3.5 Stars Archives - Page 2 of 16

Book Review: A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby by Vanessa Riley

Jun 26, 2020

A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby (Rogues and Remarkable Women #1) by Vanessa Riley

Pages: 320
Publish date: June 30th 2020
Publisher: Zebra
ISBN: 9781420152234
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

When headstrong West Indian heiress Patience Jordan questioned her English husband’s mysterious suicide, she lost everything: her newborn son, Lionel, her fortune—and her freedom. Falsely imprisoned, she risks her life to be near her child—until The Widow’s Grace gets her hired as her own son’s nanny. But working for his unsuspecting new guardian, Busick Strathmore, Duke of Repington, has perils of its own. Especially when Patience discovers his military strictness belies an ex-rake of unswerving honour—and unexpected passion…

A wounded military hero, Busick is determined to resolve his dead cousin’s dangerous financial dealings for Lionel’s sake. But his investigation is a minor skirmish compared to dealing with the forthright, courageous, and alluring Patience. Somehow, she’s breaking his rules, and sweeping past his defences. Soon, between formidable enemies and obstacles, they form a fragile trust—but will it be enough to save the future they long to dare together?

A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby:

I received an earc of A Duke, the Lady and a Baby by Vanessa Riley from Kensington Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings of the book.

As soon as I read the synopsis for this one I knew that I needed it. And while I wasn’t disappointed per se, it didn’t live up to what I was hoping it would. It wasn’t bad at all, but I felt that it was missing a few things that would have made it pop.

A Duke, the Lady and a Baby follows our protagonist Patience as she tries to get back with her baby boy. After the death of her husband, Patience is throw out of her home and her baby is taken away. And Patience will do anything to get his baby back. Even act as the baby’s nanny when Busick takes over the house. Meanwhile, Busick is determined to fix his dead cousin’s financial dealings for baby Lionel. Wounded from the war Busick just wants to make thing right. However, he keeps on getting distracted by the new nanny. After a common enemy arises between the two, Patience and Busick must trust each other for both their sakes and Lionel’s.

Photo by Luma Pimentel on Unsplash

Patience was an interesting protagonist. Most of the time I enjoyed her. I liked her determination and will. From the start, the reader can see how much she cares for her baby. But that also gets in her way. She just wants her baby back and she doesn’t care too much about anything else. And this leads to her being in some dangerous situations. I loved the moments between Patience and Lionel. I loved seeing her care so much about him. It was really sweet.

I also really enjoyed seeing Busick throughout A Duke, the Lady and a Baby. He was easier to get along with than Patience and I liked knowing his story. The banter he had with his men and even Patience was a nice touch. I do wish we got to know more about him, but that wasn’t a massive deal for me. I feel that his character arc was more rounded out though.

The romance was quite sweet in A Duke, the Lady and a Baby. I do wish that we were able to see Patience and Busick connect more, but I could see where the author was going with it. I liked their banter and the interactions a lot. It was different from most historical romance. Simply because the female protagonist has already been married and has a child and I enjoyed that a lot.

Photo by 德綱曾 on Unsplash

One of my major issues with the book was the changes in point of views. It was a mix of first-person with Patience and then in third person, limited with Busick. It was confusing at first and as the novel went on it only got more annoying. I wish that the author picked one and then stuck with it. By using both it felt unfinished and took away from the reading experience.

Another thing that I missed from this book was the feeling that I get when I normally read a historical romance. There were parts where I did get that feeling, but overall it wasn’t there enough. I can’t explain the feeling I get when I do read historical romance. I think others that do read it will know what I mean. But it just wasn’t there for me.

One of the things that I did like about A Duke, the Lady and a Baby was the inclusion of diversity. Patience is a West Indian living in England, while Busick injury from the war has left him permanently disabled. I loved the inclusion of both. I can’t talk about how the representation was but I thought that it was nicely included in the book. It didn’t feel out of place or forced and I enjoyed that.

Photo by Twitter: @jankolario on Unsplash

Overall, I enjoyed reading A Duke, the Lady and a Baby by Vanessa Riley. It was a good historical romance that has its faults but I still enjoyed reading it. I love that it includes diversity and sadly it isn’t something seen a lot in historical romance. Patience and Busick had chemistry and it was nice seeing them fall for one another. I will be continuing this series for sure. I enjoyed the secondary characters and would love to know how their lives turn out. If you are looking for a historical romance that is a little different, then this one is for you.

