Tag: Olivia Dade

This Chick Read: Second Chance Romance (Harlot’s Bay #2) by Olivia Dade

When Molly heard her childhood best friend Karl Dean had passed away suddenly she returned to the town she never thought she’d step foot in again, Harlot’s Bay. This was the town that was closest to her heart, and where she spent her high school years. That’s where she met and became friends with Karl, someone whom she had feelings for, but those feelings were never returned. After her parents split suddenly at the end of her Senior year, she and her mother moved to California where she rooted and stayed. Now divorced, she has returned to honor Karl, but she finds that her information was incorrect and Karl is alive. He’s also still holding a torch for Molly.

I love to read Olivia Dade’s novels. They are very body positive and for those of us who are larger than a size two, it’s great to read about a character who has some similarities to themselves. Molly is not only lush and beautiful, she also makes her living narrating audiobooks, some of which are quite spicey. When she runs into Karl again, she finds out that he’s been listening to those books just so he can hear her voice. Their re-connection is fierce and has a lot of chemistry, but she agrees to stick around Harlot’s Bay until their high school reunion in one month’s time. Karl is going to use that one month and get to know her and make her fall in love with him.

Karl is our connection to the previous novel. If you read that book you’ll remember he’s the very gruff and grumpy baker who gave Athena advice. Although he’s great at giving that advice he’s not so good at taking it. This non-communicative bear of a man is a “my actions speak for how I’m feeling” kind of guy, which makes it hard for he and Molly to re-build their relationship. I’ll admit that I enjoyed their efforts though and Olivia Dade does write some great dialogue. Molly is a forthright, sassy woman, and Karl delivers those one liners right back. It makes for an enjoyable read!

Note to the reader- this is a spicey romance! Not only does Molly narrate spicey romances, but they are monster romances and there are many-penised monsters discussed and romanced. Hilarious reading but it can be a lot if that kind of language isn’t your thing. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Second Chance Romance

Copyright 2025 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

This Chick Read: At First Spite (Harlot’s Bay #1) by Olivia Dade

Athena Greydon’s fiancé ends their engagement one month before their wedding but after she has quit her job, sold all of her furniture because she was moving in with him, and purchased him the house next door as a wedding gift. Having no job and no place to live, Athena does the unthinkable and moves in next door to her ex-fiancé and across the alley from his brother Matthew Vine the Third. The man who convinced his brother to break their engagement. What’s a girl to do but torture the man with loud erotica audio book’s, scary Halloween decorations, and bad housekeeping. What she doesn’t figure on is liking what she thought was an unlikeable, rigid man, who turns out to be not that unlikeable at all.

When Olivia Dade writes well, she really hits it out of the park. At First Spite was funny, sad, sweet, and quite salty. I really didn’t know what Athena was going to serve up next to poor Matthew but I knew that I would enjoy whatever it was and that he would tolerate it because he feels awful for how his decision to break up his brother’s relationship ruined Athena’s life.

The Spite House was appropriately named because it’s 10 feet wide and butt’s up against the original house and takes in all the light from it’s many windows. It’s on a very old historical alley and faces the house across from it which is only 40 feet away. This close proximity means Matthew and Athena are literally in each others faces when they are in their homes. A great set-up to a love story and many opportunities for comedic scenes.

I really enjoyed this novel. It has my favorite enemies to lovers trope and provided a lot of humor, but it wasn’t all fun and games. There were some quite serious issues like depression which were dealt with in an appropriate and realistic manner. These plot points only made me enjoy the light moments even more. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this book!* At First Spite

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

This Chick Read: All The Feels (Spoiler Alert #2) by Olivia Dade

Carefree leading man, Alexander Woodroe, seems to have it all, good looks, charm, and the wealth that comes from a leading role on hit tv show Gods of the Gates, but he seems to always find trouble. Or trouble seems to always find him. His producers land him with a keeper in the form of former ER therapist, Lauren Clegg. Lauren’s job is to keep him in line and not allow him to embarrass his bosses. Lauren is used to all kinds of behavior from working in an ER and as she gets to know Alex she thinks that her dirty rat cousin and producer of said show has got it all wrong. Alex has just been misdiagnosed! As they get to know each other they are aware that there’s an attraction, but is it only one-sided?

Olivia Dade strikes again! I was so overwhelmed with joy at reading Alex and Lauren’s story. As with Spoiler Alert, Lauren is not your typical pretty or girl next door heroine. She is short, round, and has a hawkish nose from an ER accident. She is also very calm, soothing, and is filled with a charming good sense. Alex while being kind, handsome, and also charming is pretty much a mess when she meets him. He’s ADHD needs to be managed and sometimes he acts without thinking of consequences, but Lauren sees that he’s not the selfish jerk that her cousin made him out to be, his actions are always in the defense of others. He is one of those rare guys that don’t even see someone’s looks, he judges people by their actions and Lauren’s actions are very attractive indeed.

This is the second story in the series about a hot guy who falls in love with an atypical woman. I say that only in a Hollywood-esque meaning. Our heroine’s are not your typical starlets, they are women like you and me, which as a reader is oh so attractive. Alex and Lauren have so many triggers that they have to overcome to let themselves be with each other. Their story is emotionally overwhelming at times, but oh so worth it! I fell in love with Alex and Lauren, and I know you will too!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase!* All the Feels

Copyright 2022 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

This Chick Read: Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

April Whittier works in a field dominated by men and she is used to smothering her personality and femininity behind a steady, solemn demeanor. When she accepts an offer in a new company she is pleased that her new co-workers share their personalities, hobbies, and weekend fun. April, too has a secret life filled with her love of a popular television program and in fact she writes fanfiction and has quite a large following. She decides to take the leap and post her homemade Lavinia cosplay costume… with her in it. She gets a HUGE reaction but not all of it’s good. There are fat-shaming comments that she deletes, not letting those haters get her down. There is one surprising comment from Marcus Caster-Rupp one of the actor’s on the show saying how gorgeous she is and asking her on a date. Knowing it’s probably for publicity purposes doesn’t stop April from accepting and she’s totally surprised that there’s more hidden behind his beautiful persona that she may just want to know better.

I am not familiar with the fanfiction world at all but each chapter starts with a story from that world and I have to admit that I’m curious! As April and Marcus both write in that world, the reader gets plenty of insight into their characters in that fantasy world as well as the real life they live in. The tv show is kind of like a Game of Thrones but using Greek mythology characters, and while that was slightly confusing the fanfiction definitely helped clarify what and who these popular tv characters had been and were becoming. It was entertaining as well as helpful! These quick chapter prologues also gave the reader insight into what was happening inside April and Marcus’s heads, rather than using an internal monologue.

I loved many things about this book but what I loved the most was that the characters were so real. April was a big girl who was happy with who she was and was not going to change herself to fit someone else’s wants and needs. Marcus was an exceptionally fit man who looked to be not so bright, but was in fact very smart. Both characters were dealing from trauma from their childhoods and had triggers that the other person walked sensitively around. Can avoiding topics last a lifetime? No, so you know there are some situations that arise in this book that make both characters face those triggers. Each situation was very well written by Olivia Dade, making me emotionally react and involved. I love romance novels but sometimes they are not story driven. Never fear, Spoiler Alert has heat but more importantly there is a lot of story!

Our two main characters were so likable but really, so were all of their friends. There were some great chapters giving us hints into the second novel of the series revolving around Alex and his keeper Lauren that put it at the top of my TBR. Olivia Dade has scored a winner with this series and I am definitely taking a look at her backlog to see if there are any others that may be just as good. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Spoiler Alert

Copyright 2022 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