Tag Archives: romantic comedy

2019 Book #15 – Just Friends: Friends to Lovers series box set by Camilla Isley

Posted in 2019, Book reviews, February Book Bingo, Fiction, Reading Challenges, Romance, Women's fiction by

5160JaNqjuLI’ve read a few books by Camilla in the past and really enjoyed them, so I was excited when she gave me the opportunity to read this boxed set of her Friends to Lovers Series. I decided to read the whole thing in one full sweep so I wouldn’t lose track of which character was which. I decided to rate the series as a whole but I also discussed each of the separate books below. I’d probably recommend reading them as a series since they’re fairly connected (mostly the last 3 in the set) and might end up being confusing when read as a stand alone, though I’m sure you’d still enjoy it.

Series Title: Just Friends: A Friends to Lovers Series
Author: Camilla Isley
Date finished: 2/25/19
Genre: Contemporary romance, romantic comedy
Publisher: Pink Bloom Press
Publication Date: June 28, 2018
Pages in book: 694
Stand alone or series: Full Just Friends series
Where I got the book from: Author/publisher NOTE: I received this book for free from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Love and friendship mix in the Just Friends series… the books follow the misadventures and exploits of a group of college students in Boston.

For Rose being in love with her best friend has never been easy, but now that she’s moved in with Tyler her feelings have become impossible to ignore.

Tyler has bitten more than he can chew, torn between two girls he must decide where his heart stands.

Georgiana is determined to do everything in her power to keep Tyler and Rose apart. After all, all is fair in love and war.

Alice fell in love with Jack the day she moved into her freshman dorm. Problem is, she’s been stuck in the friend zone ever since. After another meaningless breakup, she’s ready to confess her feelings to Jack.

Jack has mistaken friendship for love once before and has vowed never to do it again. A varsity sports player, he’s determined to enjoy college with no strings attached.

Peter is Jack’s best wingman. He enjoys his popularity as team captain and when he meets Alice, he’s ready to steal her heart.

David and Scott Williams are in love with the same girl, again.

Haley has never been happier than in her relationship with Scott. But she can no longer deny bad-boy David has gotten under her skin.

Madison has always been insecure in love. The only satisfying romances in her life come from the many books she reads. Book-boyfriends are easy to fall for, but the real world seems short of swoon-worthy heroes. And just when she thought she might’ve found one, he fell in love with her best friend…

My rating: 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of these books in exchange for an honest and fair review. I read this book as part of the Bookish Romance Novel Bookish Bingo Reading Challenge. This book will be checking off my “Indie Publisher” box, since it was published by a smaller publishing company!

I enjoyed this series, though there were some of the books that I liked more than others. I think my favorite story of the couples was Jack and Alice’s. Madison’s story was a little too quick for me, and Haley’s was a little too sad. And honestly Georgianna and Tyler’s story was just heart-breaking for me and made me so angry. Georgianna was a horrible person and I really hoped that she would get more of a “lesson learned” than what she did. Rose’s story was definitely not what I expected it to be! I kept expecting it to take a hard left and turn around and it never happened. And then I got to the end and was just surprised that was where it ended! There were a lot of characters in this story and many of them were interesting, though I was a little put off by the obsession with “boys” in the story lines. I can certainly understand it but I think being so far removed from that period of my life has made me forget what it feels like to be “boy-crazy.” It reminded me a lot of my youth though, and I didn’t want to put it down. The story line was interesting and I felt involved enough with the characters that I felt engaged in their stories. I’d recommend the series! Thought maybe space it out a little, I think if I had even a tiny bit of room between the books I would’ve been more patient with some of the characters.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2018 Book #93 – A Christmas Date by Camilla Isley

Posted in Book reviews, Contemporary romance by

Title: A Christmas Date
Author: Camilla Isley
Date finished: 12/9/18
Genre: Contemporary romance, romantic comedy
Publisher: Pink Bloom Press
Publication Date: October 25, 2018
Pages in book: 231
Stand alone or series: #3 in the First Comes Love series
Where I got the book from: Author/publisher NOTE: I received this book for free from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

No one wants to be single at the holidays.

Even Little Miss Grinch, Nikki, a successful and independent woman, must face her bachelorette status at the most horrible time of the year.

December is her personal version of holly-jolly hell: a merry torture made of couples kissing at every corner, forced vacation days, and an inescapable family reunion.

