romancingthereader's reviews
1385 reviews

Bitter Rival by Emery Rose Andrews

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sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

*Squinting*โ€ฆ this one didnโ€™t hit for me like some of Emery Roseโ€™s other work. So Iโ€™m just going to take it as an L and let it slide.

๐Ÿ“• ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: Bitter Rival by Emery Rose

๐Ÿ“™ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Sutton Mountain character series. Book 1.

๐Ÿ“— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€: E-book ARC on Kindle. ๐Ÿ†“ on KU.

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฟ๐—ฒ: Contemporary romance

๐Ÿ“” ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Enemies-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine, winery vibes.

๐Ÿ“– ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€: Beckett and Daisy are given joint ownership of a winery when Beckettโ€™s father dies. He wants to sell it and wash his hands of his past, while Daisy is hoping to save the only place thatโ€™s ever felt like home to her. Luckily, they have three months where theyโ€™re mandated to live and work there to help them decide.

๐ŸŒŸ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„: I really liked the idea of this book, it just fell a bit flat to me.

Beckett was definitely not my favorite MMC. He was a little too mean, and I didnโ€™t feel like he changed enough at the end to make up for it. Daisy was fun, but she wasnโ€™t enough to make up for the rest of the plot.

In the end, flat is the best way I can describe it. Winery based setting but with very little detail tied in. A lot of telling instead of showing. It just wasnโ€™t my jam - Iโ€™m surprised I finished it. 

This series has some potential, so Iโ€™m not giving up just yet.

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: 3/5 โญโญโญ

๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น: 3/5 ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ

๐‘ฐ ๐’“๐’†๐’„๐’†๐’Š๐’—๐’†๐’… ๐’‚๐’ ๐‘จ๐‘น๐‘ช ๐’๐’‡ ๐’•๐’‰๐’Š๐’” ๐’ƒ๐’๐’๐’Œ ๐’Š๐’ ๐’†๐’™๐’„๐’‰๐’‚๐’๐’ˆ๐’† ๐’‡๐’๐’“ ๐’‚๐’ ๐’‰๐’๐’๐’†๐’”๐’• ๐’“๐’†๐’—๐’Š๐’†๐’˜.   
Spunky by Haley Tyler

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fast-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? N/A

2.0

Quicksilver by Callie Hart

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dark emotional tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

Romantasy is always a hard rate for me. But going on vibes, I couldnโ€™t put this book down, and Iโ€™m so excited for more.

๐Ÿ“• ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: Quicksilver by Callie Hart

๐Ÿ“™ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€: The Fae & Alchemy series. Book 1.

๐Ÿ“— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€: E-book on Kindle. ๐Ÿ†“ on KU.

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฟ๐—ฒ: Fantasy romance

๐Ÿ“” ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Enemies-to-lovers, fated mates, hurt/comfort.

๐Ÿ“– ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€: Saeris is a thief and a trickster, living in the poorest section of a city of dust and death. When she unintentionally opens a portal to a new world, she learns she is a valuable commodity in the fae world - but she must work alongside Kingfisher, who is hoping to use her gifts to save his people.

๐ŸŒŸ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„: Romantasy is such a slippery slope for me. Because hardcore lovers of this genre beg for excellenceโ€ฆ but me, I am so much more simple of a fantasy reader. And Iโ€™ve been burned before (looking at you, JLA), so Iโ€™m always stuck when I have to review a book like thisโ€ฆ ESPECIALLY at the start of the series.

But heyโ€ฆ I couldnโ€™t put Quicksilver down. I really liked it. I loved the main characters, the side characters, the flow and pacing. There were portions that were predictable, yesโ€ฆ but in the best way. And the first book set up so much potential for the future.

This is the kind of approachable fantasy I like - world building that felt easy to understandโ€ฆ cool takes on long-told story archs (like fated mates and secrets, etc). Callie Hartโ€™s writing was really well done in my opinion, and made the first book readable and understandable - but more than that she made it exciting.

Iโ€™m pumped for book two, and can only cross my fingers that it will continue to be a great read.

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: 4.5/5 โญโญโญโญ

๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น: 3/5 ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ
Delicate Escape by Catherine Cowles

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emotional tense 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

4.5

The Sparrow Falls series is shaping up to be one of my favorites from
Catherine Cowles.

๐Ÿ“• ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: Delicate Escape by Catherine Cowles

๐Ÿ“™ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Sparrow Falls character series.
Book 2.

๐Ÿ“— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€: E-book ARC on Kindle. ๐Ÿ†“ on KU. 

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฟ๐—ฒ: Romantic suspense

๐Ÿ“” ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Hidden identity, he falls first, opposites attract, forced proximity.

๐Ÿ“– ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€:  Thea has her life ruined by a toxic ex, and has been hiding out in Sparrow Falls ever since. But she canโ€™t hide from golden boy Shep, who knows sheโ€™s been hurt but canโ€™t help but be taken by her.

๐ŸŒŸ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„: Shep and Thea were such a good read!

I loved the first book in this series - Fragile Sanctuary. And the little breadcrumb trail that Catherine Cowles left for Shep and Thea had me so intrigued. I love a closed off woman and a man who wonโ€™t be deterred.

Sheep was so swoony, and he put in a ton of work to get Thea to thaw. I loved how there was minimal drama between the two of them, since there was more than enough outside of them.

Knowing Catherine Cowles does suspense is one thing, but I genuinely didnโ€™t see the twist coming in this one, and it had me audibly saying WHAT. 

And the third book is a single mom, hockey romance? Yes please and thank you.

