So I read a huge 32 books this month, although a good percentage of them were graphic novels and manga, I was still pleased with the amount I read as I was starting a new job.
The Unbroken Hearts Club by Brooke Carter ***** – We are introduced to Logan whose mother has passed away from Huntington’s disease and she has come to realise how different she and her father are. While her father starts a support group and wants to talk about the loss of his wife, Logan just wants to be left alone, preferably in her darkroom. We also know that her best friend Cole has a major crush on her, but she doesn’t feel like she can return his feelings whether this is because of grief, being asexual or something else is unknown as of yet.
2. Jukai (The Torihada Files Book 2) by Tara A Devlin **** – While this book is technically book 2 in a series they can be read as standalone novels set within the same universe. So, I knew nothing about this book going into it other than it is based on a Japanese legend and it is horror, we are introduced to Mako who works at a tea shop with Sayumi who left one night and hasn’t contacted her for weeks and she is starting to get worried. We also learn that Mako is a finder, a person who can find things and people who are missing or lost.
3. Dear Lonely Heart by Fiona Starr **** – In Dear Lonely Heart we are introduced to Claire & Thomas who are both signed up to a matchmaking service by a family member. We learn that neither has had much luck in love, but Claire was married, and her husband died in a car accident. This matchmaking service is different from others as it is dependent on matches sending each other handwritten letter in order to get to know one another which suits Claire and Thomas perfectly as both are introverted. Claire is assigned the pen name Simple Life and Thomas’ is Lonely Heart.
4. Dear Mr. Firefighter by Kelli Callahan ***** – So this book is part of the same series as Dear Lonely Heart although each book in the series is written by a different author. As I loved Dear Lonely Heart, I was excited to see what the other books in this series had in store for me. Dear Mr. Firefighter follows Chloe and ex-Navy SEAL and current firefighter Cain. It seems that both Chloe and Cain were signed up to the agency by others and that neither is really looking for a relationship as they both seem to have some major trust issues.
5. Dear Double Team by Olivia Hawthorne **** – So this book is part of the same series as Dear Lonely Heart & Dear Mr. Firefighter and considering I loved both of these I was so excited to see what Dear Double Team had in store for me. Dear Double Team follows Blythe Orion & Harrison and James Manchester, I believe the guys are twins or possibly brothers so I was interested to see how this normally untouched dynamic would work within the context of the Matchmakers series.
6. Dear All-Star Player by Tracy Lorraine ***** – So this book is part of the same series as Dear Lonely Heart, Dear Mr. Firefighter & Dear Double Team and every single entry I have read in this series so far, I have loved. Dear All-Star Player follows Rose and Seth. Like most of the other women, we have followed Rose is signed up to the matchmaking service by a friend and even though Rose is reluctant she seems to take some comfort in the fact that Grace uses old fashioned methods and ideals in her agency.
7. R+J Sucks [The Complete Saga] by Ann Hunter **** – Romeo and Juliet has to be one of the most well known of Shakespeare’s plays so when I came across and paranormal retelling of this classic tragedy, I couldn’t download it quick enough. We are introduced to Escalus, a vampire prince from the Capulet clan meeting with Father Laurence to discuss righting the wrongs of Romeo and Juliet many years before. Then like in the original play where the narrator sets the scene we jump back in Romeo and Juliet’s time, and I believe in this story it is Juliet that is the vampire.
8. Russian Teacher by Flora Ferrari **** – The synopsis of Russian Teacher sounded interested and as I am reading a lot of adult fiction lately, I couldn’t wait to get into it. This book is going to follow Nina and Nikolai, who meet for the first time when Nikolai rescues Nina from getting hit by a car in Moscow where she and her father are currently living after a messy divorce. This meeting is significant because Nikola’s mother has been pestering him for a grandchild, but he wants to find the woman of his dreams and will know when he meets her. He definitely gets that feeling when he lays eyes on Nina after she tells him she needs Russian lessons he decides to set up and create an opportunity for them to spend more time together.
