Tag Archives: romance

Review: Boyfriend Material

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Boyfriend Material
by Alexis Hall
4 stars

There are some tropes I just love, and a “fake relationship” rates pretty high. Our main character, Luc, works in PR for a non-profit (Save the Dung Beetles!…no seriously, that’s the cause). Because his estranged father was a famous rock star, poor Luc occasionally finds himself in the tabloids. When an exaggerated story gets him labeled as a drunken party boy, he needs to clean up his image. Dating upstanding lawyer Oliver is the perfect way to clean up his image for his boos before their big fundraising dinner. This is a romcom, so it is no surprise that Luc and Oliver will find that their fake relationship is feeling all too real.

Nearly all of Luc’s problems come from his extreme lack of self esteem and he compensates with a spectacular amount of dry, snarky British humor. I saw a lot of reviews comparing this to Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. They do share some basic elements, but I didn’t find the similarities distracting. The main characters’ relationship was fantastically supportive and sweet. #goals

 

Read alikes:

Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert

Well Met by Jen Deluca

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

 

Review: There’s Something About Sweetie

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There’s Something About Sweetie
by Sandhya Menon
4 stars

A delightful companion to Sandhya Menon’s When Dimple Met Rishi, her latest follows Rishi’s brother, n’er-do-well Ashish, and Sweetie Nair. Sweetie is, well, sweet, loyal, funny, athletic, beautiful, and fat…which her mother claims makes her not quite good enough for the hunky and rich Ashish. Ashish and Sweetie go behind her back in this cute, heartfelt yet hilarious teen romance.

Menon delivers a realistic take on Sweetie’s body image struggles or, more accurately, the struggles those around her have while she accepts herself just as she is. An empowering read!

 

Read-alikes

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon

Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

 

Review: Red, White & Royal Blue

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Red, White & Royal Blue
by Casey McQuiston
5 stars

Alex and Henry have a tense and antagonistic relationship.  Which causes trouble because Alex is the First Son of the US and Henry is the Prince of England.  When their issues come to a head at a royal wedding (including the destruction of a $17,000 wedding cake), the 2 must paste on diplomatic smiles and fake a friendship for the sake of American/British international relations.  The fake friendship gradually becomes real as they open up to each other about the pressures of living in the public eye and that friendship turns into something more.

This book was originally marked as Young Adult, but it definitely falls into the Adult/New Adult categories (the characters are 20 and 22 when the book begins).  This is probably my favorite book of the year (yes, I know it’s early).  It had me bouncing between giggles and swoons, and sometimes both at once.  It was smart, diverse, and inclusive in all the best ways.  And there were multiple references to Alexander Hamilton, Harry Potter, and others!

 

Read-alikes

The Royal We by Heather Cox

Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal

Royals by Rachel Hawkins

 

Review: Hate Notes

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Hate Notes
by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward
5 stars

This is my first novel by this duo and I really enjoyed it!  I was expecting a light-hearted romance, but I was surprised by the depth in the second half of this novel.  I loved the mix of happiness and sadness, and of course the happy ending.  The main characters are Charlotte and Reed.  Charlotte is your typical Polyanna; overly cheerful and optimistic.  At times, this drove me crazy while reading, but I did like her character.  Reed is a wounded man and very cautious, not willing to let any woman in to break his heart again.  The story begins with Charlotte selling her unworn wedding dress and coming across a beautiful one of a kind dress—with a note sewn into it written by none other than Reed Eastwood.  Soon Reed becomes Charlotte’s fantasy of true love…until he becomes her boss and she discovers how arrogant and mean he can be.  Charlotte and Reed have a lot of chemistry and their interactions are funny and cute.  Throughout the book the reader knows Reed is hiding a secret.  When it was revealed, I was surprised.  I found this romance to be unique and I will definitely be reading more from Keeland and Ward.

Read-alikes

Family Affair by Debbie Macomber

Back to the Bedroom by Janet Evanovich

Charlie All Night by Jennifer Crusie

Review: Beauty and the Clockwork Beast

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Beauty and the Clockwork Beast
by Nancy Campbell Allen
4 stars

When Lucy Pickett goes to stay at Blackwell Manor to care for her ill cousin Kate, she’s surprised to learn that her recently wed cousin may be cursed.  Women who marry into the Blackwell family tend to die mysterious deaths, including Kate’s brother-in-law’s late wife and sister.

Miles, the lord of the manor, is concerned for his new sister-in-law, but also has other issues to worry about.  Ghosts are haunting his guests, vampires have been reported nearby, and he has a dangerous secret of his own.  Not to mention his attraction to his most recent guest, Lucy.

Lucy and Miles work together to try to figure out what’s happening at Blackwell Manor and bring peace back to the family in this steampunk romance.  I haven’t read many steampunk titles before, and I really enjoyed this one.  There’s definitely a lot going on, which sounds a bit chaotic when describing the story, but Nancy Campbell Allen makes it all work together.  It doesn’t hurt that it’s a retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales.

Read-alikes

Arabella of Mars by David D. Levine

The Water Witch by Juliet Dark

The Kiss of the Spindle by Nancy Campbell Allen