Not gonna lie, I had a wildly unsuccessful reading week. It can’t all be blamed on the books – between the Super Bowl, a crazy busy work week, and two Valentine’s dates with my husband, I was focused on everything BUT books. Every time I sat down to read I got interrupted, and every time I started a new book I got bored before the 25% mark. So I’m partway through a variety of different books, lol, and don’t have much to show for my reading week.
I did have a little bit more success early on in the weekend. I started Our Ride to Forever when it released last Thursday, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The first two books in the series were both bingeable 5-star reads for me, but I always knew that the couple in this one would be harder for me to connect to. The author set things up in a way that worked for me, and I devoured it within a day. After that, I jumped into the buzzy Black Ties & White Lies, which was also bingeable… but not particularly good. I liked the author’s style so much that I was willing to overlook some issues, and it was easy to fly through. Over the top and in need of an editor, but with a solid foundation. Then I dove into one of my most anticipated releases of the year, Powerless, and… that’s where things started to get rocky. It wasn’t working for me (friends to lovers has all the same issues as second chances for me), so I ended up setting it aside for another day. After that, I have not had a successful read. Fingers crossed that things go smoother next week.
Finally, I re-shared my review for Chloe Liese’s fantastic Always Only You, one of my Top 20 of 2020 selections. I loved the cinnamon roll sweetheart of a hero, and it is definitely worth a read as the newest installment of the series approaches its release.
If you read my Teaser Thursday post (found here), you know that there are some exciting books on the way soon! I’ll have reviews going up throughout the week.
If you missed any of this week’s reviews, I’ve got the blurb and rating for each below. There’s also a link to my new release list.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Solid addition to the series
Sometimes, the best rides are unexpected.
Orson Mackenzie didn’t want a relationship. Perfect. Neither did I.
But what started as a fun ride with no commitment turned into hitching our cars to the same train. Orson needed my insurance. I needed his tax break. So we signed a piece of paper to make me his not-so blushing bride.
Forever was never the destination. Until Orson unexpectedly changed course, and we found ourselves on different tracks.
Now, it’s seven months later, I’ve lost my apartment and, luckily for me, my husband still has a heart of gold. And a spare bedroom.
I can move in with my fake husband, right? How hard can it be?
Except I’m having a hard time overlooking how his eyes undress me and the way his voice rasps when he calls me sweetheart. And the more time we spend together, the more I see through his happy-go-lucky exterior. He needs someone in his corner, and for once, maybe I need someone in mine too.
I shouldn’t fall in love with my husband. But my heart might be thumping to the bumpy tune of forever.
Our Ride To Forever is a romantic comedy featuring a secret marriage of convenience and lots of roommate shenanigans in a house with only one shower and very, very thin walls. Enjoy the comforts of a small town theme park, filled with lots of love and even more steamy, sizzling spice!
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3voOx2b
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros and cons
Life is never black and white.
One minute you’re a struggling graphic designer in LA that’s finally coming to terms with being single forever, and the next you’re flying to New York in a private jet to get engaged to your ex-boyfriend’s older brother.
At least…that’s what everyone thinks.
Forced to clean up his playboy image in order to protect his company, Beckham Sinclair, the city’s most eligible billionaire bachelor, wants me to be his fake fiancée and personal assistant.
Now I’m spending every spare second with a man I thought I’d never see again.
My freshly mended heart has barely recovered from the first time a Sinclair broke it. But with each passing day, Beck’s dirty mouth and lingering stares make me question his motives—and mine.
As the line blurs between real and pretend, only one thing is certain: there are secrets hiding in this city full of black ties and white lies.
Black Ties and White Lies is a billionaire, fake relationship, forced proximity, and ex’s older brother novel and a complete standalone by Kat Singleton.
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3llN6ja
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Retro review
Get ready for an emotional ride filled with laughter, longing, and a sweet slow-burn in this sports romance about love’s power not in spite of difference, but because of it.
Ren
The moment I met her, I knew Frankie Zeferino was someone worth waiting for. Deadpan delivery, secret heart of gold, and a rare one-dimpled smile that makes my knees weak, Frankie has been forbidden since the day she and I became coworkers, meaning waiting has been the name of my game—besides, hockey, that is.
I’m a player on the team, she’s on staff, and as long as we work together, dating is off-limits. But patience has always been my virtue. Frankie won’t be here forever—she’s headed for bigger, better things. I just hope that when she leaves the team and I tell her how I feel, she won’t want to leave me behind, too.
Frankie
I’ve had a problem at work since the day Ren Bergman joined the team: a six foot three hunk of happy with a sunshine smile. I’m a grumbly grump and his ridiculously good nature drives me nuts, but even I can’t entirely ignore that hot tamale of a ginger with icy eyes, the perfect playoff beard, and a body built for sin that he’s annoyingly modest about.
Before I got wise, I would have tripped over myself to get a guy like Ren, but with my diagnosis, I’ve learned what I am to most people in my life—a problem, not a person. Now, opening my heart to anyone, no matter how sweet, is the last thing I’m prepared to do.
Always Only You is an opposites-attract, forbidden love sports romance about a nerdy, late-blooming hockey star, and his tough cookie coworker who keeps both her soft side and her autism diagnosis to herself. Complete with a meddling secretary, tantric yoga torture, and a scorching slow burn, this standalone is the second in a series of novels about a Swedish-American family of five brothers, two sisters, and their wild adventures as they each find happily ever after.
Read the retro review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3k5Yb7W
Check out this week’s new releases here.
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