Book Review: Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai

Girl Gone Viral (Modern Love #2)

by Alisha Rai

Release Date: April 21, 2020

Source: Edelweiss

Goodreads

In Alisha Rai’s second novel in her Modern Love series, a live-tweet event goes viral for a camera-shy ex-model, shoving her into the spotlight—and into the arms of the bodyguard she’d been pining for.

OMG! Wouldn’t it be adorable if he’s her soulmate???

I don’t see any wedding rings [eyes emoji]

Breaking: #CafeBae and #CuteCafeGirl went to the bathroom AT THE SAME TIME!!!

One minute, Katrina King’s enjoying an innocent conversation with a hot guy at a coffee shop; the next, a stranger has live-tweeted the entire episode with a romantic meet-cute spin and #CafeBae is the new hashtag-du-jour. The problem? Katrina craves a low-profile life, and going viral threatens the peaceful world she’s painstakingly built. Besides, #CafeBae isn’t the man she’s hungry for...

He’s got a [peach emoji] to die for.

With the internet on the hunt for the identity of #CuteCafeGirl, Jas Singh, bodyguard, friend, and possessor of the most beautiful eyebrows Katrina’s ever seen, comes to the rescue and whisks her away to his family’s home. Alone in a remote setting with the object of her affections? It’s a recipe for romance. But after a long dating dry spell, Katrina isn’t sure she can trust her instincts when it comes to love—even if Jas’ every look says he wants to be more than just her bodyguard…

Oh, wow. This was such a miss for me and I am so sad it was. When I started this book, I thought the premise was so promising with how Katrina is a super private person, has anxiety, and hates attention, so when she goes viral, her bodyguard whisks her away to his farm house hours away. A bodyguard romance!? YES. Sadly, this book ended up being so boring and the romance was overshadowed by other storylines. 

The story in this book was very slow moving and I hated how we still have a lot of unknowns about these characters' pasts. Katrina is a very complex character, but I feel like her backstory was not developed to its full potential. I still have questions about her relationship with her deceased husband and what happened to her that has scared her from having attention on her again. Then, with Jas's character, we didn't really get his full story until almost the very end and I wish that we had that in the beginning. There was drama currently happening the related to his past, but we only got conversations about it, not any confrontation with it or something more substantial. 

As for the romance, it was sweet, but it didn't really go anywhere. Jas's issues with his family overshadowed his romance and I didn't really find myself caring about when Jas and Katrina were going to get together. There wasn't really a spark for me and I was more bored that anything while reading. While I really enjoyed The Right Swipe, I just wasn't a fan of this book.

Book Review: The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez

The Happy Ever After Playlist 

by Abby Jimenez

Release Date: April 14, 2020

Source: Publisher

Goodreads

Two years after losing her fiancé, Sloan Monroe still can't seem to get her life back on track. But one trouble-making pup with a "take me home" look in his eyes is about to change everything. With her new pet by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker's owner reaches out. He's a musician on tour in Australia. And bottom line: He wants Tucker back.

Well, Sloan's not about to give up her dog without a fight. But what if this Jason guy really loves Tucker? As their flirty texts turn into long calls, Sloan can't deny a connection. Jason is hot and nice and funny. There's no telling what could happen when they meet in person. The question is: With his music career on the rise, how long will Jason really stick around? And is it possible for Sloan to survive another heartbreak?

I know that people have mixed feelings over The Friend Zone, but I was a huge fan of that romance. After what happened to Sloan's character in that book, I was very excited to see her find her own happily ever after. 

Sloan is having a hard time moving on. Life has been at a standstill for two years until an adorable pup literally falls into her life. I loved how this book started out with Sloan breaking down her walls with this dog that came into her life. Then, her and Jason start communicating through text because the dog is his, which was so adorable. Sloan was able to let Jason in through a less intimidating form of communication and I loved how they started to fall through text from halfway across the world. The romance was so sweet and endearing. 

Speaking of sweet, can we talk about Jason!?!? He was the sweetest hero and would do anything to make Sloan comfortable and give her space. I loved how dedicated he was to her and how their relationship progressed. SWOOOON. And if you love rockstar romances, you will love this. Jason's fame definitely comes into play with their relationship and they have a lot to figure out about that. 

Overall, I really loved this romance. Something that happened at the end wasn't my favorite, but other than that, I devoured this romance and couldn't recommend it enough!

Book Review: Tell Me Pretty Lies by Charliegh Rose

Tell Me Pretty Lies 

by Charleigh Rose

Release Date: April 5, 2020

Source: Author

Goodreads

Three things my mother acquired when she became engaged:

1. A brand new Tiffany's ring.
2. A lavish home on Heartbreak Hill.
3. Three privileged stepsons.

The last thing I expected was to fall for one of them, least of all Thayer Ames.
Beautiful, brooding, and untouchable. 
I knew it was a bad idea. He warned me himself. 
But he was a thunderstorm, and I never could resist the rain. 
It was perfect…
Until it wasn’t. 
One night was all it took for our world to crumble, leaving only secrets and lies between us. 
Now, I have to face him again, but the boy I used to know has become the man who loves to hate me.

