Tag: contemporary romance

This Chick Read: The Bright Spot (Sunrise Cove #5) by Jill Shalvis

Luna Wright runs the happy but struggling Apple Ridge Farm with her motley crew of friends. They’ve made a place for themselves in the community with their farm to table cafe, a menagerie of rescued animals, and some small boutiques run by her grandmother. When the owner of Apple Ridge Farm dies and leaves Luna half of the property to be run with his investment manager Jameson Hayes, she finds that the old man had a lot of secrets. Can she keep her family together and the doors open?

Luna not only collects homeless animals, but she seems to collect quirky friends and family members. Something that she must have in common with the author because she excels at writing about circles of friends and eccentric family members. My favorite moments in this story did revolve around Luna and her rag tag group of friends. Those relationships showed off Luna’s strength of will and love for her friends. The fact that she wanted to take on the world and protect her little family was nice but got a little tiring. I loved her resolve but wanted the resolution to come about a little quicker. The addition of Jameson into their group as her partner and love interest added some emotion to the story. I like him a lot and liked the way he settled her. She was a lot to handle!

I read Ms. Shalvis’ novels because I know I’m going to get fed some comfort food. Interesting characters, an envious circle of friends, and a lot of heart. This book delivers all of that plus a good-hearted love story that rounds out the novel really nicely. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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 Bright Spot

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This Chick’s Audio Review: The Graham Effect (Campus Diaries #1) by Elle Kennedy

Gigi Graham is working hard to make the women’s US hockey team. Something she hopes will help her step out of the shadow of her famous father. She needs to improve her game behind the net and ask the new co-captain of Briar’s men’s hockey team for the help. Ryder is eager to take her up on the favor since he needs one in return. He wants her to put in a good word for him to her father to help him get the job at her dad’s training camp. The only thing standing in both their ways is the sizzling chemistry between them, and it’s very hard to ignore.

I love sports romances and when I saw Teddy Hamilton’s name as one of the narrator’s I spent that credit and didn’t look back. He’s a big talent and I love his voice! CJ Bloom voices Gigi’s character and is a new favorite after hearing her bring Gigi to life in this novel. The two of them together were fantastic.

I’ve never read a book by Elle Kennedy, but she was recommended to me and I’m always looking for new authors who have a trunkful of novels I can dig into if I like them. Did I like this novel? Yep! And I’ve already read four more of her books in less than a week. Now, I will say that these are VERY spicy novels! The heat is high and caught me a little off guard when listening to this book, but the plot was addictive and the cast of characters were a lot of fun. Ryder was a grumpy hero who slowly opened up to Gigi over the length of the novel. Gigi was much more open and carefree. She was very secure, sassy, and somehow able to get Ryder to open up to her, which made this duo so interesting! His back story was dark and she brought the light into his life. I loved that.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Graham Effect

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This Chick Read: Caught Up (Windy City #3) by Liz Tomforde

Single dad MLB pitcher, Kai, has just fired his fifth nanny in as many months. Miller Montgomery is a top bakery chef and has just won the highest accolade possible and is home for a break to visit her MLB manager dad. When she gets roped into spending her two month hiatus nannying for Kai she is determined to not get attached while at the same time introducing him to a little fun. This opposites attract plot was supercharged by emotional zings and a lot of humor, and one too cute little baby boy.

I’m a sucker for a great sports romance and this series is pretty high on my list for hitting all the right notes. Caught Up is the third installment and the first MLB hero. The other two books featured pro hockey and basketball. I love how this author has mixed it up and created a group of guy friends who quietly support their friends and find love. Kai is the All-American baseball hero, at the top of his game when an ex-girlfriend dumps a surprise baby on him and leaves, not wanting to be a mother. Kai steps up and changes his player mentality and becomes responsible. Maybe a little too responsible. When Miller shows up with her tattoo’s and irreverent living out of her van lifestyle he is intrigued. He finds her seriously hot, but he thinks he needs to concentrate all of his attention on his baby boy. What he doesn’t realize is that Miller fits in perfectly with their little family. If only she wasn’t leaving at the end of two months.

I think some of my favorite scenes were with Miller and Max. Miller is only 25 so Kai is a bit older at 32. She’s never really been around kids and isn’t at that point in her life where she’s even thought of having a family. However, she and Max develop a bond that is so sweet. The author did such a great job of slow building that relationship that I think Max tugged on my heartstrings just as much as Kai did, which is totally apropos as they are a matched set. The dynamics between the three of them were just adorable and I also loved how Miller’s slight edginess and humor only added to the romance and wasn’t a distraction. This was such a feel-good romance! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Caught Up

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This Chick Read: Grace Note (Cake #7) by J. Bengtsson

Grace is the seventh child in the McCallister family. Famous for the musical talent of two of her older brothers, but mostly famous because of the kidnapping of one of those same brothers. Jake McCallister found his freedom by killing his abductor and abuser. That kidnapping changed the lives of every person in her family, and despite her young age, Grace, too was affected. When Grace is in high school she happens upon Rory, a street kid who survives by making money playing drums on some old paint cans and buckets. In him she sees her soulmate, but also someone like her brother who might need saving. Separated by circumstances they meet again seven months later and their adolescent love blooms. Until his past catches up to them and he disappears for five years.

Grace and Rory’s story was told in two different time frames. The first reads like a very hot young adult novel. All chemistry and feelings, but not a lot of depth. Rory was hiding a huge secret and terrified that anyone would find out. Grace, growing up in her dysfunctional yet loving family, knew all about secrets and was playing the long game hoping he’d eventually trust her enough to reveal his. Unfortunately he disappears for five years. I’ve always thought J. Bengtsson does a really good job at writing young love that is realistic and this portion of the novel felt true to that style, which she’s done in several of her novels. It felt real, I was sold on the story, and loved young Grace and Rory. The transitions from the characters younger storyline to the current timeline just wasn’t as interesting to me. I knew the end result would be them as adults but that timeline just lacked the urgency and finesse that she wrote into their younger selves.

I also need to talk about the darkness in this novel. All of the novels in this series go through dark moments because of what happened to Jake as a child. Each sibling deals with trauma, self reflection, etc. in individual ways. Usually the person they are paired with helps them overcome and not move on, but feel better about where everyone is in their lives. This story felt different for me because Rory had his own trauma too. It was really a dark novel, which affected how much I may or may not have liked the story. Not to say there weren’t moments of laughter and fun. The McCallister crew is really very funny. The scenes that included them included a lot of joy and mushy emotions, I just wish that there had been a little lightheartedness included between Grace and Rory too. Their romance was all urgency and darkness.

Now, saying all of that, it was not a bad novel at all. It was good. It just wasn’t my favorite novel of J. Bengtsson’s in this series. There are others I like better. However, it’s not one to be skipped. All of these novels add to the overall story and as the last sibling in the crew, this novel felt like a good conclusion. I’ve read that the parental units are getting their own romance, which I will definitely be reading immediately. They are a truly unique couple and knowing where they end up and how they helped their children through all the trauma, will give their characters an added depth. I can’t wait! ❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Grace Note

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This Chick Read: Technically Yours by Denise Williams

Pearl Harris has been burnt by love too many times. Now she leads with her head and not her heart and she’s risen through the ranks at her new company OurCode. Cord Matthews fell for Pearl years ago when they worked together at a Tech company he owned. He fell in love but Pearl didn’t take a risk on them and took a job across the country. Now, years later, their paths cross and both of them are leary of getting involved. Pearl is still not letting her heart make decisions for her and Cord is gun-shy when it comes to relationships, but that chemistry is still sizzling.

It was really easy to drop into this story and connect with both Pearl and Cord. I liked both of their characters a lot and could certainly understand why they felt like they did about love and relationships. I did get distracted by the back and forth between real time and their past. Just when I’d finally get into the emotional dynamics of Pearl in the current day the chapter would end and I’d have to try to connect and understand the past Pearl. I’ll admit flashbacks are not my favorite things to read and I did struggle with that aspect of this novel.

The thing I loved the most about our heroine, Pearl, is that she knew what she wanted and she was very focused on getting it. Specifically when it came to her career. A lot of time was spent informing the reader about how responsible, direct, and awesome Pearl was at her job. I love a strong heroine, but I kind of feel like a little too much time was spent with Pearl’s indecision about Cord. It didn’t fit with who she was in her business life. I wish she had figured herself out a little sooner because I became impatient with her emotional see-saw.

Needless to say, I felt pretty indifferent to our main character which made it hard to root for Pearl and Cord in their romance. Did I root for her to get the job? Absolutely! I just wasn’t sure she was the right person for Cord. He was ready to go all in from the get go and Pearl’s indecisiveness spoiled the romance for me. ❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Technically Yours

Copyright 2023 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’s Audio Review: The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is a bestselling romance author but she’s feeling dissatisfied with her life. When she’s asked to give a commencement speech she realizes that although she has felt desire, she’s never actually been in love. Connor Prince is a documentary filmmaker and father to an adorable little girl, doesn’t have time for romantic love. When his boss tells him that he needs to come up with a concept for a reality dating show he meets Fizzy and thinks it would be awesome to help her find her true love. She rejects his pitch, but thinks it would be fun to string him along with ridiculous demands. When he agrees to them, she agrees to film the show. Of course, it’s not the bachelors that she falls for, is it?

