his own restaurant, the mystery about the food poisoning, it was all interesting and I wanted to know more.

I'm also happy that all couples from the previous books also showed up, although I think I would love the book even more if Maya and Sebastian were mentioned in the first or second book, not just in the 5th book in the series. But them all showing up grounded this book in this universe that I really like.

I can't wait for the next book to come out next year. I can't even imagine what kind of story might wait for Killian and Tate. The title isKing of Lust, so perhaps a friends-with-benefits arrangement?

3.5/5

I was excited about this book but, my God, it was way too long. 530 pages? Over 16 hours of an audiobook? And it was so... boring in places, it could easily be better if it were 200-250 pages shorter. We really didn't need that cat rescue at the end or the cat's fucking birthday party (WHY) or even Ayana's kidnapping. The thord act breakup was also unecessary, considering that she broke up with him for killing someone when she killed someone too, later. The fire, the kidnapping... it was all unecessary.

And I hated the fact that while Roman was back, he never reunited with Christian because Vuk never told him about his brother. UGH. Super annoying and for what?

I also wasn't a fan of Ayana and Vuk's relationship while she was still engaged to Jordan. I don't care that it was an arranged engagement, it felt tacky and icky and I hate cheaters.

4/5

It was a solid book and I enjoyed it. Sloane was a no-nonsense character who didn't take anyone's shit and Xavier wanted to relax her. I liked their relationship and Sloane's aversion to romcoms was funny. Her attitude towards The Fish was hilarious. I couldn't relate to her not being able to cry - I cry too often as it is - so I'm glad she could do it later. At least twice. And I'm glad that she learned she's worthy of love.

Xavier was great and I'm glad he was more than just a pretty face who wanted to party. I liked his growth and his relationship with Sloane.

I wonder who burned the club down. Was it Roman? Maybe? Who knows. I wonder if that's going to be revealed at all.

I didn't read the description for the next book yet, but I have a feeling it's going to be about The Serb and that supermodel. Right? Right???? Those are the only crumbs I've noticed!

4.5/5

This book was amazing and I liked it very much. Tbh, I disliked that they divorced in the first place (was this really necessary? Couldn't they just separate and then figure things out? But I'm so glad they remarried again. Ngl, the audiobook ended with the last chapter where they weren't married and I was so confused when the narrators signed off, thiking "this was it? They're just dating now and that's the happy ending?" And only THEN, AFTER THE END CREDITS, we got the epilogue. Talk about a heart attack.

Without the epilogue, it was 4 stars, with epilogue it's 4.5 stars. Something was missing and I couldn't give it 5 stars though I'm not sure what. Maybe it was the fact that they literally divorced halfway through the book. BUT! There was no third act breakup, which was a relief!

The characters were great and I enjoyed the narration too. The epilogue makes me think that the next book might be about Sloane and Xavier, but who knows. I wonder if Roman will ever get his own book or is he going to be okay? Who knows.

I enjoyed the friendship between Alessandra, Isabella, Vivian and Sloane, and Dominic, Kai and Dante. Roman was annoying half the time, and I wonder if this whole drama with the bank was even necessary, considering that Dominic bought another one. Idk. I didn't really understand this part of the book. ANYWAY, I think it was mostly there for Dominic to miss out on Alessandra's shop opening.

I hope they'll still appear in the next books!

4/5

I enjoyed this book. I loved both MCs and it was nice to see more people like Alessandra or Cassandra too. I guess the latter won't get her won book but I'm super interested in Dominic and Alessandra's story.

I liked Kai and Isabella a lot though some of the plot was very easily guessed. I hated the third act breakup though. While in the King of Greed it was necessary, it wasn't needed here. She was just too stubborn to listen to a reason.

