Tag: romance

This Chick Read: Very Sincerely Yours by Kerry Winfrey

Teddy is almost thirty years old, lives with her doctor boyfriend, and is still trying to find what she wants to do with herself. When her boyfriend dumps her out of the blue her life’s direction or lack of one becomes even more apparent. Working in a toy store may not be the way she wants to spend the rest of her life but what does she want to do? For solace she turns to episodes of her favorite children’s television program hosted by Everett St. James. Everett’s lessons in the show speak to her and on a whim she decides to send him an email.

I swear I’ve compared this author’s voice to Nora Ephron in the past but Very Sincerely Yours definitely feels like a rom-com similar to You’ve Got Mail or While You Were Sleeping. Winfrey’s characters are always every women. As a reader I can identify with pieces of Teddy and as she goes on her journey I hold her close as if she were me. When she and Everett become email pen-pals their dialog is witty, fun, funny, and sweet. They are both quirky characters and really it’s no surprise that they fit each other. (Yes, yes, I know this is not a true story but I am INVESTED!)

First let’s talk about Teddy. Clueless in life, yes. However, she is not dumb. She’s surprisingly witty and smart. I think she actually surprises herself too. At first she see’s herself through her ex’s eyes, then her friends, and with Everett’s help she finally see’s herself through her own eyes and she likes what she sees. Her “Do 1 Thing You Hate” every day challenge helps her find an identity and not surprisingly that identity is full of color.

Everett is probably that boy in school that you all give the side eye too. From the age of four he knew he wanted to be a puppeteer and that he wanted his own show. His whole life was focused on those things and unsurprisingly he achieved them. Being an older brother to a sister much, much younger than he, he loved how kids thought and spoke and he learned how to speak to them in return. Not surprisingly that voice also speaks to adults like Teddy who were fans of his show. (Hello, adult mom fan club!) When Teddy writes to him he gets a kick out of her and writes back and they find each other’s voices to be fascinating. Unsurprisingly since this is a romance, they find their physical selves fascinating in real life too.

This is a feel good, laugh out loud, teary-eyed romance novel. I love quirky characters and these two hit a chord with me. Admittedly quirkiness may not be loved by all, but Very Sincerely Yours put a smile on my face. My husband even commented on how I was smiling while reading. I shook with laughter too. Teddy was my favorite because her journey was a bit harder but I was secure in knowing that at the end of that journey was the wonderful Everett and so I was patient, not reading ahead as I can do when I’m impatient. I read at the speed that this author intended me to read, not wanting to miss a word because in these words were great lessons but also great heart. In this reviewers humble opinion this is Kerry Winfrey’s best novel yet.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received this novel through NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Very Sincerely Yours

Copyright 2021 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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It’s Monday, what are you reading? (6/14/21)

Ah summer time! The weather changes on a dime in Tennessee. Will it be hot and muggy, rainy, or will we have a break from the heat with an 85 degree day? This weekend was a little bit of all of those things. Thrown into the mix was a birthday dinner with a good friend but I still found time to read a little bit! Here are my recent reading choices.

JUST FINISHED

I am still making my way through this series listening to the audio books and enjoying every second of the journey. Kate Daniels is one of my favorite characters, Ilona Andrews my favorite writing team, and Renee Raudman the penultimate of narrators. The nuances in her voice really bring out the humor in Kate’s internal voice. Such a great series.

JUST STARTED

I’m back in the Hollows with Rachel Morgan, witch-demon. This is book 14 or 15 in this series and I have not gotten tired of it. Thank goodness the author hasn’t either!

I have also mixed in a little contemporary romance but it seems I am on a journey through the fantasy genre lately. Which books do you ultimately keep reading? Any great series with a good narrator? I’m loving my audio books lately. Let me know what you’re enjoying in the comments below.

Happy Monday and happy reading!

Deb

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This Chick Read: Wilder (The Wild Ones #3) by C.M. Owens

When Piper and Reese inherit a cabin in Tomahawk from the grandmother they never knew they decide to take a break from their exhausting family and hide out in Tomahawk and check out this place that their grandmother loved. Reese heads into town and meets Hale Vincent who having no fear and no clue asks her out and is determined to find a friend for her sister if his brother Killian doesn’t want her. In the meantime Piper is at the cabin when she see’s a fawn break through the ice in the lake and she’s determined to save it. Tying a noose around it’s neck she pulls the fawn out but falls through the ice herself. When she wakes up she’s in a cabin with a family talking about who’s going to get naked with her to warm her up. Needles to say, our her Kai Wilder is the lucky winner. Hearing them talk about things like impregnating her Piper is eager to get warm and get out of there. Later when she finds out she’s been set up on a date with this same guy? She’s not eager to get acquainted. Needless to say their first date is different. A dead deer (not the same one that fell in the pond), skinning, and eating that same deer for dinner is a LOT different than what she’s used to and while Reese seems to be going with the flow Piper is not.

