Just Date and See by Portia MacIntosh

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: Just Date and See
Author: Portia MacIntosh
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Chic lit, Christmas, Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2022

Thoughts

This is an incredibly cute and laugh out loud kind of romcom story. It is filled with many, many moments of misunderstandings and confusions. Ones that I enjoyed ridiculously and have made me add a whole lot of MacIntosh to my TBR. The fact that this was a festive, Christmas story filled with family mayhem and stupidity just added to my enjoyment. It’s a silly, funny, and sweet tale that isn’t just about falling in love and romance. But also accepting your family and all of their chaos – particularly when some of that chaos stems from misunderstandings.

Rocco and Billie work incredibly well as a couple together. I love all of their shenanigans and high jinks throughout the group dating adventures that they go on. Actually, I love all of the shenanigans and high jinks that Billie manages to get herself into without Rocco. When he’s added to the mix, it’s even more hilarious. In particular, I loved the scone scene and how they were able to constantly orchestrate chaos. Both meaningfully and unintentionally. Add into the group dynamic Billie’s misunderstanding with Leila… and it was honestly comedy gold. I was smiling and grinning throughout this couple’s slow graduation to their happily ever after.

I can’t imagine my whole family showing up uninvited to stay over Christmas. I mean, I love them dearly, but I need to mentally prepare myself for extended periods of time with, well, anyone. The chaos of family where all boundaries are essentially removed? That’s a whole other level of emotional overstimulation. Billie just seems to fling herself from chaotic moment to chaotic moment throughout this. First with her mother, then her sister, then her father and stepmother… and then into the world of Rocco and Leila. I was actually expecting Billie to completely lose her mind and have a huge argument with her whole family, but it didn’t actually end up like that. It was far fuzzier and sweeter. Completely opposite to what I thought I wanted, but apparently EXACTLY what I needed for the happily ever after.

Again, most of the chaos and shenanigans in this story are kind of caused by Billie not thinking things through and the misconceptions that she has about other people. Some of these are boundaries, but other moments are just pure jumping to conclusions. And, as I mentioned before, I jumped to a few conclusions of my own as I thought I knew how this story would unfold. Which made the two twists with both Rocco and Kenny towards the end of the story even more brilliant. I didn’t see them coming, but I definitely enjoyed them, and it’s made me even more obsessed with MacIntosh.

<- It’s Not You, It’s ThemLife’s a Beach ->

Image source: Goodreads

Feliz Chanukah! by Meg Bellamy

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: Feliz Chanukah!
Author: Meg Bellamy
In: Worst Holiday Ever (Miscellaneous)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Christmas, Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Year: 2018

Thoughts

Ana Maria’s family is fun, fantastic and truly quirky. I love the idea of a big family and all of the shenanigans that follows. The fact that there’s a petulant cousin, drunk uncle, petty aunt… it is just wonderfully brilliant. And gives a wonderful feeling of family, with all of the silly nonsense that that can entail. Although I loved this storyline and the insanity of family, Ana Maria’s cousin is more than just petulant… she’s severely unhinged. As in painfully so. The way that others stand up to her though was kind of fun.

This is truly a festivus story. A story about the ways that family gatherings can be intense. Without actually focusing on the religious and political connotations of this time of year. I kind of like the idea of having a celebration in the festive season that pulls in all of the different faiths and practices. Even if I know nothing beyond my Australian version of Christmas…

This wasn’t one of those stories that was high octane or driven in any way – rather it was an enjoyable story about bringing a guy home to meet your family. Knowing that there will be chaos and riding the waves of it anyway.

<- Thankful in PerditionWorst Holiday Ever ->

Image source: Fantastic Fiction

Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: The Holiday Swap
Author: Maggie Knox
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Christmas, Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Pace: Slow
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2021

Thoughts

This is an incredibly cute and easy novel to read. It’s one of those fun Christmas adventures that leaves you smiling and laughing, feeling incredibly happy and at ease with the world. Not only is it a cute romance, but it’s also a sister story which I always think is amazing. There are high jinks and shenanigans abound. Also, the fact that both sisters manage to find their happily ever after and balance in a space they just weren’t expecting.

