OCTOBER RELEASE REVIEWS
America's Sweetheart by Jessica LemmonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars - Would Recommend to a Friend
Review Copy Provided by Publisher via Net Galley
I have a special fondness for right person, wrong time stories and this fits the bill perfectly.
Allison and Jax were high school/college sweethearts until a Hollywood internship for her turned into more. Decisions at the time ended their relationship, but did either of them really move on?
Fast forward 10 years to Allie coming home under less than ideal circumstances.....
I really liked both characters here, even if Allie did have to grow on me a little bit. Jax is a hero that was just easy to like from the get go - it took me a little bit to realize that I had met him in one of the earlier Real Love books - he's so easy going that when he shows his more emotional side it's impressive.
For Allie, I slowly warmed up to her. I don't know if it was emotional growth or her shaking off the Hollywood persona, but the longer she was home the more I enjoyed her character. As the story progressed it was easy to see her in both places and it was hard to know what outcome to root for.
I appreciated how Ms. Lemmon crafted Jax and Allie's time together. There was a good mix of awkward, friendship, slow burn, and blazing chemistry. One of my favorite things was how the conflict of the story flowed through the whole book, there wasn't just one big blow up to fix, there were small moments all along that clued us into the struggle both characters were going through. The resolution was never a forgone conclusion and I liked the anticipation of wondering if their happy ending really meant them being together.
This was a fun read and reinforced Ms. Lemmon's status as a go to author for me.
Amazon
Southern Charmer by Jessica PetersonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars - Would Recommend to a Friend
Received as a Gift from the Author (from a take over in Darlene & Dexter's Book Nook)
Southern Charmer continues my recent streak of “books that make you think” by asking the question of “what does it mean to be happy?”
We meet Olivia when she is at a cross road in life and trying to answer that question for herself. I enjoyed getting to see Charleston (and her sexy neighbor) through her eyes as she tried to figure out if living to meet expectations or to fulfill her “silly” dreams was her most authentic life.
Eli was a character that I liked from the very beginning. He comes across as having it all together, but the cracks are showing. One of my favorite things about Eli was his innate understanding of what Olivia needed. He had a way of showing her the path and lifting her up, but still letting her spread her wings on her own.
The unique approach Ms Peterson took to the conflict in Southern Charmer was one of my favorite parts to the book. Olivia and Eli were both dealing with a lot emotionally and I appreciated the fact they were both given the freedom to find their footing.
Ms Peterson is a new author for me and I am so excited to have found her, I will definitely be checking out her backlist.
Amazon
TBR READS
1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Ten by Tessa BaileyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read this bundle around my blog reading schedule, so it took me a while to get through the whole thing. I have brief reviews of each entry below - My favorite was American Queen by Sierra Simone.
Rough Rhythm 3.5 Stars
Interesting character dynamic, fairly involved for a novella length story. I would definitely be interested in getting to know Lita and her band mates a little better.
Devoted 3.5 stars
A sexy enemies to lovers story with a romantic bent. I liked both Amy and Flynn and found myself rooting for them to figure it out. This also makes me curious about some of the secondary characters and their stories
Z 3 Stars
This was a bit of a paranormal stretch for me. While it was well written, it seemed like there was a lot of back story not available in the novella format.
Falling under you - 4 Stars
This was an entertaining work place romance between a powerful woman and her assistant.
I enjoyed the slow build and the characters, I especially enjoyed seeing Norma discover how her priorities were changing. I have not read this author before and now I would really like to.
Craving his command 3 Stars
Reading this felt a little as if I was being dropped into an ongoing work and was expected to know what was going on. There was also some confusion with real names/stage names that made things confusing. Once I got past that, this was an okay story. I enjoyed it, but had a hard time relating to the characters.
American Queen 5 Stars
Holy mother of cliffhangers! Sierra Simone is an authors I’ve heard a lot about and I have several of her books sitting on my TBR, but this is the first I’ve read. I totally get what the hype is all about.
I was pulled in and twisted up and captivated all at the same time. The characters here are compelling and fascinating. There story is romantic, but also has an element of roadside accident - an element that makes it impossible to look away.
After reading this, I just have to know what happens next!
Amazon
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