torilovesheas's reviews
645 reviews

The Hotshot vs The Reporter by Nicole Dykes

emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I am a child of the south and that means NASCAR, baby. Really though I enjoyed this one much more than the first one! I loved the idea of "asshole celebrity needs reputation rehabilitation so we're going to let this reporter that kinda hates him write a piece on him and find some redemptive quality in there somewhere". The relationship was cute (and spicy!) and there's a bit of

""Oh my god am I queer??" identity search that was handled really well and not fetishized. Not perfect because the pacing was a little all over the place at times but still very fun! Excited for the next one!

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The Secrets of a Moonlit Night by Elisa Braden

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I love Elisa Braden and no matter what she's writing, I'm going to read it. But this definitely lacked the character development and plot depth that I know she's capable of putting in a novella (12 Nights was phenomenal). A beauty x beast scenario is always going to be my jam because I'm a basic bitch (and glad of it. And I think the characters are both likable and intriguing. Scarred architect x cynical governess is an excellent pairing for my working class HisRom loving heart. But the plot just wasn't there and could have been so much more. Instalove isn't a problem for me IF it makes sense with the plot and character motivation and it just didn't here. 3 because the vibes were spectacular and Elisa Braden's prose is always phenomenal.

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The Phantom Of Drury Lane by Kate Bateman

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funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Two knuckleheads that are secretly in love with each other argue and banter while solving the mystery all of London's asking: Who's the mysterious phantom of Drury Lane?

This was so cute! Bateman's writing style really works for me. It's lighthearted with enough drama to keep it from moving too slowly and some really loveable characters that need a bit of a shove to get together. I think secret pining is her niche and she knows how to do it well!

A super fun novella as Lucy and Will try to solve the mystery of the shadowy figure haunting Will's theater while also being dummies that are both in love and don't know how to tell each other. Fear of rejection, amiright? Plus there's theater sex. Who doesn't love theater sex? Go forth.

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Snowed In with a Dragon by Sara Ivy Hill

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

What a spicy little holiday treat! I love monsters and I love snowed in together as a trope so this mash up was my cup of tea! It's low angst and fated mates featuring a human woman who's just had her world upended and the sweet dragon that's been admiring her for years. LOVED the light stalking element and the super spicy cabin nights these two had together. Plus! There's sexual health that's prioritized and I want more of that in my romance! I did find the time jump a bit jarring but I really really hope Sara Ivy Hill writes more in this world! Super cozy, super spicy monster romp!

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A Risk Worth Taking by Jessica Joyce

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hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Kicking myself for not reading Jessica Joyce before this because if THIS is what I can expect from her writing? Sign me tf up. Connor and Claire were SO sweet together and I love that this was just two goofballs falling in love at the literal worst time. Ngl I was nervous considering it can ONLY be one night because Claire is literally moving the next day but obviously it's an HEA so...

I also love that this is about following your dreams as much as following your heart and no one has to sacrifice their dream job for a relationship.

Perfection. 10/10. Spice was excellent and the story was so sweet.

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Kiss Me, Mi Amor by Alana Quintana Albertson

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emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

While I didn’t find the romance in Kiss Me, Mi Amor all that great (lack of chemistry, MCs that have no common ground, no real relationship development), I really was mostly invested in the FMC, Carolina, and her journey.

Carolina comes from a big, traditional Mexican American family. And I do mean traditional. The oldest has to date before anyone else can, you can’t spend the night with a man unless you’re married, a man has to ask for your father’s permission to date you, etc. Super traditional. And Carolina loves her family. She loves her parents and her sisters and their community. But she’s 1st gen and is having a hard time abiding by her father’s rules when she just wants freedom to live her own life.

And like….lots of reviews were like “families like that don’t exist anymore and I hated how misogynistic her community was”. But I get it. I got Carolina’s struggle. I was raised in a very similar Southern Baptist family and while my family wouldn’t have disowned me if I stayed out all night with a man, there was no babies before marriage or spending the night with a boyfriend and everything was about appearances and how the church and community would cast my decisions onto my parents.

I just felt for Carolina. I understood her struggle. I understood her “she’s such a wild child and disrespectful” when really…she has always put her family first and just wanted freedom. I was rooting for her so hard.

And I don’t think Albertson made her mom and dad these big bad villains. They love their kids. And their kids love them. But they’re set in their ways and think they’re doing everything right because it’s how they were raised.

I just really enjoyed Carolina’s journey and wanted her to be happy so bad. And I loved that happiness didn’t mean turning her back on her family and traditions and culture. It just meant “hey I’d like my own house so I don’t have to live with my parents as an adult and can have my own space”.

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Simply the Best [Large Print] by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

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funny mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

SEP can write a phenomenal rom com. I know because I’ve read them. She’s been a staple in the genre (with good reason) for decades and her signature humor is always front and center no matter how many releases she puts out.

Unfortunately, I didn’t care for this one. I LOVED the premise of a surly sports agent falling for client’s sister. And the humor was spot on like usual. (The bit where they stumble on to a backwoods nowhere camp of gun toting idiots as Rory calls them was hysterical).

But these characters didn’t have the lovable qualities I’ve come to expect in The Chicago Stars series. Rory is too immature and wishy washy about her life. Brett is too full of stoic machismo. There were moments where I wondered if they were even romantically interested in each other because the chemistry wasn’t there.

