Old Enough by Charmaine Pauls

♥♥ 5 Old Enough Stars ♥♥

 

And Charmaine Pauls does it again! I’ve loved every book I’ve read by Ms. Pauls, and this was definitely no exception. This obviously is an age gap romance, which I’m normally all for — I’m just used to the male lead being the older one. Going into this, I was interested to see how the alpha male thing would all play out with Jane being older (and a mother).

“What Jane does to me is no fairy tale. It’s as hard as reality gets. It’s raw, naked, sinful lust. She’s old enough to be my mother, but lust knows no manners or rules.”

Brian is barely twenty and taking care of his sister and mother at the same time as trying to scrape some money together to pay for his college. He’s from the shady part of town and while he’s got his buddies he’s been with forever, he feels like an old soul. Meanwhile Jane, recently divorced and struggling to adjust to single life, is trying to raise her daughter in spite of her ex’s girlfriend trying to take over role as mommy.

“One day soon, she won’t have the freedom I’m granting her now. I’ll have her tied up and fucked so raw she’ll pass out from multiple orgasms.”

I absolutely love the way Brian treats Jane; he’s dominating and sweet, hopeful that she’ll accept him in public. He’s also crazy hot in bed and has no problem with taking control of her, despite her hesitations. I feel like Jane is still coming to terms with the fact that she’s attracted so strongly to someone young enough to be her child.

“I’m a mother, for God’s sake… How could I let him go so far? I’m an idiot. I’m a slut. Oh, dear God, I’m a cougar.”

The age gap isn’t even the main issue in their story, though. Brian is dealing with a meddling crime boss of sorts, and Jane’s ex-husband makes me want to gouge his eyes out. I don’t think I’ve ever hated a fictional character the way I hate Jane’s ex (and his girlfriend). I died at the way everything was left up in the air by the end of the book, and I’m dying for the sequel to be released. Hopefully Jane is going to learn to stand up for herself and stop letting everyone make decisions for her. She needs to grow up a little (no pun intended), and she needs to hold on to Brian because he is seriously the best thing to happen to her. I can’t wait to finish their story!!

 

**ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

When You Knew by Jamie Beck

♥♥ 4 Adulting Stars ♥♥

This read was really quick and sweet. It was my first introductuction to Ms. Beck, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Her writing of the characters is so real, from their faults to their challenges, and the flow of the story was just so relatable. While each book in the series is technically standalone, reading the series in order will help mitigate any confusion over the roles/tension between the other characters.

Gentry is a bit of the black sheep in her family and is used to living life on a whim. When she finds out she’s pregnant from a one-night-stand, she’s forced to change from a party girl to a mother. She thinks that by going back to her family business she can give her son a strong family unit, despite the tense relationships she has with them.

Enter Ian, a do-gooder if there ever was one. He’s back in the States while he raises enough money to fly back to Haiti to continue his humanitarian work. When Gentry offers him the position of a live-in manny, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot. What he doesn’t realize is he’s about to discover something he didn’t know he was missing out on: a family.

While I didn’t think there was that much crazy chemistry between Gentry and Ian, I learned a lot about the beauty of a relationship founded on more than just the physical. There’s definitely romance between them, but it’s pretty slow in coming and there’s all this angst because of the commitments both Gentry and Ian have made. Overall, this was a fun read and I would defitely read more from Ms. Cabot!

Blind Kiss by Renee Carlino

♥♥ 4.5 Forever Stars ♥♥

Reactions while reading…

Okay sorry for the overload but seriously as I type this I am an emotional wreck. I should know not to read this trope by now and I literally asked for it (holla at ya, NetGalley ♥), but I’m barely holding everything in right now.

This barely qualifies as a second-chance romance; it’s one of those star-crossed lovers stories where you’re anxiety levels are through the roof the entire time you’re reading because even though you kind of know the characters will end up together, there are just too many missed chances. I mean, years go by. Hello?! I just can’t handle this.

Penny and Gavin are beyond perfect for each other, and for some stupid reasons when they were young college kids, they never took the leap to be together. Basically the next fourteen years is spent in denial and settling for being best friends, while they try to find where they fit in life.

