The first in the Campus Nights’ series, Secret Puck is a friends-to-lovers, brother's teammate romance!


Secretly hooking up with the team captain's sister was a bad idea.

Would I do it all over again?

In a heartbeat.

Title: Secret Puck
Author: Rebecca Jenshak
Series: Campus Nights (Book 1) 
Pages: 310
Genre(s): Contemporary, US, College Romance, Hockey Romance, New Adult, Sports Romance, Secret Romance, Brother's friend romance 
Hot Buttons: /

Release Date: 19th October, 2020

 

Likeable, young romance

3 stars

Rebecca Jenshak is a new to me author, despite having many of her books on my wishlist as a result of my newly discovered enjoyment of new adult romances.

This particular book is the first in a new series, Campus Nights, about a group of students at Valley University in Arizona. We get to meet lots of characters in this books - Ginny’s new friends and her brother’s (and Heath’s) teammates from the hockey team. Presumably some, if not all, of those characters will get future books in the series.

So, alongside all these characters, we get a lot of detail about the comings and goings of Ginny, Heath and their friends. And I mean a lo-ot of detail. Detail that, to my mind, wasn’t required for the story or for building the scene. Just bits and pieces of extra information that I didn’t know what to do with. It never slowed down the story, but I admit to being a bit confused by the need for such minutia.

Ginny was a nice-enough character, but she came across as a little needy to me. I know these are young people, but she seemed very immature and inexperienced in life. It was hard for me to root for her when I had nothing in common with her.

Similarly, Heath came across as a little young, and nothing like the kind of hero that I would swoon over. As much as I like a ‘forbidden’ romance, in this case, there was no reason for this to be so. If Ginny had told her brother where to go, if Heath had been a bit more adult about the whole thing - there would be no reason for sneaking around.

My main reason for the lower rating was that I just didn’t feel the connection between Ginny and Heath. Their first meeting was surprisingly lacklustre and suddenly we’re being told that there’s a crazy connection between the two. I must have missed that. And, sadly, continued to miss it.

This book certainly wasn’t bad. The writing was interesting and kept me reading, even if I couldn’t 100% get behind the characters or the story. Before I started reading NA romance, I feared that I wouldn’t feel any connection with the characters with this disparity in our ages. That’s how I felt with this book. It made me feel old and weary faced with excitable, impulsive college age kids.

It’s really difficult when you go to review a book only to find that everyone adored it - except you! It’s not that I hated this book, it just didn’t illicit any strong reactions or emotions in me, which made it a 3-star read. But if it takes your fancy, or you’re a fan of Rebecca Jenshak, then still give this book a go. I hope I’m just the exception that proves the rule!
 

 

 

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AUTHOR BIO!

 

Rebecca Jenshak is a self-proclaimed margarita addict, college basketball fanatic, and lover of the Hallmark channel. A Midwest native transplanted to the desert, she likes being outdoors (drinking on patios) and singing (in the shower) when she isn’t writing books about hot guys and the girls who love them.

 

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Fake dating the cute owner of a bakery Dean is an investor in sounds kind of messy…but messy can be fun.

Norah Donahue wants bakeries not babies, but her matchmaking mother won’t stop trying to play Cupid.

Dean Moser is a cocky stock market savant whose friends are all settling down, leaving Boulder’s infamous ladies’ man all alone.

When Norah needs a fake date for her parents’ anniversary party, her new silent investor is the perfect guy for the job. It seems like a foolproof plan.

That is until Norah decides to break her biggest rule and lock lips with Dean in the middle of the party to spite her meddling mother.

Turns out that Dean and Norah’s chemistry is sizzling hot, and mixing business with pleasure could turn out to be a recipe for disaster.

Or maybe they can have their cake and eat it too.

Title: Take a Number
Author: Amy Daws
Series: n/a
Pages: 283
Genre(s): Contemporary, US, Romantic-Comedy, fake relationship
Hot Buttons: n/a

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I absolutely adored the previous book in this series - One Moment, Please - about Lynsey and Josh. Dean, our hero in this book, appeared in that book and in the earlier books in the Wait with Me series. Despite that, this book stands alone and you don’t need to have read the other books to understand and enjoy this one.

In fact, I think I might have enjoyed this book so much better had I come in with no knowledge of Dean. You see, I had a preconceived notion of Dean based on those books. As a best friend - he’s, hands-down, perfection. He’s loyal, sarcastic, funny and a little bit sassy. As a hero in his own right? Hmmm - jury’s out for me.

I just felt that he was a little, well, limp as a hero. No pun intended. He’s a metrosexual - which is fine - but it’s not something that makes me swoon. I prefer my men a little more rough around the edges - and possibly dirty and smelly, too. And Dean’s humour, especially in the face of Norah’s fairly stoic personality, didn’t hit the mark with me. In fact, sometimes, I felt he was downright condescending towards her. Just because she didn’t have fun they way he had fun, didn’t make her wrong.

