romance

Review: This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum

~ megs14malloy ~ Leave a comment

This Story Might Save Your LifeThis Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Best friends Benny and Joy like to say they’ve been saving each other’s lives since the moment they met. Until the day Joy disappears and Benny is suspected of murder . . .

The above-line from the Publisher’s Synopsis is all you need to know about this book going in. That and the fact that the audiobook is an incredible way to take in this story.

If you need more however, here are other details. The story follows BFFS, Benny & Joy. You get a past perspective going through how they met and their relationship development through flashback chapters from Joy.

The present we get through Benny. Also, they have a hugely popular podcast, so we get fun excerpts from that as well. The podcast, This Story Might Save Your Life, started out as a quirky idea, but blew up into something much, much more.

Her chapters, think more Romance, his chapters, think Thriller. The overriding narrative spans a decade in time, and becomes an all-encompassing study of this relationship. It feels like a perfect blend of these two popular genres.

I did end up really enjoying this overall genre-blend. Joy’s disappearance, the mystery surrounding that was intense and well-written. You could feel the desperation of her loved ones trying to find her, and the additional complications added by their public popularity.

As mentioned above, the audiobook is great. I would highly recommend that format. The dual narrators, mixed media elements, and the way they handled the podcast sections truly brought life to this story.

I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz for this one, and I definitely think it’s worthy of that, particularly if you’re looking for a fun audiobook experience. It’s worth the credit, trust me.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This has certainly put Tiffany Crum on my radar!

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Review: Zomromcom by Olivia Dade

~ megs14malloy

ZomromcomZomromcom by Olivia Dade
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Olivia Dad’s Zomromcom is not in fact a romance novel where a protagonist falls in love with a zombie. Who knew?

Well, perhaps anyone who read the synopsis, which clearly, I did not. I saw the title and the adorable cover and was intrigued enough to give it a go. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed there was no zombie love. I was so curious how it was going to work.

Now I’ll never know…

So, what is it about then? This story is set in a post-apocalyptic landscape and follows our MC, Edie Brandstrup, who lives alone and has seemingly excelled at surviving in this world. She’s well-versed in the dangers and considers herself prepared for everything.

At the start of the novel Edie attempts to save her harmless-seeming, and of course stunningly-attractive, neighbor after the first zombie breach of their community in decades.

As it turns out though, the neighbor she assumed was a clueless bro is actually a very adept, super old and slightly grumpy vampire with a large sword. When he turns the tables and ends up saving her instead, Edie finds herself a little weak in the knees.

For all of his grumpiness though, the vampire, one Gaston ‘Max’ Boucher, quickly becomes quite protective over our Edie, and insists that she stay within his bunker until the breach has been resolved.

As you can imagine, with two people in forced proximity, with fear of the unknown outside, things heat up quickly. Edie isn’t willing to turn a blind eye though to what is going on with the zombies. There are innocent people still out there who may not be as prepared as they are. Thus, the two set out with the hopes of helping in the fight for humanity.

This was cute. I liked it. I was drawn quickly to Edie as a main character. She was funny and I loved her perspective, the way she viewed everything around her. She had a great sense of humor and I appreciated the lightheartedness she brought to the story.

Max was swoony too and I did like him as the love interest. I could certainly see why Edie would fall for him so quickly and their banter was great. With this being said, the story itself did feel overly-long and slightly repetitive.

The backdrop of the zombie apocalypse was quite refreshing though, and they even spent a bit time in an abandoned mall, which I loved. That’s such a classic zombie setting. I thought that was really fun. After the mall though, it sort of lost me. I found my eyes glazing over, just wanting it to end.

I see that this is set to be a series and I am interested to see what the next one is going to be about. If it will be connected by characters, or the world, or just another romance featuring a different paranormal character. Depending on the content, I may check it out.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Even though this one didn’t quite knock my socks off, I did really like Olivia Dade’s writing and sense of humor.

I’ll absolutely be picking up more from this author!

