a_stylish_bookworm's Reviews (1.53k)

This is the third book on the Briar University series and can be read as a standalone. The previous book totally set up Will and Beckett's story and I couldn't wait to read this. 

With all of Kennedy's books, she does such a great job with humor and fun as well as bringing in heavy topics. I love Charlotte and her drive for perfection and the reason behind it. Her attitude and banter with Beckett was so much fun. I love their texts between the 3 of them. 

I can't imagine being in a throuple and people being so accepting which was a bit unrealistic for me. The book was a lot of fun and the three of them worked well together. 

Thank you @read_bloom for a copy of the book.

All the stars do this book. I was hooked from the first chapter. This is not a love story but at parts felt like one and there are so many twists and turns. We start off in court, no idea what is happening and who is on trial. The story is told in past with Beth and her upbringing and her first love, Gabriel. And we have the present with Beth married to Frank living on the farm walking along with her BIL. 

The story is so well told, we got a sense of the all the relationships and complexities. I was so curious what happened to Frank and Beth's son and was heartbroken with what happened. The story is about grieving and how to live with guilt.

This book is live in my head rent free for a long time and for sure be a top read of 2025. 

Thank you @simonandschuster for a copy of this book.

If you are a fan of workplace romance and forced proximity, this is right up your alley. Set onboard a yacht, this had Below Deck vibes with the BTS of the crew. Lucky was unexpectedly promoted as the top crew and has been instructed to watch over the latest hire, Hunter. 
There is an instant attraction and they share a cabin and must resist each other due to the no dating rule onboard. The story is fun with the interaction between crew members as well as guests. There's tension between Lucky and Hunter as well as work place stress.
This was just a bit too insta love for me. I also didn't like how the work place sabotage was left with no consequences. 

Eric London and Summer Morton did a good job with bringing cruising crew to life. 

Thank you @brillancepublishing for a copy of this

This was such a fun rom com. I loved it from the first page with the humor, the grumpy mountain man (Wyatt), the family and all the animals. Trista was a strong FMC and always stood her ground and I love that she didn't put up with any BS. 

The brothers had such a great relationship and I love how strong their relationship was with Everly, their niece. 

The story is entertaining and there were was tender moments as well. I can't wait to read the next brother's story.

Thank you @htp_hive for a copy of this book.

This was a fun debut hockey romance. The story starts with a one night stand that turns into a lucky superstition romance. Lucy and Jaylen are a lot of fun together. 

I really liked Jaylen as a character and his growth in the story. He falls for Lucy first and I adored his attitude about her. 

Lucy was a bit tougher to love for me. For such a tough cookie, she was way too dormant when it came to her career which is so far from her personality. I also didn't really buy that a hockey club would hire a tattoo artist to do a mural which is so far fetched. 

Overall, it was fun and entertaining. Kristen DiMercuri and Jamal Roque did a good job with the narration. 

Thank you @htp_hive @harlequin_audio for a copy of this.

Best friend's brother, secret crush and forced proximity is totally my jam. We have Juniper and Avery working at Avery's dad's advertising firm along side Beau who is Avery's brother. Not only do they work together but Beau is also temporarily their next door neighbor. 

The story centers on Juniper messaging Beau on their potential client's app to help warn Beau of his office nemesis plans. They continue to chat, Juniper anonymously and it starts getting flirtatious. 

The banter is so good and the story so much fun. Avery was a bit vapid and privileged for me but she had a heart of gold. 

C.J. Bloom and Alexander Cendese did a great job bringing all the humor to life. 

Thank you @dreamscape_media for a copy of the audiobook.

Books set in the late 80s are always a fun setting as those were days of my youth. The current time being in quaint city of Coronado added extra intrigued for me. The story is told in current day with Nichole whose daughter goes missing when was picked up by an aunt. The past is told in England about Nichole and Cassie's encounter with the upcoming boy band. 

The story was pretty entertaining and the mystery of the aunt kept me vested. This didn't feel like a thriller but more a mystery of what happened to the boy band and what happened between Cassie and Nichole. 

The ending was a bit of a let down for me. 

Imogen Wilde did a good job on the narration and I felt the tension for Nichole with her missing daughter. 

Thank you @macmillan.audio @minotaur_books for a copy of this.

Thank you @prhaudio @dellromance for this book. Read this book if you are craving for Sweet Home Alabama romance vibes. The is a second chance romance between Meena and Nikhil. Meena returns back to Texas to have him sign divorce papers but end up getting stuck due to a hurricane. 

We get to see Meena reconnects with Nikhil and feels the attraction is still there. The hurricane setting created an intense atmosphere and how prepared and protective Nikhil is. The addition of the neighbors and how they helped them added an additional interest. 

Both characters needed to communicate both in the past and present to move forward. I feel like I didn't get a know Nikhil much as this told in Meena's POV. Soneela Nankani did a great job narration, I could feel the stress from the hurricane.

Thank you @prhaudio @pameladormanbooks for a copy of this book. 

This was such an entertaining story about Lila that is recently divorced and her birth day reappears in her life after being MIA for 30+ years. The story is about grief, starting over and forgiveness. It's filled with moments that made me laugh and teary. 

All the characters added so much to the story. Jenna Coleman did a fantastic job with narration and bringing all the characters to life.

DNF at 20%. I was intrigued by the premise with friends going to Hawaii. The characters sounded so immature and annoying that I could not continue. 

There was 1 narrator (Imani Jade Powers) and wished there was multiple narrators because I couldn't keep which POV I was listening to. 

Thank you @macmillan.audio for a copy of this.