Badd Motherf*cker - Jasinda Wilder
This is the first book in the Badd Brothers series and follows eldest brother Sebastian and runaway bride Dru. Dru finds her fiance cheating on her with a bridesmaid 10 minutes before their wedding ceremony. She drunkenly runs away to the first place a plane can take her - Alaska - where she goes into Sebastian's bar and proceeds to get drunk again. I was all in on the premise of this book, but the execution really was not for me. This was insta-love central. I'd even go so far as to say it was just lust that brought the two together since I didn't get a whole lot of meshing personalities or life plans or anything like that. They just thought each other were really hot, the sexual chemistry was off the charts, and they both said they've never felt this way about anyone else before. The whole book takes place over only 3 days but the plot runs through all the normal points of a standard romance plot (they meet, flirt, get a little close then pull away, sleep together, have a falling out, have some emotional growth, get back together, happily ever after). This book was over 300 pages long but the plot was rushing by at breakneck speeds. I loved all the individual plot points, but I needed them more spread out to be believable. I couldn't suspend my disbelief as much as the book was asking me to. I did really like the dynamic of all the brothers and while I do wish some of their names were less similar to each other, I did feel like all of them had their own distinct personalities. I also loved Dru's dynamic with her father and his cop buddies. I thought the emotional arc both Dru and Sebastian went through would have been really fantastic if it was built up more and was a bigger issue in their relationships with each other and their families. I'm interested in reading more of the series, but I'm not sure if the pacing and structure of these books is what I'm looking for in a romance book since I tend to favor the slow burn side of the spectrum.
A Very Friendly Valentine's Day - Kayley Loring
This story follows best friends Birdie and Eddie. They've been friends for six years but everything changes after one accidental nip slip and a three day train journey from LA to Chicago where they have to share a room. This book was pure rom-com, friends to lovers, zero angst, fluff in the absolute best way and is a perfect feel good book for Valentine's Day. I didn't love that Eddie was an actor only because I have absolutely no interest in Hollywood or celebrities but it didn't play too big of a role in the story. Eddie is Declan's little brother from A Very Bossy Christmas and Eddie was a fairly big point of conversation in that first book so it was interesting to see the other side in this book. I would have liked the jump from friends to lovers to be a little slower, but we did get a good idea of how each of them felt as friends at the beginning of the book. I loved how once they got together, Eddie was 100% all in and he made sure Birdie knew it but also respected her need to have space to process. Eddie and Birdie really felt like best friends and it seemed like they knew each other so well that they wouldn't have any bad surprises when getting into a relationship. Neither had any sort of real baggage or any emotional issues to work through like a lot of romance books so this is a true 0 angst book. Once they get together, its full steam ahead!
The Hot Mess and the Heartthrob - Pippa Grant
This is the fourth book in the Bro Code series and follows pop star, Levi, and single mom, Ingrid. There are a lot of cameos from the other books in the series so I would highly recommend reading the books in order. I'll be honest, I don't love romance stories where one person is famous and the other is just a regular person. It is completely a personal taste thing and the only times I don't mind it is if the two have known each other since before they were famous (see A Very Friendly Valentine's Day above) or if both are somehow in the same industry and understand the unique circumstances being in that life brings (see Bro Code #2: America's Geekheart). This book was neither of those so I wasn't totally loving it at first. I loved how down to earth Ingrid is about her situation and what she wants out of life. Her ex-husband traveled a lot for work and she is determined that the next man she dates should be around more for her and the kids. Levi is still a big time performer and had no intention of settling down any time soon so I really didn't see this having a satisfying resolution. But boy, was I wrong. Levi winning Ingrid over and proving to her that he's around for the long-haul, not just for a fling was some of the sweetest scenes I've read in a long time. I'll admit - I teared up more than a few times. This book had all the typical Pippa Grant fun and humor that I wanted, but I was surprised at the amount of heart at the end. I do wish we would have gotten more scenes with just Levi and Ingrid and seen them talk one on one more but other than that, I really adored this story. There are two members of Bro Code left and I really hope we get their books sooner rather than later.
In the Middle of Somewhere - Roan Parrish
This is the first book in the Middle of Somewhere series and follows college professor, Daniel, and carpenter, Rex. Daniel moves to a small town in northern Michigan from his home of Philadelphia. He is convinced he's going to be the only gay man in 100 miles but it pleasantly surprised when the large, burly, lumberjack-esque Rex kisses him after Daniel wrecks his rental car. Daniel doesn't expect to see Rex again, but in small towns, nothing gets left alone for very long. I absolutely adored this book, all 400+ pages of it. Daniel and Rex had such an honest, loving, down to earth relationship. The build up is a little slow and I did find myself skimming over Daniel's memories of all his past issues in Philadelphia but I still couldn't put the book down. I also would have preferred if we had dual POVs in this book, but that's just a personal preference with all romance books. I do think we get a good idea of Rex's character and his inner thoughts through his interactions with Daniel and, by the end, Rex is very vocal and explicit about his feelings so it really cleared up any grey areas in that regard. Both heroes are emotionally distanced in their own way but they complement each other so well that they know exactly what to say to get the other to open up. This was a lot more emotional than I was expecting but, in the end, it gave me the exact warm-fuzzy feeling I was craving. Parrish does a great job fleshing out the side characters and I'm glad we met the heroes of the next two books in the series already.