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Review: Come As You Are by Dahlia Adler

~ megs14malloy

Come As You AreCome As You Are by Dahlia Adler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Come As You Are is a YA Contemporary Romance from Dahlia Adler. I’ve read from Adler before, and this one has certainly bumped her up my Must-Read Authors list.

In this story, we are following Everett ‘Evie’ Riley, who has decided to transfer to a private high school after being betrayed by a trifecta of important people in her life: her boyfriend, her best friend and her sister.

Evie is desperate for a fresh start. She needs new scenery and new people. Her new start faces it’s first hurdle on move-in day though, when Evie finds herself mistakenly assigned to an all-boys dorm and wouldn’t you know it, there’s no room for her in the girls dorm.

Rumors and speculation regarding Evie’s unfortunate housing predicament quickly spread throughout the small campus. Unsure what else to do, Evie decides to lean into her enticing new reputation.

In order to do this though, good girl Evie is going to need some help, which she finds in the form of her grumpy, yet exceeding cool, dorm mate, Salem Grayson.

As it turns out, Salem needs a little help as well, repairing his relationship with his parents after he was kicked out of another school. Evie could be the perfect person to help him with that. It’s a win, win.

Sadly, even as Salem starts to turn his reputation around and succeed at absolutely everything he tries, Evie cannot seem to catch a break. As Evie comes to certain realizations about herself and her life, it turns out maybe she’s destined for a different path than she once expected.

I really loved this. I’m not sure how memorable the overall story will be for me long-term as far as the smaller details go, but there was so much I adored about it in the moment.

The characters were fabulous, both the main characters, and the side characters. Adler built this beautiful found family feeling into the story that I felt added a lot of warmth. With these kids being away from home at a boarding school, that element would make sense, and it was well done.

Additionally, the banter was fantastic and I experienced a full range of emotions over the course of the story. Dahlia Adler has quickly become a favorite for me.

Evie was such a great main character. She really was going through a lot, and I liked how she faced it all with an emotional maturity that was good to see. Having your boyfriend, sister and best friend betray you all at once, that could definitely cause one to spiral, but I liked how she took action to move forward from it versus dwelling.

Not only did she take action, she did it on her own. Her parents weren’t really aware of the full scope of what had happened, and Evie shouldered all the responsibility for forging her new path. I respected that.

Sure, a lot of the drama is still teen, but as it should be, it’s a YA book. Adler also always includes a diverse cast of characters, and I appreciated that representation, as well as some of the topics explored in regards to sexuality, relationships, etc.

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I wish I’d have read it sooner. I recommend this to any YA Contemporary Romance Reader. It’s a good one!!!

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Review: On Location by Sarah Echavarre Smith

~ megs14malloy

On LocationOn Location by Sarah Echavarre Smith
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

**1.5-stars rounded up**

On Location has been on my TBR for 2021. On a whim last week, I decided to read it for a Romance Readathon I was participating in. I started it with the best of hopes, even though it’s overall rating isn’t particularly high.

I’m not a picky Reader, and frequently end up enjoying things others may not have. However, about 20% into this one, I knew that wasn’t going to be the case. In fact, I figured I might end up liking it even less than others.

A few friends advised me to DNF, but I rarely DNF. Sometimes, the saltier something makes me, the more I want to keep reading, with thoughts of, how did this even get published swirling in my head.

Honestly, there’s nothing like a rage read to keep you flipping pages. I disliked so much about this book, so I am going to do something a little different with this review. Instead of wasting time going through details, I will just share some of my status updates I posted while reading it to give you a general idea of my experience:

18% — “Wow. Alia (the main character) is a terrible manager of people. You manage by leading, not angrily bossing people around. She’s a tyrant. Besides her cringe management attempts however, I am enjoying this! We’ll see what happens 👀”

At this point, as you can see, I was remaining positive…

25% — “I hate this MC. She has zero emotional intelligence and shouldn’t be in a upper management position. I would fire her yesterday.”

26% — “Seriously, reading this MC thinking about how she needs to talk to others about their professionalism is so laughable. Did the author do this on purpose? She realizes she’s made her MC, who is supposed to be this strong woman in charge, act like a child throwing a temper tantrum every 5-mins, right?”