And when her baby sister announces she’s engaged—to Paul, the man Nikki is secretly in love with—and that he’s spending the holidays with them, Christmas starts looking bluer than ever.

Nikki can’t possibly survive an entire week trapped home as the family’s spinster. But she has no time to meet men or to try the newest dating app, she’s too busy working as a video producer for an advertising agency. 

So what’s a girl to do? 

Nikki has the perfect solution: to hire a fake boyfriend.

Luckily, her job gives her access to an endless catalog of gorgeous actors to choose from.

But Nikki will soon discover that keeping business and pleasure from mixing isn’t so easy, and that she might not be immune to a little mistletoe magic. Especially not when she picked out the perfect man as her Christmas date…

My rating: 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. 

So far I’ve read the other 2 books in this series and I have to say overall this is just a great series. The books are laugh out loud funny and short enough to hold your interest but long enough to still have a well developed story line. If you’re looking for a fairly quick but still engaging and fun read, these are the books for you! The characters in this book in particular were great – I liked Nikki a lot and I liked Diego a good amount as well. A lot of the characters in this book tended to be a little selfish, which isn’t necessarily my favorite thing, but it didn’t take too much away from my overall enjoyment of the book. I loved seeing the relationship develop between Diego and Nikki – the tension between their characters was really well done and the emotions in the story fairly leapt off the page. I really liked the book a lot and I would recommend it!

And the end of the Kindle book version included a preview for the author’s next novel. I don’t usually read previews but I did end up reading this one and it looked great! I really hope I get a chance to read it when it comes out!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2018 Book #79 – Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

Posted in Book reviews, Contemporary romance, Fiction, Women's fiction by

51R44pJdXnLTitle: Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating
Author: Christina Lauren
Date finished: 9/7/18
Genre: Fiction, women’s fiction, romance
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: September 4, 2018
Pages in book: 320
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley
NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

The story of the heart can never be unwritten.

Most men can’t handle Hazel. With the energy of a toddler and the mouth of a sailor, they’re often too timid to recognize her heart of gold. New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren (Roomies, Beautiful Bastard) tells the story of two people who are definitely notdating, no matter how often they end up in bed together.

Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun.

Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they met—when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes—to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.

Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them…right?

My rating:  4.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I had just recently read my first book with this author in July and LOVED it so I was excited when this book became available for review. And I’m so glad that I got to read it, I ended up loving this book too. Hazel as a character was hilariously funny. She was sweet and precocious and just utterly charming. I was infatuated with her from the start and she really drew me in through the rest of the book. I really liked Josh too, but my favorite thing about him was how much he loved and accepted Hazel just for being who she was. The plot was somewhat predictable, friends turn to lovers and fall in love, but the authors imprint such emotion into the story that its astounding. And the characters were all wonderfully developed and like-able – Hazel is probably one of my favorite characters of all time. I didn’t want to put this book down, and while the last book I read by this author duo was poignant and touching, this one was lighthearted and fun. Reading this book just made me feel so happy and light and I wish I could read 100 more like it. I’d highly recommend this one.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2017 Book #73 – 13 Dates by Matt Dunn

Posted in 2017, ARC August 2017, Book reviews, Fiction, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

411mqPY6QIL._SY346_Title: 13 Dates
Author: Matt Dunn
Date finished: 8/31/17
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: August 15, 2017
Pages in book: 334
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley
NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

When Noah Wilson first encounters the quirky, opinionated and very beautiful Angel Fallon, his world is turned upside down. It’s clear she’s not his normal type, but Noah can’t stop thinking about her—which doesn’t bode well for the blind date he’s already late for.

Convinced by his friend (and self-professed dating expert) Marlon that thirteen dates is all you need to fall in love, Noah decides to give it a try with Angel. They should be incompatible: she’s impulsive and he’s a planner; he wants to settle down and she doesn’t ‘do’ relationships—or anything, for that matter—the way Noah is used to. But there’s something about Angel, and Noah can’t shake the idea that all they need is twelve more dates.

Despite some near-disasters involving rock climbing, saddle sores and jellied eels, it seems his plan may actually work. But even if they do reach the magic number, can that really mean they’ll just fall into their happily-ever-after?