Norah was a likeable character, too. I thought she came across as very real, even if, at least at the beginning, she was anti-boyfriend, anti-marriage and anti-family. I know we like to watch people eat their words but it was hard to be 100% team Norah when she was the opposite of me. Even if she liked lists as much as I do.

As always with Amy Daws, this book is bloomin’ hilarious! I laughed out loud on many occasion with genuine humour. Unique to this book, too, is the drool worthy inclusion of croinuts, Norah’s signature baked good in her bakery. And boy do I want one. Or six. Or more. Absolutely salivating for warm, fresh-from-the-oven pastries. Sigh.

There was enough sexiness to make me happy. I also love it when one of the characters gets drunk and blurts out their real feelings. But what happened next? Oh boy! That was almost as delicious as the baked goods. I felt the pair’s chemistry and wanted them to be together.

It was only once, but I feel I have to mention the flippant use of the term ‘OCD’. This is a serious medical mental health issue and can be devastating and all-consuming for the sufferer. It’s certainly not just someone who likes order and precision in their life. I just don’t think people should bandy about terms like this but, fear not, I didn’t let this affect my rating of the book.

 

Amy Daws always delivers a fun and sexy treat as delicious as Norah’s glazed croinuts. (And yes, you will be as obsessed as I am about baked goods once you read this book!) For me, I just wasn’t sold on Dean as a leading man and, as happy as I am for him to have found his own HEA, I can only give this story 3 stars.

 

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AUTHOR BIO!

 

Amy Daws is an Amazon Top 25 bestselling author of sexy, contemporary romance novels. She enjoys writing love stories that take place in America, as well as across the pond in England. When Amy is not writing in a tire shop waiting room, she’s watching Gilmore Girls, or singing karaoke in the living room with her daughter while Daddy smiles awkwardly from a distance. 
For more of Amy's work, visit: http://www.amydawsauthor.com

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He loves her.
She loves him not...yet.

Brandi Clayton spent years being a chameleon, trading on her looks for the security of having a man taking care of her. After all, being alone is what her mother taught her to fear. When her grandmother’s will surprisingly reveals Brandi inherited the family business, a new path opens up for her. She’s determined to take charge of Belle’s Medicinal Brewery and her own life. And if she can take that leap, she can find a man who loves her for exactly who she is. With her long-time friend Sebastien’s support, she’s bound to succeed, but she can’t take advantage of Sebastien forever.

A royal with no responsibilities, Prince Sebastien of Casagnes spends his days near Brandi, sketching, and helping his friend whenever she calls. His love for her is like his art -- safely hidden where it can't be rejected. But when Brandi uploads her profile to dating sites, Sebastien fears losing the one woman who is his everything. Can this loyal royal find the courage to put his heart on the line and paint a picture for Brandi of their life together?

The Prince Who Loved Me is a Just Add Peaches novel. Each book in the series is a stand-alone, passionate and playful contemporary romance, but you'll want more than one juicy bite.

Title: The Prince Who Loved Me
Author: Abigail Sharpe
Series: Just Add Peaches (Book 3)
Pages: 350
Genre(s): Contemporary, US, Small-Town Romance, Unrequited Love

Pleasantly gentle

3 stars

This is my first Abigail Sharpe novel and as such, I’ve not read the first two books in the Just Add Peaches series, Moonshine and Magnolias and Cupcake of the Month. I did feel a wee bit confused by the setting of the story (a brewery and an Inn) and the relationships between some of the characters as I hadn’t read the first two books. Sometimes, authors rehash story lines of their previous novels to get readers up to speed. It often annoys me if I have already read the novels they’re rehashing - but in this case, I really could have done with the catch-up.

On that same note, our heroine, Brandi obviously appeared in the first two novels - seemingly in a less than favourable light. As such, I felt much of the first third of the novel was the author apologising for Brandi’s prior behaviour and proving to readers that she has changed. Apparently she was a self-centered little madam on a man-frenzy with not a responsible bone in her body. The present-day Brandi is trying hard to be a responsible adult and overcome her surprising lack of self-worth. Surprising because she is well aware of her physical attributes, but obviously less so of her other charms. Yet she’s still a serial dater, going through a number of men before Sebastian catches her eye.

Sebastian is a nice enough hero - and not as wet as you might assume what with his having been in love with Brandi for years and having done little to nothing to make his move. Even when he does make his move it still quite gently done. In fact, gentle is a good word for this book all round.

There’s some declarations, some mama drama, some personal dilemmas… yet none of it ever makes more than a ripple in our characters’ lives. I’m not saying that this is necessarily a bad thing, but I do prefer a little more feistiness or excitement in my stories. And while ‘sweet’ might be another word to describe this story, there is a wee bit more spiciness than you might expect from such a descriptor.