What a fun novel! Fizzy’s demands includes bachelors who fill romance novel archetypes; vampire, nerd, the one who got away, etc. These 8 bachelors made for great reading, but it was really Fizzy and Connor’s romance that created the heat in this book. Connor, with his British accent, dark good looks, and DILF/lumberjack/nerd qualities. Connor’s narrator was Jonathon Cole who nailed that British charm, and Fizzy’s crazy- kookiness was narrated by Cindy Kay who I must now look up, she was that talented. I loved the back and forth chapters so that we could get in each of our main characters brains. I really relied on that insight in those later chapters when the reality show plot was wrapping up.

Even though this is a stand alone novel, it’s really the second book to The Soulmate Equation. River Peña’s technology for finding your perfect match is used to see if the audience chooses Fizzy’s match, and he and Jess are important side characters as Fizzy’s best friend. Every romance novel needs a best friend who provides sage advice and Jess is that person (as is her daughter Juno!) to Fizzy. There is one particular scene when Fizzy is babysitting Juno and gets pinned down by her questions about Connor that I found particularly funny and gave Fizzy pause to think about her feelings. It was a clever scene that rang true. Kids say the darndest things, right?

This book was funny, emotional, sizzling hot, and dreamy. I just loved every bit of it and I know I’ll be reading it again soon. Right after I read The Soulmate Equation. That book was awesome too!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* The True Love Experiment

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This Chick Read: Next-Door Nemesis by Alexa Martin

After her rant in public goes viral, Collins Carter moves back home to Ohio and into her childhood bedroom in the subdivision where her parents live. As if that isn’t bad enough, she runs into her high school frenemy Nate Adams at the neighborhood coffee shop and they immediately draw sparks. When he hands her an HOA violation and threatens her parents garden the gloves are off. Collins decides to run for HOA president against Nate and the fight is on.

Collins Carter is over the top, dramatic, and the person you want on your side in a fight. I think Nate figures this out pretty quickly when she challenges him over everything. As they argued (and argued, and argued) their past was revealed and you could tell how hurt Collins was over her ex-best friend ghosting her when they were kids. Despite that, I was watching the page numbers wondering how long it would take before her witchy friendliness turned them from frenemies back to friends. It took a touch too long but when it did happen I finally settled into the plot. I love sassy heroines but Collins was next level!

Nate couldn’t have been any more the opposite of Collins. He was a khaki wearing, straight laced, steady, calm man. Actually, very similar to her own father now that I think of it. They complimented each other well and once they got over their hurt with each other they suited each other. I kind of wished he was a little more heroic maybe, but there wasn’t anything wrong with a normal guy as a hero. She carried all the attitude in that pairing that’s for sure.

I thought this was a fun, quick read, pretty similar to other novels by this author. I can think of a few that touched my heart a little bit more but this was an entertaining weekend read! ❤️❤️❤️❣️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!!* Next-Door Nemesis

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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: Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

Mallory Greenleaf gave up chess four years ago but her best friend has asked her to take an open spot on her team in a charity tournament and guilted her into playing. As she knocks off one challenger after another she finds herself facing the #1 player in the world, the “kingkiller”, Nolan Sawyer… and wipes the board with him. Nolan’s loss to an unknown player shocks the world and Mallory is drawn back into the life she’d once left and cash prizes she can receive to help support her struggling family. Keeping it all a secret from her family is imperative but when Nolan shows up at her door imploring her for a game that secret is threatened.

I loved this first YA novel by Ali Hazelwood. I say YA, but really this reads as an adult novel with characters who face adult issues. They only thing that’s YA about it is the age of the characters who are in their late teens and early twenties. If you’re a fan of The Queen’s Gambit, as I was, this novel reminded me that I don’t know a bit about chess but the strategy, skill, and drama can be riveting despite my lack of knowledge. Mallory’s life was decimated by her parents tragic divorce – all tied to the game she loved, so she dropped it like a hot potato and was determined to put the past behind her and help her ill mother support the family. Fortunately, she was drawn back into the chess world and Nolan Sawyer took and interest in this young lady. Despite him being a good guy, there were classic moments of good vs. evil and our Mallory dueled it out on the chess board. What fun!

