#ARCREVIEW: The Roommate By Rosie Danan

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The Roommate By Rosie Danan

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: September 15th, 2020

Format: egalley*

My Rating: ★★★ 1/2

GoodReads★ Amazon ★

House Rules:
Do your own dishes
Knock before entering the bathroom
Never look up your roommate online

The Wheatons are infamous among the east coast elite for their lack of impulse control, except for their daughter Clara. She’s the consummate socialite: over-achieving, well-mannered, predictable. But every Wheaton has their weakness. When Clara’s childhood crush invites her to move cross-country, the offer is too much to resist. Unfortunately, it’s also too good to be true.

After a bait-and-switch, Clara finds herself sharing a lease with a charming stranger. Josh might be a bit too perceptive—not to mention handsome—for comfort, but there’s a good chance he and Clara could have survived sharing a summer sublet if she hadn’t looked him up on the Internet...

Once she learns how Josh has made a name for himself, Clara realizes living with him might make her the Wheaton’s most scandalous story yet. His professional prowess inspires her to take tackling the stigma against female desire into her own hands. They may not agree on much, but Josh and Clara both believe women deserve better sex. What they decide to do about it will change both of their lives, and if they’re lucky, they’ll help everyone else get lucky too. 

Okay...so I'm conflicted about this book a lot. First of all, everyone seems to be fawning over this book and I did not care for the heroine at all. She was so freaking boring. She's very WASPy and then there is all this build up about her family having such high options of her but we never see the fall out of that. It felt like it built up all this conflict and then never addresses it.

#ARCREVIEW: Out on The Ice By Kelly Farmer

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Out On The Ice By Kelly Farmer

Publisher: Carina Adores

Release Date: August 24th, 2020

Format: egalley*

My Rating: ★★★

GoodReads★ Amazon ★

Don’t miss this tender and funny contemporary romance from debut author Kelly Farmer.

Caro Cassidy used to be a legend.

During her career, Caro was one of the best defense players in women’s hockey. These days, she keeps to herself. Her all-girls hockey camp is her life, and she hopes it’ll be her legacy. Sure, her new summer hire is charming and magnetic, but Caro keeps her work and personal life strictly separate.

Amy Schwarzbach lives life out loud.

Amy’s as bright and cheerful as her lavender hair, and she uses her high-profile position in women’s hockey to advocate for the things she believes in. Ten weeks in Chicago coaching a girls’ training camp is the perfect opportunity to mentor the next generation before she goes back to Boston.

Letting love in means putting yourself out there.

When the reticent head coach offers to help Amy get in shape for next season, her starstruck crush on Caro quickly blossoms into real chemistry. As summer comes to an end, neither of them can quite let go of this fling—but Amy can’t afford a distraction, and Caro can’t risk her relationship becoming public and jeopardizing the one thing that’s really hers.

I love women's hockey so when I saw this F/F hockey romance I thought it was perfect for me. But honestly? This book was really boring. Plus it's in third person which I hate. So I just don't think this was the right book for me.

Where this blog is going

So you may have noticed that I have been very absent from the blog lately. Partly that is because I released my first book under my pen name and it's taken up a lot of my time. Some people know my pen name, but I'm not releasing it again.

I have a couple ARCs I promised to read, but I honestly don't think I have the time to keep up with doing both my author stuff, the blog, and my 9-5 job. It is way too much, and the stress of everything is weighing me down.

Honestly, I feel like the blog has been more of a chore anymore and I'm just not enjoying writing reviews anymore. I think once i'm done with the ARCs I have, I'm not going to be requesting arcs anymore. I might pop in and out with some long overdue reviews. But I just don't know if blogging is something I want to do anymore. I'm not sure if this author stuff is going to pan out either, but I enjoy that way more. Even though it is really fucking hard and multiple times I have just wanted to quit. I have to remove one stress from my life right now and it feels like that is this.

#ARCREVIEW: You Had Me At Hola By Alexis Daria

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You had me at hola by Alexis Daria

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: August 4th, 2020

Format: egalley*

My Rating: ★★★★

GoodReads ★ Amazon ★ B&N ★

RITA® Award Winning author Alexis Daria brings readers an unforgettable, hilarious rom-com set in the drama-filled world of telenovelas—perfect for fans of Jane the Virgin and The Kiss Quotient.

Leading Ladies do not end up on tabloid covers. 

After a messy public breakup, soap opera darling Jasmine Lin Rodriguez finds her face splashed across the tabloids. When she returns to her hometown of New York City to film the starring role in a bilingual romantic comedy for the number one streaming service in the country, Jasmine figures her new “Leading Lady Plan” should be easy enough to follow—until a casting shake-up pairs her with telenovela hunk Ashton Suárez. 

Leading Ladies don’t need a man to be happy. 

After his last telenovela character was killed off, Ashton is worried his career is dead as well. Joining this new cast as a last-minute addition will give him the chance to show off his acting chops to American audiences and ping the radar of Hollywood casting agents. To make it work, he’ll need to generate smoking-hot on-screen chemistry with Jasmine. Easier said than done, especially when a disastrous first impression smothers the embers of whatever sexual heat they might have had. 

Leading Ladies do not rebound with their new costars. 

With their careers on the line, Jasmine and Ashton agree to rehearse in private. But rehearsal leads to kissing, and kissing leads to a behind-the-scenes romance worthy of a soap opera. While their on-screen performance improves, the media spotlight on Jasmine soon threatens to destroy her new image and expose Ashton’s most closely guarded secret.

This was actually the first book I've read by Alexis Daria, believe it or not. Her other books are on my TBR but I haven't gotten around to it yet. This one was really enjoyable.

#REVIEW: White Whiskey Bargain By Jodie Slaughter

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White Whiskey Bargain By Jodie Slaughter

Release Date: June 29th, 2020

Format: ebook

My Rating: ★★★★★

GoodReads ★ Amazon ★ 

“I want to give you my gratitude someplace other than that pretty mouth of yours.” - Javier Meza

The sudden and tragic death of her mother throws Hannah Hawkins into a position she doesn’t feel at all prepared for. With the duty of leading her family’s decades-long moonshining business weighing heavy on her shoulders, the last thing she needs is something making her transition even harder. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what she gets. A band of vicious new players has arrived in small-town Harlan, Kentucky, and while what they really want remains a mystery, it quickly becomes clear they’re willing to stoop to dark lengths to get it. To fight off a beast, Hannah realizes she needs to join forces with a rival. 

Javier Meza may be the sole heir to his family’s moonshining empire, but he’s certainly no leader. He has no head for business or diplomacy, preferring to spend his days in the trenches, making corn liquor with the rest of the “cooks.” That doesn’t mean he isn’t more than willing to step up and take charge when his family finds themselves in danger. Forming a shaky partnership with the Hawkins family is one thing, but marrying Hannah Hawkins to keep their deal on the straight and narrow is something else entirely. 

From All Things Burn author, Jodie Slaughter comes a multicultural romance about illegal white whiskey, a marriage of convenience between decades-long rival families, and Black Appalachia. Readers of Kenya Wright, Theodora Taylor, and Lucy Score & Claire Kingsley will enjoy this full-length romance novel with a strong heroine, swoon-worthy hero, and a very satisfying HEA.

This is definitely a book that got sold to me via social media. I've never heard of this author before, and I definitely am going to read more of her work. This one was a cool modern arranged marriage book but also about moonshiners? What? That's cool!

#REVIEW: All Wrapped Up For The Holidays

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All Wrapped up For The Holidays

Release Date: Nov. 30th, 2019

Format: ebook

My Rating: ★★★

GoodReads  

Six standalone holiday short stories!

The Merry Mistake by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

Note to self: Ask Santa for glasses this year. When I accidentally mistook a gorgeous man resting outside my building for a homeless person in need of lunch, we got into it. I’d only been trying to do a good deed around the holidays, but he called me righteous. I called him something far worse. If only I didn’t have to see him again. But fate had other plans.

Finding Perfect by Colleen Hoover

A short story that brings back several of Colleen’s most beloved characters. Told from the point of view of Daniel from Finding Cinderella, readers will finally get the story they’ve been begging for more of. For the best reading experience, make sure you’ve read all three books that come together to make up this heartwarming and fun holiday short story; Finding Cinderella, Hopeless and All Your Perfects.