I don’t think I can write a review without mentioning this book’s cover. Or more accurately, the attempt to ‘ginge-up’ the model portraying red-headed Sebastian. Seriously, are there no stock images with ginger male models? I definitely know there are trained graphic designers/artists who could help. I spent much of the book with Sebastian walking round my head with comedically painted on hair and beard. It’s not affecting my rating of the book but I’m definitely grumpy about it.

Anyway, this was a pleasant book with likeable characters and sweet love story. It didn’t set my world on fire but the writing was good and made the read an enjoyable one for me. A solid 3-star read.

 

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First came the director yelling, “Action!

Next came the actual acting.

Last came . . . the end scene.

Or at least, that was what I liked to call my job as a publicist to Hollywood’s elite. If my client hit it big, I was the one who’d made that possible. And while being on call twenty-four seven meant I was chronically single, I was fine with that. I’d been in a serious relationship once and had ultimately discovered that I wasn’t cut out for commitment or being tied down or living in a small town.

I needed lights and excitement, paparazzi and enough traffic that the air always smelled faintly of exhaust.

I definitely didn’t need one Aaron Weaver—my ex-boyfriend and current occupant of my former home and very, very small town in Utah—tying me down or making me feel like the world’s biggest jerk, just because I wanted my life to be something more than open fields and cow patties.

But then I had to leave L.A. and go home to my father, to my small town . . . to Aaron.

And I discovered there might be much more to him than I’d ever expected.

In fact, I discovered that I might have missed out on the best end scene of my life by letting him go at all.

Title: End Scene
Author: Elise Faber
Series: Lights, Camera, Action (Book 4) 
Pages: 206
Genre(s): Contemporary, US, Second Chance Romance, 
Hot Buttons: Emotionally abusive relationship with father, dementia diagnosis <-- highlight to reveal (may contain spoilers)

Release Date: 24th August, 2020

 

Not my favourite

3 stars

I’ve recently discovered - and very much enjoyed - the writing of Elise Faber. She’s got a very engaging writing style that is fast paced and makes you interested and care about her characters. While this book was no different in that respect, the story itself just didn’t grab me.

Mags and Aaron were high school sweethearts who broke up when they left school and wanted different things in life. Since then, Maggie has avoided her hometown - and Aaron - and the feelings that he still invokes in her.

On a rare visit home, the pair have several run-ins that aren’t exactly friendly. Aaron’s behaviour towards Maggie wasn’t mean, as such - and I understand that he’s still upset (even 10 years or so later) and there are unresolved feelings. But coupled with the relationship Mags has with her father, I felt the first third of the book was just Maggie getting emotionally beaten up about her past choices, her current choices and for following her dreams. Since we know it’s unwarranted - and Maggie just seemed to take it - it was a rather uncomfortable read for me.

And speaking of Maggie’s father - I understand that the relationship between him and Maggie was one of the fundamental reasons for her leaving, and not returning, to her hometown - and I understand it happens in real life… but this was another aspect that was uncomfortable to read. He’s called ‘gruff’ and ‘grumpy’ but a man who calls his daughter vile names, who is so mean to her when she does nothing but try to help him - is abusive.

When we get to about 50% of the book - that’s when I started to recognise the kind of story that I love to read - and the kind of story I’ve come to expect from Ms Faber.

When Aaron and Maggie connect again, it’s really sweet - and hot - to see the pair start a new relationship while also seemingly pick up exactly where they left off. I liked that there were no games between the pair. No pretending that they didn’t still feel a connection - mentally and physically - or that they wanted each other.

And their physical connection was smoking hot! I loved it - even more so because it seemed there was 10 years of pent up frustration under the surface, and the fact Aaron wanted to show Maggie he was there for her and not just the sex. Frustration is fun, afterall!

I know some people aren’t keen, but I do like people speaking to each other in petnames. ‘Peaches’ and ‘babe’ are the most prevalent in this story. It’s sweet.

This is the 4th book in the Love, Camera Action series by Ms Faber. While it can be read as a standalone, I was a wee bit confused by these other characters - Maggie’s Hollywood clients - who were name checked a few times throughout the story and popped up now and again. Had I read previous books in the series, I would have had some context. It didn’t stop me understanding the story but those relationships were lost on me.

Had I started half way through the book, this may well have been a 5 star read. As such, the first half - setting the scene as such - wasn’t a fun read for me. It was well-written (and kudos to Ms Faber for making me truly feel the injustice and discomfort of Maggie) as was the whole book. I just wasn’t keen on the emotions and story other than Aaron and Maggie’s love story. Only 3 stars from me, I’m afraid.

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AUTHOR BIO!

 

USA Today bestselling author, Elise Faber, loves chocolate, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and hockey (the order depending on the day and how well her team -- the Sharks! -- are playing). She and her husband also play as much hockey as they can squeeze into their schedules, so much so that their typical date night is spent on the ice. Elise is the mom to two exuberant boys and lives in Northern California.

 

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