Author Archives: Kristin

Review: Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

16 November, 2020 2:59 pm , 3 Comments ,

Crazy Stupid Bromance
(Bromance Book Club #3)
by Lyssa Kay Adams
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: Oct. 27, 2020
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Alexis Carlisle and her cat café, ToeBeans, have shot to fame after she came forward as a victim of a celebrity chef’s sexual harassment. When a new customer approaches to confide in her, the last thing Alexis expects is for the woman to claim they’re sisters. Unsure what to do, Alexis turns to the only man she trusts—her best friend, Noah Logan.

Computer genius Noah left his rebellious teenage hacker past behind to become a computer security expert. Now he only uses his old skills for the right cause. But Noah’s got a secret: He’s madly in love with Alexis. When she asks for his help, he wonders if the timing will ever be right to confess his crush.

Noah’s pals in The Bromance Book Club are more than willing to share their beloved “manuals” to help him go from bud to boyfriend. But he must decide if telling the truth is worth risking the best friendship he’s ever had.

A hacktivist and a cat café owner decode the friend zone in this romantic comedy from the author of Undercover Bromance.

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Posted in: Romance , Tagged: ,

Review: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

13 November, 2020 6:57 am , Leave a Comment ,

Eclipse
(The Twilight Saga #3)
by Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication date: Aug. 7, 2007
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Raiting:

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob – knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy , Tagged:

Review: Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

9 November, 2020 7:19 am , Leave a Comment ,

Undercover Bromance
(Bromance Book Club #2)
by Lyssa Kay Adams
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: March 10, 2020
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Braden Mack thinks reading romance novels makes him an expert in love, but he’ll soon discover that real life is better than fiction.

Liv Papandreas has a dream job as a sous chef at Nashville’s hottest restaurant. Too bad the celebrity chef owner is less than charming behind kitchen doors. After she catches him harassing a young hostess, she confronts him and gets fired. Liv vows revenge, but she’ll need assistance to take on the powerful chef.

Unfortunately, that means turning to Braden Mack. When Liv’s blackballed from the restaurant scene, the charismatic nightclub entrepreneur offers to help expose her ex-boss, but she is suspicious of his motives. He’ll need to call in reinforcements: the Bromance Book Club.

Inspired by the romantic suspense novel they’re reading, the book club assists Liv in setting up a sting operation to take down the chef. But they’re just as eager to help Mack figure out the way to Liv’s heart… even though she’s determined to squelch the sparks between them before she gets burned.

 

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Posted in: Romance , Tagged: ,

Review: A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane

2 November, 2020 12:00 pm , 1 Comment ,

A Heart of Blood and Ashes
(A Gathering of Dragons #1)
by Milla Vane
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: Feb. 4, 2020
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Rating:

A generation past, the western realms were embroiled in endless war. Then the Destroyer came. From the blood and ashes he left behind, a tenuous alliance rose between the barbarian riders of Parsathe and the walled kingdoms of the south. That alliance is all that stands against the return of an ancient evil – until the barbarian king and queen are slain in an act of bloody betrayal.

Though forbidden by the alliance council to kill the corrupt king responsible for his parents’ murders, Maddek vows to avenge them, even if it costs him the Parsathean crown. But when he learns it was the king’s daughter who lured his parents to their deaths, the barbarian warrior is determined to make her pay.

Yet the woman Maddek captures is not what he expected. Though the last in a line of legendary warrior-queens, Yvenne is small and weak, and the sharpest weapons she wields are her mind and her tongue. Even more surprising is the marriage she proposes to unite them in their goals and to claim their thrones—because her desire for vengeance against her father burns even hotter than his own…

 

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Posted in: Fantasy, Romance

Review: I’ll Be The One by Lyla Lee

26 October, 2020 10:18 am , 3 Comments ,

I’ll Be the One
by Lyla Lee
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication date: June 16, 2020
Genre: Young Adult
Rating:

Skye Shin has heard it all. Fat girls shouldn’t dance. Wear bright colors. Shouldn’t call attention to themselves. But Skye dreams of joining the glittering world of K-Pop, and to do that, she’s about to break all the rules that society, the media, and even her own mother, have set for girls like her.

She’ll challenge thousands of other performers in an internationally televised competition looking for the next K-pop star, and she’ll do it better than anyone else.

When Skye nails her audition, she’s immediately swept into a whirlwind of countless practices, shocking performances, and the drama that comes with reality TV. What she doesn’t count on are the highly fat-phobic beauty standards of the Korean pop entertainment industry, her sudden media fame and scrutiny, or the sparks that soon fly with her fellow competitor, Henry Cho.

But Skye has her sights on becoming the world’s first plus-sized K-pop star, and that means winning the competition—without losing herself.

 

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Posted in: YA Contemporary, Young Adult , Tagged:

Review: Simmer Down by Sarah Smith

19 October, 2020 10:39 am , 3 Comments ,

Simmer Down
by Sarah Smith
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: Oct. 13, 2020
Genre: Romance
Rating:

In this finger-licking good rom-com, two is the perfect number of cooks in the kitchen.

