Romance Wrap-up 10/22/2020 - 10/31/2020

Wrapping up the month of October and with November Nanowrimo on the horizon, not sure how much reading I'll be getting done next month.  

 My Brother's Billionaire Best Friend - Max Monroe

 This is the second book in the Billionaire Collection and follows Milo and Maybe.  Maybe is back in NYC looking for a job in the publishing industry after graduating from Stanford and Milo has recently been named one of NYC's most eligible bachelors.  A chance encounter at Maybe's parent's flower shop and Milo doesn't recognize her but the crush Maybe has had on Milo since they were kids is still in full bloom. Maybe's brother Evan reaches out to Milo to see if he has any connections to help Maybe with her job hunt and the two reconnect from there.  Overall, this is Max Monroe's typical fun, flirty, and funny romcom.  Maybe is a virgin but I did feel like it was handled better in this book than in other books where Milo understands that her first time is important and doesn't want to 'conquer' her or 'take' her virginity.  He does fetishize it in his head, but his actions are much more respectful. What I really didn't like was how much secondhand embarrassment I got when reading this book.  I fully acknowledge that I am so incredibly sensitive to secondhand embarrassment so this might not bother anyone else, but I almost had to DNF the book because I was cringing and squirming in my seat.  As an example: in one scene Maybe overhears two girls talking in a coffee shop about a particular sex activity that she's never heard of before.  She texts her friend saying that these other girls said it was the best type of sex and Maybe declares that she wants to try it (before she even knows what the act actually is).  Her friend thinks it is funny that Maybe doesn't know what this act even is and tells Maybe to text Milo and tell him the exact same thing.  Maybe does, Milo fills her in on what exactly that act is, and she sort of freaks out at the same time as asking him if he's ever done that with someone. A lot of the relationship building between Maybe and Milo that the reader sees is done via text message.  I would have liked to gotten more in-person interaction between them.  

Cruel Paradise - J.T. Geissinger

 I loved this book. It is the second in the Beautifully Cruel series and follows Irish mob boss Killian and secret thief Juliet.  The two meet after Juliet and her crew pull a Robin Hood style theft from one of Killian's warehouses.  The attraction is immediate (some might even call it insta-love) but both are hiding secrets that are stopping them from taking the relationship to where they want it to be.  Not everyone will love a hopeless romantic mob boss who quotes Shakespeare but my goodness I loved it a whole lot.  Killian is typical big, broad, and broody mob boss but with a soft nougat-y center that he isn't shy about sharing with Juliet.  She has put up emotional walls a mile high around her and is trying her hardest to keep Killian out.  She thinks he's everything she never wanted in a man but is inexplicably drawn to him nonetheless. I loved their chemistry - even if it did fall on the insta-love side of the spectrum - and I think their relationship was realistically complicated based on their own personal histories.  While this book is the second in the series and it is a standalone story, I would highly recommend reading book 1 first because it gives some backstory to Killian's situation and lets the reader in on his secret right from the beginning, which just makes us route for him and Juliet even more.  

Beautiful Scars - Ariana Black

This is the first book in the Cruel Heroes series and it follows gangster Cillian and Meisie, daughter of Cillian's political rival.  Cillian kidnaps Meisie with the plan to force her mother to stop a bill legalizing drugs that would put a damper on Cillian's drug running side of his business.  Meisie's mother is tougher to deal with than expected so Cillian and his ruthless twin brother Cole need to find some more creative measures to get their point across.  This is a dark mafia romance with some pretty extensive BDSM scenes which won't appeal to all readers.  The heroine does have a safeword and the hero does respect when she uses it, which is the first time I've seen that come up in one of these dark romances which I appreciated.  Overall, I wasn't a real fan of this book because I didn't get any chemistry between the two characters.  Often with these mafia romances, the hero kidnaps the heroine for some reason and it is just super lucky that they both are instantly attracted to one another and it takes the rest of the book to break down emotional walls and win hearts.  In this book, however, I didn't even get the feeling that the hero was super into the heroine.  Sure, he mentions that she's pretty, but the whole arrangement felt like a business deal for the entire book.  Even when they're declaring their love for one another, it just didn't ring true.  I didn't find the plot outside the romance particularly interesting either so this whole book fell really flat for me.  Book 2 in the series follows Cole after the events of this book which, based on the description, sound like Cole is out for revenge.  Cole was a pretty bad guy in this book so I don't think I'll find myself reading his book.

