Hi and welcome to my blog stop for Alicia Thompson's With Love, From Cold World! A big thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Summary.Lauren Fox is a glass-half-empty kind of girl who is very content with her life. One could argue maybe too content. She may be the bookkeeper at a theme park, but she doesn’t find her work experience nearly as fun as those around her. She much rather hide in her office then have to socialize with customers—or worse, her co-workers. Specifically, Asa Williamson. Ever optimistic Asa loves finding ways to brighten his days at Cold World—whether that means organizing the Secret Santa or playing Snow Globe Guard. He also happens to be super attractive—something Lauren annoyingly can’t seem to ignore. But as glass-half-full as Asa may appear to Lauren, he has every reason to be jaded—his uber religious family disowned him for being bisexual and he hasn’t spoken to them since. When Cold World’s owner calls Lauren and Asa into a meeting to tell them that the theme park is in trouble, the last thing they want is to work together to come up with a solution. It turns out a winter wonderland in a summer destination is quite niche, and it’s becoming increasingly harder to compete with the major amusement parks down the road. But because the situation is dire, they must put their feelings side and find a way to save Cold World. As these polar opposites work together to save the day, things start to heat up. If Asa thought Lauren didn't know how to enjoy herself, he's surprised by how much he enjoys spending time together. And if Lauren thought Asa wasn't serious about anything, she's surprised by how seriously he seems to take her. ID: Jess, a white woman wearing a beach hat and a red vintage-style bathing suit, holds the ebook while standing in front of some palm trees.My review.That exciting moment when you find a new author whose book you love… Alicia Thompson’s With Love, From Cold World masters that mix of components in my favorite reads: emotionally striking, great tension between leads, & (a bit rarer) moments of humor/eccentricity that make the book distinctive. I adored this book for many reasons, including: ❄️the enemies to lovers arc, which felt realistic given how seemingly different each lead is & their various insecurities/challenges/personality habits. ❄️a locked in scene, where both MCs are locked in at their attraction & where things really progress emotionally & physically in their relationship! ❄️ found family rep. Talk about getting to your heart…I love how friendship is portrayed in this book & Lauren’s efforts to put herself out there more. ❄️bisexual rep. I’ve only read a few books where the hero is bisexual & the other lead is a female. Asa has a backstory that I think will be meaningful to many readers. (Please check out trigger warnings). This book has steam and poignancy, & I had such a great time on the journey. Love these characters—do I relate to the self-conscious heroine or do I relate —& the happiness they find with each other. 5⭐️. Out 08/01.CWs: references to foster care experience, parental drug use. Asa’s parents made him leave their home when someone outed him without his consent. He is estranged from his parents for much of the book.Is this one also on your TBR? Are you as much of a fan of found family romances as I am?Let me know what you think and thanks for stopping by!
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Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. I almost almost DNFed THANK YOU FOR SHARING by Rachel Runya Katz—mostly because I was initially taken aback by the heroine & her interactions with the hero —but by the middle & end this contemporary totally won me over & it wasn’t by the heroine drastically changing her entire personality. This is still a story about a heroine who is not all sunshine & rainbows. This *is* about a heroine who roasts the hero at most opportunities. Whose museum curating job is very important to her. Who is dealing with her past & confronting the fear of opening up. & in the end, I adored Aliyah Cohen-Jackson & Daniel Rosenberg separately, together, & as part of a friendship quartet. I also love the Jewish rep in this book (& the discussions of what it means for the leads to be Black & Jewish & Korean & Jewish, respectively); the sensitivity of the hero; the epistolary elements (the meeting notes from their friendship group are so funny!); & how pro therapy this book is. In the end, this is a rich, compelling romance that addresses so many weighty topics (see CWs) but does it with grace & moments of humor & heat & I’m really glad I finished it. Also really glad for the reminder that romance heroines can be “unlikeable,” that they don’t have to make it comfortable for everyone all the time to earn a HEA or a place in a friend group. 4.5⭐️. Out 09/12.CWs: Racism. Previous death of father. Heroine’s college best friend raped her when she was intoxicated & during the book she runs into him at an event.