I'm glad they got back together but that angst at the end was completely unecessary and it was just there to drag the book out. It would be better to see them fight for each other and see them happy and strong, instead of them getting back at the very end only to see their epilogue set 2 years later. (Also did Alessandra really stay with Dominic for 2 more years??? Jesus. That woman is a saint)

4/5

I enjoyed this book. I was afraid I would hate MMC but he wasn't an irredeemable asshole so that was good. And I loved that he grew up and communicated!! At the end, but still! And I LOVED that FMC didn't forgive him immediately, but that she took time. It gave them both ability and time to grow up as separate characters and as a couple, and it made them stronger. Sometimes a 3rd act breakup is necessary and I enjoyed how it was handled here.

I loved both MCs and when MMC pointed out how FMC makes herself smaller to get the approval of her parents, I was with him and angry with FMC for excusing it. But I'm glad she grew up and stood against her father and't didn't forgive him just because he was her father.

The story was fun, well written, and the characters were enjoyable. I will definitely read the whole series.

3.75/5

So you're telling me that not only did he kidnap her and threaten her family, but also bought her expensive gifts to buy her love and THEN, because it wasn't enough, got her drunk so they'd get married while she didn't know and then send her home? And then he let himself be shot?

Talk about a complicated man.

I enjoyed this book but it was also cringe at times and not in a good way. The writing was poetic in one instance and then simple in others. It was weird. I didn't like it.

I had to completely turn my brain off to enjoy this book, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy it. I mean, seriously, the author wanted to have a Beauty and the Beast retelling and she wrote a Stokholm syndrome novel instead. Which, btw ISN'T what Beauty and the Beast is about.

Anyway.... I probably won't read any other books by this author tbh. Mafia isn't for me. At least Italian mafia lol.

4.25/5

Portia is a feminist and a 'radical' who seeks justice and reform and hates aristocracy. Leo is a duke and a magistrate who just wants to keep his sisters safe.

When he hires her as his sisters' chaperone, they have no idea what might happen.

This was a fun book. I enjoyed it very much.

The characters were funny, engaging, well written. The whole book was better written than the previous two, the inner thoughts and ramblings weren't as long and didn't detract from the story - possibly because they didn't happen in the middle of the scene anymore.

I loved the hijinks and mishaps Portia got herself into even if they were ridiculous. And Leo's valiants attempt at helping her which somehow always complicated things instead.

Without spoilers, I loved the book. i didn't see the plot twist coming at all and I cried during ahhh certain scene after Abigail was sent home. That's all I'm saying. I also LOVED Portia's speech to Abigail and I was cheering her on.

I loved the relationship between Portia and Leo and Portia and Letitia. I wish we saw more of Portia's friendship with Lottie and Georgie. I know that only Kitty is unmarried and that's why she was the only person there, but surely both Georgie and Lottie would come to see Portia when she needed them! After all, they both (well, at least Georgie) live in London.

So that friendship between her supposed best friends is what's missing for me. Other than that, I enjoy this series a lot.

Thank you, NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4/5

That was a cute book, I enjoyed it.

Very fluffy, which is what I wanted, and followed a tried formula, which is exactly what I wanted too. The only thing I didn't like is that the writing was at times throwing us in the past where it didn't belong, with some long, long, VERY long musings and inner thoughts in the middle of the scenes (3 pages of description about the past while the other character was waiting for a response, for example), which slowed down the plot and annoyed me.

The book could have been better written. it wasn't phenomenal but it was solid.

I liked the characters, though the dogs weren't for me. Georgie was great, I loved her, though Harry was boring at times. And all this drama with Elizabeth that didn't go anywhere was disappointing. If you introduce the lying ex, I expect drama, but there was just nothing there. Idk why she was even there, her not being there wouldn't change the story a bit. Even without her, Harry would still talk to his sister about the admiral, and they would still come to the same conclusion anyway.

Anyway, the book was solid. I preferred the second book in the series about Lottie, though.

4.75/5

Truth or Dare, Monroe?

Quincy is a meteorologist who runs a successful weather show. When her infuriating academic rival comes back to town, she's sure avoiding him will be easy.

Sebastian can't wait until he sees his sister's best friend again so he can antagonize her again. He'sthere to make a docuseries about storms but he can't resist Quincy's pull.

And when they both report on the same storms, spend more and more time together and get to know one another, he starts to realize that storms are not the only thing he chases.

