booksjenrecs's reviews
298 reviews

Goodness, how I enjoyed Bess and Charlie's romance. Enni does the small town romance trope so well, whether that small town is in Colorado or across the globe in New Zealand, and I loved her first foray into small town American life.

From the setting to the scenario, I couldn't put Falling Slowly down. I devoured this one in just a few sittings, knowing Charlie and Bess had a lot to work through and needing to see how it all played out. Bess and Charlie might have worked for the same company, but their lives could not have been any different. Charlie had so many freedoms that Bess did not; he was free of financial worries, free from familial responsibility. I loved seeing the juxtaposition between these two as Charlie began to learn more about the woman he'd had feelings for since they started working together. Their home lives were so different, yet they showed that the individual is so much more than financial status or family dynamics.

(And while I loved Charlie and Bess - and Celia - I also really enjoyed several of their coworkers and would definitely read a spin-off romance featuring many of these secondary characters.)

Cozy Creek was just a fantastic little small town getaway that brought me back to my childhood. It felt so comfortable and welcoming, and seemed like a wonderful place to relax and find yourself (and maybe even find love). This is the first book I read in the Cozy Creek series, and I will definitely be checking out the other authors' stories just so I can return to this little autumnal paradise.

Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer

Go to review page

emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Phantasma by Kaylie Smith

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Bouquets & Belonging by Duckie Mack

Go to review page

lighthearted 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? N/A

4.0

Oh, how I loved Marley and Derek. I've loved all the previous couples in the Heartcraft Market series, but there was just something special about this grumpy/sunshine pairing that made this MM romance hard to put down.

Both Derek and Marley were just so lovable. Marley brought so much light to Derek (and O'Malley's) life, and that sort of brightness is infectious, even through the pages of a book. Every little thing that Marley did for others was joyous and inspired the people around him, and it's been so long since I've read a book where one of the characters was just that pure of heart.

While I adored Marley, I loved Derek's journey just as much. He was definitely the grump to Marley's sunshine, but his grumpiness wasn't over the top or over done. These two characters were the perfect balance for each other, and I really enjoyed seeing their lives intertwine and come together.

Bouquets & Belonging was the perfect addition to the Heartcraft Market series. It was just a cozy read, with low angst, no third-act breakups, and truly put the spotlight on love in all it's forms.

Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks

Go to review page

medium-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? Yes

4.5

Dusting Off the Demons by Zoey Indiana

Go to review page

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

Nailed by Ames B. Winterbourne

Go to review page

fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Okay, yes, I've finally landed on the spicy sentient side of romance books. And I don't regret it. I expected this to be corny, full of innuendos, with absolutely no plot whatsoever. But Nailed actually included a little plot and had some unexpected backstory for Josie. At just over forty pages, I expected this to be very much wham-bam-thank you ma'am; what I didn't expect was character development for Josie and a nice little history lesson about hammer shifter aliens and how we got tools that look like the hammer aliens here on Earth.

Josie and her five mates definitely gave more than I was expecting. Sure, there were some silly moments that made me inwardly groan and more than a few hammer-related jokes, but this novella was a lot more palatable and less ridiculous than I was expecting. With five hammers in play, Nailed did challenge my imagination as I really had to work to picture exactly what was happening between Josie and the other five. But even making my imagination work a bit didn't lessen my overall enjoyment of this story. It was fun, it was fresh, and it was spicy. I may have went in with lower expectations, but Nailed far surpassed what I was hoping for and ended up being a nice escape.

More...

booksjenrecs's reviews 298 reviews

booksjenrecs's reviews
298 reviews