Nolan was a pretty typical Ali Hazelwood character, but had his own tragic past that kept him separated emotionally from his pretty solid group of friends. He was everything a hero should be, handsome and loyal, but he was also pretty secretive, which made for some great conflict and resolutions. He was very well matched in skill with Mallory and it was nice to see that he wasn’t threatened, but relished the challenge. I loved this healthy relationship that helped each of them deal with their troublesome pasts.

This novel, like I said above, is a young adult novel, and is in comparison to adult novels pretty clean. I would consider it a slow burn romance, but there is some sizzle towards the latter part of the book so if you’re looking for clean, this may not be a good fit. For me, it was the perfect mix of relationship building, conflict, drama, and heat. Check & Mate was the perfect play and one helluva a good 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!* Check & Mate

Copyright 2023 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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End Game (New York Stars #1) by G. A. Mazurke

Hockey runs in the Bukowski family’s blood. All three sons play professional hockey and growing up their family billeted other young hockey stars. Then there’s Gracie, who knows more about hockey than anyone but is set aside by everyone, including her family. Liam is one of the hockey players that grew up living with Gracie’s family. When he was younger they were best friends but as he got older he became friendly with her brother Kow and slowly dropped Gracie. Now that he’s playing pro he realizes she is the one that he let get away and now that he’s been transferred to the New York Stars where Gracie lives he’s determined to get her back.

This book came on my radar through an article or blog about great sports romances and I have to say that I would have to agree. There is a lot of sports in this romance, mostly because that’s part of Gracie’s personality. Growing up in a hockey household, she has the eye of a coach and gives her brothers, including Liam, tips about their playing that has helped them tremendously throughout their careers. Unfortunately for them, she delivers the news in a brash, blunt manner. That is Gracie. She doesn’t hold her punches and her family doesn’t really understand her. This has caused problems with her three brothers, but not the billeted players like Liam who’ve lived in her household. Liam in particular, loves this about Gracie. I love that about him- he sees her as she is and loves her despite these characteristics.

There is an interesting plot point that causes psychological conflict for Liam. He was kidnapped off the streets, tortured, and held for ransom because of his high profile status. This kidnapping has made him suspicious, paranoid, and uneasy about life. If this is a trigger for you, you may want to avoid this novel, but I thought this was a really interesting aspect to his character that I wanted to know more about. How would Gracie handle this quality? Does this make him crazy or is he still a lovable guy? All of these things ran through my head while reading making this a rather unique read.

Needless to say there is a lot of emotional drama due to the kidnapping, and Gracie’s relationship with her own family, but the bond between Liam and Gracie is the important one and that felt pretty special. With the exception of the drunk scene at the beginning of the novel, I really enjoyed this story. That first scene just didn’t fit the feel of the rest of the novel and I wish it had been thrown out in edits. The rest of the story was great. I’ll definitely be looking for a book #2 in this series and will be looking at this author’s other novels under the name Serena Akeroyd. If they’re all like this one, I’ve got a bit of reading in front of me! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* End Game

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This Chick Read: Friends Don’t Fall in Love by Erin Hahn

Lorelei Jones was a Country superstar when she chose to sing a song at a concert that offended the country music industry and her fans and fiancéturned against her. The only person who stood by her side was her friend Craig Boseman, ex-bassist for her ex-fiancé. Craig “Huckleberry” Boseman had always had a soft spot for Lorelei especially after their one night together. After a five year absence, Lorelei comes back to Nashville and asks her friend Huck, now a music producer, to listen to some of her new songs and they reconnect in life and love.

I’ve always enjoyed novels by Erin Hahn. Her writing is so easy to read, the rhythm and flow of her words totally appealing, especially in a book with music at its center. Lorelei was a character who was also very easy to like. She and I have the same politics, so that helps, but she’s also someone who took a stand even though she lost everything by doing that. Craig or “Huckleberry” as Lorelei calls him, is just an average guy with a lot of talent for writing hit songs. He was one of Lorelei’s best friends and it was easy for them to pick up where they left off, but both of them had feelings for each other that couldn’t be ignored. Their transition from friends to lovers was not without its hiccups but it too had an easy flow that fit with the style of writing by Ms. Hahn.

Living in Nashville and reading novels set in Nashville are always kind of fun. It’s interesting to see someone’s take on my city and in this case I think the author viewed downtown through slightly roses tinted glasses, but you could tell she loved what she was writing and I really appreciated that. I also really loved the romance that was told through lyrics a wonderful way of styling this novel and really making it feel authentic. I really didn’t find a note wrong with this novel and if I could sing a lick, I’d be howling at the moon. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Friends Don’t Fall In Love

Copyright 2023 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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