I loved this book. Quinncy and Sebastian were amazing. I loved the banter, the flirting, the humor. Both characters were written well, and I loved their backstory sprinkled throughout the book. Sebastian was a man obsessed and I loved that for him. And I loved that Quince didn't fall in love with him immediately, but it was slow and gradual.

The weather aspects were very scientific, but explained very well. It felt like I was chasing the storms with them, and was watching it all happen with the characters. The writing was fantastic and I loved the atmosphere.

I loved the supporting characters too. I can't wait to get to know the friends better. We all agree that Mia and Cooper will get their own story, right? According to the acknowledgements, there will be a fake-dating romance after having a broken heart. it's got to be Mia. And If Harlow and Nate will be paired up too. I won't be mad, but I wonder if they'll get their own partners too.

This book was great, and I had fun reading it; it was hard to put it down.

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books for providing the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

5/5

Lady Ruby Ballimore needs to escape London and its stifling rules after one too many mishaps. She and her friends decide to travel to an Italian princess's summer house and pose as her ladies-in-waiting, so they can finally be free, without judgement or ruin.

Captain Malcolm Archer doesn't need distractions. After a failed job, he needs to protect his crew and if that means smuggling and breaking the law, so be it. The last thing he needs is a group of young ladies in the house he secured. Especially when one of them was the person who had so recently destroyed his scheme.

This book was perfect. I adored it.

All of the characters were well-written and I loved them, especially Malcolm. He thought he was so smart, and yet one look from Ruby and he was falling. For her. (I love a man-distaster!!). I loved his empathy and the bond he had with his crew. Ruby was amazing, badass, and creative. I loved her compassion and big heart, and her self-confidence iuuses were very relatable. Both were so similar to each other with the way they looked after their friends. Their relationship was amazing, full of sparks and chemistry, and I'm glad there was no insta-love, but they gradually started out as opposites, to slowly form a friendship and more.

I loved the rest of the characters too, though I wish we'd seen more of Eugenie and Wall. Hopefully in the next book! The love and trust that the all crew had for Malcolm was so beautiful, I loved it.

The writing was amazing. I laughed, I cried, I giggled like stupid. The humour was fantastic and I couldn't stop smiling. I now want to go to Cornwall so bad, just to imagine myself as Ruby. I just need a pirate of my own!

I'm so happy that there will be a next book in the series! Tamsin and a certain Italian royal, perhaps? I can't wait!

I loved this book and I can't wait to have it on my shelf soon!

Thank you, NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the free ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.5/5

I'm torn. On one hand, I enjoyed this story, on another, the writing was horrible at times.

I didn't know I disliked pop culture references until this book. Tell me, WHY were there 4 different songs they were listening to in the span of 3 or 4 pages?? I don't need to know that. I don't care that her son is obsessed with We Don't Talk About Bruno; who cares? It's not relevant to the story at all, so stop the name-dropping.

Also, I will never forgive the author for describing FMC's G-spot as "spongy". SPONGY. I mean, I guess, but I DIDN'T NEED TO READ IT. I HAVE TO BLEACH MY EYES NOW. GOD.

The story was fun otherwise, though I didn't care about the couple at the end. You're telling me that he's too controlling and she broke up with him because of that and because she has already been in a relationship with a controlling man and she was scarred for life because of that, so she ended things because she didn't want him to tell her what to do... Only to get back with him anyway? And I'm supposed to suspend my disbelief enough to believe that she's suddenly fine with all of his rules and control? Seriously?

Also, the dude spent ONE afternoon with two of her kids, and I'm supposed to believe he's suddenly so in love with them he wants them to be his family??? Seriously? One afternoon? Come on, now. Be believable.

3.75/5

Out of the Delca siblings, I much prefer Stefan and his story.

Nadia was cool and I liked her but I had some problems with Griffin. I just disliked his "I'm not gonna deal with my shit or fix my messes; I will just ignore it all and live blissfully in delusion" attitude. Man was 35 years old and was as less mature then Nadia, who was 21. Literally, she was more responsible and mature and knew how to deal with her problems than this gron-ass man. He was in his mid 30s and yet wasn't even able to use his big words. Ughhh.