My rating:  3.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book tells the story of Noah Wilson and Angel Fallon, a couple who meet at a Starbucks. Noah falls in love with Angel almost immediately, in a rush of feelings he never expected. Angel though is a bit more hesitant, convinced that relationships “aren’t her thing.” After spending a good amount of time just tracking her down, Noah wears down her defenses until she agrees to go out on a date with him. Since Angel is all about “new experiences” though, Noah has to spend some time coming up with various original date ideas, including horseback riding, rock wall climbing, and even eating jellied eels. And as Noah finds himself falling even harder in love with Angel, can he convince her to do the same?

Overall this book was ok but wasn’t my favorite. I found Angel’s character annoying and frustrating, and Noah’s character was overly nice and naive. I understand Angel’s hesitancy towards relationships, given her situation, but the whole Margate trip sent me over the edge because she was so outstandingly rude. Other than that it was an ok and cute story. It reminded me a little oat first of The Rosie Project, mostly because of how incredibly different Angel and Noah were personality wise.

The bottom line: I liked this book ok, it was interesting and was a cute/sweet story. Nothing thrilled me about it but it was pretty good.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book # 118 – Love Connection by Camilla Isley

Posted in Book reviews, Contemporary romance, For the love of books by

51hgvyeybll-_sx326_bo1204203200_Title: Love Connection
Author: Camilla Isley
Date finished: 12/15/16
Genre: Contemporary romance
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Publication Date: September 23, 2016
Pages in book: 240
Stand alone or series: #1 in the First Comes Love series
Where I got the book from: Author/publisher NOTE: I received this book for free from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Have you ever wondered what might have been?

Gemma Dawson is at the airport, staring at two plane tickets to two different cities. Two different weddings. Two possible futures. She’s at a crossroads.
Be maid of honor at her best friend’s wedding or crash her ex’s?
Gemma’s decision, unknown to her, hinges on a delayed flight and a chance meeting. Now her life is about to go down two parallel tracks–will Gemma fly toward a life with her first love or a future with a man she’s not even met yet?
In concurrent storylines, Gemma lives out the consequences of each journey. Different stories unravel with unpredictable outcomes for Gemma and her loved ones. As the alternative realities run their course, humor and romance intertwine raising questions about fate and chance. Will these parallel universes converge? Is true love meant to be? Is everyone destined to have a soul mate? Or are one’s cards just a choice away from reshuffling?
Love Connection is a romantic comedy about one woman, life’s infinite possibilities, and the destiny that lies beyond two different choices. First Comes Love is a series of interconnected romantic novels. However, each book in the series can be read as a standalone novel.

My rating: 4.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book tells the story of Gemma Dawson, who we first meet at the airport when she’s trying to decide whether she should fly home for her best friend’s wedding, in which she’s supposed to be the maid of honor, or crash her ex-boyfriends wedding to tell him that she still loves him. It is from this first decision that the story forks into two different paths, each one following Gemma after that first choice. In each life Gemma is faced with crises and both love and heart break. The two story lines overlap in some interesting ways and we meet up with many of the same characters in both lives, just at different times. Through it all though, can Gemma find her happily ever after in both worlds?
Overall I just loved this book. The idea behind the plot line was so interesting and while it reminded me a lot of another book I read last year (Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid) I actually liked the way that this one ended better. And I loved all the characters in this book. I have to say I especially loved the fortune teller detail in the story (I’m not going to spoil it for you readers) it was so creative to add that piece and I thought it really did a great job of tying both stories together. I couldn’t put this book down once I started it, I think I finished it in less than 24 hours. It was a great read and I would most definitely recommend! And I can’t wait to see what else the next book in the series will bring!

The bottom line: I just loved this book, the story line was so different and unique. And I loved the way the story lines intertwined and how much fate ended up being involved. And what a great ending!! Just loved this book, I would definitely recommend.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2016 Book #21 – A Sudden Crush by Camilla Isley

Posted in 2016, Book reviews, Contemporary romance, Fiction, Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2016 checklist, Reading Challenges by