I love how both Cass and Claire are able to find their own, better versions of happiness. Life is all about balance, and these two are able to find that again in their sister swap moment. Alright, as siblings are wont to do, they also harshly judge each other’s decisions and find a way to make things go completely hectic and haywire. But, still, they are able to really stop and think about their own lives and figure out what it is that’s making them so unhappy. I think that Christmas is a time of year that these self-reflections are a lot more poignant, at least they always have been for me.

This is a very Hallmarkesque feeling of a story. It has high jinks and everyone falling happily ever after. It also left me smiling and laughing quite a bit throughout and was an incredibly cute way to spend a few hours. The fact that you have the big city sister and the country town sister both realising that they’ve made some pretty big assumptions just made it all that much better. Christmas, snow, and fairy tale romances just tie off the bow in the Hallmark feels.

Although the romance and the shenanigans are wonderful in this book, it’s the sisters that I love the most. Both Cass and Claire manage to stand up for the other one in a way that is a little bit brutal, but also kind of brilliant. They completely shut down those who they see as being detrimental to their twins’ happiness. Which, even after I finished this book, are the moments that truly stick with me.

<- All I Want for ChristmasMore Maggie Knox ->

Image source: Amazon

Worst Holiday Ever by Miscellaneous

Book Review, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Overview

Title: Worst Holiday Ever: A Family Drama Romance Anthology
Author: Eva Moore, Adrienne Bell, Kilby Blades, Kari Lemor, Preslaysa Williams, Marie Booth, R.L. Merrill, Erin St. Charles & Meg Bellamy
In: Worst Holiday Ever (Miscellaneous)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Christmas, Contemporary, Contemporary romance, Short story collections
Pace: Medium
Format: Anthology
Year: 2018

Thoughts

This was one of the best holiday collections that I’ve read in a while. It included a whole lot of humour and romance, shenanigans, and high jinks. What I loved most about it though is that it really helped to capture the whole holiday feeling. The way that the holiday season is always chaotic and goes a little bit awry. But there’s always a silver lining if you look hard enough.

I only knew one author in this collection when I added it to my ereader – Kilby Blades. Now I have an absolutely stacked TBR in my ereader from all of the fantastic new authors I got to discover throughout this collection. I always love a good collection of stories that starts with an author that I know and love, and then just… expands my horizons. I don’t think I’ll ever get through all of the lovely books on my shelves. But there is so much wonderous potential…

Every story in this collection is chaotic and kind of humorous, poking fun at the challenges of the holiday season. But they all have very different themes. Everyone does highlight that the worst of the holiday season comes from the chaos of family. For some the love also comes from there, for others, it comes from elsewhere… the range within this collection is brilliant and made me love it just that much more.

This was a fantastic collection of short stories set around the chaos of family in the holiday season. Definitely a collection I’ll read again and again at that time of year. If only to remind myself that maybe my own family isn’t so bad after all…

<- Feliz Chanukah!Decked Out ->

Image source: Fantastic Fiction

Bad Boys in Kilts by Donna Kauffman

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview

Title: Bad Boys in Kilts
Author: Donna Kauffman
In: Bad Boys in Kilts (Donna Kauffman)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance, Scottish romance, Short story collections
Pace: Medium
Format: Collection, Novella
Year: 2006

Thoughts

Bad Boys in Kilts is a deliciously yummy Scottish, contemporary romance collection. It features three novellas about the Chisholm Brothers, which all lead perfectly into the follow-on novel about the fourth. Each of the brothers are great characters on their own. A great way to drift away into a happy world of lust and love, and happily ever afters. Kauffman manages to follow a family of boys who all have completely different lives, whilst keeping the thread of family alive between them. A wonderful few hours reading to relax and leave a smile on my face.