32% — “I’m 100% rage reading this right now. I hate it.”

42% — “That was the stupidest OTT fight ever. My eyes hurt from all the rolling.”

47% — “Holy shit. This dialogue is sooooo cringe. Good Lord.”

69% — “Alia’s 7th-grade persona went away for a couple of chapters, but she’s back with a vengeance now 🙄”

86% — “Oh my god 😳 seriously!? Alia is sooooo ridiculous 🙄 I cannot with the fact that she is supposed to be in her 30s!?”

And that pretty much sums it up. There were two scenes in the 2nd-half I thought were good, a sexting scene in a shared condo and a hot tub scene. Other than that, I was annoyed each and every page by one thing or another.

You know in Junior High school when there’s a school dance, and a boy that a girl likes ends up paying attention to another girl, and the next thing you know, half the girls in the class are running in and out of the bathroom, crying and blubbering and living their ultimate dramatic lives?

That was this MC.

At the end of the day, happy to cross it off the list and clear up some space on my kindle. I’m now going to block it from my mind forever.

Berkley, I love you. Thank you for providing me a copy of this all those years ago. I love so, so, so many Berkley Romances, past and present, but this was not it for me.

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Review: Good Spirits (Ghosted #1) by B.K. Borison

~ megs14malloy

Good Spirits (Ghosted, #1)Good Spirits by B.K. Borison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Good Spirits was my 1st-ever Holiday Romance novel, and I feel like it has sort of ushered me into a new era as a person who can cherish lighter reads. Who even am I?!

No one was murdered. There was no blood or gore, no haunting imagery or unsettling atmosphere, but still, I had so much fun reading it. Honestly, it was a breath of fresh air.

This story follows Harriet York and Nolan Callahan. Harriet is a people-pleaser, who tries hard to always do what is expected of her, and who has a complicated relationship with her family.

Nolan is a Ghost of Christmas Past…

Nolan’s latest assignment is Harriet, but after he meets her, he can’t understand why. She’s not his typical work assignment at all. He’s used to haunting terrible people, who need to come to certain realizations about their lives. We all remember Ebenezer Scrooge, and Harriet is no Scrooge.

As Nolan and Harriet spend time together, and get to know one another, Harriet has Nolan seeing things in a whole new light. They end up examining Harriet’s past together and through snippets of her life discover there are threads that bind them together.

I loved this. The concept, the characters, and an ending that made me feel unexpected things; it’s all a win in my book. It’s not perfect. For example, there were some repetition issues in the spicy bits, but there’s only so many ways you can describe…that.

I would have loved even more Christmas vibes as well, but yeah, I’m not mad about my 1st-Holiday Romance experience at all. Additionally, this is only my 2nd-Borison read, and I definitely need more.

The audiobook features dual narration and was amazing. I definitely recommend that format.

I know this is supposed to be some sort of series, and I’m looking forward to whatever comes next!

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Review: Mistletoe & Rodeo (Frosted Firs Ranch #2) by Janet Dailey

~ megs14malloy

Mistletoe and Rodeo (Frosted Firs Ranch)Mistletoe and Rodeo by Janet Dailey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Mistletoe and Rodeo is the 2nd-book in Janet Dailey’s Frosted Firs Ranch series. I read the 1st-book, Evergreen Christmas, and had so much fun with it.

In that 1st-book, we’re introduced to the town of Noel, North Carolina, the Christmas tree capital of the world. The story follows a new girl to town, Jordyn, and a local resident, Nate, who does in fact own a Christmas tree farm.

That story followed them getting to know one another, learning all about the town and their traditions, and was full of wild and wacky Christmas fun.

This book follows Nate’s younger brother, Tucker, a bull rider hoping to soon return to the circuit, and another new girl to town, Nicky, as well as Nicky’s daughter, Kyle. I was excited to get to follow Tucker, as I thought he was a very interesting character in the 1st-book.