Nikki DiMarco knew life wouldn’t be all sunshine and coconuts when she quit her dream job to help her mom serve up mouthwatering Filipino dishes to hungry beach goers, but she didn’t expect the Maui food truck scene to be so eat-or-be-eaten—or the competition to be so smoking hot.

But Tiva’s Filipina Kusina has faced bigger road bumps than the arrival of Callum James. Nikki doesn’t care how delectable the British food truck owner is—he rudely set up shop next to her coveted beach parking spot. He’s stealing her customers and fanning the flames of a public feud that makes her see sparks.

The solution? Let the upcoming Maui Food Festival decide their fate. Winner keeps the spot. Loser pounds sand. But the longer their rivalry simmers, the more Nikki starts to see a different side of Callum…a sweet, protective side. Is she brave enough to call a truce? Or will trusting Callum with her heart mean jumping from the frying pan into the fire?

 

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Posted in: Romance , Tagged: ,

Sneak Peek Wednesday: The Last Rule of Makeups by Nina Crespo

14 October, 2020 8:14 am , 1 Comment ,

The Last Rule of Makeups
(Breakup Bash #3)
by Nina Crespo
Publisher: Entangled: Brazen
Publication date: Oct. 12, 2020
Genre: Romance

Cori Ross is thanking her lucky stars. Sure, her long-time boyfriend just dumped her, but that’s a good thing. In her rush to find Mr. Right, she realizes she almost settled for Mr. Just Okay. And that’s definitely not okay. So, tonight, she’s out with her friends at the Breakup Bash—a private party for women celebrating their break-ups—and she’s actually celebrating. Still, it was too close a call. So she makes a deal with herself—no guys for six months.

Unfortunately, just as she’s leaving the club, she runs into her old boyfriend, Grey Latham—the guy she’d always wanted to be Mr. Right. Great. What a time to swear off guys. Maybe she needs to change the deal—no relationships for six months. There’s no reason why she can’t have a fling, right? Because Grey still holds the title of the best sex she’s ever had.

There’s no way this could go wrong. Grey is on his way to international DJ fame—he’s only in town for a short time, and then he’ll be gone again. No harm in burning up the sheets while it lasts.

Too bad neither expected what happened next…

 

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Posted in: Excerpt , Tagged: ,

What the heck happened? Book-to-Movie edition!

7 October, 2020 1:34 am , 6 Comments ,

 

I have already done a post about my top three favorite book-to-movie adaptations, so today I want to talk about the ones that let me down. These were ones that I was so insanely excited for, but when I sat down to watch them I was confused and angry. I mean, let’s be honest, more often than not, something goes off course when they adapt a book to film. Sometimes it’s something forgivable like an age change, or maybe they cut some scenes/dialog out. However, these are the ones that were so WTF?! that I just can’t keep quiet anymore.

 

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Posted in: Ramblings

Review: The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston

5 October, 2020 9:20 am , Leave a Comment ,

The Princess and the Fangirl
(Once Upon a Con #2)
by Ashley Poston
Publisher: Quirk Books
Publication date: April 2, 2019
Genre: Young Adult
Rating:

The Prince and the Pauper gets a modern makeover in this adorable, witty, and heartwarming young adult novel set in the Geekerella universe by national bestselling author Ashley Poston.

Imogen Lovelace is an ordinary fangirl on an impossible mission: save her favorite character, Princess Amara, from being killed off from her favorite franchise, Starfield. The problem is, Jessica Stone—the actress who plays Princess Amara—wants nothing more than to leave the intense scrutiny of the fandom behind. If this year’s ExcelsiCon isn’t her last, she’ll consider her career derailed.

When a case of mistaken identity throws look-a-likes Imogen and Jess together, they quickly become enemies. But when the script for the Starfield sequel leaks, and all signs point to Jess, she and Imogen must trade places to find the person responsible. That’s easier said than done when the girls step into each other’s shoes and discover new romantic possibilities, as well as the other side of intense fandom. As these “princesses” race to find the script-leaker, they must rescue themselves from their own expectations, and redefine what it means to live happily ever after.

 

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Posted in: YA Contemporary, YA Romance, Young Adult , Tagged:

Review: New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

28 September, 2020 1:26 am , 1 Comment ,

New Moon
(The Twilight Saga #2)
by Stephenie Meyer
Publisher:
Publication date: Sept. 6, 2006
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Rating: Little, Brown and Company

I knew we were both in mortal danger. Still, in that instant, I felt well. Whole. I could feel my heart racing in my chest, the blood pulsing hot and fast through my veins again. My lungs filled deep with the sweet scent that came off his skin. It was like there had never been any hole in my chest. I was perfect – not healed, but as if there had never been a wound in the first place.

I FELT LIKE I WAS TRAPPED IN ONE OF THOSE TERRIFYING NIGHTMARES, the one where you have to run, run till your lungs burst, but you can’t make your body move fast enough…. But this was no dream, and, unlike the nightmare, I wasn’t running for my life; I was racing to save something infinitely more precious. My own life meant little to me today.

FOR BELLA SWAN THERE IS ONE THING more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella could ever have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning….

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy , Tagged: