unsuccessfulbookclub's Reviews (916)

The Ex-Mas Holidays

Zoe Allison

4.25

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book has some of my least favorite tropes and still manages to work. I’m not quite sure what Zoe Allison put into Ex-Mas Holidays but I definitely want more of it!

The MMC, Sam, has a girlfriend for half the book! This is a second chance between teenage sweethearts who broke up over a “silly” miscommunication! The FMC, Maya, has kind of a mean dad! Sam’s girlfriend is The Worst™️ on page for many chapters! AND YET… I loved this.

The vibe is very Talia Hibbert. Scotland but modern and highly multicultural. Casual queerness. Small town but realistic. Festive but homey and approachable. Sweet enough to draw you in and real enough to make you feel things. Great banter, and a really highly unlikable villain. So yeah, Sam has a girlfriend and this is a second chance between high school sweethearts who broke up due to miscommunication but just take my word for it. It’s great.

I loved how deeply this book delved into emotional intimate partner abuse and had that script gender flipped (Sam’s girlfriend is super manipulative and emotionally abusive to him). The resolution to that plot line is really satisfying but I know that can be hard for some readers to experience so be ready. Additionally Maya’s family troubles were so super realistic and well done. Her dad is really hard on her and expects the moon and stars, but again, the way this plot line resolves will make your heart grow three sizes.

👍🏻Recommended! Fans of contemporary Christmas romance and Talia Hibbert will enjoy this one. Skiers will probably like it even more.

Content Warnings

Wicked Passions

Nicola Davidson

4.0

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

The Temptation of a Highlander

Elisa Braden

4.5

dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Maybe the most paranormal of the Midnight in Scotland series, this book is a propulsive mix of plot and love story. I adored Clarissa with her embarrassing babbling habit and found myself giggling at her unintentional double entendres with Campbell.

And Campbell - whew!! A terse mountain of a man who is absolutely smitten with his lady love? Gimme it. When he does talk it’s spicy AF and/or adorable.

The main plot of this book is quite dark so do check the CW. This book is nearly perfect save for the multiple references to how Clarissa “used to be plump.” I wish Braden had not chosen weight loss as the thing that made Clarissa suddenly marriageable, alas, it’s there.

Content Warnings

Never Cross a Highlander

Lisa Rayne

DID NOT FINISH: 19%

Loved this concept but the writing style was not working for me. Would definitely read another book in this universe/from this author if there is a strong edit on the next one.

Corporate Mandated Holiday Romance

Nellie Wilson

5.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

All the stars. Adorable with an appropriate dose of rage against billionaires. I loved the emphasis on Max’s culture (Jewish) and the highlights of compulsive Christianity that come with that during “the holidays”. Brooklyn was so relatable!! (Thanks to the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review)

Content Warnings

Night Hawk

Beverly Jenkins

4.5

adventurous emotional hopeful informative fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Did you order a bananas Western with a heavy helping of history? You got it!

Ian Vance, our MMC, is an outlaw turned U.S. Marshal and quite honestly he has just *had it* with all of the bs (same, Ian, same). He is the illegitimate son of the daughter of a Scottish duke and a Black sailor, and thus was raised in Scotland on the edges of society, educated in Edinburgh, and then left to find his fortune in America.

Maggie Freeman, our FMC, is a Black and Indigenous woman whose parents died when she was 12. Since then she has been making her own (very hard) way in Kansas.

In typical Beverly Jenkins fashion, this book is all-gas-no-brakes on plot. It has numerous shootouts, a kidnapping, a couple of murders, and lots of banging between the leads (it’s full of euphemisms, though, be forewarned). I loved Maggie - she is fiery and takes absolutely no sh*t - while Ian is a man of few words who lets his actions speak for themselves. It is gritty and violent and it does have several racial slurs on page (challenged, of course). It reads like an action movie and would be an amazing miniseries.

👍🏻Recommended! If you like Westerns with lots of plot and you’re interested in the American West as well as diverse historical romance, get into this one!

Content Warnings

Surrendering to the Duke

Stevie Sparks

5.0

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

The Wrong Highlander

Lynsay Sands

3.75

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Another absolutely bananas Sands with lots and lots and lots of action. Arrows, near-drownings, concussions, kidnappings (sort of) and a cast of dozens. This is a big standard Lynsay Sands Highlander novel and it’s a romp. Conran is a sweetheart and Evina is strong willed and sassy. Super cute. Lots of death in the backstory and violence but like… funny?

Content Warnings

The Pride of Lions

Marsha Canham

4.25

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is a romance that reads like historical fiction or fantasy. It is very violent and plot driven although the love story is there. It was also written in 1988 so there are some tropes that could be problematic for some readers including slut shaming and a disabled big bad. It’s not a bodice ripper but the consent isn’t super verbal or super enthusiastic, so if that is a theme you generally avoid or need in your romance, i recommend this with reservations. There is SA mentioned in the backstory of one of the characters and the threat of SA multiple times in this book, so again, if those are themes you avoid in books, be forewarned.

Content Warnings

A Duke by Default

Alyssa Cole

4.5

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

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