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

Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman Review

 

* This review is spoiler-free *

3.5/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Neighbors to lovers

➮ Slice-of-life

➮ Forced proximity

➮ Instalove

Synopsis

When Laura Costello moves to LA to escape her overprotective family and the memories of an accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. She also doesn’t expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team… but that’s what happens. Add a regretful landlady, a gorgeous housemate, and an ex-boyfriend determined to put himself back in the running and you’ll see why Laura is so frazzled. Luckily for her, her new friends Nina, Polly, and Bob aren’t sure either, but maybe if they put their heads (and hearts) together they’ll be able to make it work.

Best Quote From the Book

“Someone once told me that anxiety lives in the unknown future, depression lives in the unforgettable past, and peace lives in acceptance of the present moment"

LGBTQ+ Representation

3.75/5 🌈

Every single character in the book is incredibly chill about people being LGBTQ+. Polly in particular is incredibly supportive of anyone and will ask about your sexuality and not just assume. It was refreshing to see a group of potentially straight people just be such open allies.

My Thoughts

This book feels like it truly does not know what genre it wants to be in. Most of the book honestly just feels like general fiction, a slice-of-life type story. Then it shifts back and forth to being a romance story. It is too much romance to be a subplot but not enough to really feel like a romance story. For some reason, this ambiguity really diminished my reading experience. I have seen this book described as chick-lit lit which is the best term I've seen to describe it so far.

The best part of this book was the Winnie the Pooh reference. For context, I absolutely adore Winnie the Pooh. Any moment it is so much as alluded to makes my heart very happy. It got at least a bonus quarter-star just for that. (Another example of my ratings being highly subjective). 

My favorite character in this story is Polly. She is just a hoot! I love her eclectic vibe and overall calm nature. She adds some much-needed kookiness to the story. I wish I could befriend her myself!

The family drama in this book feels quite generic. I would've loved to see some element of it to make this book more unique. Laura acts like her relationship with her parents is incredibly stilted and full of bad memories. Honestly, it just seemed like they were poor communicators. That said, it is very realistic for that reason. It is a delicate balance between uniqueness and realism.

I found myself getting frustrated when it was incredibly obvious Laura and Bob fancied each other. Neither of them was willing to make a move or even outwardly convey their feelings to the other. The plot couldn't propel forward because the characters did not have the guts to say anything. 

Overall, this story was quite cute. The side characters are what drew me in and made me want to keep reading. The romance elements and the story as a whole just didn't hit.

Lege et Lacrima by Alina Comsa Review

 

* This review is spoiler-free *

4.5/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Small-town romance

➮ Chosen family

➮ Strangers to lovers

➮ Dual POV

➮ Instalove

Synopsis

When Lalah finds her boyfriend in bed with another woman, she knows she has to absolutely change her life. After years of being a nomad, Lalah settles in the town of Lost Hope.  After a snowstorm, Cole and his family end up on her doorstep. The knight in shining tattoos brings his two step sisters with him as they begin to warm her heart once again. Cole makes fighting Lalah's demons his new mission. 

Best Quote From the Book

“Reading was my escape, my safe place, my protective cocoon."

LGBTQ+ Representation

2/5 🌈

Cole's little brother Blake is bisexual. This is briefly mentioned in the story and is totally accepted. Blake is not properly out at the time of the book but it is implied he has some sort of relationship with a man. 

Cole is totally supportive and is simply happy if Blake is happy. The reason this rating is not higher is because that part of his character was set up as if more would be done with it but it simply never happens. Blake does not have a book of his own planned but it does seem like things were set up with that possibility in mind. Until he gets to properly explore his bisexuality, this rating will not be higher. 

My Thoughts

When I discovered that Lalah is a reader girlie, I started to love her character. She is confident and knows what she wants. A lot of what she wants is to read in peace and avoid people. I find that dream highly relatable. When she creates her dream house, I want to steal it. I will gladly take that state-of-the-art security system and that beautiful giant library. I'm pretty sure anyone reading this review would also love that.

This book seems like it is trying a bit too hard to set up the plot and establish the characters for the entirety of the rest of the series. As a result, trying to learn about every single character relevant to the town is a lot for readers to process. It's okay to not know the characters in book five all the way from book one. Readers are confronted with a lot of backstories and a spider web of relationships to shift through. Even in a small town, not every person in town will be connected to one another directly. I would've loved to see the web built out over the course of the series instead of being aggressively peppered in throughout the first book. 

I was shocked to see how happy I was with Lalah and Cole's instalove attitude. It was quite funny during many different moments. Including the extreme caveman energy of many of the guys in town. 

Admittedly I don't really get the heavy inclusion of Latin in the story. It threw me off a bit initially because I've never seen another story employ Latin in that way. 

This book in total is over 500 pages. Surprisingly I don't think those pages were wasted. The entire book was truly filled with plot and character-building. That said, I would've loved to see it trimmed down at least 100 pages. Perhaps that is mostly due to my short attention span. 

The found and thrown-together family works incredibly well together. I love seeing the girls interact, Blake's funny moments, and how naturally Lalah lets Cole's family into her life. It truly seems like they were all destined to have a life as a family. They chose each other and supported one another in a very powerful way. 

Please do keep in mind this book does have a decent amount of spice. It would be difficult to skip so I do not recommend this book to those not interested in or uncomfortable with spice. In addition, please review the trigger warnings before diving into this book because it does cover some heavier topics. 

Overall I quite enjoyed reading this story. The fond family, funny bonds, and host of solid characters make it stand out. Going forward, I hope the rest of the series is slower to introduce new characters.

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

Much Ado About You by Samantha Young Review

 

* This review is spoiler-free *

4.5/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Strangers to lovers

➮ Banter

➮ International romance

➮ Nearly instalove

Synopsis

Evangeline decides to take a trip to get away from her chaotic life in Chicago. She finds herself in a small English village temporarily in charge of a small bookshop called Much Ado About Books. While working there she meets the charismatic farmer Roane and they quickly develop flirty banter. As Evangeline adjusts to a major life shift she finds herself falling more in love with life there as she gets to know the people of the town.  

Best Quote From the Book

“Such benign little words - 'what if.' But at some point in life, those two words become the scariest two words in the English language."

My Thoughts

Like other books from Samantha Young, the romance and banter elements of this book are top-tier! Young excels at creating characters that play excellently off of each other and feel very natural. Unlike many love stories, the quick attraction between Evangeline and Roane makes sense and doesn't feel forced. I appreciate that while the story is about them, there are other noteworthy characters that play a role in Evangeline's development. 

I will always be a sucker for a book that really brings you into the world of the characters as if you are living it along with them without providing too much detail that it becomes cluttered. Her writing style is witty yet comfortable which makes the story even more enjoyable. 

Do keep in mind that there are some brief spicy scenes in this book. They were not overbearing and did not feel like a fanservice plotline. The romance and other relationships in the book are much more the focus. 

Overall, I can say that this book confidently pushed Samantha Young into my list of favorite authors. Nobody does banter and realistic relationships like she does. I can highly recommend her books for fans of romance.