MyTiredBrain

Hallie and Jack first meet at Jack’s sister’s wedding. Hallie’s a bartender and Jack’s girlfriend freaks out when she sees Hallie and Jack talking. They reconnect on a dating app and decide to be each other’s wing-people. They make a bet on who will find love first, and you’ll never guess what happens. Ok, there’s nothing overly new or surprising here, but the story was a quick, fun read. Very tropey, with fake dating for a wedding and, gasp, one bed. Their interactions are cute and funny, and they have good chemistry. Very quick read. (7.75)

Maggie is reclusive after a rough relationship/divorce. Aidan is dealing with a stubborn mother after moving close to home to care for his dying father. They both enjoy video games and initially connect online. Aidan thinks Maggie’s elderly (because he got her contact info from a church friend of his mom’s), and Maggie thinks Aidan’s twenty something since she knows he goes to community college. Eventually they realize they’re close in age. There’s sexual orientation discussions, and Aidan’s scorned ex bulldozes over Aidan’s privacy. The book was good, but sort of dry. I felt the friendship of the two main characters, and they were both likable, but I didn’t really feel the romantic spark. At no point in time did I want to quit the book, but I also didn’t feel that sense of can’t-put-down urgency I sometimes get when reading. (7.25)

I’ve enjoyed the series by Sarina Bowen and was looking forward to this one. I enjoyed it, but maybe not quite as much as I hoped. Nate is the billionaire owner of the Brooklyn Bruisers hockey team. He’s had a crush on his office manager, Rebecca, for years but was able to suppress his feelings, until she gets injured. He’s the boss, and she’s worried about optics and the imbalance of power. I liked the characters and how they communicated. Nate gets hit with an issue that could impact their relationship and he immediately talks to Rebecca about it, like a normal person would do. I hate when books cook up conflict for the sake of conflict, and Sarina Bowen avoids that pet peeve. The palindrome quips were cute, but also a reach. Very quick read. (8)

There’s a lot of sex in the book, so there’s that. I also couldn’t wait for the book to end, so there’s also that. Hollyn first meets Van at a bar, thinking he’s the stripper for their bridal shower party. She meets him again as the new owner of the bakery she works at. Turns out his mom was the owner, and he inherited it when she died. He wants to sell it; Hollyn wants to keep it. They can’t communicate. It was ok. I will forget this book in one week, despite this description, since there wasn’t anything overly memorable or different about this book. Very Hallmark movie-y, but with sex. (6.5)

Another solid book by Roxie Noir. Madeline and Javier have a one-night stand, never to meet again, until they meet again, as soon-to-be step-siblings. Her father and his mother are getting married, and awkwardness/attraction ensues. The author’s voice, Javier’s crew of supportive friends/siblings (He has a history of drug addiction.), and Madeline and Javi’s interactions carry the book. A fair amount of sex scenes, well written. Madeline feels a little thin in depth (her blue hair and mild geekiness are her biggest standouts), but both main characters are likable.

 This is one of my favorite kind of romance novels  - swoony with some depth and solid writing. Some sentences were poetic but the book never crossed over to purple. Andie designs and makes her own wedding dresses. She and Kit dated in college, but broke up when he disappeared (because of grief from the death of his father). They both sign up for a dating show and are chosen by matchmakers to get married, sight unseen. Kit’s a fixer and Andie wants to maintain her independence. Andie wants Kit to stay but Kit’s architecture job involves traveling all over the world. It’s a lot of back-and-forth, and misunderstanding of feelings, but light enough to wade through without becoming too heavy. Well-written spice. I would happily read another book by this author. (8)

 A bit cringey with some bad-porn moments. I almost quit a few times but kept going. Billionaire hotel magnate Levi finds out he had a child with his newly-deceased ex-girlfriend. He meets Clare on the flight home and sees she’s good with his daughter. He needs a nanny and she needs a place to live, so cue the porn music. There are much better books out there in the billionaire romance sub-genre. (4)