9. Call Me Daddy by Emma Roberts ***** – Yet another adult romance this month, Call Me Daddy follows Jace and Whitney and I didn’t know that much about it when I requested it, but I am on a real adult romance/erotica kick lately. We meet Whitney who comes from a very wealthy family, but she has a very bad drinking and spending habit leading her to be almost totally cut off from her family, Jace whose wife April died takes a liking to Whitney and plans to exploit her situation to get her and Whitney is planning to do the same to Jace so I was excited to see where the pair would end up.
10. Never Have I Ever Kissed My Brother’s Best Friend by Juliet Bardsley **** – I didn’t know anything about the novel before I started it, but the synopsis grabbed my attention and I have been reading more contemporary fiction especially YA contemporary romance than I ever have in my life. We are introduced to Mackenzie (Kenzie) Fair who has a huge crush on her brother’s best friend Gavin Mitchell hence the title and I was immediately sold as no siling wants to mess with the brother or sister’s friendship dynamic by involving romance. The opening to Never Have I Ever Kissed My Brother’s Best Friend was great we learn that Kenzie has a huge crush on Gavin but can’t tell him how she feels because of his connection to her brother but when Gavin is threatened with being cut for the team because of his grades, the school decides that Kenzie is the best person to tutor him and I am sure some hijinks are going to ensue.
11. Dear Mr. Maybe by Dori Lavelle ***** – Dear Mr. Maybe is the fifth book I have read in the Matchmakers series and I have loved every single installment, so I have no doubt that I am going to enjoy this installment too. This installment is going to be following Caleb and Ellie and following the theme in the other novels, Caleb is signed up without his knowledge and only learns of his profile and potential match when he returns from a business trip to find his brothers waiting in his home.
12. Dear Baby Daddy by Alexis Adaire ***** – This is the sixth installment in the Matchmakers series I have read and this one is different from the others. It follows Scarlett and Mason, Scarlett writes to Grace seeking not a long-term relationship but a sperm donor. All she wants in a man willing to have a no strings attached relationship until she is pregnant then he can do as he pleases. On the other hand, Mason is looking for the complete opposite, so I have no idea how these pair are going to get along.
13. Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas by Andrea Pyros *** – The opening to Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas was great, we are introduced to Josephine and her twin brother Chance, whose parents are divorced which is hard on any 12-year-old. However, Josephine also wants to get invited to the party of the year, but we know from the synopsis that a lot of going to happen in Josephine’s life which will force her to re-evaluate her priorities.
14. Bren’s Blessing & Matthias’s Miracle (Quasar Lineage Series Book 1 & 2) by Pearl Tate *** – So as this is a bind-up of two books, I am going to review them individually so half of this review will cover book 1: Bren’s Blessing and the second half will cover Matthias’s Miracle. Book 1 is going to follow Hannah and Bren, it starts with Hannah basically being kidnapped from her own spacecraft orbiting Mars when some aliens set off the self-destruct sensor. Hannah has an immediate connection with the Captain named Bren and through him, we realise he is forming a mating bond with Hannah, yet this should happen because she is human but the dreams, vision and finding her all point to her being Bren’s mate.
15. Budapest Billionaire’s Virgin by Flora Ferrari ***** – So I have read one book by Flora Ferrari before which I really enjoyed, and I highly recommend you check out Russian Teacher. This book is following Audrey and Tamas, Audrey is doing a summer internship at her dad’s best friend’s publishing company; Tamas Buda’s Pest Publishing and she isn’t happy about it at all but being in Budapest has its own challenges that Audrey will have to overcome.