What really got to me was that plot twist at the end. So you're telling me that this guy has been married on paper for however long, never bothered to get a divorce properly until now, and yet this wasn't the reason for them to break up. No, they talked like mature people (color me surprised) and she promised to stand with him... Until next week, when they broke up for... What reason exactly? What was the reason there I'm so confused?

We had the potential conflict that was swept under the rug and I thought "oh, we're out of the woods, that's fun!:" only for the author to say "sike!" and break the characters up ANYWAY.

Super frustrating.

I have to say I loved the mail Nadia got from Gryffin. He called her "Wildflower" and then sent her so many wildflowers AND THEN HE PLANTED THEM FOR HER SO THEY COULD BUILD HOME TOGETHER???? Are you kidding me? That was the sweetest thing!!

The story was lacking something for me though. All those time skips while she was at school only so we could see her receive mail from him. Like I hoped we'd see her apart frorm him, with different people as her own person! Because they met in chapter 1 and I only saw Nadia as already obsessed with him, never had any opportunity to know her before their meeting. At elast Gryffin had flashbacks to before he met her, but Nadia? There was nada. Which was frustrating.

All in all it wasn't bad book but it wasn't for me.

4/5

I liked this book, but I have some thoughts.

First of all, as much as I love Zachary Webber, his narration in this book made me laugh. He was going for the Romanian accent, but it sounded more like what Ben Barnes did in Prince Caspian lol. Second of all, Soneela Nankani male vocie was absolutely horrible. I'm sorry. Her narration and her reading female characters was fantastic, but that male voice wasn't it.

Third. I was so over the whole "I can't believe I'm sleeping with the enemy" narrative. The whole treatment of Stefan was so over the top, are we in middle school? Especially Billie's behaviour, how much she hated him. All because he wanted to buy her horse once upon a time. Jesus. You're an adult; act like one, instead of resorting to high school taunts and the name-calling.

Also, Mira's "I'm sleeping with an enemy" mentality. If he's your enemy, walk the fuck away. Who calls other people enemies in real life anyway? Grow up. I wouldn't be surprised if she was the one setting his stable on fire.

I also hated Mira's behavior at the end. She was keeping the secret from Stefan since he told her about his father, and she had MONTHS to figure out a way to tell him. She didn't, and THEN she had the gall to say that it's not her fault and she didn't do anything wrong??? And that the situation is 'faultless'?? What do you mean???? It was your fault! You kept his father's identity away from him! Even after he explained to her that mere suspicion without confirmation would be better than not knowing, she still didn't understand! And she still claimed it wasn't her fault till the end!

I hated it. And I hated how it was all brushed away because surprise! We needed another drama!

Why is it that Stefan is not only hated by all the characters but the narrative as well? He's beating himself up about leaving sis sister (while he himself was still a kid), he's hated by everyone in the industry, the woman he sees is embarrassed to be seen with him and keeps him a secret, and then, because it's not enough, his barn needed to be set on fire. For what???? There was another way to bring the MCs back together!

ANYWAY, rant over. I liked the book otherwise; I loved Stefan and Mira (until she decided to keep it a secret from him anyway), Nadia was great too. Loki was amazing, and I approve of the name. The relationship was amazing, but I needed more after the hospital. In the epilogue, we are told that Billie suddenly starts calling Stefan "her brother from a different mother" or something like that, but why are we being told this? I want to see this. I want to see Billie apologize to him and mean it. I want her to feel bad for the name-calling and schoolyard taunts. I don't want this to be swept under the rug and her to randomly start calling her her brother when she never even apologized for her immature behaviour. Like she literally made him the villain, and now I'm supposed to believe all is well and he's suddenly accepted? Show me.

The next book is Nadia and Stefan's friend he got the stable from, isn't it?

4.25/5

I loved this book. The narration was great too (though Vanessa's male voice wasn't my favourite and Connor's therapist voice made me laugh).