And plot wise, for a story that centers around Rory’s brother’s ex girlfriend being found murdered at his house, there’s too many other plot lines going on at the same time to make this a satisfying read. Clint (Rory’s brother) mopes because his agent and his sister saved him from an admittedly disaster in the making relationship. Kristin, Rory’s sort of awful step mother, gets her own romance subplot that took up way too much of our time. And honestly, after reading about her being a verbally and emotionally abusive mother figure to Rory because Rory wasn’t her biological child (even though she raised her from age 5!!), I didn’t need to see her redeemed, forgiven, or end up with a happy ending. Her POV is pretty awful in how she talks and thinks about Clint like he’s the special one because he’s HER child. And poor Rory, whose only sin was not being her biological child, had to deal with her emotional abuse for years. No thank you.

There’s agent meetings and recruitment parties and a sorta kinda “we’ll just investigate this ourselves” subplot that was jumbled and grew clunky and choppy after so much skipping around.

And the romance really gets lost in all of that plus the internal pity party every character seems intent on having.

An initially promising but unfortunately flat entry into a beloved series.

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A Gentle Feuding by Johanna Lindsey

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adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is not JL’s best book but damn if it isn’t one of my favorites. For a romance written in ‘83, Sheena and Jamie’s story is fairly light compared to other books written around this time by other authors. The signature push/pull that Lindsey is so famous for is front and center, going all the way to the very end because she lives for the dramatics. And Sheena is a signature Lindsey FMC, outspoken and stubborn. But I do think she’s more likable than a lot of other JL leading ladies. She just wants her family to be safe from the clan feud and is only going off of information from her family when it comes to how big and bad Jamie MacKinnion is. I mean…he’s really not lol in the grand scheme of things, he’s a very mellow Lindsey hero. A strong warrior and protective of his clan, he may threaten violence to Sheena a few times but always sputters to reassure her that he’s just being an ass.

There’s not a terrible amount of plot and the only bodice ripping we have is from an attempted assault by Black Gawain, resident turd extraordinaire of Castle Kinnion. It’s mostly just an ongoing mystery to solve involving who’s really responsible for the breaking of peace between Jamie and Sheena’s respective clans. with the MCs in close proximity and Jamie trying to convince Sheena to marry him. But it’s such a fun romp that I don’t even care that there’s better Lindsey’s out there.

A 5/5 re-read for ScottyRoNovember!

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Hoarded by the Dragon by Lillian Lark

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

If you're going to give me an accidental pregnancy romance with a whole bunch of caretaking and a bossy/stubborn/butthead dragon baby daddy, I'm going to love it.
Love Bathhouse is one of my favorite series. Each installment is like my favorite blanket wrapped around me and I love these monster urban fantasy romances Lillian has created.
ESPECIALLY when I heard we were getting a surprise baby romance. Love a baby book.

Kalos and Katarina are two people that meet by chance (a break in gone right) and end up thrown into each other's lives by a miraculous pregnancy that shouldn't have happened.
But good god did they need each other. I always feel that a perfect match for a lonely MC is another lonely MC that understands. And these two lonely beings need each other in a way that made their romance so sweetly angsty to watch unfold.

It starts out with a (literal) bang, but the emotional story that unfolds is equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming. Kalos lost his family centuries ago and is grappling with the second chance fate has given him and Katarina is a former foster child that has always yearned for a family, for a home and place to belong. It's just perfect seeing two people that crave and fear love in equal measure find each other by what seems like fate and then WORK for the HEA with communication and time spent together. Ugh. It's a bumpy road but such a satisfying conclusion in the end.

Grief that's dealt with gently? Got it. Caretaking and cuddling from a surly, butthead dragon that falls like a giant redwood?
Got it. A former cat burglar upending said dragon's orderly life? Check check. A little dash of meanies trying to make things difficult for our dynamic duo? A lil dual peen action?
It's here, baby. And I loved it.

The beginning is a little bit BAM in a "just throws you in there" way and I think it could have been maybe a softer open but I really loved this story and that's the only hiccup I found along the way.

Dying for the next book that was teased at the end 35 gimme gimme gimme.

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Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Ya know, when accidental cannibalism is the highlight of a book, maybe I should reevaluate but...the accidental cannibalism is the highlight of the book. It's marketed as a dark romantic COMEDY but I found nothing funny? It's humor that tried really hard to be effortless and dry and I was straight up not having a good time. Because it was mostly slap stick moments or like... Three Stooges comedy? I know humor is subjective but I expected at least a little haha. Not a haha to be found, pals.

This is supposed to be about two serial killers but?? All Sloane does is cry, get injured or captured by her target, and lament because she thinks she's not loveable. (She cries SO much oh my god). And Rowan is just... gaga over her the whole time for literally no reason. She's constantly the damsel and he's constantly rescuing her. If these were real life serial killers, they'd have been caught after the first kill because these two are vomiting at crime scenes, getting their fingerprints on every conceivable surface, and just casually getting seen by their victim's captives like it's NBD. They'd have been CAUGHT so quick in real life. There's no psychopathy, no sociopathy, no serial killer-ness to these two, dude. Just regular schmegular human beings killing horrifically I suppose? Their MOs were so convoluted and ridiculous? . So we've got...no background, ridiculously complicated MOs, and no real serial killer attributes? Alright. What happened to their families? Couldn't tell ya.

Which leads me to the biggest travesty of this whole book. How do you make a book about serial killers that kill serial killers falling in love THIS boring? I expected competition between them per the blurb and we saw it for five seconds and then it ran away into the yonder. I don't care about your mundane lives or your 9-5 or your restaurant opening or what you ate for dinner when we could be talking about murder?? Hello?? Idk the pacing was mad weird due to the fact that it takes place over 4 years and we're only seeing them spend a few days together each year and texting the rest (which we hardly ever see). It was boring. I was bored. A feat, truly.

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torilovesheas's reviews 645 reviews

torilovesheas's reviews
645 reviews