Tag:

first person

If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia

by Jill September 26, 2024

written by Jill

Book Review:
If It Makes You Happy

Julie Olivia

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

have you ever been giddy over a crush?
that’s how this whole book felt to me.
Cliff & Michelle had me kicking my feet and squealing at how cute they were as they got to know each other, and fell in love 🥹

⭐️ rating: ♾
🌶️: open door, slow burn to a few scenes

💭 overall thoughts:
this book was everything I thought it would be, and more.
I’m such a huge Julie Olivia fan, and this definitely did not disappoint!

I took my time with this one – it felt… slow. And I mean that in a very good way. It was the type of story I didn’t want to rush, but savor.
I felt at home with Michelle (& Rocket 🐾), Cliff, the Burkes & all of Copper Run, and didn’t want to leave 🥰

I loved remembering a simpler time, before cell phones and internet & social media. This book feels innocent in that way (but with spice 😉).

read if you love:
🍁 autumn 1997 nostalgia
🏠 neighbours + close proximity
🧁 single dad baker + temporary inn keeper who are total opposites
❤️‍🩹 finding friendship & love after divorce
🌳 small town Stars Hollow energy
📼 90s romcom vibes
🐾 an expressive pup who’s part of the family
💞 dual 1st person pov

Thank you to Julie Olivia & PenPal PR for an advanced copy.
All opinions are my own.

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy or read on Kindle Unlimited:
AMAZON

September 26, 2024 0 comments

Fall with Me

by Jill August 1, 2024

written by Jill

Book Review:
Fall with Me

Becka Mack

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Once again Becka Mack checks all the boxes for PERFECTION! 😍

Fall with Me is deeply vulnerable, hilarious and sexy, making you laugh and cry from one sentence to the next.

JAXON and LENNON are EVERYTHING! ✨

⭐️ rating: ♾️
🌶️ spice: 3/5 (many open door scenes, plot > spice)

💭 overall thoughts:
My notes for this one were absolute CHAOS 😅
As I went back through my 117 highlights I fell in love with this book all over again.

Lennon & Jaxon have incredible banter, and have so much more in common than what may be seen at first glance.
Jaxon is such an acts of service boy, and he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it (which makes it all the sweeter).

They are both the sweetest souls, looking for their place in the world, wanting to feel like they belong. The support and love they find with one another is beautiful, and a person to call home.

This honestly read a lot like a single dad romance, Jaxon takes Cat Daddy to the next LEVEL – and the way Lennon also falls in love with Mittens 🥰

We got SO MUCH of the rest of the boys & their ladies, they had me smiling from ear to ear (and they brought on the tears too).

tropes + topics:
1️⃣ one night stand
😡 frenemies to lovers
🏠 roommates with benefits
🏒 pro hockey player
📸 team photographer
🐱 cat daddy
🫶🏼 found family
💞 dual 1st person pov

In case you haven’t heard of this series before, Fall with Me is Book 4 in the series. While this can definitely be read as a standalone (for the main couple), I highly recommend reading them in order to get the full *found family* vibes & understanding of all the side characters.

Thank you to Becka Mack for sending me a surprise an advanced copy!! And to Simon & Schuster Canada for the physical arc. All opinions are my own.

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

August 1, 2024 0 comments

Book Reviews Meghan Quinn

So This is War

by Jill July 18, 2024

written by Jill

Book Review:
So This is War

Meghan Quinn

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

I dropped EVERYTHING to read this one the second it hit my kindle – it did NOT disappoint 😍😍

I loved seeing another side to Posey, and seeing him meet his perfect match in Wylie 🥰

We’ve got – age gap, coach’s daughter aka FORBIDDEN big time, boss/assistant, & they become roommates – the tension is 🔥🔥
Agitators fans – you’re gonna LOVE it!

📖 So This is War
📝 Meghan Quinn
🗓️ 06/25/2024
🏒 sports romance
📱 read on kindle (arc)
📚 book 5 • Vancouver Agitators series

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

💭 overall thoughts:
This was HILARIOUS and sweet, and just the perfect *ending* to this series – though I will miss these boys so much! 😭
Ready for OC’s spinoff series 🙃

There were so many things I loved about this book!

First off, the “erotic torture” – I was constantly laughing out loud with how they were with one another.

It reminded me a lot of that episode of Friends (MQ even mentions it) – the “they don’t know we know they know” one.

The group text chat with the ladies of the Agitators made me so happy. I love the boys shenanigans, but their women are flat out AMAZING.