I loved Violet. And I loved Cole. I love how complicated they both were and how they tried to fit in. I didn't even mind all the flashbacks, which I'm normally not a fan of. I was waiting for the last flashback to be from Cole's pov of when he recognized her on track; alas, we didn't get it.

I didn't like the third-act breakup. Here Cole is, telling Violet that his father died on track, and her making it about herself. I get it, he was traumatized and didn't say things the way he wanted to, but goog God, woman, give him some grace! I agreed with her that she didn't need another man to micromanage her, but that's not what he was trying to do. And the deadline was just the dick move.

I also wish we saw Cole and Vaughn's talk on the stairs on page. I was waiting for this, and instead we got this conversation with Billie instead. Which was great, sure, but I wanted to see the brothers bonding on page too.

The therapist was the best, she was cracking me up. Easily my favourite side character.

The light/lightcatcher speech at the end was amazing and made me cry. I love a good metaphor.

It was a great book. I love a tortured hero pining over a woman he can never have.

3.75/5

The male narrator pissed me off. I didn't like his narration. Possibly the main reason why I disliked the MMC, although I also hated MMC's choices. He was so obsessed with his family's reputation, he was blind to everything else. I disliked him.

There was not enough grovel at the end either. He even said himself earlier that he wouldn't grovel! I didn't like that she was forced to go to that final race, all because he was too man-child to actually talk to her. He was petty and immature and didn't deserve her.

I'm excited to read Violet and Cole's book. And I'm sure, Stefan Dalca will get his own book, too!

That was cute

4/5

This was a solid book. I enjoyed it, though not as much as I did the previous one.

Beau and Bailey, I didn't expect this pairing at all, but it works. I liked them. I felt like the fact that everyone in town hated Bailey for being related to her family was super far-fetched and exaggerated, though. Like sure, some people might have held it against her, but everyone? Every single person except for the Eatons? And then she started yelling at everyone to treat her better and they suddenly did? Yeah, I don't buy that. That's the part that bugged me the most. It was too unbelievable.

The other part that bugged me was that we saw so little of that last mission of Beau. I expected more. I'm still a little confused - so he went back to that cave, alone. How and when did his feet burn up? In the cave? Was he shot in the feet? Was there a fire? Did they move from the same cave Beau find this journalist to some other one? If they didn't, how come the enemies didn't find them? How and when Beau get injured? I still have so many questions. That one dream he described to Bailey wasn't enough to answer them.

Other than that, I liked the book. I wish Bailey had more scenes with the other Eaton wags (since she didn't have any other friends) because it felt like every single scene Bailey had in the book, except for 1 or two, were with Beau. And while I don't mind so many scenes with her love interest, I wish she had some with other people who liked her. And I LOVE that they left town at the end. It really wasn't a good place for Bailey and I'm glad that the author didn't force her to stay there like a martyr.

Also, Bailey was super innocent and naive and while this should have annoyed me, I found it endearing, almost. And hilarious. Some of those questions were super funny.

I liked this book. I can't believe it's the end of the series already, I had super fun reading it. I guess it's time for me to read Gold Rush Ranch next (which I should have done before, oops!!

4.25/5

I loved this book. I'm sla glad that I did. It was amazing.

First of all, I've loved Jasper since book one and I loved him even more now. He was great. I love a tortured hero and he was so good. Second of all, Sloane was incredible. I loved her. She had a shitty relationship with her ex and I'm glad she had this wake-up call and broke things off.

I'm not usually a fan of "she loved him all this time and he's never noticed her until recently," but I loved it in this book; it was really well written and I enjoyed it. Because even when he didn't see her like that, he still liked her as a person, and he cared for her, and I loved seeing that. Their relationship was special and important since the beginning and I loved seeing it progress. I loved how they both opened up to each other even more, especially Jasper.

I loved Sloane's speech at the end and that Jasper took it to heart that she can't always pull him from darkness and that he has to learn to do it himself. I loved that Sloane wasn't really a damsel in distress, and she was capable of rescuing herself, she just needed a little push, and that Jasper wasn't a knight in a shining armour, but he always had her back.

