Protective Billionaire Boss by Evie Sterling Review

 

* This review is spoiler-free *

3.75/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Instalove

➮ Surprise pregnancy

➮ Love after death

➮ Opposites attract

➮ Dual POV

Synopsis

Warren DuPont sets off alarms I never knew existed. After my husband’s death, I wasn't expecting love. “Love has a way of finding us when we least expect it.” Turns out, it’s true. I also was not expecting to be pregnant. Unmistakably handsome and protective, Warren gives me a sense of comfort that is surprisingly intoxicating. Each encounter brings our relationship to heightened levels of connection. As our bond deepens, Warren might understand the pregnancy. But will he forgive me when he finds out I am not who I pretended to be?

Best Quote From the Book

“Emily's jaw drops. I didn't realize that was something that happened in real life. I thought that was only for movies. 'You have your own private elevator?'"

My Thoughts

While some of these tropes are very much not my thing, I will always give Evie a chance. Her short and sweet clean romances have become a staple of my reading this year. I was pleasantly surprised how a story that would typically not be for me turned out pretty good. I will say the provided synopsis is basically the entire plot so you know exactly what to expect going in. The story as a whole just flew by. I would sit down for a few minutes with it and suddenly I was 10% further in the book. 

Both Warren and Emily are grieving when they meet. Their different approaches to handling grief are both quite realistic. Many people will just try to push on like Warren. Many people struggle with what is and isn't allowed when a significant person is in your life like Emily. I would've loved to see more of both of them helping each other navigate that to help the instalove aspects seem less jarring. 

It was genuinely amusing to see Emily's reactions to the rich lifestyle. Especially her worries about taking Warren to Target. I have definitely felt that fish out of water experience before when in a situation where I was among a higher status. As dumb as it may sound, I did not know how to act or not feel bad when other people did things for me to that level just like Emily. Warren's "it's the least I can do" adage also adds to the humor of their dynamic. Bro will causally buy you a house at the minimum if he is fond of you. 

The glee I felt when Warren started interacting with his hobbies and just having a more well-rounded life was unmatched. I was so happy for him to get the happy ending he deserved. Emily also has a fitting ending for her character that gives her all she hoped for given the current circumstances. 

I also want to give Evie props for briefly noting that just trauma dumping on someone is pretty uncool without consent. Warren's cousin is pretty cool for that. 

There is one thing that irked me about the story that just kept coming up and definitely detracted from my enjoyment. There are constant "hint" drops about Emily's pregnancy. How on earth it didn't occur to her that she might get pregnant when she was trying with her late husband Caleb is totally beyond me. Every third page she is nauseous and not fitting her clothes again. It was so tremendously obvious it completely detracted from the story.

Overall while there were certain elements to this story that were not my favorite, I had way more enjoyment than I was expecting. I will be happy to continue reading the stories in this series. I think the best way to explain it is that Evie's writing is now further improved.

I received this book as part of the haylingsbookstorm street team for Evie Sterling. My review is honest and voluntary

Something Sacrificed by Erin FitzGerald Review

 

* This review is spoiler-free *

4.75/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Cowboy romance

➮ Friends to lovers

➮ Single mom

➮ Angst/painful pasts

➮ Age gap

➮ He falls first

➮ Small town

Synopsis

Some people would call this a midlife crisis, but I know better. Pulling up my shallow roots, I decide on a whim to move from Texas to Montana, leaving what I've known for the past three decades. The woman I cross paths with is one I've known for 20 years, someone to whom I've grown close: My best friend's widow, Genesis, who's running the family ranch after her husband's tragic death. Startled by her unexpected appearance, I create a situation I can't seem to fix. But a bigger problem is that her ranch is under threat. Can I mend what I've broken and convince her not to make the biggest mistake of her life?

Best Quote From the Book

“I'm so angry with you-furious-stop trying to confuse me with your stupid wonderful lips."

My Thoughts

Oh gosh, where do I begin? Unsurprisingly, I totally adored this story. Bestie Erin, you did it again what can I say. Y'all nobody has emotional romance mastered the way she does, truly no one. I will try to keep this review from purely being a rant about how much I adore Erin and her stories but no promises!

I have admittedly been chatting with Erin a bit about this story as part of her arc and overall support team and I wanted to share a bit she told me about this story in particular as I totally noticed it myself while reading and it added exponentially to the emotional strength of this story. Will's story is inspired by one of her close friends who wasn't in this world long enough to get a happy ending of his own. This story is a gift to him that creates a happy ending that he deserves. I could absolutely tell while reading that this story had more of a personal touch than the others in the series. There is this unspoken depth to the characters that makes this one additionally hard-hitting. I'm honored to witness both a healing experience for Erin and a lovely ending for her dear friend. There were also just general moments where it was obvious that more of Erin's personal touches were shining through. For example, as a Food Network girlie myself, I could tell Erin actually watches those shows too. Those little sparks of her are what make the book feel special. 