If you can’t tell, this was a highly emotional read for me. I don’t normally read a book in a matter of hours, but all the angst left me with no choice. The only reason this isn’t five starts is because the ending felt rushed, and excuse me for saying this, but I wanted to see more of them together as a couple! This is a phenomenally written story of two people who know what love is without having a romantic relationship for a long time. It warmed me up inside and broke my heart at the same time to see how far Penny and Gavin will go for each other while denying themselves. Be ready for an emotional ride!

Bane by L.J. Shen

♥♥ 5 Snowflake Stars ♥♥

Okay, I have yet to review a book by L.J. Shen that doesn’t get five stars from me, but seriously…

Alright, friends. This might honestly be one of the best books L.J. Shen has written so far. And if you haven’t caught on to my obsession with her (namely, Vicious), this is saying a lot. I have a seriously unhealthy fascination with dark, slightly evil, slightly demeaning alpha males. The Sinners of Saint series is one of my favorites series to-date, and this is probably my favorite.

Usually the hero is, well, the hero of the story. BUT NOT TODAY. Oh praise the gods and goddesses of romance, because we have A PRINCESS WHO SAVES HERSELF. If you’ve read any of the Sinners of Saint books, then you’ve got an idea of how intricate and cunning the plans are that solve all our worries and take care of the bad guys in the best way at the end. Bane does not disappoint — and I don’t mean the character.

Bane is great. He’s tatted, influential, and bent on saving Jesse. He’s also kind of an idiot, but that’s because he thinks he can get away with playing Jesse for basically the whole book. I almost hated this book until Jesse shows how much of a badass she really is. From the previous books where Bane is mentioned, I wasn’t really feeling his story, but I’m really glad I read it. There’s the twists and turns that had me gasping and freaking out inside, and his chemistry with Jesse is through the roof.

Jesse is a rape victim and social pariah. She’s been sequestered away in her home with a submissive stepfather and negligent mother (who forces Jesse to call her by her name rather than “mom” because she wants to appear younger). Seriously, her home life makes me want to go punching everyone in their face. When Bane comes into Jesse’s life, she doesn’t want to let him in, and it’s not until he runs into her in a dangerous situation that she begins to trust him. And once she starts trusting him, she starts pushing him. Pushing herself. To heal, and to do something about her situation.

Jesse is basically my idol these days. Just imagine almost any romance you’ve read recently; how the guy goes through all these steps to make everything right at the end and save the girl from some danger or conflict; how he does whatever he can to get the girl back. And now erase all that shit because Jesse does it. She’s the one who saves herself, and guess what? Bane is just a side bonus. So if you’re feeling a need for some major girl power in your life right now, then pick this up right now!!

Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber

♥♥ 4 Healing Stars ♥♥

After unspeakable tragedy, Annie is left reeling and trying to find a way through her grief. She’s been barely making it through everyday life for over a year when she decides to get out her haze and find her “happy place”. Remembering her childhood vacations to a cottage in a sleepy beach town, she decides to see if she can find meaning in her life again there. Annie insinuates into her new town and slowly ingrains herself into the lives and hearts of those around her.

While this story definitely has romance going on, it’s all very PG. I haven’t read that much by Ms. Macomber, so I’m not sure if this is part of her writing style or not, but I was really hoping for at least a couple hot sex scenes. I think Keaton had the potential to be a really hot brooding alpha male type guy, but he was much more reserved and gentle than expected. That being said, he still gave me those gooey feelings and was super sexy when he got all protective of Annie. I felt that while the story focused more on Annie’s journey to healing more than the romantic development between Annie and Keaton, Annie didn’t seem to address her past basically at all. The tragedy is what brought her to the town and allowed her to connect with so many others, but it’s not until almost the end of the book that she talks about her past with someone, and it’s not even with Keaton! And when Keaton finds out, he’s so blasé about it and they don’t even talk about what happened. For this to be the whole premise of the book, I felt like it was basically just a sidetone by the end of the book.

Overall, I thought this was a fairly easy and light read (with the exception of the first couple chapters). It’s not often that I find myself interested in the lives of the secondary characters, but I found myself almost caring more about the others’ development than the main characters’!