While I did still enjoy this, it didn’t quite deliver the same level of Christmas magic that Evergreen Christmas did, which I’m sad about, as that’s what I was hoping for.

Additionally, I wasn’t crazy about Nicky, and wasn’t 100% rooting for the romance to succeed. In the 1st-book, I loved both Jordyn and Nate, as well as they way they were with one another. They complimented each other perfectly.

Whereas here, it felt a bit like Nicky just needed a savior, and Tucker was willing to give up all his hopes and dreams to be that for her. I guess I just prefer more of an even partnership, but that’s completely personal taste.

I also didn’t feel like we got as involved in town life as we did in the 1st-book, although we did follow a continuing storyline of one of the Noel Nanas, Kandy. I did enjoy that aspect, but missed seeing all the other ladies in her friendship group.

I’m thinking maybe if I hadn’t read Evergreen Christmas so recently, I may have enjoyed this more. I was still high off how much I adored that one, so this just did quite live up to that standard for me.

Nevertheless, this is still a good book, with a lovely romance, featuring light drama. I love the setting of Frosted Firs Ranch, and would absolutely pick up more books in the series.

Thank you to the publisher, Kensington Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is charming and sweet. I’d expect no less from Janet Dailey!

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Review: The Sugar Plum Rebellion by Megan Astraus

~ megs14malloy

The Sugar Plum Rebellion: An Enemies to Lovers Nutcracker Christmas RomanceThe Sugar Plum Rebellion: An Enemies to Lovers Nutcracker Christmas Romance by Megan Astraus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up **

💕💚💕💚💕💚💕💚💕💚💕

Let’s start this review out with a confession, shall we. As some of you may be aware, I’m not a big Romance Reader. I do read some, but I’m by no means well versed in the genre. For those unaware, I’m a Horror and Dark Fiction girlie, so this would seem way outside my comfort zone.

In fact, as far as Holiday Romances go, I had never read one before. I started my journey in Holiday Romances on December 8th of this year, when I decided to participate in a Holiday Romance Readathon. I committed and threw myself in all the way; as I do.

Prior to the Readathon, I checked out a bunch of books from my library, bought a few paperbacks and checked out what Netgalley had to offer.

Upon seeing this cover, that I have since learned the author, Megan Astraus, designed herself, I knew I had to have it. The ballerina, the snowglobe, the cracked glass, the PINK!

As if the cover alone wasn’t enough to sell me though, then I read the synopsis.

This story follows Clara Winters, the adopted daughter of a ballet icon, who is now an up-and-coming ballet dancer in her own right, who has just secured the Sugar Plum Fairy lead in her studio’s production of The Nutcracker.

This role is especially important to Clara, because now that she’s in her late 20s, it may be her last chance to be scouted to a premier ballet company in New York City. Which has always been her dream, right?

In fact, her Dad has pulled some strings, and confirmed scouts will be in the audience on their opening night performance, set for Christmas Eve.

Disaster strikes when Clara’s partner, the man to play the Cavalier, who will pair her in the iconic art of the Grand Pas de Deux, suffers an injury and will be unable to perform.

With under a month to go until the Christmas Eve performance, pickings are slim for someone with the classical training to perform the role. Thus, they must think outside the box.

Enter stage left, Trevor Williams, a tattooed, recovering addict, from the County Arts Program that share a building with Clara’s company. He has motivations of his own that lead him to agree to take on the role.

The pairing should be doomed for failure, but their forced proximity leads to a lot of alone time, late night rehearsals and feelings neither one of them expected.

Even with their chemistry bubbling over and their new-found trust, will the two be able to pull off the most important performance of their lives?

The Sugar Plum Rebellion is a delightful and delicious Holiday Romance debut. I had so much fun with this book. I read it so quickly. I couldn’t put it down and stayed up way past my bedtime to see it through.

I laughed out loud. I kicked my feet, squeeled and swooned. I may also have shed a tear, or two, I won’t lie about that. Clara and Trevor now live rent free in my brain.

This is essentially the movie Step Up for Romance-reading adults, which is something I never knew I needed, but now can’t believe I lived without.

