romance

Review: The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

~ megs14malloy

The ProposalThe Proposal by Jasmine Guillory
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Awwww, that was so fun.

In The Wedding Date we meet Carlos Ibarra as the fun and supportive best friend of Dr. Drew Nichols. We really get to know him on the day that he helps Dr. Drew by picking Alexa up at the airport when Drew gets called into the hospital on an emergency. At the time I was reading that, I thought to myself, this Carlos seems like quite a catch!

In this novel, Carlos takes on the role of leading man and I wasn’t wrong about him!

When Carlos watches the botched proposal made to Nikole Paterson on the jumbotron at a Dodgers game, he feels so bad. This poor girl is obviously have a super embarrassing moment and the paparazzi are in full force!

In order to rescue her, Carlos swoops in and pretends to be a long-lost friend, escorting Nik out of the stadium and away from prying eyes. He offers her a ride home and ends up bringing her to a bar to meet up with some of her friends.

Nik and Carlos really hit it off and the sweetest little friendship develops. But is more than friendship in the cards for them?

They both swear they are not looking for more but then things get physical.

Throughout this story we get a lot more of Carlos and Nik’s lives apart from one another. Carlos spends a lot of his time taking care of the women in his family. He feels an obligation to help them all so much. We also get to learn about Nik’s super tight friend group and the truly warm and supportive circle that provides her with.

One plot point I truly enjoyed was Nik and her friend group attending a women’s boxing class in order to learn how to protect themselves. It was a way of reclaiming her power after she was emotionally traumatized by her ex and his horrible proposal. In the aftermath of that, Nik really struggled with feeling safe. She is such a private person and to have her life exposed like that was really hard for her. I appreciated this and have taken boxing classes so know how empowering they can be.

I would say in comparison to The Wedding Date, this one differed by offering the reader more insight into our protagonists lives outside of one another. They both had really strong support systems and that was refreshing to see.

Overall, I thought this was really sweet. Although it didn’t have as much drama or steam as the first book, it was still a very fun read! I would definitely recommend this to people looking for a fun, easy summer read. Beach season is almost upon us and this would be a good one to take with you.

I am very much looking forward to starting the next companion book in this series, The Wedding Party which releases in July!!

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Review: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

~ megs14malloy

Red, White & Royal BlueRed, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Alex Claremont-Diaz is the FSOTUS (First Son of the United States). His Mom, the first female president of the United States, is a hard-fighting Texas woman who knows how to get things done.

Alex is making his way through college and planning to sky rocket into politics straight out of school. He already has years of experience working on various campaigns and it is truly where he sees his life going.

We all know I love politics and political strategy in books, so right off the bat, I’m all like…

But Alex still has some growing up to do. As he should, he’s in his early-20s y’all! Give the boy a break. So he still parties a bit to hard and feuds with foreign dignitaries…

Oh yes, Prince Henry. Prince Henry is all sorts of swoony but Alex sees him as a bore and his #1 enemy. When an incident occurs at the Prince’s brother’s wedding, toppling over the super expensive wedding cake, the boys are forced to pretend to be friends in order to save face.

Alex would rather do pretty much anything else. Unfortunately, his wants are fairly inconsequential at this point, and so begins the relationship that is: Alex + Henry.

If you are reading this, I am sure you already know what this book entails. It is getting so much hype right now and for good reason. A mainstream title that is humorous and steamy New Adult romance, featuring a male/male, enemies-to-lovers relationship? What’s not to love?!

I personally was swept away from the very first pages. It is so fun. Pure fun on the page but also thoughtful in its presentation. I truly feel this is ground-breaking and we will all be talking about it for years to come.

McQuiston did such a great job of making this so contemporary without feeling forced in any way. The dialogue was super believable and the storyline provided a lot of food for thought.

I have heard a few people mention that it is too optimistic?? To me, I didn’t really think so. It is a happy story overall but our characters have struggles just like real people. As Alex and Henry both grapple with their sexuality and what that means in terms of their lives, what their family’s response will be, what the world’s response will be…they really struggled with that. They had hard decisions to make, just like in real life.

I applaud Casey for writing this. I think this will mean a heck of a lot to a lot of people and McQuiston is definitely on my list of autobuy authors after this spectacular debut! Bravo!

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I always appreciate the opportunity. I think this will be making a lot of reader’s ‘Best of 2019’ lists!

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Review: The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

~ megs14malloy

The Wedding DateThe Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Meet Cute turns Forever Cute…or does it!?

Stuck in an elevator with an attractive man was not how Alexa Monroe saw this evening going. Arriving at a hotel to visit her sister, who is just in town for a night, with a bottle of champagne and cheese and crackers in her purse, she’s ready for a night of girl chat. What she gets is an interesting proposal.

Dr. Drew Nichols is at the hotel for a wedding weekend. The wedding of his ex-girlfriend to one of his best friends from med school. Not awkward at all.

Making matters worse, his date cancelled on him at the last minute so he is running solo. Now stuck in the elevator with an attractive young woman, the answer becomes clear! He needs to convince her to be his date. His fake girlfriend for the whole weekend. Luckily, Dr. Nichols is very persuasive.

And so begins one of the best fake date tropes in history. I adored the wedding weekend for Drew and Alexa. Alexa is such a great character. Extremely relatable. She has some self doubts and insecurities that many of us have probably had. Especially when starting to date a new person. I like how that came off on the page, very believable to me.

Drew is so charming and fun without being annoying. He also had some believable and relatable traits when it came to commitments and second guessing himself.

I would definitely say that I had more fun with the first half of the book compared to the second half. It was still a good story, I just found myself becoming frustrated at the lack of communication. This being said, I think a lot of relationships IRL suffer from lack of communication too, so maybe this is how it really would have gone.

One aspect I did really enjoy was how much we learned about Alexa and Drew’s careers. This wasn’t just all about the romance. There was that but we were also dealing with adults who had lives prior and outside of their romance. I liked seeing that.

I also liked that we were reading about a mixed race couple and it wasn’t just glossed over. They did have some conversations about it and I appreciated that.

There was some depth to this story but also a lot of steaminess. The steamy scenes were good, although at times I did catch some repetitive phrasing and such that was meh. Overall though, a fun little read!

I am looking forward to reading the companion novels in this series. I believe The Proposal features Drew’s friend, Carlos, and The Wedding Party focuses on Maddie and Theo. I am really excited to get to both of those!

I would definitely recommend this book to other romance readers. I think it is important to note that I am just starting to get into romance, so my opinions are from a reader fairly inexperienced in the genre. I still think even advanced romance readers could have fun with this though!

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Review: One Day in December by Josie Silver

~ megs14malloy

One Day in DecemberOne Day in December by Josie Silver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you TBR jar for selecting this bloody brilliant book for me!

I am not a romance reader and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that I opened this one up with a fair amount of trepidation. I actually believe one of my comments upon starting was that I thought chances were 50/50 that I would DNF it. The thought of that now — utterly ridiculous!

I am floored by how much I loved this story.
The humor was perfect for me, I loved the pace and I fully appreciated how it was messy and frustrating and never easy — so is life, am I right?

It’s a long book but upon finishing I feel that it couldn’t have been any shorter. To get the full impact of missed chances requires a long scope and that is exactly what this book delivers.

I feel like past-Meg who watched Bridget Jones Diary for the first time and felt, yes, there, a character whose love life I can relate to…

I am so impressed with Ms. Josie Silver and thoroughly look forward to reading more by her in future!

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Review: An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

~ megs14malloy

An Enchantment of RavensAn Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s official. I’m on the ‘really enjoyed this’ team!

Isobel, a human girl, is a skilled and renowned portraitist. Her number one clients are the fair folk, a race of immortal beings with sinister dispositions.

Her first royal client, the Autumn Prince, Rook, proves to be a lesson in self-restraint for our sweet, Isobel. She finds him captivating and over the weeks of their sessions, she finds herself becoming more and more enamored with him.

She sees something in Rook that she hasn’t seen in any of the fair folk she has painted before. Emotion. Raw, uncensored ‘human’ emotion. Sorrow. She paints his portrait displaying that in his eyes.

Upon seeing the portrait, Rook unexpectedly flies into a rage. How dare she paint him as such? Before Isobel realizes what is happening, he goes all Lord Grantham on her…

…and snatches her away to travel to the Autumnlands to stand trial for her insolence. However as their journey begins something seems to be amiss in the world of the fae. Soon they find themselves being hunted and even worse, falling for one another.

This was a beautifully written story of forbidden love and I was sold on it hook, line and sinker. My one issue, it wasn’t long enough. I was left wanting more! I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a little whimsy in their love stories. I am really looking forward to Rogerson’s next book, Sorcery of Thorns, releasing in June. If it is anything like this one, I know I will really enjoy it!

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Review: Love a la Mode by Stephanie Kate Strohm

~ megs14malloy

Love à la ModeLove à la Mode by Stephanie Kate Strohm
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“…part of the magic of food. It didn’t last. It couldn’t. Each bite was only a moment transformed into a memory.”


