Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Second chance romance can be ruff, friends ;). Especially when the former couple has an acrimonious relationship layered on top of attraction & feelings. So I knew Falon Ballard’s Just My Type wouldn’t be an easy experience for me. In the end, I felt like Ballard is an undeniably talented writer, & even though some of FMC Lana Parker’s past & present decisions didn’t always have me cheering, I do love how Ballard writes women making mistakes. That feels empowering to me. The female friendships are strong & this book is very pro-therapy, which is always a plus for me. By the book’s conclusion, Lana—who has been frequently accused of relationship dependency + settling when it comes to partners—has learned a lot about herself & what her patterns are. But ultimately this book doesn’t go hard enough for me in terms of Lana breaking free of her habits. Setting aside the messy nature of this couple’s second chance romance—which I’ve already said can be ruff for me emotionally—I wasn’t sure that Lana fully gave herself a chance to be on her own for a while. She grows a lot but also everything moves so fast & ultimately she’s moving into another serious relationship quickly yet again. So I personally didn’t doubt the strength of Lana’s relationship with Seth—but I did wonder if it was ultimately a good idea for her. If the timing could actually be right. Despite my somewhat wavering endorsement of this second chance tale, I’m really looking forward to seeing what Falon Ballard writes next. 4⭐️. Out now!CWs: Lana came onto the hero Seth when she was in a long-term relationship with someone else. Emotionally negligent mom.
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Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Jackie Lau’s Not Your Valentine delivered on the best of Valentine’s Day with so much of the good stuff: a grumpy heroine, a nice guy hero; some forearms lusting; a friends to lovers arc; steam that had me thinking in blush emojis. I ate this novella up! It’s fun & easy to jump into, even on a night when I didn’t feel like I could concentrate that well. There’s so much work an author has to do to make a convincing romance novella but Lau made it possible for me to how leads Helen & Taylor might change their relationship so quickly because of how she writes the care they have for one another as friends. There are some unexpected details thrown in too that I loved & might be new to me in a romance, including some labia insecurity and a 5’5” hero. Check this one out—it’s really great. 5⭐️. Out now!CWs: references to racism; reference to parental abandonment.
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