I love Charleigh Rose. We all know that. But when I started this book, it was really hard for me to get into. I felt like we had every high school bully romance cliche thrown at us and I, at this point, didn't really care. I have been having a really hard time enjoying high school bully romances lately and I don't know if it's me or that genre is just becoming too overdone at this point. However, when we got to about the halfway mark and Thayer started to talk about his emotions more, I was really hooked on this book. 

I would say the latter 50% of the book made this a 4 star read instead of a 3 star read for me. I really enjoyed how we got a genuine answer for why Thayer was being mean to Shayne and how he didn't do anything that was not consensual or unforgivable. When things became more intimate, Shayne was giving consent and they were genuinely into each other. I did also like how there was a mystery over what had happened in this past a year ago and how that all came to light at the end. 

I will say that I think more flashbacks between Thayer and Shayne before things ruined their relationships would have made the connection between them more understandable to the reader. We only really get the prologue and that's it and we're supposed to believe they had this whole tension build up between them before Thayer went away for a year. Overall, if you love the high school bully trope, you should definitely give this a try. If you're over that genre or have read too many, you might want to skip this one.

Book Review: To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters

To Have and to Hoax

by Martha Waters

Release Date: April 7, 2020

Source: Netgalley

Goodreads

In this fresh and hilarious historical rom-com, an estranged husband and wife in Regency England feign accidents and illness in an attempt to gain attention—and maybe just win each other back in the process.

Five years ago, Lady Violet Grey and Lord James Audley met, fell in love, and got married. Four years ago, they had a fight to end all fights, and have barely spoken since.

Their once-passionate love match has been reduced to one of cold, detached politeness. But when Violet receives a letter that James has been thrown from his horse and rendered unconscious at their country estate, she races to be by his side—only to discover him alive and well at a tavern, and completely unaware of her concern. She’s outraged. He’s confused. And the distance between them has never been more apparent.

Wanting to teach her estranged husband a lesson, Violet decides to feign an illness of her own. James quickly sees through it, but he decides to play along in an ever-escalating game of manipulation, featuring actors masquerading as doctors, threats of Swiss sanitariums, faux mistresses—and a lot of flirtation between a husband and wife who might not hate each other as much as they thought. Will the two be able to overcome four years of hurt or will they continue to deny the spark between them?

With charm, wit, and heart in spades, To Have and To Hoax is a fresh and eminently entertaining romantic comedy—perfect for fans of Jasmine Guillory and Julia Quinn. 

I am a huge historical romance fan and this cover definitely caught my eye. This sounded like it was going to be an adorable romance between a bickering married couple and I was excited to read their story.

When this started, I thought the romance was so cute. Something had happened four years ago, one year into their marriage, that caused Violet and James to hate each other and barely speak to each other. When Violet gets a letter that James is hurt and might never wake up, she freaks out and jumps to be by his side. When he recovers quite quickly, they're both mad at each other for their reactions, which sparks the need to toy with each other for the rest of the book. Their banter was cute, but I do wish that we knew what caused their rift a bit earlier on. It was some big mystery as to why they both felt betrayed and we didn't get the reasoning until well into the story. 

As James and Violet continue to play games with each other, I definitely became annoyed by how much they refused to talk to each other. If they just had a conversation four years ago on the night they argued, this whole book would have been avoided. The rest of this book only continues because they just won't have an honest conversation with one another. If you do not like the miscommunication trope, you are going to be annoyed reading this. At the end of the book, everything wrapped up a little too neatly as both characters had their confrontations with people who have wronged them and it felt too forced for me. 

While this was a cute story in the beginning, the middle and the end of this story more annoyed me than not and I just wanted the characters to talk already. Sadly, this one wasn't as endearing as I wanted it to be.

Book Review: Old Fashioned by Kandi Steiner

Old Fashioned (Becker Brothers #4)

by Kandi Steiner

Release Date: March 19, 2020

Source: Author

Goodreads

The epic finale of the Becker Brothers series. Each book can be read as a stand-alone.

It’s a man’s world.

When I declared sports medicine as my major and every man narrowed their eyes, that saying proved true. It was true when my ex-husband decided I’d give up my career when our daughter was born. And again when I divorced the Chief of Police in our small town, and he made it painfully clear that I could leave him, but I would never be free.

Landing the job as the new athletic trainer for Stratford’s high school team is my chance to start over. And walking into a male-dominated sport and staff, I’m ready for the challenge. 

I’m not ready for Jordan Becker.

The head coach of our championship winning team is a Herculean force of nature—as severe as he is determined. His icy blue eyes and permanent scowl drive the women in this town mad, and his quiet power and undeniable command conjure respect from every man. 