51YnLTiTjYL._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_Title: A Sudden Crush
Author: Camilla Isley
Date finished: 3/14/16 (just after midnight)
Genre: Fiction, contemporary romance
Publisher: Pink Bloom Press
Publication Date: February 4, 2016
Pages in book: 255
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: The Reading Room NOTE: I received this book for free from The Reading Room in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Joanna Price is a city girl with the perfect life. She loves her job as a book editor, she just married Liam, high profile bestselling author and the man of her dreams, and she’s headed to the Caribbean to enjoy two weeks of paradise for her luxurious honeymoon.
Connor Duffield is a gruff, grumpy rancher from the Midwest. He is a country boy who has a no-nonsense approach to life, more scars than he’d like to admit, and he hates city girls.
So it’s just a misfortune they have to sit next to each other for a six hour plane ride. Even more so when their flight is caught in the perfect storm and Joanna wakes up stranded on a desert island with Connor, the very man she hoped she would never have to see again.
Why are they alone on this forsaken island? What happened to Joanna’s husband?
When her dream honeymoon turns into a hilarious tropical nightmare, Joanna’s first thought is survival. However, she and Connor will quickly discover just how boring paradise can be. As the days turn to weeks, and then months, this mismatched pair will have to learn how to coexist and how to resist the sparkles of an attraction they weren’t prepared to feel.
When they are finally rescued will Joanna’s marriage be saved as well, or will the life she knew and loved be in ruins?

My rating: 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. Also, this book will count towards my “PopSugar 2016 Checklist” reading challenge, marking off the “a book you can finish in a day” square since I started it yesterday afternoon and finished just after midnight. This book is about Joanna Price, who while flying to her honeymoon destination is involved in some freak plan accident and ends up on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean with one of the other plane passengers, who unfortunately was not her husband but a farmer from Illinois named Connor. Somehow Connor and Joanna manage to survive the jungle covered island for months before (**spoiler alert**) they are rescued. But after Joanna returns to her life at home, she finds out that her life isn’t exactly in the same rosy status as it was when she disappeared. From there she has to learn to find the strength to move on and forge a new life for herself.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick and easy read and I really liked the plot line. When I first read the book synopsis I thought it was going to be a little more like one of my favorite romance novels, Nerd In Shining Armor, and while the story line was very different, they both had that whole plane crash on a deserted island thing which I enjoyed. The emotions in this book too are really powerful and really draw the reader in.  I was really rooting for Joanna when she was encountering her struggles head on and I was cheering her on to forge through whatever crap life was dealing her. I think that was one of the things that I especially liked about this book was that the romance for Joanna came after she already had her stuff figured out. She became a success entirely on her own and was really just living her dream and being her own person. Not to go too deep into feminism here but I thought that was a really important thing for women readers, and especially any younger women reading this, to see that a woman can be successful and happy without a man, that the love and companionship of finding that special person is a bonus but does not rule over your whole life. Anyways, I liked the book a lot. And with all the descriptions of the steamy weather on the island I think this would be a great book to read on the beach while lying in the sun. Make sure to check this one out!

The bottom line: This was an easy read for me and was a sweet story. Great beach read, I would definitely recommend!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2014 – Book #24

Posted in Blue Heron series, Book reviews, Book series, Contemporary romance by

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The twenty-fourth book I finished in 2014 was Waiting on You by Kristan Higgins. I finished this book on 4/8/14. This is the 3rd book in the Blue Heron series by this author. I have previously read the other two books in the series, though not in 2014 so they are not discussed in a previous blog posting. Other books by Kristan Higgins are discussed in previous posts though if you are looking for other reviews of books by her. I rated this book 4.75 stars out of a scale of 5.

This book tells the story of Colleen O’Rourke (co-owner of the Manningsport bar O’Rourke’s with her twin Connor) and her first love Lucas Campbell. Lucas had broken her heart 10 years ago by marrying another woman, and she’s never quite recovered. Lucas comes back to Manningsport at the request of his dying uncle, who asks Lucas to help his cousin Bryce get settled. Manningsport being the small town that it is, Lucas can’t help but run into Colleen from time to time. And while he’s hidden his feelings for the 8 years he was married (he’s divorced now), he never stopped loving Colleen either.

This was just such a fantastic story. I don’t remember laughing out loud that much with any other book I’ve read. The only thing that let me down a tiny bit in the story is that I felt like the hero should’ve had to grovel a little more in the very end, he was a pretty big jerk to the heroine but she just takes him back because he said he loved her, I felt like there should’ve been a little more there. But the emotions running through this book were just amazing. I laughed, I cried, I laughed again, I cried again. It was touching, poignant, funny, and also somehow riveting even though underneath it all it was just a normal story of love. I couldn’t put it down though. This was probably my favorite (or one of, all of hers are really good) book so far. I would highly recommend!

Link to author website: http://www.kristanhiggins.com/index.html

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Waiting-You-Hqn-Kristan-Higgins/dp/0373778589/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396965283&sr=8-1&keywords=waiting+on+you