Now that we've gotten the sappiness out of the way I can dive into my thoughts about the story itself. The way the characters are described is particularly beautiful. I could feel Genesis and Will's pure awe towards each other. It was refreshing to see two strong characters fall for each other. Neither of them pulled any punches. Their headstrong attitudes feed into the angst perfectly. I also love how the angst is prominent but doesn't come off as juvenile. 

There were a few moments that made me fall in love and Will and Genesis. These include Will's adorable happy dance, Willa's disaster sushi fascination, Jud's brutal honesty that he knows exactly what his mother is up to, and Genesis' moments where she stands up to Ford. Ford, all I will say is that I hope you continue to have the future you deserve (no spoilers here). I also want to shout out that I am so happy to see more of the softened version of Mark. He has absolutely rounded out as a person since being with Lana for an extended period. They are from Something Lost if you were unfamiliar. I am shocked at how well Erin incorporated characters from past books this time. Every time someone we recognize met Will, it was for a legitimate reason and didn't feel forced. 

This story most definitely includes spice scenes that are very spicy. If you don't like spice, I would suggest skipping this book. The spice was giving and most definitely had me blushing while reading. 

Overall if you couldn't tell, I adored this book. Everything about it hit and felt so authentic to Erin and the series as a whole. I will be sad to read the last book and conclude the series later this year so prepare for a sob fest when that happens. I will be constantly recommending this book and the series as a whole!

I received this book as part of the Erin Fitzgerald arc team. My review is honest and voluntary

May 2024 Reads

  May 2024 Reads 

This month I read 13 books 

These books were 92% fiction

The most popular genres were romance, children's, and contemporary

My average rating was 4.17 stars

The Books

➽ I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

➽ Playing for Keeps by Jennifer Dugan

➽ You Will Get Through This Night by Daniel Howell

➽ The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

➽ Fake Dating and Matchmaking 101 by Evie Sterling

➽ Puck Money by Dani Galliaro

➽ Falling for My Fake Kisser Neighbor by Lila Marlow

➽ The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella

➽ Geronimo Stilton 15 & 16 audio

➽ Geronimo Stilton 4-6 audio

➽ So Not My Boss Crush by Evie Sterling

➽ Smudges by Lauren Emerson

➽ Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Single Dad Billionaire Boss by Evie Sterling Review

 

* This review is spoiler-free *

4.75/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Forced proximity

➮ Single dad

➮ Age gap

➮ Billionaire

➮ Off limits

➮ Gumpy x sunshine

➮ Dual POV

Synopsis

Let’s be real, a single dad billionaire looking to hire a nanny: sign. me. up. What I didn’t sign up for was a man who looks like he stepped out of a romance novel. The complaint is: that he’s off-limits. We unexpectedly get snowed in together and both of us clearly feel the connection, but this can not happen. Reality begs me to resist. My heart wants to augment reality. 

Best Quote From the Book

“Life is not about worrying and mistrusting everyone, it's about going after and cherishing the things that matter. It's okay to be afraid, but not when it gets in the way of love."

My Thoughts

I do not tend to gravitate towards books with single parents. Often times the kid is in the way, annoying, or so rarely included it makes me wonder why they were even written into the story. This book had me praying that Zoe would be a cute and sweet kid. Thankfully, Zoe blew me away. For a 5 year old she has a lot of spunk and is incredibly funny and charismatic. A lot of her lines were my favorites in the whole book. I feel like we all need to approach life a little more like Zoe sometimes. There were times that her language skills did seem a bit above what I would expect for a 5-year-old which did take me out of the story for a brief period. 

Zoe was not the only character from this story I adored. Once I got to know Ella and Jacob I was quite enamored by them too. Truly I have never met characters with such a similar sense of humor to my own. Their jokes and quips had me laughing out loud. They have immaculate jokes from cover to cover. I also love how they write notes for each other. They are already excellent communicators who have experience tackling disagreements from the moment they met. 

As is the case with all of Evie's books, this one was on the shorter side. I basically read this whole book in one sitting (minus a lunch break). The beauty of the shorter style is that any parts of a story that may have dragged on are not included. 

This one is the first I have read of her billionaire bosses series. I love how even earlier on in her writing career Evie excels at writing sweet and funny romances. Of all of the books of hers I have read so far, this is one of the funniest. I would say the humor is on par with Fake Dating and Matchmaking 101. This story is also the one that I would say is most begging for a sequel. I could absolutely see the need for another story when Zoe is older. 

The only reason this book is not a 5-star is that it includes another rushed engagement. I would've preferred that instead of them getting engaged so fast, it was left off with Ella and Jacob simply dating. 

Ella is a social worker who has a special place in my heart. As a psychology major, I took a lot of classes related to social work. It was obvious that Evie did her research about how social workers build trust with kids and how ethics work in the profession. This realism made me love the story even more. 

I received this book as part of the Haylingsbookstorm street team for Evie Sterling. My review is honest and voluntary