A Rock Chick Christmas by Kristen Ashley

What's Christmas with the Starks like? Get a peek into the Rock Chick world and how Luke copes with Ava going Christmas gaga and just what he will, and won't, do for his girls during the holidays.

Just Say When by Jill Shalvis

When the one you want …

Is the one you can’t seem to have…

Can love conquer all?

The Pact by Elle Kennedy

Thanks to my hectic schedule as a pro hockey player, my girl and I are spending more time apart than together. Luckily, I have a solution—a romantic New Year’s Eve getaway in the mountains, just me and Grace and plenty of sexytimes. Except this blizzard has other ideas...

The Package by K. Bromberg

Christmas week can’t get any worse for Jules Jilliland. Dumped by her boyfriend, rear-ended on the freeway, and fired from her job, she finds herself stuck in an elevator with a handsome stranger. When their packages are accidentally swapped, will it end up being a misfortunate accident that suddenly brightens her holidays?

I can't remember but I think this anthology was like a newsletter freebie. It's not even on amazon anymore, so I think that's how I got it. Also, this is a tricky one to review. I think if you enjoy all the authors in here you will like it, but I've only read Elle Kennedy.

#AudiobookReview: Iron Gold by Pierce Brown

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Iron Gold By Pierce Brown

Publisher: Recorded Books

Release Date: Jan, 16th, 2018

Format: Audiobook

My Rating: ★★ 1/2

GoodReads ★ Amazon ★

Honor and betrayal fuel a caste-shattering revolution in the action-packed new novel from the number one New York Times best-selling author of the Red Rising Trilogy.

Ten years after the events of Morning Star, Darrow and the Rising are battling the remaining Gold loyalist forces and are closer than ever to abolishing the color-coded caste system of Society for good. But new foes will emerge from the shadows to threaten the imperfect victory Darrow and his friends have earned. Pierce Brown expands the size and scope of his impressive Red Rising universe with new characters, enemies, and conflicts among the stars.

This is going to come to a shock for a lot of people and I am definitely in the minority, but I HATED this book. I loved the original trilogy so I was a little wary when I saw there was a follow up book. So I put off reading it for a while, when I picked it up it ended up being one of my most disappointing books to date.

REVIEW: Blocked by Elise Faber

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Happy Reads Everyone!

Blocked by Elise Faber

Publisher: Elise Faber

Release Date: Feb. 25th, 2016
Format: Kindle

My Rating: ★★★★

GoodReads ★ Amazon ★ 

This is her shot.

Brit has the chance to make history by being the first female goalie to play for an NHL team, the San Francisco Gold. So, when she is introduced to Stefan, the Gold's captain, she is determinedly not interested.

Stefan is sexy, charming, and has a publicly documented list of conquests a mile long. But Brit is unwilling to risk mixing business with pleasure, even when that business is wrapped up in a six-foot-plus, gorgeously muscled package. When management pushes Brit and Stefan together in an effort to gain good press for the beleaguered team, Brit finds that her carefully calculated disinterest doesn’t mask her body's desires. The more she falls for Stefan, the more she risks her career.

Will she be able to have it all—a starting position and the heart of the captain? Or will she lose everything? 

Elise Faber is another new to me hockey romance author. One of the things I loved about this first book in her Gold Hockey series is that the heroine also plays hockey! That's kind of my catnip and I need more hockey romance books like that.

#ARCREVIEW: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Mexican Gothic By Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Publisher: Del Ray

Release Date: June 30th, 2020

Format: egalley*

My Rating: ★★★1/2

GoodReads ★ Amazon ★ B&N ★

An isolated mansion. A chillingly charismatic artistocrat. And a brave socialite drawn to expose their treacherous secrets. . . .

From the author of Gods of Jade and Shadow comes “a terrifying twist on classic gothic horror” (Kirkus Reviews) set in glamorous 1950s Mexico—“fans of classic novels like Jane Eyre and Rebecca are in for a suspenseful treat” (PopSugar).
After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.

Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind. 

I have complicated opinions on this book. One, it's by a favorite author so I really wanted to like it and I was upset that this book didn't work for me. Two, I 100% know that the subject matter and setting of the book is WHY it didn't work for me. So this book was just not for me. And that's totally okay.