When I join his team, I expect the doubt and anticipate the fight from him. And I get them both.

I don’t expect to form a friendship.

And I never expect to fall for him.

My breath catches when those cool eyes fall to my lips. My body comes alive when his is near. And as those lines begin to blur, every warning bell sounds. 

My job, my reputation are on the line. 
And my ex is around every corner, waiting to remind me of his power.

It’s a man’s world, and if I want to survive, I can never fall in love with Jordan Becker.

Even if he falls in love with me first.

I adore Kandi and every book she writes. I am so sad that this is the end of the Becker Brother series, but what a series it's been! We've had almost every trope of romance within these books, so I was excited to have the workplace romance between a high school football coach and the new trainer! 

Jordan is the oldest Becker Brother, adopted, and the coach of a state-winning football team. He is under an enormous amount of pressure to win again and knows that his gorgeous new trainer is going to be a distraction to the players. I absolutely loved Sydney's character and how she was finally living life the way she wanted to after divorcing her abusive husband. Her daughter was so adorable and I loved how Jordan helped her out with football since she was determined to play, even though she's a girl. Family is such an integral part to this series and I loved all of the family relationships we got. 

As for the romance, it was super sweet and I enjoyed how both Sydney and Jordan had to take down their own walls to trust each other in a relationship. Was it anything special? Not really. But it was sweet. I do think that the mystery surrounding Jordan's dad that has been building all series kind of overshadowed the romance and I didn't like how it played out as more of a soap opera. It just felt too melodramatic and I wasn't a fan of that plot line that carried throughout the series. 

Overall, this is just a great, sweet romance series with an adorable family that I am obsessed with. All of the books are different and if you love a book for all of the relationships within the story, you will love the Becker Brothers series.

Book Review: My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

My Dark Vanessa

by Kate Elizabeth Russell

Release Date: March 10, 2020

Source: Publisher

Goodreads

Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.

2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher. 

2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed?

Alternating between Vanessa’s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessais an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself.

When this book first showed up from the publisher, I had never heard of it before. I looked it up on Goodreads and realized it was a highly anticipated book for the book community and that it was about a student/teacher relationship. As a teacher, I definitely have a different perspective on this topic and I was interested to see how this author, who has experienced a kind of trauma herself during her youth, would approach the topic. 

Throughout this book, you really see Vanessa fall into the trap her teacher built and be manipulated by a man in power. This does not at all glorify student/teacher relationships like so many other books and shows and movies do. Instead, this book shows how a man grooms a young girl and how that young girl carries that trauma for the rest of her life. I could not put this book down but not because I enjoyed it and was craving more; the story was engrossing and explored the emotions and confusion of a girl who is taken advantage of. 

To me, the ending was perfect and when I finished this book, I had to stop and just think. We hear so much about abuse and trauma in the media and it's easy to see these women as just another victim. This book, though, shows us that these women all have different experiences and are truly affected for life because of what they have gone through. Especially because of the world we are living in today, I think that My Dark Vanessa is a book everyone should pick up.

Release Day Blitz: After the Fall by Giana Darling

  

AFTER THE FALL (The Fallen Men #4) by Giana Darling 

Release Date: March 13th    

Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42667374-after-the-fall   

  

 

 NOW AVAILABLE! ((BUY LINKS COMING SOON)) 

         

START THE FALLEN MEN SERIES TODAY!! 

Lesson In Corruption #1 is on sale for ONLY 99¢!!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3cTCnnC 

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2xyvOXi 

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3cWlI2q 

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2W4GwPv

        

Blurb: I was settin’ up to live a good life, the kinda life I’d fought hard to deserve. With a good woman––the best woman––at my side, a degree under my belt, and the whole world at my feet, I was livin’ the kinda happily ever after usually denied the rebellious and the criminal. I’d turned my back on that kinda life, thinkin’ I needed that clean, wholesome kinda happy. Then the devil came dressed in the wings of an angel and took someone from me. And I realized I was wrong. There was no clean and wholesome for a man like me with poetry in his heart and outlaw in his blood. The life I’d been livin’ was only purgatory, holding me over until the time came for me to descend into Hell and pick up the tarnished crown that awaited me. I was condemning my woman to a life of violence, blood, and heartache, but I had to hope she’d step up and finally be the rough and tumble queen to my Fallen MC king. After the Fall can be read as a stand-alone romance, but you first meet the couple in Lessons in Corruption (The Fallen Men, #1)     

    

About the Author: Giana Darling is a USA Today Bestselling Selling Canadian romance writer who specializes in the taboo and angsty side of love and romance. She currently lives in beautiful British Columbia where she spends time riding on the back of her man's bike, baking pies, and reading snuggled up with her cat Persephone. She loves to hear from readers so please contact her at gianadarling[at]gmail.com if you have any questions or comments.

    

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