I love how each of these novellas is a wonderful standalone, but they also lead wonderfully into each other. The three women partner alongside the three men wonderfully. All of the dynamics are starkly different to one another, stopping that feeling of same same that often comes along with novellas written by the same author one after the other.

This collection was all around delicious. It was fun, light and engaging. Incredibly cute, and now I can’t wait to read about the fourth Chisholm Brother.

<- Night WatchBottoms Up ->

Image source: Kensington Publishing

Reading List

List

I’ve finally decided to just dive in and read whatever takes my fantasy in the moment, rather than trying to complete those damn reading challenges I’ve been obsessed with. It’s been good fun, and, although it took me a while to schedule the reviews… because it took me a while to write them, it’s been fun. Motherhood and competing in BJJ = a hectic life.

Series

Short story collections

Standalones – Novels

Code of Honor by April White

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: Code of Honor
Author: April White, SmartyPants Romance
Series: Cipher Security #2
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Year: 2020

Thoughts

I absolutely loved this romance, it was fun, cute and adorable. It just makes me want to dive right into the next and the next and the next Smartypants Romance book. Which honestly always happens when I read one of these books. I’ve also had a great new author to add to my shelves. Finally, the creation of this romance was so damn wonderful that I can’t wait to read Code of Matrimony – Colette was so lovely and sweet in this and I look forward to getting to know her better in the next novella, when there are wedding bells on the horizon.

Darius’ description as a Disney prince is yummy. I also like how he has a POC background and how this is responsible for some of his hang-ups. I mean, his parents flee from Israel because of political persecution, which then informs his whole life. Completely understandable. But he then becomes so rigid in these lines he drew for himself that he almost let’s Anna get away. That’s not even starting on the racist bullshit that is touched on within this glorious novel…

Anna is too gorgeous. Totally get what it’s like to have a broken filter and not really be capable of lying. I mean, I wish that I could control my facial expressions and mouth and actually lie. However, unlike real life, this is really endearing in a romance novel. Though I wish I had her super ninja powers. The fact that she learnt all of her ninja powers to be more like her DnD character…even more stupid in love with this character!!

Seriously enjoyed the mystery and crime that tied them together. The whole story was a bit open ended how that was left though. I might be a bit of a sucker, but I love it when there are consequences for the bad guy. Maybe it’ll happen in the follow up novella? Now I’ll just have to dive in in the hopes that the bad man gets his comeuppance.

<- Code of ConductCode of Matrimony ->

Image source: Goodreads

Carpentry and Cocktails by Nora Everly

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: Carpentry and Cocktails
Author: Nora Everly, SmartyPants Romance
Series: Green Valley Library #5
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Year: 2020

Thoughts

I knew Willa and Everett’s story was going to be adorable from their first glimpses in Crime and Periodicals. But I didn’t quite expect this level of intensity. Or outside drama. I mean, I knew Willa had crap to deal with, but I didn’t quite expect either of their baggage to be so intense. Which, of course meant that it was seriously difficult to put this down and go to bed at night…

Everett’s issues were a little bit less intense than Willa’s, and I also found them to be a little bit disjointed. He has so many self-confidence issues with women because of his geekiness.  And the fact that women don’t want a hot, geeky, lumberjack in their lives. Personally, I just can’t picture this. I mean, who would NOT want that man in their lives and their bed? Maybe his issue is actually shyness, or I’m just projecting because that’s what I’d want in my bed…

Unlike Everett’s backstory, Willa’s actually broke my heart a little bit. Firstly, she has a mother who is just horrible and passive aggressive. Then there’s her ex-husband who is seriously terrifying. I mean, it doesn’t matter if he only hit her once. The man is a damn stalker and bully. It definitely hurt to read about. But then there’s her sisters. They’re freaking amazing. Like Ruby in Crime and Periodicals, Gracie is full of sassy teenage spunk. Spunk that helps her older sister find herself. (Not to mention that Ruby makes plenty of appearances too). And Sadie and Clara are most definitely “crazy sisters” but are willing to kick butt and take names in solidarity with their sibling.