HE ALSO GAVE HER THE ENGAGEMENT RING SHE TOLD HIM ABOUT AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE BOOK, WHEN DID HE EVEN BUY THIS THING OH MY GOD I'M SO EMOTIONAL.

Their relationship was great. I loved their relationship with Eatons too and I love how immediately they accepted Jasper as their own - I wish we saw more of that, beyond that little flashback with Beu. Wish we saw more of Violet and Sloane's friendship (does Violet have her own book? I feel like I have to read every single book by this author because they all seem to be connected and set in the same universe and yet I keep reading them in the reverse order) and I wish we saw more of Jasper with his teammates and coach.

I loved the supporting characters. Willow was here! And damn, her chemistry with Theo was off the charts. I knew she'd have a new love interest and I was wondering who and I forgot about Theo! Damnit it all to hell, I actually read Fever Dreams last month, I should have remembered it was her. I can't wait for their book. I HOPE she finaly kicks her current husband to the curb, what takes it so long? I was under the impression that she wasn't the divorce and he's dragging it out but what di I know. I can't wait to read her story.

Beau. I love him. I wonder what happened to him, but I guess we'll lern it in his book - I suspect it's the last book in the series. I can't even begin to guess who he migth fall for but I want to know what happened during his mission and what he's going to do now that he's retired.

Harvey was fantastic, as always. Do I spy with my little eye (ha!) that he has a little crush on his sister-in-law? Ex sister-in-law? His late wife's sister? Each to their own, I guess.

Anyway, I loved this book and I'm super excited for the next one (Willow and Theo?)!

4.5/5

This book was amazing. I love it. I don't necessarily like unplanned pregnancy, but I'm glad this was part of the blurb and that there was a time skip.

I also LOVED that the secret wasn't dragged on for too long and that Theo could be a part of his daughter's life ever since he came back to the town.

I hate miscommunication, but in this case, it was handled very well. I loved Theo dressing down Winter's father and that employee. I loved that he stepped in and saw and had Winter's back from the beginning when nobody else did.

I loved Winter's relationship with her sister. I knew there was more to her than what we've seen in Summer's book. I loved how they reconciled and the work they've put in to get there, though some of that was shown in the previous books too. I loved that at the end, Kip finally started to reach out too (the dollhouse!)

Theo and Winter's relationship was my favourite. I love how they sniped at each other but respected one another too. I love that Theo saw her and knew that the only way to bring her out of her shell was to needle her and be a menace - but a respectful one. And I love that Winter gave him a chance and opened up and realized that she is worthy of love. And I love that Theo loved Winter and Vivian since the start.

I read Emerald Lake so I remembered bit of Theo and Winter and I feel the need to reread it now. There was even a reference to that cruise ship, and it was nice to see how long Elsie planned the whole story.

Vivi was adorable. I don't usually like children characters but she was fun. I wish there was more of Winter being pregnant, but I guess that didn't work out story-wise. I really liked this book, it wasn't what I expected at all but I had fun.

I'm glad that Theo wasn't a raging misogynist with a hero complex the way I saw Cade and Rhett. Hopefully, Beu will be better too??

Speaking of, I wonder what's up with him. He wasn't at the birthday party at the end, which was rude of him. I guess that the next (and the last book in the series), will be about him (unless Harvey gets his own book which I doubt), but no idea beyond that. There was no hint as to who his love interest might be, so I'm ready to read the blurb and the book and find out.

I really love this book. I can see why it's the strongest one from the series and fan favourite. I really had fun reading it!

3.75/5

ANOTHER unplanned pregnancy? I hate it. I hate it. I hate it so much.

I didn't like this book for the most part. I liked FMC and the little boy, but MMC was annoying. I hated how he called Willa "woman" when he was talking to her. Misogynistic arsehole.

I really wanted to like this book, alas, the unplanned pregnancy made me dislike it even more. Ughhh.

What I liked about it:

- Willa and Luke's relationship was adorable and I loved it.