The spice was spicing too – that scene in the s3x club 😮‍💨 iykyk

I hope this isn’t too much of a spoiler but… Wylie LOVES BOLOGNA!
Could anyone BE more perfect for POSEY?! 🥪

“I love bologna sandwiches,” she whispers.
“So do I,” I whisper back.
“That’s how I know we’re meant to be together.”

Aside from the romance, we also get the struggles of a complex father-daughter relationship between Wylie + her dad (Posey’s coach). That was a bit of a struggle to read, the way he thinks about her and treats her for most of the book is heartbreaking (they do work things out, but it feels sort of toxic for a lot of the story).

tropes + topics:
🧡 age gap (22/32)
📋 coach’s daughter
🏒 pro hockey player
🏠 roommates
🖇️ boss/assistant – workplace
🚫 forbidden
🫶🏼 found family
💞 dual 1st person pov

✨ books with similar vibes:
♡ Beautiful Stranger by Christina Lauren (workplace, intense physical chemistry)

Thank you to Meghan Quinn for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

July 18, 2024 0 comments

Book Reviews Meghan Quinn

He’s Not My Type

by Jill July 18, 2024

written by Jill

Book Review:
He's Not My Type

Meghan Quinn

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Oh Halsey.. I was waiting for his moment 🥰 I love a broken boy pining & crushing so hard.

This book is hilarious and sweet, and so spicy 🔥

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

💭 thoughts:
This one is probably my fav in the series, but I honestly love them all.
I think they’re best read in order, to really get the found family dynamics + the build up to this story!

📖 story:
We learn in the previous books that for Halsey it was pretty much love at first sight when he meets Blakely, but unfortunately, she has a boyfriend.

Following their breakup and her having an incident in her new apartment, they become roommates at Halsey’s place – this is one of my absolute fav tropes!! I love the forced proximity of living together 🥰

Halsey is still very much grieving the loss of his twin brother, and through friendship, and then more, Blakely helps bring him back to life 🥰

tropes + topics:
🏠 roommates
🙃 opposites attract
🩵 he falls first
🏒 pro hockey player
💼 workplace
🛏️ only one bed
🫶🏼 found family
💕 dual 1st person pov

✨ books with similar vibes:
♡ Always Only You by Chloe Liese (hockey/workplace, roommates, he falls first)

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

July 18, 2024 0 comments

Book Reviews Meghan Quinn

Right Man, Right Time

by Jill July 18, 2024

written by Jill

Book Review:
Right Man, Right Time

Meghan Quinn

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

My goodness this book was so HOT 🔥🔥

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

After kissing a stranger (Silas) at a bar to show her ex she’s *fine,* Ollie + Silas realize they can help each other in more ways than one.

She needs help with her internship (writing about hockey), and he needs a buffer to keep his ex (now working with the team) away from trying to get back together.

But what happens when feelings get in the way?

💭 overall thoughts:
I’m pretty obsessed with this whole series, and I feel like the books get better and better!

MCs:
Silas – I love how he’s totally a relationship guy, and definitely did not deserve how his ex treated him! He’s a sweet broken boy, who struggles to trust again.

Ollie – little spitfire! 10 years younger than Silas & a college student. I love how she goes after what she wants.

📖 story:
I love fake dating, I don’t think this was particularly unique there but 🤷🏻‍♀️ doesn’t bother me!

I feel like this book brought some good old MQ ridiculousness I was missing from the other books!
This one had me in stitches, especially whenever Ollie would tell the story of “how they met” 🤣

tropes + topics:
🩷 age gap
🥸 fake dating
🏒 pro hockey player
🗞️ college student – journalism
🫶🏼 found family
❤️‍🩹 broken mmc
💞 dual 1st person pov

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

July 18, 2024 0 comments

Book Reviews Meghan Quinn

Those Three Little Words

by Jill July 18, 2024

written by Jill

Book Review:
Those Three Little Words

Meghan Quinn

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Ummm I think accidental pregnancy is becoming one of my favorite tropes!
It’s fun, I love how they often end up living together and trying to figure it all out 🥰

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

💭 overall thoughts:
I loved the dynamic between Penny & Eli, how badly he wanted her from the start, and watching them grow + learn more about each other as they navigated bringing a baby into the world 💕

“I know you have more important things to do⁠—”
“Penny, you are the most important thing in my life right now.”

🏒📱 MCs:
Broken boy Eli – we got bits of him in the first book but there was so much more to discover! My heart hurt for the broken boy and his past.

Penny is soooo weird and hilarious, and I absolutely love that! Her pregnancy hormones made that even better 😂 all her rambling, ESPECIALLY in front of her parents, totally had me in stitches 🤣

📖 story:
Accidental pregnancy gets a bad rap, but it’s really just another reason for a forced proximity situation, and bringing out vulnerability.