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: 4.5/5 โญโญโญโญ

๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น: 3/5 ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ

๐‘ฐ ๐’“๐’†๐’„๐’†๐’Š๐’—๐’†๐’… ๐’‚๐’ ๐‘จ๐‘น๐‘ช ๐’๐’‡ ๐’•๐’‰๐’Š๐’” ๐’ƒ๐’๐’๐’Œ ๐’Š๐’ ๐’†๐’™๐’„๐’‰๐’‚๐’๐’ˆ๐’† ๐’‡๐’๐’“ ๐’‚๐’ ๐’‰๐’๐’๐’†๐’”๐’• ๐’“๐’†๐’—๐’Š๐’†๐’˜.   
Next To You by Hannah Bonam-Young

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emotional funny hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0

More and more Iโ€™m becoming a sucker for a man who adores a woman from the start and waits for her to be ready. And Matt was definitely that guyโ€ฆ to the max.

๐Ÿ“• ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: Next to You by Helena Bonham Young

๐Ÿ“™ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Next character series. Book 2.

๐Ÿ“— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€: Listened on Hoopla app. 

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฟ๐—ฒ: Contemporary romance

๐Ÿ“” ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Friends-to-lovers, just this once, he falls first, mental health rep, grief journey, found family, forced proximity.

๐Ÿ“– ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€: During a particularly vulnerable night, Laine buys a bus to restore and live on. She asks for help from one of her best friends, Matt, who has been patiently waiting for a chance from Laine for years.

๐ŸŒŸ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„: Whew this book was heavvvyyyy, but the quiet Samoan with a penchant for reading might be my one of my favorite MMCs of the year.

Laine was a great female character. Usually, I get really frustrated when FMCs get in their own way over and over again, but Laineโ€™s vulnerability and the way that she continually protected Matt made my heart all gooey.

Matt, though. The guy knew what he wanted and never wavered. This is one of those books I would literally kill for a dual POV, because I bet his would be excellent.

The Next series was my final stop on HBY books, and each one had been better than the last. I love them all - sheโ€™s definitely become a one-click author for me.

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: 5/5 โญโญโญโญโญ  

๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น: 3/5 ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ
The Royal by Susan Stoker

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emotional reflective 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

3.5

Whenever I need a reset, I grab one of these to read or listen to, and five years later Iโ€™m still devouring them when I need something reliable.

๐Ÿ“• ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: The Royal by Susan Stoker

๐Ÿ“™ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Game of Chance character series. Book 2.

๐Ÿ“— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€: Listened in the Kindle app. ๐Ÿ†“ on KU to read and listen.

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฟ๐—ฒ: Military romance

๐Ÿ“” ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Fairytale vibes, opposites attract, scarred hero, suspense.

๐Ÿ“– ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€: Cal is sent on a bogus security mission for a social media influencer, only to find the threat has been made up to get him - a prince - to visit their home. Instead of falling for the influencer, heโ€™s drawn to their housemaid who has spent years living in their basement.

๐ŸŒŸ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„: I always rate these as a normal book, but if I was to rate it based on vibes itโ€™d probably be much higher. Susan Stoker books are always predictable, but in the best waysโ€ฆ and Iโ€™ll never put them down.

The Royal was a step away from her normal alpha military men, as Cal was a prince and scarred and more charming than alpha. But I loved his inner POV and the end made me tear up. Iโ€™m going right back into the next one, because I get addicted to her series so easily and the read-and-listen is such a great bonus.

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: 3.5/5 โญโญโญ

๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น: 3/5 ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ
Gooey by K.L. Mann

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  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

Continuing my pattern of not reviewing these becauseโ€ฆ whew it was intensely gross but also, thatโ€™s the point?
Hung by Summer O'Toole

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.5

Again. Just kind of rating these against each other because theyโ€™re supposed to be cringe but I didnโ€™t love the writing in this one? Thatโ€™s crazy to say seeing as the subject matter was produce related but here we areโ€ฆ
Bouncy by B. Sobjakken

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

This might be the craziest thing Iโ€™ve ever read. Which is the point. So in that way, the writer was successful. I donโ€™t know if I could actually review this if I tried.
Asking for Trouble by Giana Darling

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

4.5

I didnโ€™t love the last Fallen Men book, and I was secretly scared that I was done with this series. But WE ARE BACK, BABY!

๐Ÿ“• ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: Asking for Trouble by Giana Darling

๐Ÿ“™ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€: The Fallen Men character series. Book 8.

๐Ÿ“— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€: E-book on Kindle. ๐Ÿ†“ on KU.

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฟ๐—ฒ: Dark romance

๐Ÿ“” ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Motorcycle club, instalove, he falls first.

๐Ÿ“– ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€: Aaron โ€œBonerโ€ Clare falls instantly for the blue-haired girl being robbed at her convenience store, not knowing sheโ€™s the property of a rival club bent on ruining The Fallen Men.

๐ŸŒŸ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„: I love this series so much, so reading Aaron and Blueโ€™s story and getting back to the ultra-romance Giana Darling delivers feels so good.

Iโ€™m always obsessed with how Giana Darling can develop characters while the entire world burns around them. Thereโ€™s danger and intrigue and action. Iโ€™m always worried someone is going to die. And Asking for Trouble really delivered on all of that. 

But what I loved most was that I got the incredible romance Iโ€™m so used to from Giana Darling, that I felt like I missed out on during the last book. Boner spends this book doting on Blue, being in love with her from their first meeting, making her custom neon signs he hangs around town. I was quite literally gitty while reading, it was that well done.

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: 4.5/5 โญโญโญโญ

๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น: 3/5 ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ

๐Ÿ“ ๐—” ๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ธ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜๐—ฒโ€ฆ At this point, youโ€™ve got to read this series in order. Itโ€™s worth it, but these are no longer standalones.