Romance – Don't Miss(y) These Reads

Don’t Miss: Mistakes Were Made

Posted on February 1, 2023 by missylynnreads

Mistakes Were Made — Meryl Wilsner
St. Martin’s Press — Macmillan Audio
352 pages — 12 hours
Romance, LGBTQIA
October 11, 2022
2.5 ⭐️

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the #gifted digital ARC.

Summary: Cassie met an older woman, Erin, at a bar and they had a frisky encounter. What Cassie didn’t know was that Erin was her friend’s mom. They both knew that they needed to stay away from each other, but the pull was too strong, and they ended up sneaking around hoping Parker didn’t find out.

💭 The opening scenes were hot. Very hot. I was excited to see how this forbidden relationship played out. I was disappointed. For more than half the book, all we knew was how much Cassie and Erin missed/wanted each other and how worried they both were about Parker finding out. Interspersed with this was one sex scene after another. Don’t get me wrong, sex scenes can be fun, but when there is no depth to the characters, no character development at all, it just makes it… porn.

The only thing that semi-saved this book for me was the last quarter after Parker did find out. It was only then that we got to learn a little bit about Erin and Cassie, apart from their carnal desires. I really liked what we learned about both characters, but I wish we had gotten that insight earlier.

This book is for you if you love open door romance and don’t care about the characters.

Romance

Don’t Miss: The Bodyguard

Posted on July 11, 2022 by missylynnreads

How can you protect your heart?

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for the complimentary digital and audiobook for review.

Hannah Brooks doesn’t look like a traditional bodyguard, which makes her the perfect choice to work with mega movie star Jack Stapleton. A family tragedy caused Jack to set away from the spotlight, but that doesn’t stop a crazed corgi-loving fan from stalking him. When Jack’s mom gets sick and he’s forced to appear in public again, he needs protection from his stalker. Hannah is definitely up for the job, but it may be more than she bargained for.

Ah, there is something about the way Katherine Center writes characters and dialogue. I loved Hannah. She is a woman breaking into the stereotype of a man’s job. She is a tough, albeit little, woman who knows how to handle herself and Jack. Jack was a character I loved right away because you could tell there was so much heart under the hurt. Jack’s brother, on the other hand… I would have loved to see Hannah demonstrate her takedown on him!

Woven through the protection storyline, Hannah was dealing with her own discovery of self worth. It was a joy to watch her grow and evolve. Jack also had his own backstory and trauma to deal with. I loved the way the storylines all merged together. The Bodyguard was yet another amazing book from Katherine Center!

Contemporary Romance

Don’t Miss: Birds of California

Posted on June 20, 2022 by missylynnreads

Do you believe in second chances?

Thank you to Harper Perennial and Netgalley for the complimentary digital copy for review.

Former teen TV actor Fiona St. James has kept hidden from the spotlight since the famous crash and burn that ended her career. Now years later, in the age of TV reboots, she is contacted to reprise her role. Meanwhile, Sam Fox, her TV brother learns his current show is being canceled. Sam is all for the reboot, but it’ll only happen if Fiona is on board. Can he convince her?

When I was starting this book, I thought I would be reading about the bad behavior of an actress, but it was so much more. Fiona’s character is deep and there are a lot of layers to her life even from when she was a teen. It actually made me sad and think of child stars like Britney Spears who had to grow up in the spotlight. How is it possible to know who wants to be with you for you or for your fame?

Learning about Fiona’s past and present through Sam’s eyes was interesting. Fiona questioned his motivation for wanting to hang out and even had me questioning it.

Letting us know that not everything on the surface or in the media is real or what it seems, this book was an impactful read!

Romance, RomCom

Don’t Miss: As Seen on TV

Posted on June 13, 2022 by missylynnreads

Do Hallmark small towns really exist?

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Pub) and Netgalley for the complimentary digital copy for review.

Struggling writer Adina Gellar is looking for the perfect story to land her a full-time position as a staff writer at Tea digital magazine. When she hears about a big-time developer planning to build an obnoxious condo development in small town Pleasant Hollow, she sees her chance. After all, it’s a Hallmark movie come to life. She even has her very own meet-cute with Finn Adams right after she arrives in Pleasant Hollow. What can go wrong?

Billing this as Hallmark Movies meets Gilmore Girls had me jumping at the chance to read this. After all, those are two of my favorite things. However, we quickly learn that Pleasant Hollow is the antithesis of all things Hallmark. Adina struggles to find people who will actually talk to her for her story, and when it’s not working she decides to switch her story focus. Finn turns out to be integral to her time in Pleasant Hollow, first as a supporter and then as a friend. I really liked the relationship between Finn and Adina. Adina’s mom and best friend were also great. Dialogue was fun and there were a lot of heartwarming moments. Although not what I initially expected, this was definitely worth the read!