Book Review: Heartland by Sarina Bowen

Feb 9, 2020

Heartland (True North #7) by Sarina Bowen

Pages: 239
Publish date: January 28th 2020
Publisher: Tuxbury Publishing LLC
ASIN: B07ZD8WWLZ
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

An emotional friends to lovers romance full of risky secrets and late-night lessons in seduction.

Dylan is my best friend and the only person in my life who understands me. He doesn’t mind my social awkwardness or my weird history. The only glitch? He doesn’t know that I’ve been hopelessly, desperately in love with him since the first day we picked apples together in his family’s orchard.
But I know better than to confess.
Now that we’re both in college together, I’m seeing a new side of him. College Dylan drinks and has a lot of sex. None of it with me.
Until the night I foolishly ask him to tutor me in more than algebra…and he actually says yes.
But the cool morning light shows me how badly I’ve endangered our friendship. And I don’t know if anything will be the same again.

Heartland:

I received an e-arc of Heartland by Sarina Bowen in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I’ve been reading Sarina Bowen for a couple of years now, and I’m always excited to read something new, especially about someone that I really enjoy. So when I heard that she was writing a book about Dylan and Chastity, I was intrigued. It wasn’t the matchup I was expecting, but I wanted to know more.

Jens Johnsson

Heartland by Sarina Bowen follows Dylan and Chastity as their once seemly easy friendship turns into something more that could change both of their lives. Chastity has always thought about Dylan as her best friend. He accepted her for who she was, where she came from and why she is a little different. When they were both on their farm’s things were easier. But now away at college, Chastity gets to see Dylan, the party boy. But then things start to change between them and both Chastity and Dylan see different sides of one another and life is about to get a little different.

I’m not going to lie, it took me some time to really like Chastity. I understood where she came from and where she grew it, but it also made it really hard to read at times. Her thoughts were very ‘childlike.’ But as the novel went on and Chastity came out of her shell, I really enjoyed getting to know her. I felt like her character arc was fantastic. Seriously, I loved it so much. The reader truly gets to see Chastity grow throughout Heartland. She becomes this strong, independent woman who can stand up on her own. That doesn’t let her past define her. And that was so fantastic to see.

Dylan was a pretty entertaining protagonist. Readers have gotten to see Dylan grow quite a bit and it’s finally time for him to shine and boy he does. There were so many times that the reader will want to scream at him, get him to face what’s in front of him. But he eventually got it. Dylan is a lot of fun to be around and while sometimes he acted like a dickhead, it wasn’t that bad. Throughout Heartland, the reader really gets to see Dylan grow. He comes into himself, he starts to understand and know what he wants, but he also has to face his past. And that comes with a lot of emotions. One of my favourite things about Sarina Bowen is that she can write male leads that are able to show their emotions that don’t hide from them. Stijn te Strake

The romance in Heartland for me had its ups and downs. For the most part, I loved it. Dylan and Chastity were totally adorable together. From the start, the reader is able to see how much they like and care for one another. But they can also see that there is a lot of push back from both Dylan and Chastity. It was really nice seeing them fall for one another, to see them go from friends to lovers, to something more. There were times throughout Heartland that both Dylan and Chastity had a lot of doubt, not just with their relationships but with themselves. And it was great seeing them work through that.

There are a lot of other themes that pop up throughout Heartland one of those guilt/regret. This was really interesting to see and I loved that it was looked into. This also caused a lot of tension between Dylan and Griffin. This really brought out a lot of issues that they have with one another, but it was also great to see them work through it all.

Laura Fuhrman

Overall, I really did enjoy Heartland by Sarina Bowen. It’s not my favourite in this series, but I really enjoyed getting to know Dylan a whole lot more. The reader gets to see them grow throughout the series and really come into himself in this one. The reader also gets to see Chastity put her life back together, to try and find a new normal. Heartland explores family and changing relationships. It has friends to lovers romance that is adorable and just put a smile on my face. I love the Shipley family so much and this really looks into a different side of them. If you’ve read the rest of the True North series, pick this one because it will melt your heart.

Book Review: Moonlighter by Sarina Bowen

Dec 15, 2019

Moonlighter (The Company #1) by Sarina Bowen

Pages: 370
Publish date: October 21st 2019
Publisher: Tuxbury Publishing LLC
ISBN: 9781942444824
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Only in my family could a professional hockey player earning seven million dollars a year be considered a slacker.