Dirty Talk - Lauren Landish

This is the first book in the Get Dirty series and follows radio show host Derrick and app developer Kat.  The two meet after she calls into his late night love and relationship show (think Love Line with Dr Drew) and the two have an instant connection.  A few bouts of phone sex later and they meet in person, start dating, and things progress from there.  Overall, I really liked this book but I think I could have loved it if it was just a bit longer and some of the side plots were more developed.  I thought Derrick and Kat's chemistry was off the charts.  I think I've mentioned in some of my reviews for Landish's other books, but she can write some damn good dirty talk. This book is filled with very explicit scenes almost right from the beginning so if that isn't your thing then this book is not for you.  I was surprised that the central conflict wasn't what I was expecting it to be, which was refreshing.  I really liked how many scenes we got of Derrick doing his radio show and it was interesting to see little glimpses of the back end of a hit radio show like that.  I do wish we got some more development of the side characters and side plots as well as a deeper dive into Derrick and Kat's very different views on love and relationship.  He's a hopeless romantic, she's jaded from multiple men falling short of even the most basic guidelines.  I was really expecting that difference to play a much bigger role.  Also, I wanted more of the friends and what they thought about the budding relationship.  We get Kat's friends in the beginning scene and then she'll call them a few times through out the book, but I never really got a strong sense of the friendship they have and since Kat has a not so great history with men, I would expect her to be really grounded with her girls and I was missing that development. 

Romance Wrap-Up 10/15/20 - 10/21/20

 Sergei - Naomi West

Not for me.  This is the first book in the Dirty Dons Club series and follows Sergei, head of the Bratva, and Naomi, waitress at a club.  The two meet at the club Naomi works at and have a one-night stand.  Months later, he goes back to the club to see her and finds out she's pregnant with his baby.  He steps up to the plate the only way a big alpha mob boss can - by forcing her to live with him and showing her with all the money and things she could possibly need.  Mafia romances are one of my favorite romance sub-genres and I've read a lot of Italian Mafia books so I was excited to pick up a Russian Bratva book.  However, this book was just super dull.  The only part of this book I liked was the heroine - she was an interesting character and I liked her attitude and outlook on life, especially her new life with Sergei.  Everyone else, however, was super dull.  Sergei was dull and his relationships with other characters were dull - at one point, someone close to him dies and we're told he's upset about it but we don't really see any of that emotion and we barely saw the two characters interacting at all anyway.  The mob plot line was really dull - two gangs fighting, A kills a member of B, B kills a member of A, lather rinse repeat.  And the relationship between Sergei and Naomi was basically non-existent and I found the chemistry severely lacking.  At one point, Sergei even admits to the reader that all they do is fight until enough tension is built up that they just have to tear each other's clothes off to blow off some steam and they just repeat that cycle.  Also, I'm 90% sure a character changes names between chapters - like one chapter he is called X and then the next chapter he's called Y.  I re-read the chapters a couple times to see if I missed a character introduction but I don't think I did and the name change didn't get caught in editing (this happens close to the end and it doesn't impact the story line at all but it was super confusing for a couple minutes until I just accepted this new name).  So overall, I wouldn't recommend. 

The Romeo Arrangement - Nicole Snow

This is listed as a stand-alone romance but it does take place in Dallas, ND where some of Snow's other books take place - we see Drake Larkin from Accidental Knight (which takes place before this book) and Quinn Faulkner from The Best Friend Zone (which takes place after this book).  This book follows Ridge and Grace.  He left Hollywood behind for a more quiet life and had it until she and her father came into town and brought the trouble they were trying to run away from with them.  After a chance meeting in a diner during a snowstorm, Ridge offers Grace and her father a place to stay until the roads clear.  However, once he finds out just what they're up against, there's no way he's letting them go.  This is a typical Nicole Snow action-romance, but a little different since in this one it is the heroine who is bringing the trouble (although the hero does still save the day).  I liked the added element of Grace's dad being sick and her trying to take care of him as well as keep them both safe from the bad guys chasing them.  Throw in a fake engagement and a spunky rooster and I was sold.  I did find this one a little slower paced than the other books of Snow's that I've read and I think it is mostly because there wasn't as much on the page threat/investigation as in previous books.  Ridge does a lot of reaching out to his buddies for info and then reading emails to Grace with what they found out.  I also thought the romance wasn't as built up as it needed to be given the ending.  They were both obviously into each other and had a good amount of chemistry, but Grace didn't even know if Ridge loved her for real or was still going with the fake engagement at the end and then not long after that they end up getting married?  I'm wasn't quite sold, but still had a fun time reading. 