I love how these two got together, and all the aftermath of that one night.

🤍side characters:
The BOYS! And Winnie! I love how these books can be standalones, but are so much better read as a series 🥰

tropes + topics:
1️⃣ one night stand
🍼 accidental pregnancy
🏒 pro hockey player mmc
📱 team social media manager fmc
🩵 brother’s teammate
🏠 roommates
🔗 forced proximity
🫶🏼 found family
💞 dual 1st person pov

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

July 18, 2024 0 comments

Book Reviews Meghan Quinn

Kiss and Don’t Tell

by Jill May 9, 2024

written by Jill

Book Review:
Kiss and Don't Tell

Meghan Quinn

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

💭 overall thoughts:
PERFECT start to the series! I loved the main couple, and also how well Meghan set up the rest of the series – I can’t wait for each and every one of their books 😍
(I’ve read them since writing this, and they’re all so good!)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
🌶️🌶️🌶️

MCs:
Pacey – what a secret softie. I loved that he never really had a girlfriend because no one felt “right” for him – until Winnie came along 🥰

Winnie – love her sense of adventure and taking chances, and felt for her in her fear of trusting and letting others in.

📖 story:
Imagine being stranded and stumbling upon a house full of professional hockey players?! I’m not sure if I’d walk right in, or run the other way 😅

Thankfully the guys all end up being super sweet to Winnie, quickly taking her in as one of their own.

My tiny hesitation in giving this 5 stars is that at a certain point I was debating if Pacey was pushing Winnie TOO much to be with him, when she was very much in a vulnerable state. She definitely cared for him and maybe needed that push, but I had a moment where I was feeling a bit uncomfortable.

tropes + topics:
🏠 temporary roommates
🥅 professional hockey goalie
🤫 hidden identity (ex’s half brother)
🙃 strangers to lovers
🔗 forced proximity
💙 he falls first/boy obsessed
💞 dual 1st person pov

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

May 9, 2024 1 comment

Book Reviews Jillian Meadows

Give Me Butterflies

by Jill January 6, 2024

written by Jill

Blurb:

Give Me Butterflies is a slow burn, single guardian romance. This steamy story features a handsome grump who seems to only smile for his nieces, an anxious curator finding the confidence to believe in herself, and a cast of endearing, meddling side characters. It’s full of swoony moments, nerdy banter, and enough fiery tension to light the museum ablaze.

Source: Goodreads

Book Review:
Give Me Butterflies

Jillian Meadows

Series: Yes
Oak Sisters #1

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 5/5

Spice: 3/5

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Totally stunned that this was a debut novel – Jillian knocked it out of the park 😍
This book was so sweet, and had all the feels 🥰 don’t let that fool you though – the spice was 🔥 too!

📖 Give Me Butterflies
📝 Jillian Meadows
🗓️ 07/01/2023
💜 Contemporary Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

I love how Millie just seamlessly became a part of their lives (Finn & his nieces). It was so sweet to imagine her baking with the girls, and dancing around in their kitchen.

Their relationship just developed so naturally, and was so sweet and beautiful. The way they supported each other… I just loved how they helped heal, with grief & past negativity in relationships.

They gave one another the confidence they needed to set boundaries and stuff up for themselves – the mental health rep was so well written.

Tropes & stuff:
🦋 Workplace
🦋 Single guardian (nieces)
🦋 Grumpy/sunshine
🦋 Opposites attract
🦋 Mental health rep (anxiety, grief, therapy)
🦋 Scientists (entomologist & astronomer)
🦋 Adorable 5 year old twin girls
🦋 Supportive friend group
🦋 Found family
🦋 Dual POV/first person

*check triggers, there are some

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

January 6, 2024 0 comments

Book Reviews Meghan Quinn

A Long Time Coming

by Jill January 4, 2024

written by Jill

Blurb:
With wedding planning underway and a short timeline, my best friend, Lia, has recruited me to help her battle the snarly beast that is Mrs. Beaver. Not scared at all, I accept the challenge as her man-in-waiting–aka, man of honor–and take matters into my own hands.

The only problem is, with every second we draw closer to the wedding, I’m starting to see my best girl in a different light.

She’s always been beautiful to me, but now . . . I find myself staring a touch too long. My hand lingering for one more minute. And when she’s upset? Allowing her to sleep in my bed.

And before I know what’s happening, it hits me like a ton of bricks. I’m in love with my best friend. Not just in love, but infatuated.

