cluckieduck's reviews
289 reviews

A delightfully fun little read - perfect for the summer!

Low angst little romp that was sweet, fluffy, and all things cute. Both the MCs were lovely and I appreciated the plus size and non binary rep. While it’s fated mates/insta love-y, I found there was enough time spent cementing their friendship first before delving into the monster smut. 

Only complaint is that it wrapped up a bit too quickly for my liking. I felt the ending was rushed (and came with some increasingly obvious spelling/grammar issues), and could have used a few more chapters to solidify their HEA, especially with some detail on how Quinn’s old “regular” life wrapped up. 

A quick, cute read. 

Sweet little story with just enough substance to hook you in and keep your attention, but there was just something about the writing style that didn’t flow well for me, especially around the dialogue. I found myself having to reread certain passages to decipher who was speaking (especially when the extended families were involved), but that may just be a me thing.

 I went into this one blind, and to its detriment I think. While I enjoyed it for the most part, a CW for the dub/non-con aspect would have been appreciated. I just felt icky after their first sexual encounter with all the no's she was throwing out. 

The concept of this one was really interesting - that mother trees communicate to others through neuropathways similar to humans. 

But I’m not sure what exact I’m supposed to be getting out of reading this. And what is it supposed to be? A memoir? A scientific journal? Her writing isn’t good enough to keep me engaged in either direction. It’s either swaths of dull dialogue or swaths of information overload that’s too scientific for a layman to be engaged with. 

Anyways, sad to be giving up but I’ve dedicated enough of my time already and I can’t see it getting any better after 6 chapters of this. 

Weak ending aside, I really enjoyed this one! Pretty fluffy for a CNC relationship too. I found both MCs engaging and I enjoyed watching their relationship develop. 

Bad, Cate. Bad.

I don’t even know what I’ve just read, but it’s truly awful. Both the MCs absolutely suck and I don’t know what either sees in the other outside of their shared love for rough sex?! All the whining and whinging, and not communicating with one another…I haven’t read any harlequins from the 80s so can’t speak to this supposed influence, but all I can say is that I really, really did not like it. 

<b>“Ten out of ten times, I’d willingly choose to be with you.”</b>

Okay, this was really sweet. Could have used some polishing, but for a debut self-published novel that the  author never intended on letting see the light day, I say well done. 

Jude is the queen of self-sabotage and I felt it was a very authentic portrayal throughout her insecurities and angst. Theo’s an absolute dreamboat of thoughtfulness, patience, and compassion. 

<b>She opens up in smaller ways that feel so much sweeter knowing how hard she has to work at it. I don’t need her to love me yet. I just need her to keep trying.</b>

This is marketed as an enemies-to-lovers but that’s entirely misguided on Jude’s part because Theo is absolutely smitten! Their snark and banter is delightful, and the tension throughout is 🔥. 

I do agree with others that the ending was a bit rushed. While the HEA is there, there are definitely some plot points that should get some sort of resolution. 

Kelley Armstrong is one of my favourite authors, and was really my introduction to the romance genre beginning with her Otherworld series, so when I saw the chance to get an ARC of her first foray into the rom-com genre I jumped onboard so quickly. This was like the rom-com of all rom-coms for me - I was just smiling from start to finish!

This book hooked me with a banger of a first line - "'I need a penis,' Daphne said." See, Daphne's got a bit of a conundrum - her YA dystopian romance book isn't selling. Well, it wasn't, until she had a wine-related epiphany and decided to tweak her cover letter to focus more on the survivalism aspect and less on the romance. Oh yeah, and submit it under a male pseudonym. Lo and behold, she receives a $500k offer on the book and now the publishers want her to do some press. But how will Daphne, aka Zane Remington, do that? In steps hired 'actor' Chris. After a rather delightful meet-cute misunderstanding, Daphne & Chris team up to tackle this grande facade.

I loved both MCs. Daphne is competent, savvy, and a badass living off-grid in the Yukon. Chris is...not that. He's totally out of his depth with this assignment which makes for some hilarious interactions during the beginning of their relationship. He's basically the dude playin' the dude, disguised as another dude! While he may not be the outdoorsy Zane Remington, he is the perfect book boyfriend - he's thoughtful, funny, glowed up from geek to chic during college but still identifies as the geek, and he bakes.

While Chris bumped up his resume to accept the position as Zane Remington, I was happy that didn't keep this from Daphne for too long, as it helped solidify their relationship, allowing them to become quick friends, and soon to be lovers. They have excellent chemistry, and while I was slightly miffed about the choice to fade to black, it didn't make me like it any less because them just being together and interacting was enough for me. I mean:

It was also fun to see the reverse side of the writing/publishing world, especially knowing that Kelley has gone through this herself. She manages to still touch on some hard truths surrounding sexism, racism, and internalized misogyny while keeping the balance of of a good-natured rom-com.

While there is a sort-of 3rd act breakup stemming from some miscommunication (my least favourite trope), it's actually handled like the adults they are (!) which I appreciated.

All in all, this was a quick, easy read with dynamic characters, witty banter, and a fabulous Yukon backdrop. Kudos, Kelley - keep the rom-coms coming!

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Silly (the bad kind) + Cringy

Romance novellas are hard to get the right balance of plot + smut and this one just didn’t do anything for me. Probably should have been a DNF but being only ~80 pages I stuck it out. 

The plot and dialogue was choppy and cringy, and the smut just wasn’t sexy. I felt no connection as a reader to either MCs or in their own relationship. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Another solid series opener from the wild & wacky mind of Lily Mayne!

Seriously, I am amazed at the variety of worlds and characters that she's come up with thus far because (and unless I'm just not a very observant reader lol) there is so littler crossover between them. Each is unique and equally gripping in their own ways, and the Goliaths of Wrestling is no different.

Taylor (human MMC, lone narrator) + Holt (monster MMC) are two of the sweetest, funniest little love-muffins who must be protected at all costs. Seriously. Their meet-cute is hilariously embarrassing, and the fact that it all centres around Taylor's ennui is just icing on the cake (pun intended 😉).

"Um." I tried to let out a carefree chuckle, but it was a touch shrill and hysterical. "So, you're gonna laugh about this, but-"
"I don't want to laugh tonight." He waved an elegant, long-fingered hand and leaned back in his seat, the leather creaking. "I want to feel that sense of dread specific to a man who has just realised that the crushing grind of his daily life will inevitably leave him an empty husk."
Well, wasn't that a fresh slap of reality right in the f*ucking face.

They have amazing chemistry and their drunken hi-jinx were highly entertaining. Just when I think I couldn't be more smitten with their developing relationship, they also go off antiquing, partake in some skinny dipping, and *gasp* sexily iron some underwear 😂. While they were both older MCs (late 30s), I did feel they came across a tad on the younger side. But then again, I'm also in my late 30s and definitely don't always feel like an 'adult' so who am I to judge!

Now don't come at me for this but...this bordered on almost too much sex. I know, I know. Someone who pretty much exclusively reads romance + erotica shouldn't really be complaining about such a thing, but Lily shines in her world developing and I think a little more focus on expanding the plot would have been more beneficial to the story. I also missed the dual narration like her previous releases and would have liked to read some of Holt's POV. That's just a me thing though - it doesn't detract from the overall storytelling.

The cast of supporting characters is delightful and I can't wait to see what future couples are going to receive a book. Very much looking forward to book 2 after the included sneak peek too!

I received a free copy of this book from the author and am leaving this review voluntarily.