Tag: Books

[New Post] ARC Review: Truly Madly Deeply by L.J. Shen

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Title: Truly Madly Deeply

Author: L.J. Shen

Page count: 568

Published: September 10th, 2024

Publisher: Netgalley

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Received: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Rating: 4/5

This old flame just might set them on fire.

Conceited, unattainable, and downright delicious, renowned Michelin-starred chef Ambrose Casablancas has one passion in life—food.

Women are a distraction, and he doesn’t do those. Especially Cal Litvin, his baby sister’s best friend. Her entire existence is a complication; she’s awkward, eccentric, infuriating…

And, much to his chagrin, hotter than his kitchen.

Ambrose has a lot on his a new restaurant to open, a multimillion-dollar property deal to execute, and a violent stalker to tame.

Then Cal shows up at his doorstep, looking for both a job and salvation after their messy goodbye. His resolve, like his patience, is ebbing each day she works at his restaurant.

Because Cal is no longer a doe-eyed girl.

Now? She’s the woman he’ll do anything to conquer.

***

Quirky, compassionate ball of sunshine Calla Litvin can’t catch a break, and not just because she swore off running.

Back in her hometown to nurse her mother’s broken heart after losing her father, she finds herself jobless, hopeless, and penniless. She hopes to rekindle her friendship with her former BFF, but Dylan is attached at the hip to her cruel brother—the one Cal’s been secretly crushing on since middle school.

Falling for the bad boy the second time around would be a mistake of gargantuan proportions.

Too bad she’s always been clumsy.

Row is a brooding grumpy chef with multiple restaurants with a naughty mouth, Cal comes back home to Maine to help her mother after her dads passing. While reading I hadn’t realized how quicky I had read it. The banter they have I don’t think I have ever laughed as much as I have in this one then other books that I have read by Shen. Row and Cal have some comebacks to one another that I haven’t even herd/thought of. I enjoyed this book a little more because Row was the one that fell first. I’m excited to see what’s next by Shen.

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[New Post] ARC Review: A Thousand Broken Pieces by Tillie Cole

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Title: A Thousand Broken Pieces

Author: Tillie Cole

Page count: 317

Published: July 23rd, 2024

Publisher: Self Published

Genre: Romance

Received: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Rating: 5/5

Can two broken hearts make a whole. . . ?

After losing her beloved sister three years ago, Savanna Litchfield has been living half a life. When Savannah’s therapist suggests joining a trip around the world for grieving teens she agrees to go clutching tightly to the unread journal her sister left behind.

Seventeen-year-old Cael Woods is angry. One year after losing his older brother his life has spiraled. Once the most promising hockey player in the junior league, Cael can no longer step onto the ice. When his parents sign him up for a trip abroad no part of him wants to go.

As Cael and Savannah embark on a journey they begin to find solace in each other. As they start to heal piece by broken piece, could this be the start of a love they never thought they’d feel again?

A Thousand Broken Pieces is a beautiful and life-affirming novel about grief, love and friendship.

After reading the first book, it had left me heartbroken and utterly captivated by the emotional depth it explored. I knew that this was going to be one hell of a whirlwind of feelings, and it turned out to be much more than I had anticipated. Sav and Cael, two characters bound by their profound losses, have both tragically lost an older sibling and are struggling to find a way to move on in a world that feels incredibly heavy without them. Sav, who hasn’t been the same since Poppy’s passing, feels as if a vital part of her spirit has been extinguished, leading her parents to make the difficult decision to send her to a camp designed for those like her—others who are navigating the tumultuous waters of grief. On the other hand, Cael has experienced the devastating loss of his brother in a car accident, and in the aftermath, he has been consumed with anger that colors his every interaction and thought. His parents, recognizing the toll this anger is taking on him, hope that the camp will provide him with the tools to lessen the darkness that has enveloped him and help him deal with his brother’s tragic passing. They embark on a journey that takes them all over the world—from the fjords of Norway to the bustling streets of Japan, and the vibrant landscapes of India—seeking various cultures’ ways of coping with similar heartbreak. Seeing the heartfelt letters that Poppy left for Savannah were sweet reminders of their bond, giving her the strength to move on while simultaneously weighing heavily on her heart. As for Cael, he hasn’t been able to lace up his skates and play hockey since his brother’s passing, a sport he once loved passionately while working his way to the NHL; the ice has become a haunting reminder of his loss. Getting to see Rune in this narrative makes me yearn for his perspective, hoping to delve deeper into his own experience with grief. After immersing myself in this story, it still had the same raw and gritty gut-wrenching impact, shattering my heart again and again, yet it also offers a flicker of hope, helping readers to deal with their own grief. It carefully assists in putting some of the broken pieces back together, illustrating that healing can be a messy but necessary journey.

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[New Post] ARC Review: Sweet Collide by Ava Harrison

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Title: Sweet Collide

Author: Ava Harrison

Page count: 412

Published: March 29th, 2024

Publisher: Literally Yours PR

Genre: Romance

Received: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Rating: 4/5

From USA Today bestselling author Ava Harrison comes a new standalone hockey romance.