FOODIES REJOICE!!!

This book stole my heart right out of the gate. A departure gate at O’Hare International Airport to be specific. We meet our main characters, Rosie Radeke and Henry Yi, aboard a plane to Paris. Both teens have been selected to attend the very prestigious Ecole of Chef Laurent. The program is part competition, part culinary school, open to only 20 students per year. Being selected is an honor in itself and both Rosie and Henry are full of excitement and trepidation on their flight.

This book was absolutely adorable ((one of the best ‘Meet Cutes’ I have ever read!!)) and reminded me that sometimes it is okay to just read something that makes your heart happy. There was nothing complicated, no horrible hidden secrets or murders or deceptions, just love, reflection and growth…oh and a heck of a lot of fun, food and friends!

In addition to Henry and Rosie, the story incorporates quite a few of the other students who are from different areas around the world and brought such unique personalities to the story. If you are someone who enjoys stories with a strong friendship group you should definitely pick this one up. I loved the support and camaraderie amongst the main cast. Yumi in particular, loved her so much!! The banter between the characters is great; I was laughing out loud by only 3% into the book.

“There’s no one else I’d rather eat with.”

As a romance-heavy YA Contemporary will do, this book is replete with the angsty sort of romance tropes that you would typically find in a YA but, that being said, they were really well done here. It never felt cheesy to me or overplayed, just nice, steady and sweet. I loved watching the evolution of the relationship between Rosie and Henry, even through the miscommunications that made me want to scream, I just truly felt filled to the brim with warmth from this story.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney-Hyperion, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity to provide my feedback and I look forward to hearing what other readers think of this one! Well done, Ms. Strohm. Very well done.

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Review: The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout

~ megs14malloy

The Darkest Star (Origin, #1)The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4-happy shining stars**

“We were all dark stars, but Luc…he was the darkest.”

The Darkest Star is the first book in a new YA-series written by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This is a companion/spin-off from her hugely popular Lux series. Hold on to your hats Ladies & Gents because I have a confession to make: I have not read the Lux series!!!

Yes, it’s true. I went into this having never read a Jennifer L. Armentrout book and having no idea what the Luxen were all about. I was most pleasantly surprised! I think it is a testament to Armentrout’s skill as a writer that I never for a moment felt lost or like I was missing anything. If I had not heard of the Lux series prior to starting this, I would have never guessed that there was a prior series. So, if you are like me and have never read the Lux series and you don’t really have time or space on your tbr to fit it in, please don’t let that dissuade you. If the synopsis of this one sounds interesting to you, pick it up, have no fear, you will understand everything. That’s a megs_bookrack guarantee!

This book follows teenager, Evie, as she navigates a lot of disturbing revelations about herself. Early on in the story she meets a handsome stranger, Luc, at the club ((you know how it is)) and one thing leads to another and before you know it they are running from the cops, hiding in a broom closet and then seemingly just a part of each others lives from there on out.

I had a lot of fun watching Evie and Luc’s relationship grow. It was heavy in the hate to love feels and I cherish that when the banter is super witty. Luc is a sexy and successful young man…well, actually he is an Origin ((Origin = the child of a Luxen + mutated human)), who is the baddest badass of all. Side Note: the Luxen are an alien race that cohabits Earth with us after they had to flee their own planet.

Through Evie’s new relationship with Luc a lot gets revealed to her about her own past and who she really is. Pretty much anything she thought was real, wasn’t. Poor Evie really gets through for a loop in this book but she handles it as well as could be expected and her growth is satisfying. I look forward to seeing where the next book goes. I have a few ideas of areas/plot lines that I am hoping will be explored but only time will tell!

I really enjoyed Armentrout’s writing style. I found it was relaxed and had a nice, even flow to it. The pace was good and there was a lot of great, natural humor that I found refreshing. I also picked up on some social commentary on issues such as race, immigration, minority communities, fear-mongering, etc. I was surprised by some of the connections I was able to make from what was happening in the book and what has happened in my own country in recent history. I always appreciate when an author throws in real social issues into a fantastical or magical narrative. It feels like finding Easter Eggs.

Overall, I had a great time reading this book. I was impressed with the writing, I found it very easy to read and follow and I appreciated the fact that Armentrout made the story approachable for both new and veteran readers of her material.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Teen, for providing me with an early copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity to jump into this world created by Armentrout and am already excited for the next book in the series!

Original: My October just got more interesting – ARC received!

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Review: Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

~ megs14malloy

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1)Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5-stars!!!

