Tag: book reviews

This Chick Read: The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

Emma Wheeler longs to fulfill her dream of becoming a screenwriter. She’s spent her life obsessing over the great screenwriters, and teaching a course in the local community college. She lives at home and takes care of her kind-hearted father who needs full-time care. When she gets a call from her agent to head to Hollywood to work on a screenplay with the very famous writer Charlie Yates she calls in that favor from her little sister who just graduated from college. ‘Please come home and watch dad so I can try out my dream for six weeks.’ When she gets to LA she finds a man who doesn’t want help from a nobody to fix his horrible screenplay, in fact, he doesn’t care if it never gets fixed! To Emma, this is a travesty and despite not knowing if they’ll re-write the whole thing, she stays.

Emma was such a wonderful character. Having given up her dreams in order to give her father a great life, the reader is set up to root for her story, wherever it may lead. The fact that it leads to Hollywood and working with her screenwriter hero, Charlie Yates is icing on the cake. The fact he turns out to be difficult and surly is par for the course, but this girl loves a good enemies to lovers trope and I’m eagerly along for the ride. Charlie, of course, ends up to be a good guy with reasons for acting the way he’s acting and pretty quickly warms up to Emma. I love their journey, as well as the conflict and resolution in the latter third of the book. The whole story just had a roundness that made the reader feel great about how the conclusion was reached.

I’ve been waiting for another Katherine Center novel that has that magic formula of romance, comedy, and tragedy similar to her 2022 novel, The Bodyguard, and The Rom-Commers gets it just right. A fabulous enemies to lovers story that made me laugh, tear-up, and anticipate the fabulous happily ever after that I know is waiting at the end of the book. If you’re looking for that book to put in your beach bag, don’t leave this one behind!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Rom-Commers

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: The Summer Escape (Sunrise Cove #6) by Jill Shalvis

Private Investigator Anna Moore is happy with her safe and steady life. Her investigations are more cheating spouse than murder mystery, so when a news story breaks about her own deceased father being a suspect in a long ago crime she is pushed to investigate by her older sister. Wearing a Go-Pro so her pregnant and bed-ridden sister can tag a long, she begins to search. Owen Harris, a handsome, adventurist is the grand-nephew of the person whom the stash was stolen and is dedicated to finding this missing treasure. Together they follow the clues and discover a little bit of truth and a whole lot of chemistry.

I was quite surprised by this Jill Shalvis novel! I always expect interesting characters and a quirky friend group or family and The Summer Escape did not disappoint. Anna’s sister was a delight! Pregnant with twins, on bed rest, and totally bored, Wendy makes Anna wear earbuds and a Go-Pro so there is a running commentary at all times, unless Anna turns her off. Her side-discussions were a hoot and I loved how easy going Owen played along and directed conversation at Wendy as well. I really liked how the relationship between Anna and Owen had undertones of interest and friendship right from the start and wasn’t just antagonistic. The thing I liked most is that this Jill Shalvis novel gave us something different from her others. A mystery to solve.

If you love Jill Shalvis’ novels then you are in for a wonderful surprise. This has all of those same elements you’ll expect but it delves a little deeper into the adventure-mystery solving theme. I really enjoyed the slight change because the story still had all of the other themes that I look forward to when reading one of her novels. Surprising and fun! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Summer Escape

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

Rue Siebert is a successful engineer at Kline, a promising bio-tech start-up. Her life is stable and secure until Kline is bought out and their very attractive front man comes in to evaluate the company. Eli Killgore and his partners want Kline, but since meeting Rue, Eli also wants her but she’s off limits, or she should be. Rue and Eli are faced with amazing chemistry and decide to have a secret affair with a deadline. The day the buy-out goes through.