I love the MC, Clara. We get the entire story from her perspective, which was refreshing, and I really vibed with her sense of humor and just the way she relayed to the Reader all that was happening.

She’s actually quite a complex character, and I liked unpacking with her a lot of the insecurities she had been holding so close to her heart for almost her entire life.

As someone who great up in dance, though my sister was the ballerina, I am always drawn to stories that incorporate dancers in some way. There’s so much of it here too. It’s not just this character is a dancer. We actually get to see the behind the scenes of her corps.

We see rehearsals and all the drama that goes into the days leading up to a performance. There was so much pressure on Clara to be perfect. She was seen as the leader, and though she took that seriously, it was overwhelming.

I loved how Astraus displayed the building of this partnership between Clara and Trevor. In a dance partnership like this, you aren’t necessarily picking your partner. It may not even be someone you know well, as was the case here, which means a lot of hard work connecting.

You’re often cast in a role, and whoever is cast in the role opposite you is who you’ll have to work with and bond with to an incredible level. They have to build up a deep sense of trust within the partnership. Particularly, if complex lifts, etc., are incorporated into a routine.

I feel like Astraus did a great job of building up that trust between the two MCs. It felt like a real working relationship. Even though in a fictional setting, with a TON of chemistry and some off the charts steam, it still felt true to life.

Astraus also delivered so well on the tension between the two of them. I was living for their back-and-forths. As well-developed as Clara was as a character, I feel like Trevor was equally well done.

I became so invested in the both of them and just loved going along for the ride of their partnership, both inside and outside of the studio. As I mentioned above, I don’t read a ton of Romance, but for me, this is one I am going to champion for a long time to come. I loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for Romance to make you swoon this Holiday Season!

I’m looking forward to more from Megan Astraus!!!

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Review: Christmas Corpse (A Christmas Cozy Mystery #1) by Mona Marple

~ megs14malloy

Christmas Corpse (A Christmas Cozy Mystery #1)Christmas Corpse by Mona Marple
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Cutest Cozy Christmas Mystery Novella!

Christmas Corpse was exactly what I needed to put me into the holiday spirit. This story follows Holly Wood ((yes, she knows her name is ridiculous)). After losing her job, Holly is driving home to her empty house for Christmas.

Along the way, she ends up in a spot of trouble and goes off the road. When she awakens in her freezing cold car hours later, it’s to a Good Samaritan coming to her rescue.

The Samaritan in question claims her name is Mrs. Claus, and she whisks Holly away to her home in the magical, seemingly secret, village of Candy Cane Hollow.

Holly is more than happy to recuperate at Mrs. Claus’s home, where she gets to know the jolly, kind-hearted woman, as well as her handsome son, Nick.

Shortly after Holly is coming to realize just how magical a place Candy Cane Hollow is, they receive word that the local doctor’s receptionist, Persephone, has been murdered, apparently poisoned by a mince pie.

Well, most unfortunately, Mrs. Claus happens to be the best mince pie baker in the village, and therefore becomes the prime suspect. Holly vows to stay on and clear Mrs. Claus’s name. After all, Mrs. Claus saved her from freezing to death in a snowbank, it’s the least she can do in return.

This is just the cutest story. It’s like a warm hug, with just a touch of murder. I won’t deny it’s a simple story, but it’s also funny, engaging, full of likable characters and cozy Christmas cheer.

If you’re like me, and your brain feels pulled in a million different directions this time of year, this could be the perfect holiday read for you. I know it certainly made me much more in the mood for the holidays than I was before.

I love how Holly gets pulled into this magical little village, seemingly hidden from the rest of the world, and becomes completely enmeshed in local life. The villagers were more than happy to take her in and treat her like one of their own.

This is the 1st-book in a Cozy Christmas Mystery series, and I already have the next 2-books on audio from the publisher. I’m so excited to keep going with the series.

I have no doubt that the further I go with it, the more attached I’m going to become to this cast of characters and the adorable setting. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for some Christmas Cozy vibes!