I have to admit this was a tough one to give a brief synopsis because it really does not tell the hilarity of that first meeting and the first date. Tomahawk, Washington and these two boys did not disappoint, although Piper and Reese took me a bit to get warmed up to. Haha, get it?

As a reminder, Tomahawk, Washington is run by the Wild Ones, four families that are over the top, well, just over the top. In the two previous novels we got to know the Vincents and the Malones and in this novel we get to finally know Kai Wilder, who seemed to be one of the wilder ones. Although in this novel, he was actually pretty quiet and sweet. He was also pretty clueless.

Piper and her sister Reese come from a wealthy family who’s father will be running for office. Making their living posting on social media, something that is completely alien to the nature loving easy going Kai. I thought their interactions with each other were funny and cute but didn’t seem to really be going anywhere, which was also frustrating. Luckily by the end of the book the author turned it around and gave us a more well rounded character in Piper who we could root to be with our easy going charming Kai.

This book was funny like the first two and I really enjoyed seeing all of the other crazy characters again in Tomahawk but I think because it took me so long to warm up to Piper it was my least favorite of the three so far. Unfortunately this author seems to have taken a hiatus from this series because she set us up for Reese and Hale’s romance as well as Killian and Nela’s (Hale’s brother) but it’s been three years since Wilder has come out and it’s crickets on this series. I will still hold out hope because it’s a rarity to find three books in the same series that make me laugh out loud. Ms. Owens if you read this blog, please, please write another Wild Ones novel. These characters are worth exploring more! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: Sixteen Scandals by Sophie Jordan

Primrose is the youngest of four daughters. She has finally reached the age of sixteen, the age when she would have her “coming out”, she is told by her mother that it would be delayed until her older sister is betrothed. Her older sister is in her third season and doesn’t look motivated to find a match. Upset at this surprise announcement Prim decides to sneak out with her best friend to Vauxhall Gardens the veritable den of sin. When she gets separated from her friend a handsome young man comes to her rescue. As they search through the gardens looking for Olympia, they enjoy the sights and each other.

What a fun novel! It was a light, enjoyable story and Primrose with her sass and intelligence was an easy heroine to like. I can’t imagine being a young woman during this time in history. You have no rights, you are either at the will of your parents or of your husband. So this one night of rebellion might be all Primrose will have of freedom, unless she finds the right man who will be her partner in crime, which in this case she did. Primrose was the right combination of naiveté and intelligence and this illicit adventure rang true despite it being essentially a teen romance. This time it was a sixteen year old girl who snared the Duke. Not as awful as it sounds as he was only 19 himself.

I have a fondness for historical romances and Sixteen Scandals fit the bill. What made this book different for me was that it was a YA historical romance, so it was rated PG-13 but also that the author provided diversity in its characters. Prim’s best friend Olympia had ‘light brown skin’ and beautiful dark, curly hair but she was also (slight spoiler) gay, as was one of Prim’s sisters. I liked this small difference from other historical novels and hope these changes continue in this genre. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase!* Sixteen Scandals

Copyright 2021 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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It’s Monday, what are you reading? (5/31/21)

If you are reading this and you are in the US, I hope you have a nice day off for Memorial’s Day. Thank you to all of our troops who have served for our country including my own father and grandfather.

I was on vacation last week and took a break from writing posts, but I didn’t take a break from reading books! I have continued to listen to Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels series and I have to say that I read each of these books as they came out but you really see how they tie to each other when you read or listen to them in consecutive order back to back. I am not only listening to these books but am also reading because I have had a couple of ARC’s due that I needed to review. Two from last week! See below to catch up!

JUST FINISHED

This YA historical romance was a fun change from all of the darker urban fantasy novels I’ve been listening to. I really enjoyed this story and the sassy heroine. If you’re looking for a quick, PG-13 rated read, pick this one up. It’s fun, easy to read, and the characters are charming.

JUST STARTED

A witch whose magic is tied to the weather. This book seems to have it all. A fight of good against evil, losing in love, falling in love, and saving the world. What else do you want out of an epic fantasy novel?

Are you spending your time reading today? If so, what book has captured your interest? Do you look for a certain genre or does a cover call out to you? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy Monday!

Deb

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This Chick Read: Legacy by Nora Roberts

Adrian Rizzo has been famous since she was a teen. Following in her famous mother’s footsteps by launching her own fitness brand when she was sixteen. Years later that business is booming. She is living in the town her mother grew up in and in the home her grandparents built. Although her life appears perfect on the surface there is a threat lying just beneath the surface. Every February she has gotten a threatening poem in the mail, something that comes with the territory of being famous, but after nearly being killed by her father when she was a child Adrian takes all precautions. Will this threat become a reality?

Nora Roberts always delivers on her romantic suspense novels and Legacy did not alter the path of success. She provided the reader with a good story, likable characters, and an interesting mystery. So why was I left feeling like it could have been so much better?

Legacy was easy to read and I enjoyed the story. In my opinion the relationships between Adrian and her mom and then again Adrian and Raylan lacked emotional depth. The first on purpose, Adrian and Lina were not supposed to be close. After the altercation with her father Lina dumped Adrian off with her grandparents and the contrasting warmth they displayed showed just how much their daughter lacked that maternal warmth. How I felt about the sub-plot and subsequent love story with Raylan might be my own peccadillo. I really liked him with his first wife and their love was so deep. Despite my liking Adrian, it was hard for me to see him fall for her when his circumstances had changed. As a side note his kids and dog were so lovable and funny and really rounded out Raylan’s story.

Sometimes when you figure out the whodunnit half way through a novel, and the sub plots are good but not great, you are just reading to reach the final page and not really to feel every emotion your main character will feel. That is was happened with me in this novel. I liked it, but I’ve read so many better books by this author that I was disappointed at the same time. These mixed feelings are why I only gave this book a 3.5 rating. ❤️❤️❤️❣️

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

Click this link to purchase!* Legacy: A Novel

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

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This Chick Read: Dream Spinner (Dream Team #3) by Kristen Ashley

Hattie and Axl are next up in the Dream Team series where Lottie, a star at Smithy’s revue, pairs up her friends with the men from her Commando boyfriends business. Axl knows immediately that Hattie is the woman for him, the tension between them is intense. Unfortunately, Hattie has a lot of emotional baggage and doesn’t want to let Axl close. When she finds herself with a stalker he takes away her decision and moves her in with him for her protection. All of those walls she’s built up are stormed and Hattie finds herself falling in love.

The Dream Team series harkens back to the very popular earlier series called Dream Man where the head of Axl’s “commando’s”, Hawk has his own love story. The author returns to developing her characters and creating a woman in jeopardy story which bring our two main characters together. This is a plot device that has worked really well for Kristen Ashley in the past and one which I’ve enjoyed so far in the Dream Team series.

Hattie isn’t the only one who was some heavy baggage to work through in this novel. Axl also has his own daddy issues. I liked that this alpha male wanted to fix everything for Hattie, but she was given some rough edges to smooth over or at least be supportive about when Axl’s problems reared it’s ugly head. In today’s world it just wouldn’t have gone over well if Hattie didn’t become a strong partner for Axl. Todays readers want to read about women who will go the limit for their man.

I thought Dream Spinner was a solid KA novel. Was it my favorite in the series? No? I say that with a question mark because it wasn’t bad at all I just preferred Evie’s story from the second novel a little bit more. I did really enjoy Hattie’s dance background and though her performances sounded pretty cool and interesting. I also liked how her personal story was resolved with a happy ending. If you haven’t read the previous two novels I really don’t think you need to. Despite it being a group of girlfriends who all work together you aren’t missing anything by not reading the earlier novels. Feel free to pick this one up and enjoy. Heck, if you like it, you know you have two to immediately pick up and read!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase!* Dream Spinner (Dream Team Book 3)

Copyright 2021 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 Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

Jess is a single mother working multiple jobs as a data and statistics wizard. She works hard to make ends meet and is too focused on being Juno’s mom to bother letting someone new in her life. After all, what’s the point, they all leave anyway. When she hears about GeneticAlly which focuses on people’s genes in order to make the perfect match she totally gets it. However, she never has any intention of spitting into a cup to find her soulmate. Dr. River Peña is one of the genius’s behind GeneticAlly and when he and Jess end up being a 98% Diamond match he can’t help but see it through. After all, he believes in the science. As they get to know each other, they click on every level so it has to be true, doesn’t it?

I loved the concept behind The Soulmate Equation. I met my husband 21 years ago through an online dating service so I had total buy in. That was about all that was similar to my own experience as this fantasy dating app is a long way from answering a series of questions on the dating service I used. It was time for Jess to catch a break and have something go her way, her life up to that point had been full of struggle. For her match to be the hot guy that she has seen in her coffee shop for the past two years seemed to be kismet. That the dating concept used genetics to create the “perfect” match was perfect for a character who was a statistic whiz and made perfect sense that it was the scientist who invented the concept, and as I got to know our main couple I couldn’t help but feel they were meant to be.