I’m at the height of my athletic career. Yet my arrogant brother is always trying to recruit me into the family business: a global security company so secretive that I don’t even know its name.

Pass, thanks. I don’t need a summer job.

But the jerk ambushes me with a damsel in distress. That damsel is Alex, the competitive, sassy girl I knew when we were kids. Now she’s a drop-dead gorgeous woman in deep trouble.

So guess who’s on a flight to Hawaii?

It’s going to be a long week in paradise. My job is keeping Alex safe, while her job is torturing me with her tiny bikinis. Or maybe we’re torturing each other. It’s all snark and flirting until the threat against Alex gets serious. And this jock must become her major league protector.

Book name:

I received an earc of Moonlighter by Sarina Bowen in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I’ve been reading Sarina Bowen’s books for a couple of years now, so I’m always excited when she brings something new out. Moonlighter is the start of a new series being dubbed ‘The Company’ and includes characters that we have loved before. Eric Bayer from the Brooklyn Bruisers and Alex, tech CEO and billionaire and things are about to get rocky.

Alex is in need of some help. She is pregnant and things are about to get dangerous. When she needs to be in Hawaii for a conference she calls in the help of Alex’s father and brother and The Company. And Eric is roped into helping her. Now her fake boyfriend and personal bodyguard things are about to get intense. Add in misogynist billionaires and investors, and a past that is catching up with her, Alex is in more danger than she thinks. But Eric and Alex have a past of their own and now stuck together they have to put aside their difference, and maybe this fake relationship will turn into something more.

Khachik Simonian

Eric was a very interesting protagonist, but it did take me a while to like him. He was just really hard to connect with. But as Moonlighter went on, I feel that Eric become more real and so much easier to connect with and like. Eric goes through a lot throughout the novel and there are times where his heart was ripped to pieces. His body is falling apart, the pressure from his family is building and his relationship with Alex is very unsteady. The reader is able to feel how unsteady and unsure Eric is about this life and what to do in the future.

Alex has a lot going on in life even before Moonlighter starts, and things just explode as the novel goes on. I wasn’t a massive fan of Alex throughout the other books, mostly because she was trying to get in between Nate and Rebecca especially in Brooklynaire. But as Moonlighter went on the reader is really able to understand her. One of the major things that I adored about Alex, was that she was this strong independent woman. She had worked her ass off to get where she is and she isn’t going to let anything or anyone stop her. I loved that she stood up to male colleagues and didn’t let them put her down.

The romance had its ups and downs for me. There were parts that I really enjoyed. Like I think Alex and Eric were fantastic together. They have amazing chemistry and I loved reading their interactions. Moonlighter also included two of my favourite tropes – second chance romance and fake dating. These two together were fantastic. In saying that, there were times throughout the book that Alex really got on my nerves. She was one to keep her guard up and that meant she kept everything up even with Eric. This meant that Eric was let down a lot and the reader is able to see the disappointment in him very clearly. After they both let down their walls, things were a little easier.

freestocks.org

Moonlighter felt a lot different from Sarina Bowen’s other books from the start. While it still had that sports romance vibe of her other books, the suspense aspect of the novel really stood. This was a different side of Sarina Bowen that I hadn’t really read before. And while it took a little to get used to, I really enjoyed it. The suspense and action were great and kept me on the edge of my seat. It not only pushed the novel forward, but also set the tone for the rest of this series.

One of the main plotlines in Moonlighter is the fact that Alex is pregnant, the reader already knows somewhat about the pregnancy from the previous series. But we really get to know more about it here. I loved that just because Alex was pregnant she didn’t let it stop her from being the working woman she is. One thing that Sarina Bowen does well is exploring the notion of family. And this is again present in many different ways throughout Moonlighter. Eric’s up and down relationship with his father and brother and Alex becoming a mother and trying to work the whole thing out. I always love seeing with Sarina Bowen does with family and I think she does a fantastic job here.

Elizabeth Tsung

Overall, Moonlighter was a fantastic read. It was a great start to a new series and I can’t wait to see where Sarina Bowen goes with this. There are so many different ways that she could go and it’s going to be an interesting ride. Moonlighter is action-packed, but also has time for those great romance moments that were done so well. The novel explores the notion of second chances, letting tour guard down, and sometimes it’s okay to be vulnerable. If you are looking for a great romance read, that also has a little something more than this is for you.

Have you read Moonlighter by Sarina Bowen yet? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Let’s Chat!