Beauty and the Billionaire - Lauren Landish

This is the first book in the Dirty Fairy Tales series and follows billionaire Thomas and super-geek Mia.  Mia is a data analyst for Thomas's company and when she is put on a big project, she immediately catches his attention.  Sparks fly fast and the two are quickly entwined.  However, Thomas is haunted by his past and he has to constantly battle the voices in his head telling him he'll never be enough.  Mia has a similar story, but a much happier ending to her childhood so she understands Thomas but is also waiting for the other shoe to drop.  The two work on their relationship, slowly peeling away the layers and sharing more and more about themselves.  An outside force wants to destroy Thomas and his company so Thomas and Mia must put their histories aside and figure out who is behind the corporate espionage at the company.  I thought the relationship dynamic was really unique and I appreciated how real and raw a lot of the emotions shared were.  Thomas is by far the one with the most baggage in the relationship and it was refreshing to see a hero struggle instead of always having to be the one doing the saving.  This doesn't fall into the "love fixes everything" cliche and Mia straight up tells Thomas that she can't solve all his problems and will support him when he's ready to try therapy (which he does).  This book is multi-POV and while most of the chapters are either from Thomas or Mia's POV, there is a third POV of the big bad guy.  We only get the big bad POV a few times throughout the novel (maybe 4 or 5?) and those chapters really wrecked the pacing for me.  I know they are meant to ramp up the tension because we can see the big bad guy scheming but they were so few and far between that I really didn't care to see the puppet master.  I was much more interested in getting back to Thomas/Mia and their investigation.  Thomas and Mia's story is complete at the end of this book, but the overall big bad guy plot line does continue into the next book which focuses on two new characters.

Ruthless Prince - Faith Summers

Throwing in a good ol' mafia romance before the week is up.  This is the first book in the Dark Syndicate series and follows Massimo and Emilia.  Emilia is planning on going to art school in Italy when she is told she will instead marry Massimo in order to clear some of her father's debt to Massimo's family.  There is a good amount of bad blood between the two families, going back decades, and Massimo knows Emilia's father won't give up his empire without a fight.  From there, this is a pretty standard mafia arranged marriage romance.  The romance plot was so similar to Savage Beginnings by J.L. Beck and C. Hallman that I had to double check that I hadn't read this one before.  The mafia plot with the Syndicate group was interesting and that plot line continues into the next book in the series (but Massimo and Emilia's story is complete in this book).  I did like their chemistry and Massimo seemed softer than other mafia heroes.  He's not a softy by any means, but he does earn Emilia's heart by the end which stands out a bit in the mafia sub-genre.  So overall, it was a good mafia romance, but with a very similar plot to other books I've read.  That being said, I'm excited to continue on with the series to see how the Syndicate group plot line turns out (the other books aren't released yet) and to see Massimo's brothers get their happily ever afters.