Ali Hazelwood’s novels typically run more towards a slow burn love story but Not In Love immediately introduces the heat and the flame just gets hotter as the story moves forward, never dimming. Not quite erotica, but the steamiest novel I’ve read in quite awhile. So, if you are leary of explicit scenes, especially in audio books, you may want to steer towards a paperback that you can skim through. This author has always done a great job at building up the tension in the two main characters, and because she’s taken away the ‘will they or won’t they’ build-up she supplies us with a really great subplot, the reason for Kline’s takeover.

In an interview I read with the author, she described this novel as being full of “angst”. I’d certainly agree. Rue delves into this secret relationship with Eli, has constant regrets, and her friends don’t want her to have this relationship. Eli, too, has friends who don’t agree with his pursuit of Rue. Reading both character’s POV’s help the reader understand these characters and definitely adds to the emotional tension. I was thankful for Eli’s point of view because Rue comes off as kind of a cold character, hiding all of her wants and needs behind this cool persona. A facade she uses to protect herself from hurt. If I hadn’t been able to see how Eli viewed Rue, it may have been difficult to get past her walls and identify with her and like her.

I truly enjoy these STEM romances by Hazelwood. She is now not the only one writing in this sub-sub genre, but I favor her style and look forward to seeing what aspects of real-life women she will write into her characters. Rue was a little more difficult to like, but I still appreciated her differences and loved how Eli viewed and was attracted to her character. Their love story was different, a little more antagonistic, and yes “angsty”, but I still enjoyed reading their story. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* Not In Love

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: Avenging Angel by Kristen Ashley

Raye Armstrong has a need to right the worlds wrongs. As she’s tracking down an alleged kidnapper she runs across private investigator Julien “Cap” Jackson who was trained by the Nightingale Investigations team in Denver. Cap is immediately drawn to Raye and inserts himself into her life meeting her friends, family, and neighbors. Raye take just a touch longer to realize Cap is the man for her but once she does she lets him into her life and never looks back, but she still continues her Avenging Angel efforts.

Finally a spin-off of KA’s first series, the Rock Chicks. Cap was a teen in those books, and at the time, better known as Sniff. A scrawny, pimply faced young kid who was surviving on the streets of Denver before being adopted and raised essentially in Nightingale Investigations. His new nickname came about in the military because of his likeness to Captain America. Scrawny boy becomes big muscled and attractive man a la Chris Evans. It was fun to catch-up with his character but Raye was truly the star of this story. Just as with the Rock Chick series, she was a woman with a mission and hers was to defend the weak and put the dangerous and despicable behind bars. Also like the Rock Chicks, she has her girl posse that she partners with while on these dangerous missions.

The romance story arc between Cap and Raye was instantaneous and while it was fun, it was really Raye’s personal story arc that captured my interest. Cap was certainly there to support her, but it was her group of friends at home and her girl gang that gave this novel that Rock Chick feel. Slightly nutty, but a group of people with big hearts that were there for Raye when she needed them and/or just created a fun scene. This novel set the stage for a series of new stories centering around this group of friends and I can’t wait to delve in and read where their lives take us. The next book in this series is out in December! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Avenging Angel

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: Just For The Summer by Abby Jimenez

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it’s now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They’ll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work. Emma hadn’t planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It’s supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma’s toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they’re suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected–including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

Just as with other Abby Jimenez novels, Justin and Emma are well thought out, fully fleshed characters. Justin, after agreeing to raise his three siblings after his mother’s jail sentence doesn’t have a lot of time to date Emma, but he knows she is THE one. Despite what they set out to do, he has fallen for her. I love Justin’s caring nature and willingness to be there for Emma despite his own troubles. Emma after a tumultuous upbringing has created a lifestyle as a traveling nurse that makes it almost impossible to set down roots. Her baggage is real and it’s pretty heavy. It’s sad to say, but as I was reading this I was waiting for her to take her bags and run. I don’t relish feeling that about one of my romantic leads. It made it really hard for me to commit to trusting her character which affected my enjoyment of the book.