A Wolf Apart by Maria Vale

♥♥ 4 Wild Stars ♥♥

Elijah Sorensson has been Offworld for the last thirty years working as a lawyer for the Great Northern Pack. His predecessor ended up dead after being separated from the Pack for too long, and Elijah isn’t sure how much longer he can hold onto his inner wolf. He’s tired of the facade of life in NYC: the easy women, the social and political hierarchy, and the meat. Meat should only been eaten when you’ve killed it.

And then he meets Thea, quite by chance. She’s nothing like the Offworld women he’s used to. One, she doesn’t have fake tits. Two, she doesn’t play coy and seductive, she just is. Her simplistic lifestyle and respect for nature draws Elijah in, and soon he’s making promises to himself that he’s not sure he can survive, much less keep.

Elijah and Thea’s story just feels so real. There aren’t any early onset declarations of love, and I just felt like Thea was so down to earth. This was the first paranormal romance I’ve read in a while that wasn’t incredibly fake and just about some alpha male claiming some unsuspecting mate. The prose is well-written and while the plot isn’t necessarily fast-paced, I never got bored or felt like the plot was dragging. A Wolf Apart was a pleasant surprise every step of the way!

**ARC generously provided via NetGalley

Caught Up in a Cowboy by Jennie Marts

♥♥ 3.5 Second-Chance Stars ♥♥

 

Overall, this was a sweet, light read. Quinn is a single mother living at home with her father and brother raising her son, a product of a one-night-stand nine years ago. She’s been left behind by her childhood sweetheart, Rock, who left their hometown to pursue a career in hockey. Usually when Rock visits home, he gets the cold shoulder from Quinn; this time, however, he finds a way to weasel himself into her life for a bit. He’s been injured during a game and is forced home to recuperate. Theirs is a heartwarming story of second chances and learning to forgive old hurts.

I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting when I picked this up, but I was pleasantly surprised. There’s hardly any language in it, which, I have to admit, threw me off a little. If y’all know anything about me, it’s that I like my down and dirty romances, and this was definitely not that. There’s talk of church potlucks and blessing the food before a meal, so if that’s not your cup of tea then prepare yourself. Because of this, I was surprised that there were a couple real sex scenes, and they were actually written pretty well.

My main complaint with this book is the ending; I found it a little abrupt, considering how much time is spent on the characters waffling between what they want and what they think the other wants and what they think is the right thing to do; Rock and Quinn’s indecisiveness drove me a little crazy at times. So when Quinn finds herself in court and defending herself as a mother, I really wanted to see more of what that looked like. So when that only took up a small bit and the rest of the ending was her and Rock finding a way to be together, I was not very impressed. (This is why I had to mark down to 3.5 stars).

Overall, if you’re looking for something light, sweet, and family-friendly, then this is a great find!

**ARC generously provided via NetGalley

Hidden by Kelli Clare

♥♥ 2.5 Obsessive Stars ♥♥

ALERT ALERT: RANT AHEAD

Soooo, let’s just talk about this cover. Along with the title and book description, I was all over this. I’m expecting an intense stalker-type thriller romance, very Killing Me Softly-esque. But, man, was I disappointed. Okay, it’s advertised as a “thriller”, and I was not thrilled. I felt maybe a couple moments of tension where I was wondering what was going to happen, but literally, it all felt like a means to make the characters’ relationship grow.

Let’s look at the main characters; hell, let’s look at all the characters. Ellie and Will confuse the shit out of me. Ellie is all, I’ve never loved anyone, I have a heart of ice, and Will is just like, I’ve loved you from afar for ten years, don’t you remember us making eye contact that one time when you didn’t know who I was? And I’m just sitting here like….

Like, this was insta-love to the max. Which is fine, I guess, if that’s your thing. Just don’t play the main character off as being incapable of love when she is basically ready to marry him after making eye contact with him through a crowd at a fair. The insta-love is the main thing that bothered me, and the commentary from the secondary characters was just annoying. Everyone is all, “Oh, no, you’re the most important thing ever and we have to save you or Will will literally kill me.” Like, I’m pretty sure if Will is beating guys up for just looking at Ellie (maybe a slight exaggeration), then perhaps their relationship is a little unhealthy? Like Will and Ellie are so obsessed with each other and so caught up in their little bubble that they become super codependent and just unstable.  And then at the climax, I was expecting more of a big fallout or threat and before I knew it everything was over.