- Harvey was, as always, delightful

- Winter! I knew she wasn't the raging bitch the first book wanted me to believe. I can't believe she's still "sort of" with Rob, dump him!!! Now! I can't wait to read her book. I wonder if she ends up with Beau? Or someone else? It won't be Jasper, that's for sure. I feel like I should know who she ends up with, but I can't think of anyone for now.

- Jasper and Sloane. I know that there's something there. I can smell it. I can't wait for the angst. And yearning. So. Much. Yearning. Ahhh!

All in all, I can't wait for the next book. I hope it will be Jasper and Sloane!

3.75/5

So this is the Chestnut Springs series people rave about.... I have a few thoughts about this book.

First of all, I really dislike the MMC. He was... Rough around the edges, alright, and not in a good way. I hated how he disregarded FMC's feelings, especially with his toxic alpha male "i will corner you in your office and you'll have no choice but to listen to me and i will keep stalking you until you give me another chance. Ewww. No. The way I would have screamed for security...

Here's a thing: He broke her trust, told everybody her deepest secret and didn't care about her feelings because "she shouldn't have kept it a secret". My dude, that wasn't your story to tell! She was so right when she went off at him about not respecting her wishes and telling her secret because of heis own ego was wounded. She was right when she said this wasn't how her sister and father deserved to learn the truth. She was 100% right. And I'm so mad that she forgave him like that.

Another thing.... That whole thing with her ex. It was so badly written. At the beginning, when she was thinking about him and then when he called later, there were so many vague references to their past but written in a way as if we as an audience should already know what was happening. As if there was already a book written about them and I just missed that. The references and all the hints about their relationship were written in such a way that we as an audience should have known what happened before the big reveal. Which is a problem because of course, there was nothing about them written before.

And then this whole "Surprise! He's her brother-in-law"! Which... Was also written weirdly. I didn't like that. We were supposed to learn everything alongside MMC, but then MMC started sharing FMC's secret and it was all just confusing.

I think FMC's backstory was the weakest part of this book. We are told her step-mother hates her but we don't see that - there's only one scene where FMC tells her off, but it's weird to applaud her when we have never seen what their relationship looked like. We're told that FMC loves her sister despite everything, but there was never any substance to their relationship. Did they have any relationship whatsoever as children, and were separated later by the stepmother? Did they grow up separately, as strangers? If so, why and how does FMC even love her? H0w an she if they never spent any time together and her sister was always mean to her? How could they bond enough for FMC to love her but not love her stepmother?

So many questions, so few answers. I suspect that the sister will get her own book and I HOPE that we get some answers there, but I'm not too optimistic. I would have rather wanted all this backstory than the third-act breakup drama.

Oh, also: MMC's family. So they love him but they never watch his shows even when they're local. It was introduced as such a problem but then there was no resolution whatsoever. Nobody called them out for it. They never went to see his last performance. There was nothing, it was all ignored.

And the last thing I couldn's stand in this book: The FMC's best friend. Can we PLEASE stop writing the female friends to be only there to tell FMC to fuck MMC? Because that was entirety of the friend's personality. I suspect she'll get her own book too. And yet, I know NOTHING about her. The only thing I know: she wants FMC to sleep with MMC just because they're a man and a woman. And she calls FMC "prude" for not wanting to do that or talk about it. And that's it. That's the entire personality. I fucking hate it. Ughhhhhhh. This book was released in 2022, after the #MeToo movement, and authors still do that misogynistic shit like writing the female best friend as only caring about FMC sucking MMC's dick. It's weird. It's uncomfortable. Seriously, stop doing that!

Now onto the things I liked about this book - because despite my complains, there were things I really enjoyed.

First of all, FMC. It bothered me a little that she was a people pleaser, but she was also incredibly strong and took no shit. I loved her. I loved her attitude and her personality. I loved the weird closed teeth smile she did when meeting strangers - I do that too! It's uncomfortable and weird and I love that she does it too and is self-aware that it's weird! I loved her! I loved her sense of style and how despite all, how strong and kind she is.

MMC's father was amazing. I love him and I need more of him. Please. He was awesome.

The military brother - I loved his personality. Such a shame he's military.

The hockey player best friend - does he get his own book too? I'm super invested already.

FMC's father was the best and I loved the friendly relationship she had with him.

I loved all the milk jokes they did, especially with all the milk drinks at the bar. Hilarious, I couldn't stop laughing. I wanted to milk (ha!) the jokes further, and it's a shame they stopped after that.

The brother who's a single father - I loved his speech to MMC about caring about his son and I want to know more. The little boy was fun too.

As someone who already read Fever Dream, it was fun to see Theo and Emmet - even thugh Emmet was really sleazy in this book, I never got that impression in his book. I loved Theo too and I loved his relationship with MMC as well. Hopefully there will be more of that in Theo's book.

All in all it wasn't the worst book but the things I didn't like I really didn't like. Hopefully, the rest of the books will be better - after all, the series gets it's own tv show and I hope that Netflix won't botch it like they did with Bridgerton.

2.75/5

This book was... meh. It was a mess and a half and I didn't like that. The writing was sloppy and immature and honestly, it felt like two teenagers talking.

I hated how 'perfect' FMC had to be. Fixing her sister's wedding, always being available, dealing with the live etc... I hated it. It irked me. And how she never felt like she could tell her ex off. Seriously, her sister should have removed the ex from the wedding party instead of forcing FMC to deal with him. And FMC should have said, the fucking. truth. Since the beginning. I hate when FMC ALWAYS keeps everything inside; just speak the fuck up! You're in your late 20s and act like ateenager too scared to talk.

I hated the writing too. What the hell is a "long, lingering, smoldering chin nod"? The hell? The writing was just cringy; all the external things that forced the couple to be together (a kiss test, a nap lesson? What the fuck was that?, Only one bed) were just corny and not in the good way. I was rolling my eyes constantly while listening to the book, I really disliked it.

Also, I HATE HATE HATE when the fake relationship is exposed as fake. Why are you keep doing this, Lauren? It's the third fake dating book of yours I've read, and the second time their relationship was exposed as fake by her ex for everyone to see. So stupid.

ALSO. The beginning was super cringe. She didn't know it wasn't the engagement ring, didn't check, just assumed, made sure the moment was recorded on the Jumbotron, and then blamed her ex for dumping her live on screen? YOU were the one who hired the camera guy to stream it in the first place! Nobody forced you!

I also disliked the "grand gesture" at the end; it was completely unnecessary.

As always, the narration sucked. Sorry, I just dislike Erin Mallon and Jason Clarke's voices and the way they narrate; they're not for me.

I liked the friend group and the fact that we got some more Mabel and Corbin from the first book. I liked Lake's father and his issues, though the way his mental health issues were resolved was pretty fairytale-like and not realistic at all. I liked the cat. Cats always make everything better.

Thank you, Lauren Blakely and Lauren Blakely Books, for providing me this ALC. All opinions are my own.

4.25/5

This was such a fun book, I enjoyed it. I liked Kodi since the start, though it took me a lot of time to warm up to Kean. I didn't like his attitude at all. So she didn't remember him, what a huge deal. He had no right to be pissed about it and punish her for that. She doesn't owe him anything. I only started liking him in the last 30% of the book, which is not good for a MMC.

Kodi was fun, her past 'crimes' notwithstanding. I just wish we saw her standing up to Rene at the end, or Rene getting her due. Hopefully, in the next book?

I loved the rest of the team, though. Brooker and Christenson were my favourites, though I also liked Sosa and Lunez. I have a feeling the next book in the series might be about Brooker, and I can't wait.

This book was fun, I liked the plot, but I have to say that it was the rest of the team that carried this story and that's why the rating is so high. I liked them, they were awesome. Can't wait for more books in the series!

Thanks to K.E. Monteith and House of Hearts for the ARC — all opinions are my own.

3.75/5

It wasn't my favourite. The plot was fun but I couldn't connect with the characters, the smut scenes were boring and the pacing was off. I still enjoyed the book though! And I love Lexi and she did a good job, but I don't love the book.

The third act breakup was unecessary, I didn't like the FMC at all.