Were there some positive moments in this book? Absolutely! Was there great dialog and humorous moments? You bet! I laughed and felt all the emotions. I just held myself back from fully committing. Kind of like Emma did actually. Hmmmm.

❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Just For the Summer

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*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: Wild About You by Kaitlynn Hill

Natalie Hart is struggling to pay her college tuition when she sees a casting call for a very popular outdoor reality show called Wild Adventures. She cares about her skin care routine too much to have much camping experience but she submits and application and wins a spot on the cast. She’s up for the adventure and the chance at the winning prize that will help her pay her bills. When she’s partnered with the surly, outdoorsy, Finn Markum she is determinedly cheerful and hopeful that his experience and her social media charm will help them make it to the final. Along the way, maybe there’s the chance at building some friendships.

Wild About You was a fun, very easy to read young adult adventure style novel with two completely likable main characters. Kaitlynn Hill did a very good job at contrasting her easy breezy style of writing with some real-life problems such as anxiety, panic attacks, and parental issues. The game show format made it easy for the reader to connect to all of the cast of characters while at the same time rooting for our favorite main character duo.

There were several things I liked about Wild About You. These young characters had real-life issues that a reader could easily identify with, the growth of Natalie and Finn’s relationship was steady and sweet, and the competition. Actually that last thing was probably my favorite because I’m a reality show competition fan. All of these things made this story interesting, light, but with a bit of depth- adding character to the right parts of the story. I thought it was very well done! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* Wild About You

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: Attached at the Hip by Christine Riccio

Orie Lennox has graduated from college but life just isn’t what she thought it would be. She’s a social media influencer with her sister, is dating someone she doesn’t love, and is having trouble figuring out what she’s going to do with her life. When she sees a casting call for a Survivor-like television show, she decides to submit an application and within months is off to Fiji as one of ten contestants. If she’d read the fine print on her contract she’d have realized that there was a chance that she would actually be in a spin-off and finds herself in a Survivor-ish speed dating reality show with no showers, deodorant, or makeup and literally attached at the hip to another contestant. When she finds that first contestant is her high school crush, Remy she thinks it’s her chance to get her life back on track.

I love discovering a new author that can balance the “rom” with the “com”. Christine Riccio had me laughing out loud at Orie and the other contestants antics. Orie was so easy to like and her alliances in the reality show were a lot of fun to read. I kind of wish this program was real because I’d totally be watching it every week and Orie would’ve been who I’d be tuning in to see. She was a mess in her real life, but has an addiction for Survivor that makes her the perfect contestant. Remy was a good foil for Orie, and truthfully there wasn’t a character in their game I didn’t like. I appreciated that every person Orie interacted with made her grow as a character and helped her determine her life’s goals. Seeing her grow was really what made this story so successful.

There were so many favorite moments in this book that it’s hard to pinpoint a few, but here goes. Look for the tree episode for a great bit of comedy and sweet interactions, the secret handshake between new friends, and pretty much any time Orie surprised people by kicking their butts. LOL This was a really fun read and I’m curious how it will sound as an audiobook so I’ll probably go back and give it a re-read and listen to it.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* Attached at the Hip

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: Liar’s Point (The Texas Murder Files #5) by Laura Griffin

It’s par for the course when a murder cuts short the first date Nicole Lawson has had in months. A body has been discovered at Light House point and a yoga instructor called it in. When Nicole interviews the woman she feels as if their only witness is holding something back. Lead investigator, Emmet Davis, has been Nicole’s rival and secret crush but when another body turns up she needs to set aside those feelings and work with Emmet to find out who is targeting their hometown.

I’ve enjoyed The Texas Murder Files series and have watched Nicole and Emmet tip-toeing around each other through four other books. I’ll admit that I wasn’t sure how Laura Griffin was going to pull off a mystery and a romance between these two, but Liar’s Point had an ease to it that gave the story a casual feel that fit the beach setting. The only tension, really, was the kind of high strung Nicole. As the only female detective in her department she feels like she’s fighting for position among the men but really she is the best detective they’ve got and her instincts are spot on.