So all in all, this looked like a promising book. If you’re a fan of insta-love and are in the mood for something a little mindless and light, then this is a fun read. Just don’t expect something actually suspenseful or thrilling.

** ARC generously provided via NetGalley

Look the Part by Jewel E. Ann

♥♥ 5 Heaven and Earth Stars ♥♥

Hey friends! It’s been forever since I’ve had any time to blog, and it feels so good to get back into this! I’ve missed all of my friends, and with summer here, I have so much more time on my hands. This book really got me out of a big reading slump; y’all know I love these slow-burn reads, and this was no exception. Usually I go to Mariana Zapata or L.J. Shen to get me out of my slump, but I’ve already read all of their stuff so this was a godsend for me.

Okay, so my first reaction to this book was, eh. I kept seeing it on my KU feed as a recommended read, and the cover really threw me off. It just looked like some business mogul alpha male romance that was a little Christian Grey-esque. Which, yeah, I’m all for when I’m in the mood, but with my kick for slow burn and all the feels kind of romance, I just wasn’t in the mood for. But. But! I decided to try it out. The reviews were awesome and it was just staring there every time I opened KU, so…yeah. You know how you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover? Yeah, I’m glad I gave this a go. And let me be clear, it’s not that I don’t like the cover or anything, it’s just that I was convinced it was something it wasn’t. And let me tell you, this book was a surprise.

I’m trying to describe the emotional ride this took me on and while it doesn’t quite reach this level of inner turmoil, the vibe it gives me reminds me of The Air He Breathes by Brittainy C. Cherry. Ellen, recently divorced, moves to Minneapolis to start over. She’s a music therapist, loves life, and doesn’t shy away from her emotions. She meets Flint when she applies to rent out the office space in his building for her sessions. Flint, however, doesn’t quite understand that being a music therapist involves, well, music. And instruments. As a lawyer and all-around control freak, he doesn’t deal well with the noise and keeps trying to evict her.

Enter Harrison, one of my favorite secondary characters ever. He’s Flint’s twelve year-old son with mild autism, and he instantly clicks with Ellen. He doesn’t deal well with change, and struggles with handling his emotions. He’s complicated, sweet, and melted my heart. Ellen and Harrison develop a relationship that doesn’t let Flint get her out of his office building — or out of his life.

Ellen is probably one of my favorite heroines that I’ve read in a long time. She’s so honest with what she’s feeling — both with herself and Flint. The way Ellen is always touching him and coming on to him is sweet on the surface, and tragic once her story comes out. Both Ellen and Flint have a ton of emotional baggage, and it was both amazingly sweet and heartrending reading their story. There were so many times that I was afraid they wouldn’t make it, that they’d give up on each other. Their story isn’t easy, but it was so worth it.

Thin Love by Eden Butler

♥♥ 4.5 Addictive Stars ♥♥

Okay, let me start off by saying that while I am fangirling so hard about this book right now, there are some triggers. I have watched a couple of my best friends go through unhealthy, addictive relationships, and I by no means condone this kind of relationship. While the ending had me breathing easier about the H/h, most of the book had me worried that they’d push each other too far.

Kiera and Kona’s first meeting is a typical melt-my-heart moment; he’s a jock trying to skim through classes, she’s a straight-A control freak. Naturally, they get paired together to work on a group project, through which they fall in love (or lust…). As I read their story, I loved their dynamic (think college football player version of The Notebook). When they’re not screwing each other’s brains out, they’re screaming their heads off. Kona is jealous and gets into some stupid shit, while Kiera is constantly running away when things get hard (not that kind of hard, you perverts!).

I had hopes that everything would smooth over for these two, but it took a looooong time for that to happen, and I was seriously hurting as they ran in circles around each other. This book had me ripped to shreds and I stayed up way too late to finish it this weekend. The only reason this isn’t 5 stars for me is because I felt the start of their relationship was a little too unhealthy and for a few edits sprinkled throughout the book.