Thursday 20 June 2019

Batch Reviews #14

Huge Deal (21 Wall Street #3) by Lauren Layne (✮✮✮✮✮ - 5/5 stars)
Publishing Date: April 23, 2019
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
Pages: 268

My Review: This is the final book in Layne's 21 Wall Street series, and follows the third boss of the group, Kennedy Dawson and his relationship with their assistant, Kate. You could sense a type of coldness between the two of them in the previous books. There was an undeniable attraction clearly, but there was something off. I was really curious about their story from the beginning, and based on how Layne described Kennedy in the previous books, I knew that I would like him best. I just loved his personality type. The cautious and structured put-together man. I really was curious about learning about different sides of him, and I'm so glad that Layne delivered that with this book. I loved the first two books in the series a lot, but this one was by far my favorite. There's a lot in this book, and in a way, I do wish it was a bit longer and some moments got stretched out, but overall, it was really good! We learn when Kate started feelings for Kennedy, and why she "stopped" having feelings for him. Emphasis on "stopped" ;) Kate starts getting close with Kennedy's brother Jack and it is only then that Kennedy realizes that he has always had feelings for Kate and when he finally decides to act on them, a personal tragedy happens to Kate. Even though Jack's character was merely a stepping stone for the real couple, I really did enjoy his moments in the book. The cheesy Titanic lines were just adorable. I also really liked how close Kennedy was with his brothers, Jack and Fitz, and it really showed in their support for him and Kate. Kate believes in love at first sight and she wants an all-in type of love story. But when something happens to her, she also sees the negative to an all-in type of story. She sees the risk and the pain that comes with when that person leaves your life. I loved seeing Kennedy attempt to win her over and show her that life is too short to dwell on things like that. Just LOVED seeing them fall in love with each other. Their story was so sweet, heartwarming, and sexy. In addition to the great love story, the story featured the friendship group again which I really enjoyed, and the backdrop of Ian and Lara's wedding. I'm definitely going to miss the crew of 21 Wall Street moving forward. If you like sweet and sexy contemporary romances with friendship groups (similar to the ones of early Christina Lauren books), I would highly recommend you check out this series. It will not disappoint. It gets better with every book!

Available for purchase:
Indigo/Chapters - Kobo - Amazon - Kindle - Book Depository
Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader's copy from Thomas Allen & Son in exchange for consideration/review. All opinions are my own.

Risky Play (Red Card #1) by Rachel Van Dyken (✮✮✮½ - 3.5/5 stars)
Publishing Date: March 19, 2019
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
Pages: 288

My Review: I've been a fan of RVD for quite some time, and when I heard she was coming out with a new sports romance, I was so excited. TBH, I mostly read hockey romances, so to see a soccer/football one is quite different. The story follows Mackenzie/Mack who was left at the altar and finds herself taking what would've been her honeymoon alone. On that trip, she meets Slade, except they go by different names as they are both trying to just let go and enjoy the moment. Slade ends up being her first, but on that same night, a family tragedy happens that has Slade leaving. He just vanishes, and Mack is left once again. Honestly, you really feel for her in these moments because it is one loss after another. Things are once again changed when they realize that Mack ends up working for Slade as a sort of PA, and of course, their real identites are revealed: Mack is an heiress and Slade is a famous soccer player. There's some animosity there because Slade holds a grudge for being with Mack when the family tragedy happened. This is the aspect that really didn't sit well with me. Slade was just really mean to Mack and some of the things he said, I don't even know if I can personally forgive. Even though he gets better and you see them come together again, it's really hard since in the beginning, when they first met he was so sweet. I'm fine with certain characters being jerks, but I think it is quite jarring for me seeing them go from nice to mean to nice. It's so much better when you see that someone who is mean can redeem themselves instead. The stuff that made the book for me was Slade's friendship with his agent, Matt, and of course, there was a dog featured! This wasn't my favorite RVD book, but it still had a lot of RVD signature elements like the witty banter, the cute moments, and the sexy moments. I also don't know if I would classify it as a sports romance, since while the main characters were athletes, not a whole lot was actually sport related. That being said, I'm looking forward to the next book in this series!

Available for purchase:
Indigo/Chapters - Amazon - Kindle - Book Depository
Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader's copy from Thomas Allen & Son in exchange for consideration/review. All opinions are my own.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren (✮✮✮✮ - 4/5 stars)
Publishing Date: May 14, 2019
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pages: 432

My Review: I love that every year now, we can look forward to at least a new CLo release. I love CLo so much because in a way, their books is what got me into reading romance books. This book sounded so interesting because it follows Ethan and Olive, two frenemies who are forced to take a honeymoon/trip together. Olive and Ami are identical twins, except Ami has always been the 'lucky' one, and Olive the unlucky one. Because of Ami's luck, she loves entering contests and sweepstakes. She ends up winning her entire wedding, but the seafood buffet ends up making her, her new husband, and most of the attendees incredibly sick. Except for Olive and Ethan, who is her husband Dane's brother. Because she doesn't want the trip to go to waste, she gives the trip to Olive and Ethan. They have shared a mutual dislike for one another (or so it seems), and they both figured they would have to only tolerate each other for two weeks while they get a chance of an awesome vacation in Maui. Upon departure, Olive also lands a job she has wanted for a while. It appears that with the seafood wedding fiasco, Olive's luck has finally turned around. She also realizes on this trip that Ethan isn't so bad, and begins to see him through different lenses. I kind of loved their little arguing ways, and how they would always call each other by the wrong names. I loved seeing them come together and really grow. Things do get complicated once they return, and both are faced with doing what is best for their own sibling. I liked seeing how their "holiday" life transformed into "everyday" life once they returned. It's another great CLo book with great banter, lots of LOL moments, and super sweet grand gesture moments. I do wish it was a bit sexier in terms of what CLo books used to be, but I think fans of CLo will still enjoy this standalone!

Available for purchase:
Indigo/Chapters - Kobo - Amazon - Kindle - Book Depository
Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader's e-galley from Simon and Schuster Canada via Netgalley in exchange for consideration/review. All opinions are my own. 

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