The mystery itself wasn’t difficult to follow and I enjoyed the interactions between the characters, but I’ll admit it was the dynamic between Emmet and Nicole that I looked forward to reading. Readers have been waiting a long time for these two to get together. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Liar’s Point

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: Unsteady by Peyton Corinne

Ever since Rhys Koteskiy took a brutal hit during the Frozen Four he’s suffered panic attacks every time he steps on the ice and is getting little sleep at night. The only time he feels calm is when Sadie Brown’s brand of chaos hits the ice. After witnessing one of his panic attacks during an early morning skate, Sadie and Rhys start a friendship. He feels too much and she feels too little but together they create the calm that each other needs.

I came across a review for this book that made me curious. A hockey player with panic attacks and the chaotic ice skater with behavioral issues? How will this author convince the reader that these two are the perfect match? Rhys’s problems were easy, a concussive hit that blinded him temporarily would scare anyone. I think we can identify with that, but Sadie’s back story could easily have painted her in the wrong light. Drunk father, caretaker to her two brothers, working multiple jobs to help pay bills, uses casual hook-ups to take the edge off, and is on Waterfell University’s ice skating team? Hmmm. How was this author going to pull over this Cinderella story? Sadie’s reputation was in tatters, but this hardworking college kid was in an untenable situation and her love for her brothers just shone through all of the grittiness of her character. After a while that light is what I saw. Mission accomplished.

I always enjoy stories that include children, especially if they are cute and add humor or heart. Sadie’s brothers both created tension but also gave the plot a release of sorts with their heart tugging moments. Rhys’s parents were also great side characters and their non-judgemental attitude was refreshing in a novel that is geared towards a younger reader and those characteristics were a great contrast to Sadie’s own deadbeat dad. Their involvement in the story created a roundness that made this novel feel more complete and not just a new adult college romance novel. I’ll admit I’ve been on a bit of a college hockey binge lately so these things set this novel apart from a lot of the others I’ve read. This was a well done and well thought out story.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Unsteady

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*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

A few years ago Anna Green married Liam “West” Weston for access to the subsidized family housing at UCLA. When they split up two years later she thought the paperwork she’d signed were divorce papers. When West shows up on her doorstep almost five years later, it’s to inform her that they’re still married, and that he needs her to come with him to his sister’s wedding to be his wife in front of his family. Oh, and they needed to stay married until September so that he can receive his 100 million dollars inheritance. Anna is no longer the med student he new but a starving artist who is trying to sell her artwork in order to help pay for her fathers doctors bills. After he offers Anna money to maintain this charade for his family she packs her bags for a trip to Fiji and hopes she can convince his uber-wealthy family that they’re on their way to a happily ever after.

I think it would be really hard for me to dislike a Christina Lauren novel. I can always count on some fun dialogue and our two main characters chemistry to be off the charts. The Paradise Problem definitely hit those notes, so why did I feel a little dissatisfied? It could be that I don’t typically buy into the Billionaire romance genre, and this novel has elements of that but just skirts the edges. West could’ve been seen as “saving” Anna with his money, but in fact she ends up saving him. So I don’t think that’s it. Their relationship felt pretty equal. Maybe it was that his family was truly unlikable? Even his brother who was the person to introduce them to each other back when they first got married was a bit of a turd. His father was certainly no prince charming and his mother seemed to be the stereotype of a wealthy mother. I don’t know for certain, but call me surprised, this novel is probably the one I’ve liked the least in this author duo’s repertoire in a good long while.

Despite my feelings, above, it was a brief escape from reality, so in that manner it did what it was supposed to do. I just didn’t feel as entertained as I normally would by one of their stories. However, their writing skills were still superb and there were a couple of characters that I truly liked, including Anna. So not totally a throw away and one that I think more people will like than dislike. Such a recommendation, right?

❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Paradise Problem

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads