Publishing Date: May 7, 2019
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Pages: 320
My Review: Helen Hoang's The Kiss Quotient was one of my favorite reads from last year so I was so excited to learn that she was writing more. Since then, another book has been announced linking this series, but also 5 new books about Michael's sisters. I'm over the moon excited because Helen is definitely up there as one of my favorite romance writers. I have to say, her male leads are especially my favorite because they just make you swoon a lot. I must admit, I was a bit hesitant for this story though. When I read the premise of it, I was wary because of how Esme was selected by Khai's mother to come over from Vietnam to marry him. I don't know if it's just me, but after seeing the horror that is 90 day fiance, I was worried this would fall into that. It did take longer than usual for Esme to grow on me because in the beginning, she was hiding things and even lying. I know she did it to make a good impression on Khai, but it still didn't sit well with me. Khai's mom also chose her because of how she was naturally, and not some different version of her. Other than that, once she figured out that her sense of accomplishment and happiness wasn't contingent on another human being, I really admired her strength in persevering and wanting to accomplish a life for herself in the States. Helen's author note also mentioned that she framed a lot of Esme's character from her own mother, and that made me think of my own mother's strength in how she came to a foreign country and has accomplished a lot. I really loved Khai as a lead though. He was just the sweetest and the nicest because he went out of his way for the people in his life. Seriously, it's impossible to not love him. Also, I loved seeing Michael pop up too offering advice in all things love and sex. I must say, Khai and Quan, the two brothers, made this book for me. I just loved both of them a lot. You can really see their bond and I loved seeing Quan step up and try and fix things too. He was a great brother to Khai, but also a wonderful ally for Esme. His book is next in the series, so I'll be over here eagerly awaiting his story. I didn't love this book as much as I did with TKQ, but it is still a strong book with good family dynamics, friendship, identity, and love. If you loved TKQ, you will definitely enjoy this, but definitely go into it knowing that it is a different kind of story from TKQ. I think that way, you'll give Esme and Khai's story a fair chance :)
Available for purchase:
Indigo/Chapters - Kobo - Amazon - Kindle - Book Depository
Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader's copy from Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for consideration/review. All opinions are my own.
Publishing Date: April 21, 2019
Publisher: ljshen
Pages: 360
My Review: I'll be an LJ fangirl forever. I just adore her writing so much! I've been eagerly waiting for the ASH series since she announced it. I have to admit, I wasn't the most excited for Daria's story since I didn't love Defy (Daria's parents Jamie and Mel's story) since it was the shortest book and I also really wished we got Jamie's POV (Leigh, please give us that extra content one day!) In another book too, you saw a younger Daria not being so nice to Trent's daughter, Luna. I'm a little protective of Luna as you can see. But what I love about LJ so much is that she is able to change our mind about a character completely. There are characters that you are determined to just hate, but by the end of the book, LJ has somehow made you fall in love with that character. That definitely happened here. I didn't love Daria immediately, but learning more about her and seeing her vulnerabilities definitely made me appreciate her more. She goes through a lot, and has a lot of anger from years in terms of her mother, Mel, but also dealing with Penn's twin sister, Via. When her and Penn decide to destroy an acceptance letter meant for Via, Via goes missing shortly after that. Penn didn't realize it was Via's letter at the time, but after that, he is determined to hate Daria. Daria's relationship with her mother is also strained after that because Via was Mel's prize ballet student. Years later, Penn becomes Daria's foster brother and with both of them from rival football schools, the tension between them is super thick. There's a clear attraction between them both, but with what happened with Via, a HEA doesn't appear to be in their cards. I also know that this is the first in the series, so it had to do a lot in terms of establishing the world building. You got to see all the Hotholes from the previous book (my heart was pretty happy to see Vicious!), and you also got to see the 'Totholes' in this book. They all appear to be good friends since their parents are close, and I can just tell already that I will love Vaughn's book. He is Vicious' son after all ;) It was so nice to see how close Vaughn and Knight are, and you got to see an older Luna too. Her personality is awesome. I can't wait for all their stories! But back to Daria, I'm glad that they had a good relationship with her and that they had her back regardless of what came to pass. Penn and Daria had a lot to work through in terms of problems: sister drama, parent drama, exes, and also a rumor that Daria had a relationship with the school principal. I think what I loved most about their story was that despite how much they had to work through, they always put the other person first. It wasn't always what was best for their relationship, but they put the other person first, and it just goes to show how selfless both characters were. My favorite parts were definitely Jamie related. I liked him before, and like I said, I'm a little bitter we didn't get his POV in his story, but seeing him as a dad to Daria, goodness!! SWOON. He was just an all around good husband and good father. I just fell in love with him more after this book. I can't wait to see everyone pop up again in the next two books. If you are a fan of LJ's writing, you'll definitely enjoy this one! If you do check it out, be sure to leave me some theories in the comments below! I've been discussing theories with one of my good friends and fellow LJ fangirl, and it's so much fun to predict what's to come!
Available for purchase:
Amazon - Kindle - Book Depository
Publishing Date: April 9, 2019
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 384
My Review: When I read the premise for this book, I was instantly intrigued. Similar to Hoang and Shen, I will forever be a Helena Hunting fangirl. I love her writing so much because she is able to combine the perfect amounts of humor, angst, and romance. This story was so charming and I found myself just finishing it in two sittings. You first meet Kailyn and Dax when they meet in law school. Dax was a former actor that Kailyn loved as a teenager and their "meet cute" was definitely her fangirling. Despite this, Dax and Kailyn form a type of rivalry/friendship, but that all changes when he 'betrays' her. They meet years later when Kailyn is hired to help to be Dax's sister, Emme, with her trust. Things also get further complicated when a tragic accident leaves Dax as the guardian to said sister. They find themselves reconciling but also dealing with an aunt who believes she deserves custody of Emme over Dax. I really liked that Kailyn wasn't just someone there for Dax, but she became a really important person for Emme as well. They built a relationship too and you can see both Dax and Emme really fall for Kailyn. You see both Dax and Kailyn come to terms with what they want out of their lives. Kailyn has been working on trust funds but has always found herself drawn to family law, and Dax realizes that plans he had for himself kind of have to be restructured because he's now a father figure to Emme. Their story was incredibly sweet and Dax is just so awesome. I loved seeing them fall in love with the current versions of each other, but also they have a history so it was great to see that addressed as well. I'm pretty sure he had me swooning over him from the very first chapter. I loved this book so much and it just reminds me again why Helena is one of my favorite authors ever. If you haven't read anything from her before, what are you waiting for? This is a good one to start with as it is a standalone! :)
Available for purchase:
Indigo/Chapters - Kobo - Amazon - Kindle - Book Depository
Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader's copy from Hachette Book Group Canada in exchange for consideration/review. All opinions are my own.
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