16. Pleasure Points by S.J. Blake ***** – All I knew about Pleasure Points was that it is an adult romance which I have been reading a lot of lately, the novel follows Grady and Daisy. Grady is a famous hockey player while Daisy is a massage therapist covering for another woman while she has a broken wrist. It is lust at first sight for this pair but when Grady invites Daisy out for dinner, she isn’t sure if she should accept and much to my annoyance they are interrupted before anything can happen or be said.
17. Straight A by Maya Rose **** – I knew nothing about Straight A going into it other than it follows Bia and it is a teacher/student romance novel, I’m intrigued, to say the least, because in my experience these types of novels are either unrealistic or don’t have a happy ending. The opening to Straight A was interesting as it opens after Bia has been to a party and performed some sexual acts on film which are now all over the internet, but Bia doesn’t seem unhappy about it because she consented to it, although she doesn’t mention this to the school despite now having a reputation for being easy, she is anything but easy.
18. Schooled by M A Lee ***** – So all I know about this series is that it is set in a school environment and follows the cheerleader Holly and the nerdy tutor Lance. We learn that Holly has got a scholarship to attend college in California and has moved from Kentucky. Her roommate Lacey is nice enough to show her around campus after attending the first party before classes start. Along the way, Holly bumps into Lance who immediately makes a bad impression but they remain civil as Lance and Lacey are siblings but there is something about the adorable slightly dorky Lance that intrigues Holly.
19. Breaking the Rules by M A Lee **** – So rather than Holly and Lance who we meet in Schooled, we are following the adorable Lacey and Mack in Breaking the Rules. When we meet Lacey in Schooled, she comes across as very shy and education driven but when she starts tutoring Mack who is quite smart anyway, she realises for the first time that being interesting in boys and having a boyfriend might not be such a bad thing after all.
20. Their Perfect Match by Addi Hart **** – So all I knew about this book was it follows the Rockwell twins; Derek and Donovan and the woman they both love; Frankie and obviously steamy hijinks are going to ensue. We have perspectives from all three characters, and it turns out that both brothers want Frankie but don’t want to come between each other and their friendships so Frankie who could never decide between the brothers is taking matters into her own hands to show them that she doesn’t need to choose between them at all.
21. Australian Obsession by Flora Ferrari ***** – I have read several books by Flora Ferrari and when I was able to get a review copy of Australian Obsession, I couldn’t wait to get into it. Australian Obsession follows Elena and Lachlan, in the opening chapters we learn that Lachlan is Eric’s older friend, but both are hardcore surfers in Australia, Elena has travelled out there for a week with the sole purpose of tracking down the cause of her obsession; Lachlan. However, she has never met Lachlan before and when she does both are stunned by the other and Lachlan is determined to make Elena his.
22. Surrender to Them by Kelli Callahan ***** – So, this is an anthology collection of four novellas all surrounding an M/F/M romance. Smoke & Fire follows Kayla, Trent, and Chase, Temptation & Trouble follows Kacey, Harlan, and Gabe, Secrets & Sin follows Brianna, Dante, and Shane, Heat & Desire follows Wendy, Brody, and Micah and I was excited to read each and every one of them.
23. Cold Fingers (Books 1–3) by Amy Spector **** – Much like my review of Surrender to Them by Kelli Callahan I will review the books in this bind-up individually. So this series follows Christopher Minnick & Victor Polidori as some bodies disappearing under mysterious circumstances.
24. Billionaire’s Babysitter by Flora Ferrari ***** – I have read a few books by Flora Ferrari and all I knew about Billionaire’s Babysitter was that it follows Anna and Cole. We are introduced to Anna who has recently graduated from business school but has no job prospects in sight and with her education debts rising by the second she is becoming desperate and her day doesn’t get any better when a little boy on a bike sends her crashing to the ground and she is prepared to let him knows who’s boss. We then switch to Cole’s perspective and we learn that Cole is taking care of five-year-old Benjamin after his parents were killed in Afghanistan and he actually turns out to be a sweet little boy but that doesn’t change the fact that Anna is the daughter of Cole’s best friend and that he is madly attracted to her.
