Asia

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.

3/5

I didn't like this book at all. I was excited to read it, the plot seemed fun, but as soon as I started reading the book I realized that it wasn't executed that well. FMC pissed me off since the first chapter with her immaturity. She's supposed to be in her late 20s and yet acted like a dumb teenager. Because nothing says "this character is so mature" as "I'm going to sleep with this guy as a way to avenge my father at his his father's hand" motivation.

She had so many opportunities to tell MMC the truth (especially after her interview!) and chose to gaslight him. We also didn't have many insights into how she felt and then when we finally did it was mostly "tell, don't see". I didn't feel sorry for her at all. She annoyed me.

Unfortunately, I rarely like the book when the main character is so annoying.

I was lucky enough to get both ARC and ALC and while I liked the female narration, the male narration was off. He was smiling, reading some narration which didn't make sense most of the time and his female voice was just weird for me, was whiny and exaggerated, almost mocking. While I liked MMC, the male voice didn't fit the character at all.

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with ARC and ALC for my honest opinion.

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.

4/5

It wasn't my favourite book but it wasn't the worst either. While I dislike the reality tv show romances, this one was fun to read. I didn't connect with the characters at first, their romance didn't

grip me, but I liked them well enough by the end of the book. I didn't care about them sneaking off because it was forbidden so I didn't like them doing that lol.

I liked the resolution, although it felt a bit rushed. I would have liked to hear more about the breach of the contract etc.

The happily ever after was cute though a bit short, I would have loved to know more about the immediate aftermath of the tv show, before the epilogue takes place.

I didn't like Ememt's characterization. We've been told by everyone and their mother that he's a womanizer, and Casanova, and that he does one-night stands and is a commitment-phobe, but we never see it. He's instantly smitten with Julia and wants her and doesn't care about the contestants. Shouldn't he flirt with them a little to show how utterly wrong for Julia he is?

Speaking of the contestants, they felt flat. I don't even remember their names now, that's how insignificant they were. They should have felt more real, maybe more like a competition to Julia, instead, they were just there with one being the villain for the sake of the story.

I also didn't get the whole deal with the producer. Was she really into doing all that drama for nothing? Did she really like working with that villain I forgot his name now? Idk, it was all so weird.

Why do I feel like the next book will be about Parker and her teacher? Sigh. I really hate teacher-student romances so hopefully I'm mistaken.

I listened to the audiobook and while Teddy did a great job, Julia's voice is not for me. I didn't like her delivery or her voice. Emma's voice isn't my favourite either.

1 star entirely for the surprise pregnancy the author didn't warn anybody about and just shove it at the end to create more drama. You include "golden retriever boyfriend" in your list of tropes but no surprise pregnancy? Disgusting.

"Thank you for being okay with a broken mate who is still healing."

4.25/5

Valen, a vampire who recently escaped centuries of captivity, and Ava, a girl who recently learned she's a witch, learned they're mated. They need to start trusting each other, which is hard, when Valen trusts no one and Ava is still reeling from her breakup.

But the dark forces don't let them rest and they must work together to keep each other safe.

I enjoyed this book very much. I loved Valen a lot since the last book and Ava was super super fun. I loved that while they took time to get to know each other and I love how careful Ava was with him!

I loved how Valen learned about the world from library books - including bodice rippers! Everybody say thank you, Zavier, for helping out! Even though he was a little shit, it was fun to have him and Celine around. I loved Valen's arc and everything he learned in this book, and it's high time he started calling a certain someone by their name!

The book was joyful, funny (horse with wheels!), heartbreaking and scary (the hotel scene), heartwarming (the letter!) and fun. I enjoyed it a lot, I cried a lot and I laughed a lot. I can't believe it ended like that and I'm looking forward to Luna's book - her story sounds intriguing and I can't wait. I loved the new characters and I can't wait to have them around for more and to elarn more about them!

Plus, I'm looking forward to see what happens in the finale!

4/5

Another good book. Poor Levi's been through a lot and I wanted to give him a hug. Though I hated the reason he broke up with her all those years ago? He chose for her and then acted as if she was to blame to everything. And there wasn't enough groveling. oh, so he found her epipen and I'm supposed to just accept this as grovel? Ugh.

The spice was good but I was hoping for more character development. Oh, and I loved how they told their father off. He's such a drunk and oh, so he misses his late wife and blames himself - that doesn't erase the fact that he abandoned his children. And while the note at the end was heartbreaking (so he told her, but the note was under the couch and she never saw it, ugh, my heart), that doesn't erase his actions/inactions and the way Levi has blamed himself. And the way Brady stepped up to be the father his siblings needed.

4/5

Addison trying to set Aiden and Avery up pissed me off. That said, I can't wait for her book - I've read it once before but I barely remember a thing.

I love how every single time a sibling has a secret they're trying to hard to keep, everyone already knows and isn't phased at all. Everyone, but Addison. It's hilarious, always. Beck dating Everly, Ford marrying Quinn, Aiden being an author. And she's always last to find out lol, serves her well ebcause she's annoying most of the time. What will Levi pull?

I liked both Aiden and Avery, though Jason Clarke's voice doesn't fit Aiden at all imo. His voice fits Levi better, i think.

ANYWAY, the characters were both cool and spicy scenes hot and I liked their relationship.

4/5

I liked it a lot. Ford was great, though I wish we've seen more of his firefighting duties. Quinn was a firecracker and I loved her.

I love good enemies faking a relationship so this was cheff's kiss. The relationship was great, and, surprise, Mabel wasn't as irritating as she's been in the previous books.

I wish again we've seen Quinn standing up to her toxic parents instead of a man stepping in but I'll let it slide this time because she already defended him in front of Ford's ex, which was satisfying.

What's frustrating is the whole "I can't buy the practice because the misogynistic doctor won't sell it to me" plotline, and Quinn didn;t even think of... starting one of her own. It never even occurred to her that she could - and Ford would have helped her, I'm sure.

Other than that, it was a solid book and I had fun!

4.5 and it's mostly because the narration of the audiobook was well done.

I have mixed feelings. I liked it way more than the Defiant Heart, that's for sure, but it still had it's issues. And again it had a female character who couldn't function by herself, left the stove or curling iron on before leaving the house (HOW? How is this even remotely possible?), never locked the door, forgot to eat and needed a strong man who took care of her, Jesus. At least she wans't as helpless as Luna but holy shit.

I also hate Addison. She's just annoying.

I liked the plot, though. The reason for them moving in together was better and more plausible than the previous book. Them reading romance novels together was cute. And I liked their relationship. And while grumpy-sunshine aren't my favourite (like in the previous book: i absolutely hated that dynamic), it worked here.

I'm super disappointed that Everly's confrontation with her parents happened off-page. What do you mean? She's such a people pleaser and half of the book her mother was insisting Everly moves back home, and her big liberating moment is just off page????? No. If you're writing people-pleasing characters, the scene where they finally stand up for themselves should be ON. PAGE. Make it a moment. Don't mention it in one throwaway line, because what the fucking point was this whole subplot about?

I hate Mabel. She's pissing me off in every single book. Why do authors insist on making an anniying gossipy characters who shove their phones in your faces to record everything you say to stream it live, with no privacy whatsoever? It's not endearing. it's not quirky. It's not fun. It's just annoying and lowers the book rating. I won't rate it high if half the plot is Mabel being an annoying bitch who doesn't know what boundaries are.

2.25

I hated everything about this book. The FMC was whiny and what reason did she have for being chained to the tree? Like it wasn't explained AT ALL. I also hated how she basically baited MMC every time with "i don't wear panties" and the whole "i can take care of myself" when clearlyw asn't the case. I mean seriously, she lives in a van and doesn't lock it at night, wants to stay in the forest during a thunderstorm and then is surprised when nobody takes her seriously? Really?

And I hated her mother. Why the fact do authors think that FMC's mothers who want to discuss their (or FMC's) sex life with their daughter OR talking about banging some guy is a trait we as the readers want to read about??? Because I can tell you, we hate it. Its awful. Stop it right now.

Also, MMC immediately assuming the worst of FMC WITHOUT ANY PROOF at the end instead of asking her a single question and giving her 10 SECONDS to answer was honestly so fucking annoying, I hated it. So much. He's always been so pushy and I hated him.

This book was so bad, and the audiobook made it even worse. Hoenstly the only reason it got that high rankign was because the male narrator was great... And that's about it.

4.75/5

Listen. LISTEN. Just LISTEN to the audiobook, it's excelent.

Also, this book was so much fun and I won't accept any criticism lol.

It kinda lost me when the author decided to make this a why choose romance at the end randomly but I still love it. Also, I love that the first spicy scene included all three of them. It's fun, it's unexpected, and the spice was excellent throughout the book.

I loved the characters. I wasn't sure if I would love this book going into it, since I didn't care about Tyler much after the second book, but I loved it. The characters, setting, writing, everything was great and I was vibing with it. I'm glad that everything was resolved at the end too!

The ending scene with Stella meeting all of Taylor's friends confused me a little because I have no idea if we ever met the people (other than Josh, Ally, Junior, and Lauren). Were they Lauren's former roommates? I don't remember.

The humor was amazing. "Sir, you are a blond man, calm down". I was gagged and it was just the beginning. The push and pull, the antagonism, the lust hidden in insults - I loved it. I usually hate bully romances but it didn't even feel like that tbh, because while Stella was forced to do some things, she still had a backbone, she still fought back, and as malicious as Tyler sounded or behaved, he never hurt her physically. (though I wish she punched him for the stunt with the gin).

And the kneeling scene. God. I was GAGGED. And then I started giggling and kicking my feet because THIS IS WHAT I MEAN WHEN I SAY I WANT GROVEL. YES, PLEASE. Even from a blond man.

Tropes:

- enemies to lovers

- fake relationship

- revenge

- forced proximity

- dark romance

- billionaire

- opposites attract

4.75/5

This was such a delightful book, I loved it so much! It was more of a cozy paranormal than a romance but I loved it. The writing was excellent, and I loved the vibe. The characters were great, the relationship was cute and I loved the whole town and the atmosphere.

The only thing missing was the sisters learning about magic. I mean they're gonna do it soon, right? The next book? I really hope they'll see Maggie's ghost in the next book and they'll take a swim in the falls so Rhea could finally tell them.

I mean I guess their book is next. Or maybe it could be Shelby. With Cisco, perhaps? We'll see!

I will definitely follow this author and this series and I look forward to the next books in the series!

4.5/5

Wow. That was fantastic. I didn't expect this book to be this good, but I loved it. The whole dom/sub dynamic was great, I loved the relationship and the setting worked.

The third act breakup was unecessary and I hated it. Also, the fact that he wanted her back at the end and then waited the whole month? No.

Spice was amazing, though. 10/10 for spice alone.

I didn't care about the side characters, though I liked Lucas. I hope he'll get his own book soon. Maybe with Sam? Or Hannah? I wonder what happened to her ex(?) husband and how her story goes.