The Bribe - Willa Nash
This is the first book in the Calamity Montana series and follows local sheriff, Duke, and country music star on the run, Lucy. After escaping from a bad situation in Nashville, Lucy is looking to hide away in the small town of Calamity, Montana. After trying to bribe the sheriff to let her out of a speeding ticket to protect her identity, Duke is invested in figuring out what Lucy is running from. As the two fall in love, they have to face the trouble following Lucy from Nashville together. This is a romantic suspense that was a little too light on the romance and the suspense for my personal tastes. Duke and Lucy fall for each other pretty quickly and immediately start officially and publicly dating. It was a bit too insta-love for my tastes and I didn't get a good idea of what they actually saw in each other besides their chemistry. I did really like the amount of cute date scenes we got and Duke is just a real solid good guy that is doing his best to protect his town. I think if we would have gotten a bit more relationship lead up in the beginning before they fell into bed together then I would have been happier. Also, the outside threat never really felt like a real threat until it was suddenly at the front door. Once the threat was right in their face, I really liked the way everything was resolved and came together in the end. The investigation wasn't picking up any clues or leads so it really felt like it wasn't a real issue so I think more tension could have been built up if there were breadcrumbs that the characters could pick up on that the threat was closer than they were expecting. I really loved Lucy's friend Everly and their relationship and I'm excited that she's the heroine in the second book.
Ego Trip - Tabatha Kiss
This book follows assistant, Paige, and her temporary boss, Oliver. They had a one night stand 4 years ago and now Oliver got promoted and Paige is accompanying him on a 2 week long business trip to support him in his new role. Only problem is they never talked about what happened before and the sexual tension is high when you're spending days and nights at hotels together. This is a standalone story, but characters from the Heartthrob Hotel series by Tabatha Kiss make brief appearances. This was a pretty solid office romance, but I was expecting a little more from it. The summary makes it seem that Oliver has a huge ego and maybe Paige is going to need to knock him down a few pegs before he realizes what a jerk he is, but he's actually really sweet right from the get-go. There's mention of him not wanting an assistant because he thinks he can handle the workload on his own but we never see these conversations and he never gives Paige any issues when she does assistant-y things for him. Their past history and the 4 year time skip right at the beginning of the book left me a little confused as to what their exact relationship is (we do eventually get filled in on how things were left off 4 years ago, but not until like 50% of the way through). Because of this, I just felt like a good chunk of the romance was off the page and we didn't get to see as much as I would have liked. I did love how they traded books and read each other's favorites and I loved how once they talked out their past issues, they were solid. The 'bad guy' wins at the end which was a bit disappointing, but Oliver and Paige get their happily ever after so I can't complain too much.
Kiss Kiss Fang Fang - Penelope Bloom
This story follows grad student, Cara, and vampire, Lucian. Cara accidentally frees Lucian and his friends after 100 years of imprisonment and finds herself in the middle of a vampire turf war. The only way to keep her safe is for Lucian to temporarily bind them together by giving her some of his blood. The two are drawn together but if they sleep together, Cara will turn into a vampire and Lucian promises he would never let that happen. As tensions rise amongst the vampire clans and Cara finds herself more endeared toward Lucian's band of vamps, the idea of separating after a few weeks seems impossible. This is my first paranormal romance and I really liked it. It was heavy on the rom-com elements and I found myself laughing out loud a number of times. I did like how the romance was developed with them being drawn to each other initially simply because of the vampire blood but as their bond lessened over the coming weeks, they did develop feelings outside of any supernatural attraction. I did find there were some plot holes that didn't make sense if you thought about them for more than a few seconds, but overall it was a really fun read. I loved Cara's roommates and Lucian's vamp buddies. The overall tone of the story was also really great and reminded me of the TV show iZombie. I also found the vampire lore a nice mix of the traditional and more modern aspects. The ending was left fairly open with the main plot points resolved but very obviously open for a sequel or series down the line. There was also a nice add-in of romantic suspense elements with the clashing vampire clans.
The Billionaire Book Club - Max Monroe
This is the third book in the Billionaire Collection and follows playboy lawyer, Cap, and law student, Ruby. The two meet by chance at a library and Cap is instantly interested and manages to track her down. However, he doesn't expect for her to not immediately fall for his charms and offers her an internship with his law practice instead. Ruby is a lover of romance books and even narrates them as a side job and Cap sees this as his opportunity to use the tropes in books to woo her into sleeping with him. Cap enlists his friends - the heroes of the other Billionaire Collection and Billionaire Bad Boys series - to help him overcome his bad habits and convince Ruby to take a chance on him. I loved the amount of guy-time this book had - seeing the heroes all interacting with each other and their different views on relationships now that most of them are happily paired up was super fun. I did wish we would have gotten more of Ruby and her friends or at least Ruby on her own away from Cap. I did like the amount of scenes with Ruby and Cap building their friendship up and they had some great witty banter back and forth. Overall, this was a pretty slow burn romance given that Ruby knows all about Cap's after work activities and was determined to not be just another notch on his bedpost. That being said, this is the shortest book in the series by about 40 pages and I would have liked to get a little more of Ruby and Cap actually being in a relationship together. I did cry twice during this book when the emotions hit me in just the right spot but overall this was the typical rom-com experience I expect from a Max Monroe book.
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