Tag: romance

This Chick Read: Under Your Spell by Laura Wood

After being let go from her job, dumped by her boyfriend, and kicked out of her apartment you can’t blame Clemmie Monroe for doing something way out of character- getting drunk and having a one night stand with a handsome stranger. When that stranger ends up being a world famous rock star whom she is babysitting as a favor for her music exec sister while he writes an album admittedly he’s hard to ignore. Her life’s a disaster but their summer together is kind of magical.

Clemmie was a bit of a hot mess. One of a trio of sisters born to a philandering rock star father, I loved Clemmie’s bond with her untraditional family and her sisters in particular. They were all vastly different and their unique personalities livened up quite a few scenes in this book. Clemmie’s relationship with her father isn’t great. He was never around for her when she was young, more interested in his own stardom than being a father. So, when she realizes her one night stand is the very famous Theo Elliott she wants nothing to do with him, but she’s made a promise to help her sister by providing the location for him to have peace and quiet and write his long anticipated album.

Theo was pretty down to earth for a rock star which made him pretty easy to like. The fact he was completely smitten with Clemmie made her avoidance of him fun to read. He had to work for their budding relationship which created some tension, as well as allowed the author to develop these characters, giving them back stories and depth that an insta love novel wouldn’t have provided. I really enjoyed their journey and loved the resolutions to their conflicts. Overall this was just a really easy to read enjoyable story.

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!* Under Your Spell

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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: Fighting the Pull (River Rain #5) by Kristen Ashley

Hale Wheeler inherited billions from his wealthy father. His mission is to spend that money helping rebuild the world’s resources. He doesn’t have time for love but when he meets celebrity journalist Elsa Cohen he is tempted by their chemistry. Elsa, too, is on a mission to build her career reporting the celebrity news and knows that an interview with the elusive Hale Wheeler will make her career. The two of them want very different things from love but can they forge a path together?

The fifth installment in the River Rain series, this novel tells the story of Hale and Elsa but also gives us glimpses into the lives of other couples who’s stories we’ve followed. That’s what I love about Kristen Ashley’s series, the characters are so integrated into each others lives that their stories aren’t just one and done. You get these little extensions into their lives while enjoying a fresh story. Hale and Elsa have been side characters and their story arc began a few books back so the author has been building their tension in the background. All of these connections are like one of those little biosphere’s incapsulated in glass. The oxygen is feeding the organisms who keep growing, moving, and staying interconnected. I love it when one of her series works well together and The River Rain series is a good example of that.

Hale has a tragic life story. Raised by his mentally unstable mother full time, then spending part time with his father Cory who loved him but had trouble showing it physically, Hale has trouble facing his own feelings which makes his pursuit of Elsa both interesting and hard to read. Elsa is loving and open a contrast to his more closed off emotions. Of course watching them make that connection and figure out how to be a couple is what makes a good romance great and Fighting the Pull had moments that were both touching and emotionally fraught. This made for a really good story and an un-put-downable book.

If you love romances with great characters, lots of heat, quirky and loving side characters, and a bit of danger, then this book will fit the bill. Unfortunately, to get the real benefit of all the quirkiness in those side characters, please read the series in it’s entirety. If you don’t have the time, I think you’ll still enjoy this book but you’ll miss a few nuances, and back stories from other books in the series but you’ll still enjoy the read.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Fighting the Pull

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 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.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

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

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This Chick Read: Birding With Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb

When a friend asks Celeste to partner with his buddy John for an event, newly divorced Celeste dives into the project and pretends to be his girlfriend. What she doesn’t realize is that John doesn’t need a girlfriend but a partner in Tucson’s largest bird-watching contest. Needing the recognition that the title winner will receive in order to start his bird-watching business, John agrees to become teammates, and a fake couple. As John and Celeste hike through the wilderness, it feeds Celeste’s hunger for new adventures and John’s tutorials are great practice for his dream job. Their chemistry becomes undeniable and they decide to be birders with benefits.

Birding With Benefits has a very simple premise and a pretty simple story but the characters had some depth which added interest and fun to the story. Celeste’s ex left her with some insecurities that she is fighting hard to overcome. Yes, she was a little too exuberant at first but her character grew on me and I enjoyed her antics even if it was a severe departure from my own comfort zone. I’m probably a little more like John, quiet, and comfortable in his skin. Not needing to live up to anyone’s expectations except his own. I did really like how their personality quirks brought out something in each other, for John a little bit of silliness, and for Celeste a little bit of stability. They were a good match.