Aiden Slate.
Pro hockey star. Captain of the Redville Saints. And the bane of my existence.

All it takes is a little liquid courage to storm his castle.
Or, in this case, a cushy five-star hotel suite.

I’m supposed to give him a piece of my mind.
To unleash a decade of pent-up anger.

What I’m not supposed to do is sign an NDA meant for another woman.

He thinks I’m here to relieve his stress.
Well, he’s in for a rude awakening.

Problem ? The boy I grew up with doesn’t remember me.
Problem ? I fall to my knees at his command. Literally.

Next thing I know, I agree to be his fake girlfriend.
He doesn’t realize I’m the girl he left behind ten years ago.
The last thing I’ll do is admit it.

Because Aiden might have abandoned me all those years ago.
But me? I’ll forever be his.

The book starts with them in the same trailer park as kids and became the best of friends. This book has some mental health rep and its great to see in more and more books. Cassie and Aiden have great banter and chemistry. Their relationship started off as being fake to help Aiden with his anxiety and OCD. Cassidy is a great help and can help when Aiden is struggling. Along the way they start to realize they have feelings for one another and they are able to help one another grow a lot through the book and have a slow burn romance that kept you interested.

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[New Post] ARC Review: Beautiful Addictions by Season Vining

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Title: Beautiful Addictions

Author: Season Vining

Page count: 282

Published: April 25th, 2024

Publisher: Literally Yours PR

Genre: Romance Comedy

Received: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Rating: 3/5

Josie Banks is a girl without a past. After being found unconscious with no memory, she was shuffled in and out of foster homes until the age of eighteen. An experience that left her broken, damaged, and clinging to drugs and meaningless hook-ups to numb her pain.

Tristan Fallbrook is haunted by a dark past of his own. Tristan lost his first love when Josie disappeared years ago. Now a twist of fate has brought them back together, and he never wants to let her out of his inked arms again. But reentering her life puts them both in grave danger.

The two find themselves unable to escape the gravity pulling them together. But now that they’re on the run from ruthless criminals, it’ll take much more than love to save them.

This is the second book that I have read by this author. Josie has quite a few demons and has chosen a life of sex, art, drugs and alcohol basically anything that will take away the pain of the past. Tristan has suffered his own heartaches and has a past that he wants to forget. One of the things that I loved about this was that it felt real with everything together. Well, getting to know Josie and Tristan you see the push and pull they have almost like a cat with its favourite toy kicking with their back legs. While getting to know one another again Tristin is determined to have Josie slip through his fingers again. This was a quite enjoyable read for me but I just didn’t connect as much as I would have liked.

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[New Post] ARC Review: Hearty by Carrie Aarons

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Title: Hearty

Author: Carrie Aarons

Page count: 270

Published: April 26th, 2024

Publisher: Greys Promo

Genre: Romance

Received: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Rating: 5/5

They say you can always go home again, but for August Percy, that didn’t apply even when she had to live there until her eighteenth birthday.

After saying goodbye to a toxic childhood, she never planned to look in the rearview. Until the death of the woman who caused all her trauma forces her back to Hope Crest.

With a mountain of debt and an uncertain future, August at least has a soft place to land when her former employer and surrogate big brother offers her a house that isn’t chock full of nightmares from the past. What she never bargained for, though? The boy-turned-man she’s always crushed hard on from afar accidentally becoming her roommate.

Evan Ashton is the prodigal son who finally came home … even if he didn’t necessarily want to. As the new head chef of his family’s fourth-generation restaurant, he’s trying to build his own legacy in a line full of stubborn men. So when he ends up under the same roof as the closed-off woman the rest of his siblings seem to know so well, Evan attempts to shut down any curiosity since he can’t afford more complications in his life.

Except conversations over late night snacks, having her unexpectedly working in his kitchen, and inevitably bumping into her at every family celebration they’re both invited to only seems to bring him closer to August … until all of that tension bubbles over.

Then danger begins to close in, and it’s not even a thought of putting himself between her and the threat. But secrets beyond either of their control, and opportunities far from Hope Crest, begin to cause cracks.

And when both of them question whether their intense connection can last for longer than right now, it may just be their final undoing.

This might be my favourite book in the series. August and Evan have different lives growing up. August was able to get away from her mom and go to collage to start anew. She is needing to go back to town so that she can deal with her mom’s things, so going back was a little hard for her. Evan is the baby of the family and head chef of the family restaurant. He wants to add some changes to the restaurant, but his dad doesn’t want anything to change. August is looking for a place to stay and a former mentor Warren offers his wife Alana’s home for her to settle in and relax in, Alana is Evan’s sister so when he needs a place to go, he head’s to his sisters also to get away and relax. August and Evan are the cherry on top couple for me. They are extremely supportive, comforting and loving to one another. These two are one of my top couples, I’m going to miss them and this wonderful Ashton Family.

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