Ahhhh, young love. Isn’t it grand? You know the story, the tale as old as time: girl meets wolf, wolf and girl fall in love, angsty things happen…wait, is that not how the story usually goes?

This story follows two perspectives, Grace, a girl low-key obsessed with the wolves in the woods behind her house, and Sam, a werewolf. Sam has golden eyes and beautiful fur that Grace is instantly drawn too because…gold.

Seriously though, this is a love story between a girl and the werewolf who once saved her life. It was full of teenage drama and I must admit that had 14-to-20 year-old Meg read this book she would have been swooning from now till next year, honey! Needless to say, old Meg, not as thoroughly blown away by the plot.

The first half was difficult for me. More romance than an actual plot. Once I got towards the middle however I felt myself getting sucked into this bizarre storyline in an oddly addictive way…

Then finally, at the end, I’m like, Thank all that is holy that I have the entire series!!! Yep. You read that right, I am now officially a sucker for teenage werewolf love and I am not even upset about it. I am sure the fact that Maggie Stiefvater happens to be a truly good writer definitely aides along my new found addiction. So, thank you Ms. Stiefvater, for that!

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Review: My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows & Brodi Ashton

~ megs14malloy

My Lady JaneMy Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Continuous fun the whole way through! I loved this. 💖🐎💖

My Lady Jane is a fantastical romance loosely based around the life of Lady Jane Grey. Who was Lady Jane Grey?

I mean, I really don’t know. All I can tell you is she was Queen of England for a shockingly short 9-days; hence her nickname the ‘the Nine Days Queen’. As to the circumstances surrounding that = a complete mystery to me. I am choosing from this day forward to believe this amazingly hysterical version of events put forth in these pages by the Lady Janies (Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows & Brodi Ashton).

We get to follow multiple perspectives in this book: Jane, her cousin King Edward and Gifford (“call me G”). There is a really fun and unique ‘narrator directly addressing the reader’ format to this which I found absolutely charming. The fantastical elements were so far out there but again so much fun. That’s pretty much my largest take from this book – reading can be so much fun. I was transported by this story and could see the events playing out in my mind. I loved the different perspectives and felt the characters were well fleshed out with their own very distinct voices.

I always find collaborations like this so impressive. It is surprising to me that a group of three individuals could work so well together that they could create such a seamless narrative. I am excited to see what else these authors put out. I do have a copy of My Plain Jane but I haven’t gotten to it yet. In short, if you are looking for a fast-paced, heart-warming, ton-of-fun book, you should definitely give this one a shot!

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Review: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

~ megs14malloy

Publication Date: September 1, 2015

Rating: 3-stars!!

What that means in my parlance for rating is, this was a good book. I enjoyed it but wasn’t blown away by it and didn’t have too many strong feelings on it once it was over. This book was released in 2015 and is pretty popular in the YA-contemporary genre. They even turned it into a movie! (which I have not seen). I really did not know too much about it going in besides that fact that it was ‘boy-meets-girl’ where one of the characters was sick. I figured it would be short and sweet and I would cry. It did give me two of those things: it was short, it was sweet but I did not cry. In fact, my feelings upon the ending were more of anger and frustration for the MCs than anything else, but I am getting ahead of myself…
If you haven’t heard much about this story, like I hadn’t, it follows our MC, Madeline Whittier, who is a teenager with a compromised immune system. Due to this, she has been unable to leave her house her entire life and isn’t allowed visitors without very strict protocols being followed prior to letting them in their house. Mainly, her entire life revolves around her Mother (who coincidentally is a doctor) and her nurse, Carla. One day, a new family moves in next door, who have a son, Olly, about Maddy’s age. Well, you will have to read it to find out what happens after that but keep in mind this is a love story. The romance was super cute. Olly is as sugary sweet as teenage boys can be in this type of book and their interactions were fun and witty. The nurse, Carla, was my favorite character – a real gem and a very important part of Maddy’s life.
I was quite impressed with Nicola Yoon’s writing style and definitely plan to read more of her work. The dialogue was clever and I felt the format was really unique and fun as well. So, yeah, overall a good book. It did not go where I thought it was going to go. I can say by the time that I got to the conclusion, I wasn’t surprised, but I was certainly super frustrated for Maddy. I’m glad I read this, now I know what the hype is all about as far as Nicola Yoon goes and I plan to pick up, The Sun is Also a Star very soon!

Leave a comment below if you have read this book, what were your thoughts? Do you like Nicola Yoon’s writing? Who are some of your favorite YA-contemporary authors? Leave them some love below!