Carpentry and Cocktails is yet another fantastic SmartyPants Romance and Nora Everly tale. It has all of the great cameos from other stories and hints at the next Monroe brother to fall. It was a constant struggle to try and out this book down, one that I honestly didn’t fight too hard against. One that I look forward to picking up again and again in the future.

<- Shelf AwarenessLove in Deed ->

Image source: Amazon

Shelf Awareness by Katie Ashley

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: Shelf Awareness
Author: Katie Ashley, SmartyPants Romance
Series: Green Valley Library #4
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Year: 2019

Thoughts

I know that this is a romance. And I did most definitely love the lead couple Zeke and Finley. But I’m sorry. The true dream team in this story were GramBea, Dot and Estelle. They are freaking amazing and wonderful. And in every scene, they’re in, they completely steal the show. I definitely love stories with tough old birds who are done with not being themselves, instead loving running riot on the world. That, and the fact that they’re able to beat a potential badge to a pulp with their handbags. Iconic scene there.

Finley finding her husband cheating as the catalyst for her life change and move isn’t really a new mechanism of change. However, the fact that this happened with a man. Wow, that was a whole new twist. One that I really really appreciated, mostly because I seemed to have read a chunk of books with the whole cheating spouse as a driver in a bit of a hit. So, having a guy cheating spouse? It was a fresh new spin and a great way to give Finley some more challenges to overcome beyond being cheated on.

I loved how Zeke’s main challenge to overcome is in finding his bio family. For him, part of that is a positive journey, the other part, not so much. Interspersed within all of this is the ways he is co Stanley challenging Finley. Taking her cosplaying might be one of my favourite literary dates. Again, it was just adorable and fun to read about. And have a thing for geek men.

This was a gorgeous romance, one that I thoroughly enjoyed and would love to read again. Katie Ashley has definitely been added to my pile of loved authors. But what I loved the most about this was that throughout the whole story, Zeke and Finley help each other to heal from their past hurts and move on. They figure out who they are without losing themselves in a new relationship.

<- Prose Before BrosCarpentry and Cocktails ->

Image source: Marieke’s Books

Witchy Vol. 2 by Ariel Slamet Ries

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview

Title: Witchy Volume 2
Author: Ariel Slamet Ries
Series: Witchy #2
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Graphic novels, LGBTQI, Magic, Witches
Pace: Fast
Format: Graphic novel
Year: 2022

Thoughts

I freaking loved this graphic novel. I mean, I loved the first volume, so it makes total sense that I loved the second one. But I actually think that I loved this a little more. Maybe because now that most of the world building and backstory has been solidified, Ries was able to dig a bit deeper into the particulars of Nyeve.

Everything about this tale is beautiful and complex. It is a great journey all on its own, but there’s also this great sense of social commentary as well. Every moment of this made me reflect on the world that I live in, the biases and restrictions that we place on the “other”. It’s amazing how provocative and emotive the imagery throughout this is.

I do love how Nyeve marches to the beat of her own drum. Throughout all of this people are trying to twist and shape her to their own idea of rebellion and future. Trying to show her how to go against the grain, but to do so by fitting THEIR preconceived idea of how that looks. And it’s when she decides to truly be herself and ignore all the ideas of other people that she truly comes into her own.

There are lots of bits of Bananas past that are slowly coming to light throughout this graphic novel. I want to believe that he is good and going to be a great guide for Nyeve. But there’s that lingering feeling that he might be the source of some serious betrayal in the future. I just can’t wait to find out if I’m right or wrong!!!

<- Witchy Vol. 1More Ariel Slamet Ries ->

Image source: Simon & Schuster