MyTiredBrain

I would have happily kept reading. I liked the voice and dual points-of-view. Initially I had some trouble parsing the language, but I soon fell into it and loved the turn of phrases.  Bel is an investigative journalist at a newspaper, and Connor is the new intern. They have to pretend to be a couple for an undercover assignment, and of course develop feelings along the way. The book packs a lot into it, with infidelity, stalkers, Me Too situations, friendships (Side character Shilpa needs her own book.), and the sting operation. Bel and Connor work together to take down a married Mayor, who preys on younger women, sleeping with them and taking secret nudes. They befriend the daughter of one the Mayor’s cronies, who owns the Airbnb where the trysts happen. The plan is to get the Ring footage as proof, but they get busted. The daughter ends up helping them, so that part kind of falls in the laps. Connor and Bel going from enemies to lovers was fun to read. No real spice to the book....

It was good for a light sports-related romance. The beginning sex scene dialogue made me cringe, and it felt choppy with the multiple time jumps, but then I settled into the book.  Katie and Harlan hook up at a wedding, but then Katie moves away to start her yoga empire. Seven years later she discovers her fiancé is hooking up with another woman right before their wedding. She ditches the loser and walks away from her wedding, and runs into Harlan at a bowling alley bar. They hook up again, and plan to go on a date, but then Katie gets a contract to teach yoga for Harlan’s NFL team. She can’t risk the contract by dating a player, so they resign themselves to being friends. The closer they get, the more they can’t deny their growing attraction. Harlan has to decide if he wants to retire or keep playing football, and Katie has to figure out how to not sabotage her yoga business for something that could lead to more heartbreak. Slightly light on plot, but an easy read. Harlan has a da...

I’m a sucker who hates to write bad reviews. I almost quit halfway through but persevered. Both main characters had long periods of being unlikeable, and there was so much internal thoughts throughout the book, it was exhausting at times. Show, don’t tell. Sophie’s a romance writer with writers’ block. She has never been in love, so she’s having trouble giving her main characters a happy-ever-after. She decides to meet up with her exes to find out why she’s never been able to say, “I love you.” Which seems kind of dumb, since there is only one ex who even came close to being love material.  Dash is a former child star, and Sophie’s landlord. He’s also Sophie’s best friend’s brother. He’s a recovering alcoholic and, with his struggles to maintain sobriety, keeps everyone at a distance. All of a sudden they can’t keep their hands off of each other, despite having very few interactions.  She has trust issues. He has a stalker. His family is a mess. She’s unsure what she wants and...

There was nothing groundbreaking or earth shattering here, but it was well done and an easy read. Football player, image-saving fake dating trope, all pretty standard. Siena Pippen runs her adopted father’s bait and tackle shop after his death. It’s a soul-sucking job, but she feels indebted to him for saving her. She meets Brooks Attwood as he’s trying to come back from an injury, and a viral video makes it look like they’re a couple. Brooks needs Siena to fake it until he makes it, but she’s already had one relationship with a pro athlete implode, and doesn’t want another. He initially thinks she’s into money and fame, and he’s already been burned by one vampire girlfriend. Neither trusts the other. But she needs the money, and he needs her to help him appeal to a family-focused team, so they forge a rocky alliance. 

I really loved this book. I loved the voice, the way the friendship grew between the two main characters, and the messy way grief was depicted.  Lenny’s been struggling ever since her best friend from childhood died of cancer. She’s avoiding life, and taking short-term babysitting gigs to stay afloat. She gets hired by Reese, taking care of a cute kid named Ainsley, and the grumpy uncle, Miles, comes with the job. He can tell Lenny’s holding on by a thread, and he becomes her lifeline in exchange for help relating to Reece and Ainsley. Together they work through a live-again list Lenny created with her best friend before she died. The growth of their friendship, and how they both begin to live again through mutual support, was touching and well done. I cried an embarrassing amount of times throughout the book. I would absolutely read another book from this author. (9.5)

It was cute. Not as much adventure through the jungle as I expected. The romance was a little weak to me. There were some cute lines, like the dildo of justice not being lubed. The antagonists weren’t really fleshed out. Adriana Jones receives a gift addressed to her while on vacation with her brother. It’s a bracelet, and once she puts it on, it won’t come off. Turns out it was supposed to go to Dr. Andrew Jones, and it’s the key to missing treasure. They travel around Columbia, trying to decode ancient maps, with Andrew’s old nemeses and ex-girlfriend hot on their heels. It felt long but overall it was an enjoyable read. (7)

It’s definitely reminiscent of Happy Place, but it was still an enjoyable read. Joni and Ren are besties from childhood. They agree to be each others’ plus-ones for weddings to ensure they stay connected after Joni moves across the country for a new job. The description said dual narrative, so I expected it to alternate between Joni and Ren’s point of view, but it was between past and present. The mystery of why they had such a huge falling out kept me reading.  Currently, Joni and Ren are forced together at their family’s shared beach house, for the wedding of Joni’s sister and Ren’s best friend. (At least I think - the side characters were a little indecipherable.) The book goes back and forth between Joni and Ren as they are now, basically barely on speaking terms after 2 1/2 of no contact, and the past, when they were inseparable. Only Joni’s sister knows Joni and Ren are no longer friends, and no one knows why.  The romance could have been stronger, but the weaving of tim...