MyTiredBrain

It was a sexy book. The conflict felt a bit contrived, and the clumsiness over the top, but otherwise it was good. Layla Dupree runs the bakery at Lovelight Farms. She wants to find love, but she has had a string of horrible dates. She bumps into Caleb Alvarez during one horrible date, and they agree to practice date, since neither of them have had any luck with love. Their dates are cute, at a roller rink and an escape room, and both struggle with their growing feelings toward each other. Layla essentially panics and dumps Caleb, and he has to wait her out a bit. Caleb’s abuela and family were entertaining, and I liked the scene with rival baker, Bea. Basically a dirty Hallmark movie book. (8)

Chloe is named principal of a struggling F1 race team. The owner surprises her by adding a new driver to the team. Matt is struggling with PTSD from a crash that sent his best friend to the hospital. They are from the same small town and grew up together, and Chloe always had a major crush on Matt. The combination of the romance drama and the racing drama worked or me. I’d definitely read more books from this author. (9)

I’ve read five or six Olivia Dade books, and I find them hit or miss. This is more miss than hit. (All the Feels has been my favorite Dade book). This wasn’t bad, but it was kind of meh. Molly and Karl were friends in high school and almost had something more, but then Molly had to abruptly move during the school year. They lose contact, until Molly gets word of Karl’s death. She goes to pay her respects, and finds he’s not dead, and it’s all because the town is super wacky.  I didn’t red the first book in this series, so the wacky town seemed more odd to me than endearing. I would still consider reading the first one. This whole book was basically Molly having trust issues and Karl not being a great communicator. It was tedious at times, because so little happens. Molly’s trust issues come from a relationship where her ex husband used her to pay for medical school, then dumped her right when he graduated. And her father who had a secret family. So, sure, the trust issues were warr...

This was a cute, quick read. I liked the voice and I enjoy dual perspectives. Andi is a personal assistant to the prime minister of Canada’s wife, and also a secret romance writer. The fist time Andi meets Nolan, he walks in on her in a public bathroom, and Andi learns that her best friend is now dating her ex. Andi and Nolan almost hook up, but then he has to leave for the service. They meet again three years later, when he becomes the prime minister’s bodyguard.  There is a lot going on in the book, with Andi struggling with people pleasing and hiding her writing. Nolan’s mom has early Alzheimer’s, and they both have childhood scars from family. When a rumor that Andi and the prime minister are having an affair starts to circulate, Andi and Nolan fake date to quell the suspicion. Their friendship and chemistry was solid. There were cute elements, like Nolan’s attachment to a rescue dog, and some deeper issues, like Nolan’s need to move a lot to avoid close connections. I’d read a...

This had a lot of potential. My favorite show is Jeopardy, and I love romance, so this should be great, right? Sigh. The plot was maddening. Charlotte was taught from a young age that honesty was the most important thing in the universe. She holds a grudge against her high school ex, Eli, because he pushed her into a position where she felt she had to lie, and then he ghosted her. Thirteen years later they’re reunited, but it’s on the set of a quiz show, and they have to work together. They both need the money. The producer, Clint, is evil and puts them in a bind that doesn’t really make sense. He wants them to keep winning because the ratings are skyrocketing, so he offers to give them the correct answers. They refuse, but then Clint puts the screws on Eli by threatening his family. Cheat and win or your dad goes to jail. I can ignore reality to some degree, but that just seems stupid. Charlotte and Eli are virally popular, so they could just sell a tell-all for money. It was a second...

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...