IT WAS ALRIGHT.

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I’m a sucker for these types of covers and I admit to this being a total cover download. I did like it overall in the end at least.

The romance is really one note and very much what I would expect to see in a college relationship. I liked Luella and Ryan. They were sweet on one another and I felt the chemistry between them. It was lacking in any form of angst (something I like even a dash of) as they steadily moved through their relationship. There were some truly good moments between them and I enjoyed the support they gave each other as life landed on them.

Plot wise it’ll give you all the whimsical and fall season vibes. There’s not much past that, buuut I know that’ll be a hit with others looking for something simple. I didn’t like the mean girl moments or some of the drama that resulted from it. But I did find it a quick read that put me in the mood for all things autumn.

Overall audience notes:
- NA Contemporary Romance
- Language: some
- Romance: one brief open door
- Trigger/Content Warnings: bullying, loss of a mother (recounted), season ending sports injury 

We have found another win for the holiday romance books column.

I do admit you do have to let go of some drama aspects for this one (as you do with holiday books), but I thought it was overall really charming!! The romance got off to a nice meet-cute and I liked the banter between Holly and Archie. They had some sweet moments that built the relationship well.

The plot had those billionaire romance aspects that I know many will love and worked for me most of the time too. I loved the personal shopper side of it too. The combination just worked so well for me.

Faith was a cute addition that only increased the charm on this book. I loved the new family they were creating together and it had me showcasing a huge smile. Faith was cheeky and landed the anecdotes at the right moment.

It’s a lighthearted and quick holiday read that I think will bring the best kind of feels for the season.

Thank you PRHAudio for the gifted copy!

HOW DANG SWEET.

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I’m pretty sure I had no less than five people mention how good this book was and I caved. AND I’M SO HAPPY I DID.

This was DELIGHTFUL. Exactly what I needed after some terrible ARCs I had to get through. Full of heart and love and a family just trying to make it through the winter in the West. I loved that is was multiple POV with the love interests and family members. It added such charm and whit to every scene.

I ADORED June Bug. The amount of times she made me laugh and smile could be counted on more than one hand. She was absolutely tenacious and I loved her snark and commitment to her story.

The romance aspects had me melting. I loooove a smitten man from the get-go and Kit was that man for me. I love how he and Maddy came together and it had everything I could hope for between them.

I can’t wait for the next book because I know it’ll be just as charming.

Overall audience notes:
- Western Historical Romance
- Language: very little
- Romance: light innuendo; closed door
- Violence: low
- Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of loss of loved ones 

4.5 stars

READ THIS.

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I’m not generally a thriller gal. But a friend gave this such a good recommendation I couldn’t help but download it. I actually went in thinking it was a romance (whoops, though there is a romance!!), and after a few chapters and realizing my mistake I was loving it enough that I kept going and I’m glad I did!

The writing was incredible. A debut author who knows how to write and I love it. The only issue I had was some minor pacing things where I thought it slowed down a touch too much here and there.

I loved the murder mystery. It really kept me guessing. And even at the end I was looking like a fish out of water when even more things kept being brought to life. I LOVED IT. I love the way this story was woven. How you had to double check each character wondering who was on what side.

I enjoyed the romance too (and would have loved even more of them). I thought it fit well into the story and they were a couple I wanted to root for. Also meaning, I better get more of them in the next book!!

Any who, really loved this. Highly recommend.

Overall audience notes:
- Thriller
- Language: some strong
- Romance: brief/vague fade to black
- Violence: high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: drowning, suicide, mental illness, physical and weapons violence, physical and emotional abuse, brief remarks about a rumored sexual assault against a child, grief, alcohol and drug use, cults, murder 

Full review to come.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

WHAT YEAR IS IT?

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This missed big time for me. One of my grievance would definitely have to be not knowing what year it is. This is a western historical romance and I couldn’t pinpoint what exact year we were going for? Confused and bothered me.

There’s aspects of a lot of things I should love and some of those were well enough. I liked the enemies to lovers (though, because I didn’t read the previous books was confused about why they were enemies) banter and the forced proximity moments that brought them closer together.

Writing style wise we did not click. There were explanations of things that didn’t need explained in convoluted ways. And that continually took me out of the story.

I know this book may be a hit for others so if it sounds interesting I’d still say give it a go. I had other friends love it, and that’s why there’s many books out there for all.

Overall audience notes:
- Western Historical Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: medium
- Trigger/Content Warnings: gun violence 

WONDERFUL.

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I had mixed feelings towards Dewitt’s first book Rootbound. Funny Feelings on the other hand? This was an easy mark for the win column. The writing was better, the tension was sweeter and the story itself just had a lot of great aspects.

The grump and sunshine trope was awesome. I loved the dynamics between Farley and Meyer. Fiery banter and unrequited love that had me aching to know what would happen next. Also, Hazel???? OMG LOVED HER. Single Dad trope and his adorable daughter were AMAZING. I loved the deaf rep and I thought everything was handled well.

It was a bit crude/crass for me at times. Some of the jokes just weren’t my cup of tea (and that’s okay). I did truly laugh at others though! I liked the comedian angle and haven’t come across that in a romance read so learning about some of those dynamics was a nice touch too.

Third act conflict wise, meh. I don’t think Meyer and Farley needed it? It felt out of place, then dragged a little too long, with a super quick resolution. Not the end of the world, just not my favorite either. MEYER was my favorite though. Still swooning over many lines that man said.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance
- Language: strong
- Romance: multiple open door; medium explicit
- Trigger/Content Warnings: grief and depression depiction, therapy, loss of a loved one, bullying 

A GOOD TIME.

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I really enjoyed this!! I thought it was a fun idea to see a bunch of fantasy romance authors get together for a mash-up of loved tropes and romantic novellas.

There was some great banter here and I loved the initial reactions between Raquel and Jake. Their natures really bounced off of one another until the undeniable magnetism took hold. I thought the dreams were a unique sequence to kind of further the romantic plot and help change the characters mind about how they were responding to each other.

I do think being a touch longer would have helped. I was a little confused by some magic system and plot aspects which I know can be hard to wrap all up into a novella. This as a full length series?? YES. Maybe that’s in the works and this is a starting point?! No idea, but one can hope!

The pacing made for a quick, finish in a day read and it hit well. I liked the movement and how things all wrapped up in the end. I love Kloss’s writing style and look forward to her next book(s)!

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy Romance Novella
- Language: some
- Romance: very brief fade to black
- Violence: medium
- Trigger/Content Warnings: kidnapping, loss of loved ones, battle scenes, grave wounds 

Oooooh this was not for me. And now I don’t even want to try any of the other books in this series.

We got off on the wrong foot by throwing in some one night stand vibes (almost went through with it). I have never loved that trope and this is what I get for not reading the synopsis.

I also hated the FMC. I thought she was manipulative and rude. Why would you bait your boyfriend into potentially flirting with someone else just so you can prove he’s not actually a nice guy so you can break up with him? THAT IS NOT OKAY. That scene and others enraged me to no end.

The drama with the third act was, you guessed it, as awful as the rest of this book. Over the top and since I was done with the book at this point I just wanted it to be over. There relationship got fully started before the halfway point and it never recovered. I wasted my time on this one.

 

STILL LOVING THIS SERIES.

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This is easily my favorite middle grade series. I’m seven books in and I have enjoyed everyone of them so much.

Though, Flashback did get off to a slow start. There was a lot of time spent on recover and healing from the end of the last book. And that’s fine! But 200 pages worth was a long time to get things going.

I have also found myself on the wrong side of the love triangle at present. I WILL continue to hold out hope right now that things will change! I do admit that there were some cute scenes with both of our main heroes though.

Sophie is still a wonderful main character. There’s some growing pains, but I feel that’s very expected reading a MG, young YA book. Messenger has written all of these characters in such a way that you feel their youth and the push and pulls of life that only get stronger as you grow up, WITHOUT making me feel like I want to roll my eyes and be annoyed at everything occurring. It’s amazing and continues to bring me back to this series.

I don’t want to say much more for fear of accidentally spoiling since this is a far into the series. I recommend giving these a try sometime!!

Overall audience notes:
- MG/YA Fantasy
- Language: none
- Romance: cheek kisses
- Violence: high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, battle scenes, physical altercations, loss of life, kidnapping