Parental Guidance by Avery Flynn

All I want is to play hockey on the Ice Knights, instead, I’m in a viral video for all the wrong reasons and my mom—yes, my mom—has taken over my dating apps. Then, when I think it can’t get any worse, the fates deliver Zara Ambrose, a five-feet-nothing redhead with more freckles than inches and who’d rather be anywhere other than on a date with me.

Now a bet with her friends and my PR nightmare have us both stuck in this go-on-five-dates-with-the-same-person hell situation. But if we band together, we can get the whole thing over with and go on with our lives. It’s perfect! No feelings. No future. No fuc— *ahem* fun. No naked fun.

What could go wrong? Nothing—as long as I remember the rules. Don’t notice the way she looks in a dress. Don’t react when she does that little shivery sigh thing whenever we touch. Don’t think about the fact that she’s never had a toe-curling orgasm that wasn’t self-delivered and just how badly I want to change that.

Five dates—that’s it—and then we go our separate ways. At least, that was the plan...

I'll confess that at the moment I'm on a bit of an Avery Flynn kick, I just can't put them down! This was no exception, started, and finished, the same day.

One of the things that I love most about Ms. Flynn's novels is the ease at which the novel sweeps you in. A rarity in today's modern romantic comedy novels, this series is written from the third person, something this reader thoroughly enjoys and appreciates. More than that though, she really builds her secondary cast, not just focusing on the main characters, resulting in a well-rounded novel, and I'll be honest, keeps me hooked for wanting to read further books in the series.

The romance itself is hot, steamy, believable, and something that I would definitely be happy for. Both our hero and heroine are loveable characters and the romance progression is done extremely well. As mentioned earlier, the supporting cast is phenomenal and I love the links between her series, and definitely can't wait for the next instalment.

Rating: 4/5

Click here to purchase from Amazon.

Read More

Butterface (Hartigan Series Book 1) by Avery Flynn

It’s true. I’m not what most people would call “pretty” and, well, high school was rough. Fast forward ten years and life is good…Until a bunch of jerks think it’s hilarious to put the “butterface” (AKA me) on a wedding Kiss Cam with the hottest guy ever—and that old humiliation hits hard. I recognize him immediately. The sexiest cop in Waterbury and totally out of my league. But then he kisses me. And we totally forget the room, the crowd, everything. Then he tells everyone we’ve been dating for months.

Soon everything starts to feel too real, from adorable fights over “necessary” tools to fix my broken porch to surviving a free-for-all dinner with his six siblings to picking up where our last kiss left off. But there’s something he’s not telling me about why he’s really hanging around, and I’m pretty sure it has to do with my mob-connected brothers. Because this is not a make-over story, and Cinderella is only a fairy tale…

I'll confess that I accidentally read this series completely out of order, but after thoroughly loving the book I started with, I decided to go back to the beginning. After discovering Ms. Flynn back at the end of 2020, I've quickly read through most of her recent novels, loving the flow, characters and storylines. On that note, if anyone knows of any other great romance hockey series, definitely drop me a line and let me know!

I do have the benefit of hindsight with this series and I will say that this wasn't my favourite of the set (it's Tomboy, and it's been re-read twice), but it was still a strong novel. As mentioned above, you just can't help but like Ms. Flynn's characters. She does an excellent job of not only drawing you into the plotline and main characters, but also building a strong cast of secondary characters that you want to see more of (and thankfully results in more books in the series). It's the same with this novel, and you quickly grow to like all the characters, both major and minor. I did find that this was lighter than her other novels in the series, but there is still a good cast.

I will still confess though that I was a little confused with our heroine, Gina, and I'm still a little uncertain of her nickname, 'Butterface.' I did find in this novel that there wasn't too much of a physical description, other than her nose, but I wasn't entirely sure what was so wrong with her physical appearance. Given that this seemed quite relevant to the novel, I was a little confused, but it's not something that detracts from the novel, it just left me somewhat confused.

The plot itself wasn't similar enough to the rest of her series to make it a cut and paste copy, but reading all three novels, there are definite similarities enough to know that Ms. Flynn is following a similar formula in this series, but they are still very enjoyable and keep you entranced and reading. I did enjoy the chemistry between the characters, and this is a light-hearted romance, with nothing too heavy, that keeps you reading and definitely excited for the rest of the series.

Rating: 3.5/5

Click here to purchase from Amazon.