I loved both of these characters. Jess’s struggles to give her daughter the childhood she didn’t have, and as we got to know River we learned that he wasn’t always the handsome scientist he was today. He was actually quite the geek who excelled academically at a very young age. They both had their struggles and their connection was off the charts. It’s rare that I read a romance novel that gives me goose bumps anymore and this novel definitely did.

As with the other Christina Lauren novels I’ve read the dialog is fun and the romance sizzling. This was an easy book to read and get lost in. If you’re looking for that story that will take you away from your troubles The Soulmate Equation is the perfect match. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase!* The Soulmate Equation

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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It’s Monday, what are you reading? (5/17/21)

It’s been a super busy work week so I haven’t really spent any time physically reading but I have listened to an audiobook. When I’m tired sometimes it’s easier to listen to an old favorite series than it is to engage my mind with something new. This re-read reminded me of how great this series is and I am eager to read the next novel.

JUST FINISHED

Magic Strikes is book #3 in the Kate Daniels series. One of my favorite female protagonists in fantasy fiction. This novel was very high action and introduces the reader to Hugh D’Ambre who becomes her arch nemesis in future novels.

JUST STARTED

I have been lucky to receive an ARC of this novel. It’s funny because lately I have been doing some reading from Nora Roberts catalog of books, especially her romantic suspense. It seems I missed quite a few through the years. I’m glad I’ll be reading this one as it comes out instead of years later! It looks really good!

I am looking forward to digging in and relaxing with a good book tomorrow. What book are you reading? Are you having a good time reading it? I’d love to hear about it!

Happy Monday!

Deb

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This Chick Read: Going Wild (The Wild Ones #2) by C. M. Owens

Moving to Tomahawk, Washington was not a part of Liam’s life plan. As the owner of multiple galleries and various other businesses he has made tons of money and was coasting through life. When Kylie Malone joins his skydiving group she ends up saving his life and also changing the direction of it. Spending weeks together as she nurses him back to health he completely falls for her, but he forgot one thing. He forgot to tell her he had a girlfriend. Kylie left him and left town for Tomahawk, and one year later Liam follows. He though Kylie was a sweet girl and she kept trying to warn him, but it wasn’t until he moved to her hometown and saw how crazy that corner of the world was he only knew one thing. Despite the craziness she was the one for him.

I bought this book immediately after reading the first book The Wild Ones. I wrote that review and raved above it in July 2018. It was the funniest book in the world, so why did I let this book sit in my Kindle for almost three years??? I had two weeks between Arc’s and could read anything I wanted so I’ve been going through my Kindle and cleaning books out but reading the first couple of chapters. If by the second chapter I wasn’t hooked I was deleting them. By Chapter two of Going Wild I was laughing so hard I was crying and I ended up reading it straight through. Oh my gosh I have not laughed out loud like this in a long time. What made it so great? Well, it’s really hard to describe, but I’ll try to give a couple of hints.

Tomahawk- There are four families of Wild Ones in Tomahawk and Kylie is a Malone which is one of those crazy families. They are loving in a pretty physical way. I don’t mean they are getting it on all the time, they are fighting, blowing things up, and playing pranks on each other. Their level of fun is to the extreme. When Liam moves to Tomahawk, he doesn’t know any better and moves to the wrong side of the lake from Kylie. He moves in next door to the Vincent’s, who were featured in the first book. When he moves there he is one of the only non-bearded men in town (long story but read the first book) and the ladies are trying to butter him up with casseroles and baked goods but he is waiting for Kylie to make an appearance and doesn’t have eyes for any other woman. Ahhh.

Kylie- She is the only female in the Malone pack. Surrounded by her 5 male cousins and father once she see’s Liam she not only has to run off all the females in town who are trying to woo him away with their culinary skills she has to protect him from her family. Although, really she doesn’t.

Liam- at first I thought “this was our hero” because he was kind of icky. However, when he got to Tomahawk that ick turned into determination and you have to admire a guy who knows what he wants, changes his whole life for her, and goes after her.

Going Wild has too many wild situations and hijinks to even try to get you all to understand or comprehend, but if your in the mood, and I definitely was, this book will light you up it is so funny. It is slapstick humor so if that isn’t your thing, please move on. If you want to take a chance and have Kindle Unlimited it is part of your subscription and you can give it a try. Because I needed a good laugh and got one from Going Wild this is a five star read from me. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase. Going Wild (The Wild Ones Book 2)

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