No one compares to her and nothing seems to distract me from that realization.
Not the girl I try to date while I help plan Lia’s wedding.
Not her angry fiancé who thinks I’m growing too close.
And not the looming deadline of her nuptials.

Which means, there’s only one thing left for me to do. Prove to Lia I’m the one she should be with instead. But with the pressure of her engagement, the stress from her soon-to-be mother-in-law, and the breath-stealing nerves running through me, I’m finding it a lot harder to claim the girl than I would like to admit.
Source: Goodreads

Book Review:
A Long Time Coming

Meghan Quinn

Series: Yes
Book 3 in the Cane Brothers series

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 5/5

Spice: 3/5

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Is this my new fav Meghan Quinn book?! 🥰

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

After meeting in college at a secret scrabble society, Lia & Breaker immediately become best friends, who are basically inseparable.

Now, years later, Lia is about to marry someone else, which is the catalyst they need to realize how much more they mean to one another.

Breaker Cane is amazing, a humble billionaire and the perfect best friend for Lia. I loved how Lia grew throughout the book, as she figured out what she wanted/needed and how to stand up for that.

Their dynamic & banter was PERFECTION – they were basically already the perfect couple before *actually* becoming one 😍

Book 3 in the Cane brothers series, and my absolute favorite – possibly my favorite Meghan Quinn I’ve read so far!

Tropes + topics:
💜 Best friends to lovers
💜 He falls first
💜 Neighbors
💜 Billionaire
💜 Runaway (almost) bride
💜 Geeky MCs
💜 Slow burn
💜 3rd Cane brothers book
💜 Dual POV/first person

Thank you to NetGalley & Bloom Books for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own!

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

January 4, 2024 0 comments

Book Reviews Jessica Joyce

You, With a View

by Jill January 3, 2024

written by Jill

Blurb:

Noelle Shepard is grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother when she discovers decades-old photos and letters that hint to a forbidden love in her gram’s past. Needing to know the full story, she creates a TikTok video appealing for information – and it goes viral.

Through her video, she manages to track down her grandmother’s secret love, Paul, who offers to take her on the honeymoon road-trip he and Gram planned but never got to go on.

Noelle jumps at the chance to make this one last connection with her grandmother. There’s just one problem – Paul’s grandson is Noelle’s frustratingly handsome high-school rival Theo.

And Theo has to come, too.

It’s only two weeks. Surely Noelle can survive that long? But with one car between them – and often only one bed – it doesn’t take long for things to heat up…

Source: Goodreads

Book Review:
You, With a View

Jessica Joyce

Series: No

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 5/5

Spice: 2/5

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

I was so captured by the poetic way Jessica Joyce tells a story. She just has such way with words, that’s so incredibly beautiful.

This book follows Noelle’s story as she reconnects with her late grandmother, by tracking down her secret love from the past.
Paul also happens to be the grandfather of her high school nemesis, Theo, and the 3 head out on a road trip (the honeymoon that never happened), as they go through her letters.

The way Jessica writes, I felt it.
I felt it in my heart and soul, and I was so connected to all of the characters, and their stories.

I highlighted so many parts while reading, some simply because of the way they were written and how she described something simple.

“I stare up at him, the moon shooting silver through his hair, teasing me with how he’ll look years from now.”

This book is so much more than a romance, as it goes through living with grief and finding your path in life.

Tropes + topics
💜 (high school) rivals to lovers
💜 Road trip
💜 Close proximity
💜 Only one bed
💜 Photographer fmc
💜 Tech CFO ? Mmc
💜 Grief & loss
💜 Family & found family
💜 Self discovery
💜 Single POV/first person

Find it on Goodreads HERE.

Buy the Book:
AMAZON

January 3, 2024 0 comments

Newer Posts

Older Posts

first person

Book Review: If It Makes You Happy

Julie Olivia

Book Review: Fall with Me

Becka Mack

Book Review: So This is War

Meghan Quinn

Book Review: He's Not My Type

Meghan Quinn

Book Review: Right Man, Right Time

Meghan Quinn

Book Review: Those Three Little Words

Meghan Quinn

Book Review: Kiss and Don't Tell

Meghan Quinn

Book Review: Give Me Butterflies

Jillian Meadows

Book Review: A Long Time Coming

Meghan Quinn

Book Review: You, With a View

Jessica Joyce

Book Review:
If It Makes You Happy

Book Review:
Fall with Me

Book Review:
So This is War

Book Review:
He's Not My Type

Book Review:
Right Man, Right Time

Book Review:
Those Three Little Words

Book Review:
Kiss and Don't Tell

Book Review:
Give Me Butterflies

Book Review:
A Long Time Coming

Book Review:
You, With a View