This author did a great job of creating two likable characters and explored this opposites attract theme to its limits in a new and interesting way. Who’d have thought you could find love while birding? I enjoyed both the silly aspects of their first-meet, but also the journey as they helped partner each other through some new changes in their lives. All in all an enjoyable book!

❤️❤️❤️❣️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Birding With Benefits

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: Mind Games by Nora Roberts

Every June, the Foxes drive up into the Appalachian mountains to drop their two children off with their Grammie. This year, as they head back down the mountain, they don’t realize it’s the last time they’ll see their children. When twelve year old Thea goes to sleep that night she dreams of their murders back home in Philadelphia and through that special kind of sight, connects with the killer. It’s her vision that puts him away in a maximum security prison for the rest of his life, but through that connection he continues to haunt her until she figures out a way to stop it.

Nora Roberts is the queen of many romantic subgenres and romantic suspense is one of my favorites. She writes great characters and her settings span the entire country. Mind Games takes place in the Appalachian mountains, which are pretty close to where I live and have driven through many times. I loved the vibe of that setting and how the evil that haunted Thea jarred with that easy country living and created this jarring note every time he entered the scene. Ms. Roberts always sets the tone so well.

I enjoyed all of the characters that made up Thea’s family and friends. The love story aspect of the book happened a little too late, to my taste, and the childhood trauma a little too long. I had wished that a little more time was spent in the current time but understand why the author chose to build upon Thea’s early childhood and build the suspense that would carry through to adulthood. I still wish we had gotten a little more romance and a little less evil prisoner.

I have read so many Nora Roberts novels and I have strong opinions about what makes a good NR story and when they are just average. I think this one falls kind of in between. Mind Games reminds me of some of her earlier novels where they feel a little less fleshed out. I still enjoyed it but it’s not one of my favorites. ❤️❤️❤️❣️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Mind Games

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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This Chick Read: Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie by Jackie Lau

As the last unwed daughter out of five, Emily Hung is getting tired of her mother’s attempts at setting her up with the perfect man. Her newest attempt is Mark Chan. When they meet at her sister’s wedding Emily is not impressed with this boring engineer. At her mother’s second attempt at tricking them into a date Emily decides to fight back and convinces Mark to fake date her, but her mother has spies everywhere so they have to step it up. They start going on real fake dates and Emily finally see’s behind Mark’s sweater vest wearing persona. Maybe mother does know best?

This author has a great sense of humor! Emily’s inner dialogue often had me laughing and her characterization of Mark, before she got to know him, was quite spot on. Until she saw behind the sweater and could read his slight facial expressions. This stoic engineer had a sense of humor but found it hard to open up to people. Well, everyone except Emily it seemed. Their cute interactions and made them easy to root for but it was their idiosyncrasies and the way that they supported each other that sold me on the story.

As you got to know these characters the reader was given insights into their characters, making these sweet and funny moments more poignant. Both of them were fighting against insecurities and challenging family dynamics giving the story some much needed conflict so it wasn’t just about a fake dating scheme. As with most of our own lives Emily and Mark’s were balancing acts and throwing “finding love” into the mix caused ripples both good and bad. The author’s spin on this story was fun and cute, but the real-life problems resonated for me and I think it will for other readers as well. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie

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: This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune

The first time Lucy met Felix, she was grabbing a bite to eat alone while waiting for her friend to arrive on their island vacation. She spent an amazing night with Felix and the next morning put the pieces together that he was her friends brother, Wolf. Each year when she escapes to the island, she vows to stay away from Felix and every year ends up in his bed. Despite their intense connection, Lucy always kept her heart out of it until the week before her best friends wedding, when Bridget asks her to come out to the island.

Carley Fortune writes wonderfully emotional beach-centric novels. Or lake-centric, but the local always involves sand, water, and great seafood. Those things certainly set that laissez faire mood which I think is required for a great beach read. This Summer Will Be Different felt, well, different, more intense and kind of frustrating.

Lucy, our heroine, is dealing with the trauma of losing her aunt and trying to make a go of the flower store her aunt left her. She is also harboring the secret of a years-long vacation relationship with her best friends brother. Felix, or Wolf, is on the island going about his life but you just know that he’s living for those moments with Lucy that are few and far between. This novel had boat-loads of conflict to work through and despite my impatience to get to that final conclusion, it was done really well and my turbulent feelings were worth the experience. But it was exhausting, truly. I needed a vacation after reading my vacation book!

Every year I look forward to Carley Fortune’s newest book release and this year is no different. There were so many great moments in this book (the chemistry! the great best friend relationship!) but there was something holding me back from an all in five star rating. I liked it a lot, but I’ve liked other books by this author more. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* This Summer Will Be Different

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