Romance Wrap-Up 10/8/20 - 10/14/20

 Rough Country - Lauren Landish

This is the third and final book in the Tannen Boys series and follows singer-songwriter Bobby and new to town Willow. Willow comes to town to reconnect with her uncle Henry and she starts to bar tend at Henry's bar.  Bobby is the most eligible bachelor in town and his live music nights at the bar are the place to be.  Bobby sees Willow across the room and is instantly smitten.  She's not so convinced that this man, who all the other women seem to be throwing themselves at, would be right for her.  Bobby shows Willow that he's only interested in her and the two click instantly (the chemistry between these two is fantastic).  But then a big Nashville music producer finds Bobby and offers him the record deal of a life time and Bobby is faced with a life-changing decision to either follow his lifelong dream of being a country music star or stay in town with his new love.  I absolutely adored everything about this book.  By book 3 in a series like this, the reader is pretty comfortable with the cast of characters surrounding the main couple, but we get some more great side characters in this book.  I've never related so much with a heroine before so I was rooting for her and Bobby so so hard.  Willow is someone who always takes care of others.  She like photography, but wants her blog to stay anonymous so she can highlight the little, everyday moments that she finds.  She is generally happy with her life and happy to help out those around her.  But she deserves someone who thinks she's the whole world and will take care of  her.  And that person is Bobby.  He's a big hunk of man with a soft center which comes out a lot in his songs.  He doesn't shy away from showing Willow exactly how much she means to him and makes sure to take care of her when she's taking care of everyone else (and that dirty talk!).  I really loved the ending and how much we got to see of these two after the main conflict of the story was resolved.  I liked being able to see the characters settle into their new lives a bit and not have the book end basically right after the conflict is finished. 

Liar, Liar, Hearts on Fire - Pippa Grant

This is the third book in the Bro Code series and follows single dad Tripp and business woman Lila.  After an encounter in a NYC bar where Tripp lies about his identity, the two find themselves working together to revitalize Copper Valley's baseball team.  While the series can be read in any order, I would recommend reading at least book 2 first because it really introduces a lot of the recurring characters.  Book 1's characters do show up in this book as well, but in a much more minor role.  Pippa Grant is one of my go-to authors when I want a fun rom-com with little to no angst and this book is no exception.  I really liked how well developed the characters were and how self-aware they were about their flaws.  It can get real annoying real fast when reading about a character who doesn't know why X keeps happening and the reader is like "duh, it is because you're doing Y".  Not the case in this book.  Both Tripp and Lila have their own struggles and while they are both highly aware of them, they keep falling back into old habits.  I also liked how their struggles weren't the typical romance tropes that would cause tension in relationships.  I'm not a baseball person, so the fact that these two characters are managing a baseball team together didn't really enhance the story at all for me in fact, I wasn't really engaged at all with the baseball talk.  I was much more interested in Lila's romance book publishing company.  Overall, this was a super cute and fun read, I laughed out loud a few times, and I highly recommend the series overall.  

The Perfect Illusion - Winter Renshaw

 Meh, this book just wasn't for me.  It follows architect, Hudson, and his secretary, Mari.  As she's in the process of quitting working for him because he's a huge jerk, he offers her millions of dollars to be his fake fiance.  He doesn't take no for an answer and she eventually agrees.  Now, fake dating/engagement/marriages are one of my favorite romance tropes so I was all in (I even broke my personal 300 page rule for this book because the summary sounded right up my alley).  However, the rest of the tropes in the book are some of my least favorite ones ever (and I can't go into too much detail because they're all spoilers).  The worst of which was the fact that Mari has a secret that could derail the whole fake engagement aspect and, of course, she doesn't tell Hudson until the last possible moment.  Ugh, angst for angst sake.  She mentions numerous times throughout the story that she should tell him but she just never does and at one point she writes off not telling him because she's "living one day at a time" which almost made me throw my eReader across the room I was so mad. And the worst thing is, if she would have told Hudson her secret right at the beginning it could have done a few different things: 1 - it could have gotten Mari what she wanted initially which would be for Hunter to back off, 2 - they could have still gone through with the fake engagement and the second half of the book when we find out more info about the secret would have been even more dramatic and angsty.

Wicked Sexy - J.T. Geissinger

This is book 2 in the Wicked Games series and it was the only one that I was really interested in reading.  It follows Tabby, a hacker with a photographic memory, and Connor, a marine, as they work together to track down a sociopathic cyber criminal.  This book was fantastic.  I found Tabby and Connor to both be super interesting characters and their chemistry is off the charts.  They have crossed paths previously so while we don't get to see their initial meeting, their history means we get a kick-start to the romance and the two get together pretty early in the book (around 25%).  I was instantly intrigued with the cyber criminal plot line and found it very interesting that Tabby was the 'good' version of the cyber criminal with all her skills and knowledge.  I loved Tabby and Connor's banter back and forth and the whole cast of characters that we meet are just great.  I thought the twists uncovered during the investigation were really well done and who doesn't love a big alpha marine hero coming to save the day.  Loved it, loved it, loved it!