Read More

Dirty Charmer by Emma Chase

Abigail Haddock is stunning, sensible, and some would say…stuffy. But it’s not really her fault. She was raised in one of Wessco’s oldest, most affluent, aristocratic families—“stuffy” is their middle name. So is successful. Abby’s working overtime to distinguish herself as a top-notch physician, just as her family legacy demands. She doesn’t have time for nonsense.

Tommy Sullivan’s all about nonsense. Sure, he’s an elite bodyguard with lethal skills and co-owner of the renowned, S&S Securities Firm—protector of the wealthy and titled. But he’s also rowdy, fun and thoroughly irresistible. Tommy knows how to have a good time, and he’s never seen someone more in need of a good time than Abby. The lass needs long, wet, filthy kisses—STAT—and he’s just the man for the job.

It doesn’t take long for a wildly sexy, sinfully satisfying, no-strings attached arrangement to turn into something more. Something sweet and addictive and real. But Tommy and Abby are too royally stubborn to admit it. Opposites attract, everyone knows that. But can their red-hot relationship last—can they love…for forever?

I first read Ms. Chase's novels on a 23+ hour plane journey, and it definitely clicked with me that if I was staying up reading her novels instead of falling asleep, there was something great about them. Since then, I have read through most of her series and thoroughly enjoyed all of them (although I will confess that I still haven’t made it through Tangled, something that is on my to-read list).

We've been seeing previews for Dirty Charmer for some time and I couldn't wait to read this as soon as it launched. I practiced excellent self-patience however, and finished the novel I was currently reading (Up Close & Personal), but couldn't resist and jumped into this straight after at 1:03am, and finished about 2:35am - I tried many times to put it down and go to sleep, but, I couldn't resist.

We've met Tommy, our male-lead before in the other Wessco novels, and the great thing about the way Ms. Chase writes her series, she also includes her secondary cast to the point that you're excited to read their story - these characters aren't just popping out of the blue, you're already invested in them. To this point, I was already excited to read Tommy's story and when it was finally in my hands, I just couldn't put it down.

While I loved reading the novel and finished it in a record amount of time, I don't think this one was my favourite in the series. Don't get me wrong, it was a great novel, but it just didn't quite resonate with me. It was a steamy, fantastically-flowing read, but aside from Tommy's sexual charisma and charm, I didn't feel like we had too much substance to him other than that. While there was love for his family and his sense of honour and duty to protect, and he's already been written as a good guy, it just felt like there was something more lacking, and similarly with Abigail. Both are written as interesting characters, but I didn't fall in love with either of them. Plus, I felt that most of the novel was written focusing on their incredible chemistry, and their romance was introduced late in the novel.

This was still a great read and a book that I did thoroughly enjoy, and one that I would recommend as a steamy summer read.

Rating: 3.5/5

Click here to purchase from Amazon.

Read More

Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

‘You’re not Mia Thermopolis any more, honey,’ Dad said. ‘You’re Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo. Princess of Genovia.’

A PRINCESS?? ME??? Yeah. Right.

One minute Mia’s a totally normal Manhattan 14-year-old. Next minute she’s heir to the throne of Genovia, being trailed by a trigger-happy bodyguard, taking princess lessons with her bonkers old grandmere, and having a makeover with someone called Paolo. Well, her dad can lecture her till he’s royal-blue in the face, but no way is Mia going to turn herself into a style-queen. And they think she’s moving to Genovia? Er, hello?

So far I've reviewed adult romance novels, but it's time to do some expanding into YA romance, into one of my top 10 favourite (if not my favourite) book series. I've always been a big fan of Ms. Cabot's writing, but there truly aren't enough good things that I can say about this book series.

This book stands out from 99% of all other books simply due to the format of it's writing, mostly written through diary format, occasionally following other forms of written media including notes to other characters. Rather than losing information from this format, it actually gives more insight for the characters, and it just truly brings the emotions to life, making this one of the most poignant series for me. I've re-read this series too many times to count, and as I've aged, I find new nuances to smile about, and lessons to be learned. Princess Mia (book 9 of the series), particularly deals with depression and losing people close to us, and Ms. Cabot handles this phenomenally well, and it's always been a constant re-read for myself.

Mia starts this book as a 14 year old adolescent, and we end the series with her being a full-fledged adult, and this growth brings her first romance, love, heartbreak, and navigating life's up and downs. Love threads through the overall series, encompassing platonic, familial, and romantic love, and still manages to make you laugh and cry. This is truly a series like no other, and purely just a phenomenally written series.

Rating: 5/5

Click here here to purchase from Amazon.

Read More