bandherbooks's Reviews (3.65k)

So, I'm calling it in 2021 that Love & Other Disasters is going to be one of my Top Ten favorites of 2022, and is THE ROMANCE to watch. Absolutely stunning debut, I'm so excited for all of you to meet London and Dahlia.

Stay tuned for my full review in Library Journal

Thank you to Forever for the advanced review copy. I already need a re-read!

My first Jennifer Crusie! And I read it with my Romance Fight Club, so an extra good time. From the dove bars to the dock sex, I enjoyed this romp. There are a TON of characters and the action and dialogue are non-stop, so it does require your full attention.

Thomas Sharpe is handsome and the life of any party, and all he needs is a rich bride to secure his family's future. So when the also down on her luck and short in her pocketbook Lady Jane Capel catches his eye, and asks to be taught how to flirt and how to kiss, he shouldn't be feeling such sparks for someone he could never marry, especially since she's his friend's sister.

But Lady Jane is ever insistent, and they'll continue on with their romp as she also tries to find him a wealthy heiress. But, as their lessons turn into more than kissing, their hearts also get involved.

This was a lovely audiobook listen, great narrator. I was worried for their futures throughout, since both were so adamant about what they would and wouldn't want for their futures, but it all of course worked out in the end, perhaps a bit too neatly.

Thank you to Avon and HaperAudio for the ALC and eARC.

Callie Carpenter is forced to leave the promotion she just landed and return to her New Jersey hometown to take care of her parents after they are injured in a car accident (from road head no less, go septuagenarians). Returning home means she's also returning to the orbit of her first love, Garrett Daniels.

Garrett, sexy history teacher and lead football coach, was devastated when he lost Callie. And now, she's back and its like those fourteen years never happened. Plus, she's a newly minted emergency substitute drama teacher and he'll see her every day. Just like high school all over again. Hormones and all.

They immediately jump back into a sexual charged relationship, falling ever so quickly back into love. But, Callie is going back to California in ten months. And Garrett doensn't want to leave home.

This was my first Emma Chase, and I adored her character development. And man, I love a good second chance romance, and this had such great bones. Garrett (and the audio narrator, cuz damn) was so sexy, and I loved his combination of smarts, protectiveness, and just all around great guy, besides being sexy AF. Callie was also great, and I loved her immediate connection with her students, her joy for teaching, and her passion for her career.

My main issues came from the kind of lack of tension in their relationship? They just fell so easily back into what they had and I just wanted more sexual tension. A bit more of "we shouldn't" instead of YES, let's be bf/gf. Also, there were a lot of plot points, but not all of them were necessary, or would seem important than would fizzle out.

Still, I'm glad I read this because Chase did a great job of making high school lovers who became awesome adults so very sweet (and sexy).

CW: miscarriage (in the past)

Well, these two goobers were so Nice to each other that I didn't really get why they didn't just smash faces and be together. I know, I know, "romance reasons" but truly the conflicts here were just not enough to keep me interested. Thankfully, great audiobook narrators pulled me through and I did enjoy the writing, so I might try a different book in this series to see if the author works for me.

I usually love marriage of convenience, but it is super hard to pull off in contemporary and the reasons behind this one were pretty shallow, especially since it seems Axel's family is really connected to that a-frame house and if all it needs is money from an inheritance, I don't see why the secrets.

The secondary characters were also a bit grating, as they kept pushing these two together and eh, just wasn't for me. Too cutesy and boring.

Story notes: white female heroine who has left law school, has IBS and is recovering from a bad bout; white, autistic male main character/painter. descriptions of medical issues, needles, medical procedures. a cat and dog (both are happy and fine).

A Kindle Unlimited holiday romance that was just what I needed. So sexy and delicious. Whisper, a younger soft butch lesbian who's been pining for Brooke, the woman who got away, for two years makes a pact to give Brooke everything Whisper knows she can for 24 hours. Another chance. But can Brooke open up her heart this time, or will this yet again be Whisper being in love with a woman who doesn't want love?

Lovely BDSM dynamics, praise, lingerie, toys, light bondage and spanking. This is a longer story, with a lot of steamy scenes, but I felt they all served to move the plot along. It was great seeing these two negotiate trust, both in and out of the bedroom, with their truth or dare game.

Fiery Scottish lass who everyone calls "Mad Annie" helps turn an Englishman into a Highlander in exchange for "Lady Lessons."

Excellent banter between the heroine and hero - I could have read endless pages with them together. I also enjoyed both of their families, especially Annie's stepfather and John Huxley's copious amounts of sisters.

I could have used so much more Highlander lessons and less lady lessons, but whew it was fiery between these two.

The prose is very purple and descriptively flowery, cornflower blue eyes enough for y'all? And the Scottish accents were a little tough to get into at first but after I sunk in I thoroughly enjoyed.

A late in the game CW: sexual assault felt a bit out of place for the story, and the laddie ghost was a bit weird, but overall I enjoyed my first Elisa Braden.

CW: sexual assault, wound tending, injuries, violence (mostly off page, ableist language (Mad Annie)

Fine series starter by Shalvis, the gondola accident was a bit scary (after having some anxiety issues riding them in Teluride when I visited I was just like oh shit YIKES), but overall an enjoyable if forgettable listen. I need to revisit my eARC to catch some details, but there's also a secondary romance and found family elements.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC.

A grump and a sunshine compete to see who can make the most sales over the holiday season, in the hopes that the winner will get to keep their job at the struggling indie they both work for. Unbeknownst to each other, both Jonathan and Gabriella have been flirting via DM on a popular website about Austen and romance novels.

A mix of P&P tropes + the shop on the corner + you've got mail, this was a cute and ultimately steamy holiday romance novella. As always, Chloe Liese showcases her talent at interweaving disability and neurodivergence into her romances, as Gabriella is autistic and demisexual, and Jonathan is a Type 1 Diabetic.

For all the buildup to the reveal that Gabriella and Jonathan are also their online alter egos, I felt the ending was really rushed, but for a novella length this was sweet like a sugar cookie and satisfying for a quick read.

Single POV throughout (Gabriella); epilogue is in Jonathan's POV

Thank you to KOBO for the ARC

Again, very meh and total smut. She's gotten dumped at his bar, is sobbing in the bathroom whilst wearing a skimpy slutty santa outfit (not sure why she was wearing the outfit beyond the fact it is the holidays??) and he basically fingerbangs her, dumps her ex out of the bar, and then fills her up with his seed.

HFN ending, quick filthy insta-love age gap.