lisaluvsliterature's Reviews (4.19k)

I was surprised but loved the first book in this series, Ice Planet Barbarians, and so had to get the second one right away. This one was just as hot for sure, although maybe I wasn’t as consumed by the characters, but in the end it didn’t matter. I really did like this one too, and am eager to read on in the series and see how each of the girls from the ship resonate with their matches.

Oh my gosh, I almost had forgotten about Chad and his Mer-Nuts. Lol. This was a wonderful story, and even with all the hilariousness of it, there were some definitely emotional bits as well. The banter between Nate and Natalie is so good. But beyond that they just are so good at communication. Being able to really talk to each other and listen to each other. Except when emotions get in the way of hearing what is being said or realizing the subtext. One thing I love though, is that the characters, once they were alone, realized they had misheard or misinterpreted the previous interaction.

But it was so much more than just what was going on between the two characters romantically, and so much more than just the craziness of the Teleconference. Both characters, especially Nate, had a lot they were dealing with outside of those two things, and it added into the story and made it just as full as I’ve read lately. It wasn’t a long story, but so much depth, and so much humor, it was honestly one of my favorites this year so far.

I also loved getting time with characters we knew from other books in this series, as well as Martin Sandeke’s appearance. Not to mention the characters that were ones as a reader I definitely loved to hate. Martin’s father, Nate’s ex and co-workers, Nat’s co-workers were also people that weren’t great in my book.

Another winner from Aly Stiles, and I hope she keeps writing in this world!

I thought this sounded like a really cute fake dating YA romance, and I was right! I adored Bethany. While I’m not a crier like her, or good about just saying what I think like she does with most people, I totally understood her feelings about when she got rejected, as well as her crush and not being able to talk to the guy she found really attractive. Her friends were all really good friends, honestly for the most part, there weren’t any really mean or evil people in the story. Sure there were gossipy teens, and some that may have taken that and their teasing of her or Jacob kind of far, but really the characters seemed real to me. Even her moms, in the end, were really just supportive, and wanted what was best for her.

The whole film side of Jacob was really neat to have as his side of the story. I loved the way he did the documentary type of film to help convince her parents about her cooking. I also enjoyed how she wasn’t necessarily considered a perfect cook, and that she knew she might need to take more classes to get better. And I like the way the ending came about, it was perfect! Really this was just a perfect story for me, and I can’t wait to share it with my students next year!

Okay, I adored this one! It had me giggling from the first paragraph! This is the Emma Hart writing that got me hooked on her stories. The banter between, wait for it, Will and Grace, was hilarious. And not just them. The dialog with her best friend and her grandma, hilarious!!!! It was her discussion/texts with her best friend at the beginning that had me already giggling and laughing out loud as I sat in the cabin with my family reading.

This was set in the world that her other recent Aristocrat Diaries series took place. In fact most of those characters made an appearance or got a mention in this story. They actually went to a castle in Scotland for Will’s sister’s wedding. So of course with my trip to Scotland coming up in just a little over a month, I was loving that!

I loved how the author kept the reason Grace looked familiar to his family off the page for so long, and how it was all discovered and woven into the story as we got closer to the end. I also like that the secrets coming out didn’t make for huge drama, the kind that annoys me even as I know it is part of this type of story so often. I read this book and I felt a smile on my face the whole time almost. I finished the story with a huge smile on my face, and look forward to more of these characters from this author when they arrive.

I really like this author and enjoyed the first book in this series so was excited for this one! I really liked the new dig site with a different historical aspect that our characters were working on. It was neat to think about this area in Turkey, when I usually really only think about Egypt or Greece or other parts for big historical digs. The characters were great best friends, not wanting to ruin their friendship even though they both liked the other more than friends and wanted more.

There was a really good bad guy, Dr. Hughes, and boy did he really fit the part and messed so many things up. I liked the way the characters dealt with him. It made a lot of sense. A lot of times I think it is stupid when a character doesn’t tell the other because they are trying to protect them, but the way Hughes handled things, it made sense that he’d put the fear into Dusty so that she wouldn’t want to mess up Stuart’s new job and career. Especially with her own career/life choices kind of up in the air.

I also like how the other characters in the story that may have seemed like they would also be problems were able to be redeemed in things they did or as Dusty and Stuart got to know them better. We did get a few moments with Olivia and Rick, the main characters from the last book, Field Rules. The sexy times were perfectly fit into the story and added to the couple and their relationship and the directions the story took. And I loved the way that Dusty was able to put a stop to the big disaster waiting to happen at the end.

Normally it is when a book isn’t well written that it inspires me to get back to my own writing. But in this case, the way the whole excitement in the book developed and wrapped up in the end actually gave me a spark of an idea to get back to the first novel I ever started writing, and some ways to maybe get it fixed up and back on track since it features a paleontologist and his own kind of feud with a publicity hound type of guy like Dr. Hughes in this book.

Now I’m just eager for the next book in the series as we got to know the couple in this story and I’m looking forward to seeing how they will end up with their own HEA.

I enjoyed going back to the 90s with the setting of this book. The world of this fake relationship also had the extra with characters I’d met in other books in this series. However I did miss out on one book so there were a few things I need to go back and catch up on to make some of what happened a little clearer for some of the side characters. The characters had chemistry for sure, and their situations were ones that fit together perfectly.