25. The Devil’s Angel by Olivia Hawthorne ***** – All I knew about this novel was that it follows Megan and Roman and it is going to be a good girl/bad boy romance. Roman is the head of a motorcycle club and Megan is a preacher’s daughter and I can’t wait to see how these pair get together. Megan accidentally ends up in the motorcycle club and gets attacked by the bikers only to be rescued by their leader Roman who is going to stop at nothing to see his angel again even if she is the preacher’s daughter. Because of where they come from and the people, they are everyone is trying to keep Roman and Megan apart despite them obviously wanting to be together and we see Megan slowly begin to change from a closed off preacher’s daughter to a strong, independent woman.
26. The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Miho Tomoi ***** – In the Twelve dates of Christmas we are introduced to Eloise whose husband died some years back and because her parents didn’t approve of the relationship she is struggling financially. At a party with her friend, she is introduced to Ricky was also has a hard life after the death of his son, the pair get along well and for a time Eloise distracts Ricky from the constant reminder of his son. While taking Eloise home Ricky proposes a deal for Eloise to pretend to be his girlfriend so the people, he associates with will stop badgering him to move on.
27. A Man for the Night by Natsu Momose ***** – In A Man for the Night we are introduced to Josie who is a virgin, when she is offering the chance to attend her high school reunion, she is worried about the popular girl Amber who made her life hell bullying her and doesn’t want to attend the reunion alone after breaking up with her boyfriend. Her best friend Kay suggests hiring a male escort for the night just to attend the party with her and Josie agrees.
28. The Ultimate Seduction by Satoru Nagasawa ***** – In the opening of the Ultimate Seduction was are introduced to Tiffany who has accepted an invitation to Q Virtus, one of the most exclusive clubs in the world and she is there on behalf of Davis & Holbrook, but her brother isn’t allowed in, but the drama caused at the entrance draws the attention of the some of the club’s patrons. At the club, she is supposed to meet Ryzard to discuss a UN alliance between the countries, however, along the way she gets distracted by a handsome stranger and briefly lets herself be swept away by him before reality comes crashing in.
29. Her Forbidden Bridegroom by Sena Kurebayashi *** – The opening to Her Forbidden Bridegroom we are introduced to Lorna was has had a hard life and it isn’t made any better when Mitch Ellery re-enters her life. We learn that Lorna’s boss is marrying her half-sister Kendra, but Kendra is unaware they are related. Mitch is also related to Kendra’s fiancée, however, when Lorna confronted the mother that abandoned her and had since married into the Ellery family she is branded as a con artist by the family but there is much more to this story.
30. Wishes by Mieko Tachibana ***** – The opening to Wishes introduces us to Virginia who is an aspiring chef and is working at a waitress in order to put herself through school until a lady drops her purse in the diner. Virginia does the right thing by contacting the woman and arranging to return the purse and as a reward, she has the choice of $500 or a magic lamp but as a struggling student, Virginia knows what she has to do.
31. The Andreou Marriage Arrangement by Earithen ***** – The opening to the Andreou Marriage Arrangement introduces us to Alesha who in order to pay back her father’s debt must marry the famous shipping magnate Loukas. Despite knowing how handsome and successful Loukas is Alesha doesn’t want to marry him or any man because of a dark secret she hides in her past, but she doesn’t have a choice in the matter at all, but she has some conditions of her own which the pair negotiate on and finally come to an agreement.
32. Lover’s Reunion by Chikae Ide ***** – The opening to Lover’s Reunion introduces us to Marco after his helicopter crashes in the jungle, and he is severely injured and all he can think about as he is dying is his lost love and childhood friend Sophie. We then jump forward a year where we learn that Marco didn’t die and was the sole survivor of the accident and Marco is brought back into Sophie’s life. Despite them dating 5 years before they ended up breaking up when Marco left for an expedition in Africa and left Sophie behind.
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