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Review: For the Record by Emma Lord

~ megs14malloy

For the Record: A NovelFor the Record: A Novel by Emma Lord
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

For the Record is a 2nd-Chance Adult Romance from beloved author, Emma Lord, following a former Pop Princess, Mackenzie Waters, and Punk Rocker, Sam Blaze.

Their bands used to work together on some collaborative endeavors. Part of the schtick was that Mackenzie and Sam were opposites and rivals, but there was no denying the chemistry, both off and on-stage.

Just as things were starting to progress into new territory for them though, both of their bands fell apart and they went their separate ways. Now, 2-years later, both are dealing with fairly heavy real life issues that have kept them out of the music scene.

Mackenzie is dealing with some postoperative changes to her voice, trying to find a path for her new sound, and Sam is working through successfully coparenting his young son.

Needless to say, both of them have a lot on their plate, but when they run into each other in NYC, the old sparks, and also grievances, reignite and with them, opportunity.

A comeback is pitched. A potential joint album, but will they be able to put the past behind them and learn to work together, or will old insecurities and frustrations keep them from rising to the task?

For the most part, I really enjoyed my time with For the Record. I felt both MCs were very well developed and I enjoyed both of them and their personalities equally. I also appreciated that we did get both of their perspectives.

While I could have used a bit more drama, I do always enjoy stories featuring music and musicians, so this definitely worked for me in that regard.

A bit Tay Tay-inspired, mayhaps…

Emma Lord is one of my go-to Contemporary authors, both in the YA and Adult space. I love the way she writes budding relationships, and the banter is always so good.

Mackenzie and Sam were both super likable. Additionally, the issues they were going through made them sympathetic. They were easy to relate to and I did enjoy watching their 2nd-chance play out.

Though not my favorite from this author, and I’m not sure how memorable it will be for me long-term, it was still really cute and I’m glad that I picked it up. I would def recommend it to other Emma Lord fans, and to people who enjoy reading about musicians, or celebrities.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Griffin and Macmillan Audio, for providing me copies to read and review. I’ll read anything Emma Lord writes. I hope she never stops!

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Review: Swept Away by Beth O’Leary

~ megs14malloy

Swept AwaySwept Away by Beth O’Leary
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Swept Away is the 2nd-novel that I’ve tried from beloved Contemporary author, Beth O’Leary. The 1st was The No-Show, which was a bit of a miss for me.

I sort of wrote O’Leary off after that. It just wasn’t really a great time for me. However, after seeing the cover of this, call me shallow, but I had to read it. And you know what, I’m really glad that I did.

In this story we’re following Lexi and Zeke, who after a one-night stand on a houseboat, end up lost at sea together. For a sea-loving girl like myself, this sounded like a sensational set-up, and that proved to be true.

As they discover what’s happened and the reality of the situation sets in, they have a lot of adjustments to make, and a lot of ‘getting to know each other’ to do. With provisions low, it quickly turns into a game of survival.

I did end up really enjoying this one. While it did take a while for me to feel truly invested, around 50%, I ultimately did come to care about these two characters and their journeys, both as a couple and separately.

I liked that there was an age gap, with her being the older of the two. I also liked getting both of their perspectives so we could see how they were both feeling about their circumstances, and interactions. They definitely had their ups-and-downs.

I would say, it was never really gripping for me though. The plot just sort of meandered along, taking it’s time to actually get anywhere and when it did, minus one situation, the stakes never felt high, or pressing.

With this being said though, I do feel like for me, the character work made up for that. I did like how well-fleshed out both Zeke and Lexi were, and that they both had family issues that they were trying to work through.

I also enjoyed their banter, and I feel like because of their dire circumstances on the boat, it was realistic for them to fall for each other as quickly as they did. Bonus points for rescuing an injured seagull that they named Eugene.

At the end of the day, this was an enjoyable read with a satisfying conclusion. I am certainly glad I picked it up, and would recommend it to other Adult Contemporary Readers.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would be interested in checking out more of O’Leary’s work now.

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