I loved the fact that his past was encapsulated by a catch-phrase, one that even worked in perfectly in some situations in real life. Dani’s methods for helping Luke be able to drive again were unique, but worked perfectly. While I wasn’t blown away overall with the story, it was an enjoyable read, and as I said, I do still want to read more of the series to find out what has happened to all these characters in the friend group and those adjacent to them.

So Drake, oh my gosh, he was a total character! So over the top, so douchey seeming, but not really douchey in the ways that matter. The banter between Drake and Daisy was fun. It’s interesting though that he even mentioned things about himself when he was pretending to be Drew that are different appearance related things, but then she pretended to not realize when they were getting him back. I did enjoy the getting Drake back part. Now, I was a little disappointed that the big dramatic issue at the end was pretty similar to the last book, but I liked how the author handled the fixing of the problem. 

I am definitely looking forward to Drew’s book now, and wondering if Drew might not be going on to play football like the rest of his family, if maybe he’ll go to more of a science field? Can’t wait to find out!

I was hooked with this book right from the start! The banter and misunderstandings between the two main characters were great. One thing I will point out and then move on from because it shouldn’t be a reason to judge the book, is that when they ended up stuck in Kansas City for a night, I was so excited since that is where I live. But then they had a weird restaurant and hotel that were supposedly famous locally. I mean, come on and pick something that actually makes sense to be in KC or do some research about places actually here in town. Both places picked were not something we’d probably have here, and the restaurant sounded like one that is actually in another city in another state. And, I think in Colorado they stopped for bbq, which, um, excuse me, KC makes the best, so they should have had that there!

However, other than that little bit, I loved all the travels they had. There were a lot of fun stops all throughout the country. I definitely enjoyed their stops at gas stations, and all the extra rides they got too. What happened to their first rental car was insane though! The stop in Vegas was a blast, very romantic and definitely sexy. And I loved when they stopped to visit her dad. I adored him! 

Once they got to LA though, wow, things were a big old mess for both of their families. And that is where some of the really hard stuff happened in how they both dealt with things. However it was mostly realistic I think, their feelings and emotions, and I liked the way that all played out. In the end this was a really fun road trip romance type of story and I look forward to reading more by the author in the future!

I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read by this author both in and outside of the SmartyPants Romance Universe, so I was excited for this one! Once again I really liked the characters, and was happy to get to spend some time with the characters from the other stories in this series by this author, Under Pressure and Not Fooling Anyone. Austin was a tough looking guy, and Tessa had a background that made just his outward appearance a bit unnerving to her at first. But once she got to know him, he was more of a big old teddy bear, at least with her.

But then she had this friend named Joel that she was doing her psych project with, and wow, he was just a creep from moment one in the story. Between bringing her drinks that weren’t ones she liked, and kind of bossing her around or being critical of things he had no right to be, he was unlikable from the start. If there was one thing I might change, it was how nice Tessa kept being to him, and the chances she kept giving him. I had a feeling he did what we found out towards the end, so that wasn’t a surprise to me, he totally was giving off the vibes. And it was obvious he did what caused the huge darkest night moment for Austin and Tessa as well.

I do like how the author made even the family issues that Austin had with his dad more of a misunderstanding, or maybe just missed communication between the two, so that in the end, there was no reason to be upset with his dad, and to understand why things happened the way they did. Oh, one other thing that bothered me a bit was the cat that seemed to be a kind of big part at the beginning of the story, then when Tessa had to stay at Austin’s for a few nights, it was almost like the cat wasn’t there? I think maybe there should have been more with the cat based on the beginning.

But that is just a little thing that bugged me, because I loved the story and the characters overall and look forward to reading more by this author, especially as she alluded to possibly getting into the Green Valley world in the future!

I love the Carolina Comets players, this series is one of my favorites. Teagan Hunter knows how to write strong, sexy, but funny heroes, and heroines who I can relate to in some way. I also love how we get to look back at characters from other books in the series, or even other book series by the author at times too!

So Fitz was a bit of a different kind of character. Fitz likes to watch. In fact he often seemed to prefer to watch, more than actually participating in sexual acts at times, something that had creeped his past girlfriends out. But then there’s Rosie. Rosie has what is basically like an Only Fans type of account where people subscribe to her channel to watch her do things. Now, she doesn’t actually do anything lewd, really she just kind of wears sexy lingerie around the house while she does normal things like bake, or color, etc.

Fitz finds her online, and he knows it is her, even though she wears a mask and doesn’t use her real name. But she doesn’t know he watches her that way. Rosie’s past was one where she wasn’t treated as if she could do anything or make any of her own decisions. And she certainly wasn’t treated in a way that gave her much self confidence. So she is away from those people and that past and is taking her life back. And she decides to ask Fitz out. Of course there are misunderstandings along the way, but then things seem to be going good. Of course the secret will come out, and that will cause more problems.

As usual the author has written some hilarious dialog and situations. When Fitz is talking to her online and saying what he thinks are stupid things, his self-criticism out loud that disrupts his sleeping teammates is hilarious. And of course I love how everyone always threatens to make people sit by Miller. Miller is always going to be my favorite. But the shy, sweet Fitz definitely was fun to read and watch get his HEA as well.