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. Grumpy & a supposed Ice Queen. Yes please. Elena Armas’ The Long Game plays with those tropes, beginning with an unfortunate case of “oops I ran over you with my car & maybe killed your chicken” (spoiler alert: she did not). Adalyn Reyes, the daughter of a soccer franchise owner, has been exiled by her father to the wilderness of NC after she becomes viral on social media for assaulting their mascot. She’s supposed to take on a philanthropic project. Only that’s made more complicated when she realizes the head coach of said philanthropic team is the grumpy former soccer pro Cameron Caldani & their initial interactions show that they’re oil & water. Forced to work together &, thanks to their own machinations, to spend free time together too, our leads have plenty of opportunity to let the attraction between them build. If you’re looking for a gruff man letting his nurturing, peaceful side loose, you might enjoy this one. Cameron uses his approval words to great effect during a yoga goat scene; there’s even sexy pottery-making, without the murder plot (thanks, Ghost). But I have to be honest, & maybe I’m revealing how unreasonable I am because of it: the middle of this book starts to feel one-note for me because Cameron is aggressively patient & doggedly persistent in being there for her & Adalyn just kinda loses her fire & the book just starts to flatten a bit. I don’t know—it just wasn’t totally working for me. Not only that but—& again, this might sound bad—but if Adalyn has to go after anyone to spur on her exile, I wish she had selected the actual person responsible—her dirtbag ex—instead of a random mascot. That just made the whole incident less sympathetic for me. 3.5⭐️. Out 09/05.Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.I’ve read romances before where I thought that the leads didn’t actually seem to get to know each other that much throughout the book. That is not the case with Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon AT ALL. The conversations between leads Chandler Cohen & Finnegan Walsh are magnetic & revealing, & there’s an openness to what they say & how they respond to each other that is also present in Chandler’s relationship with her BFF & cousin. Great communication & willingness to accept constructive feedback all around . This book immediately made me adore it—I mean a heroine with a pixie cut who feels confused about what she should be doing career-wise to feel fulfilled *and* fed & sheltered etc & a hero who learned LOTR Elvish & blushes & has a “soft” stomach & graying hair at his temples? Give me more *any swooning GIF. This book has steam & it is great. But where it really gets to me is just that willingness of the MCs to hear someone out, to think I don’t have to get defensive about this, I can sit with what this person is saying for a minute, & I can change if I want. That & there’s so much softness in this book. Finn & Chandler’s sensitivity & care for each other is really beautiful. The stellar OCD rep—something that’s really important to me—anxiety rep, & forthright conversations about a past abortion, make this book—like Finn’s—one that has the potential to help & uplift people *&* to make them swoon. 5⭐️. Out 07/04.CWs: Past abortion. Anxiety & panic attack on page. OCD.
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.The 1930s Hollywood setting & the enemies to lovers vibe of the costars described in the summary of Maureen Lee Lenker’s It Happened One Fight lured me like a siren song. Like a SIREN SONG. & while some aspects of this book are fun, you guessed it—there are some other things that had me going WHAT. First, the fun things: the setting. This feels very much like watching a classic movie, from the clothes & the pencil mustache of the hero, to the heroine’s very dramatic reactions when she’s angry, to even the dialogue. The only other romances I’ve seen in this setting are Amanda Quick’s Burning Coves & I just love how this time & place come across the page. the premise: costars who realize they have accidentally been married while making a movie. They have to live in Reno together making their next movie so they can meet stipulations for a faster NV divorce. Doesn’t this sound so good?! the heroine’s inspired by Joan Crawford & Bette Davis, & I enjoyed that she is a Movie Star (capital M, capital S) & that she is not ashamed of her past, as she says to characters repeatedly. the sex positivity & the fact that the book is very aware of the specific challenges of being a woman in Hollywood, whether it’s acting or writing. What doesn’t work for me so much: I have issues &/or quibbles with the conflict, the breakup, and the reconciliation. The book starts off strong for me but by the middle & end it takes a turn & left me with some less pleasant emotions. I don’t love the conflict, the breakup lasts for 8 months (what?!?!?!), & I wanted more from the grovel / apology moment. I think that It Happened One Fight is one of those YMMV books. It isn’t an unqualified winner for me but I do think there’s a lot of potential here…but please, for the love of Oscar, no breakups that are this long. 3⭐️. Out 07/11.CWs: Misogyny in Hollywood. Joan is often physical or attempts to be physical when she’s mad. Hypermasculinity. Joan was in a stag film years ago & it’s used as blackmail against her. Dash was left by his first wife & that history is used as blackmail. For much of the book Joan is engaged in a marriage of convenience to someone.
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC and the publisher for the complimentary hard-copy. All opinions provided are my own.The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem has a killer first line. You know, one of those that kind of stops you in your tracks. Though there were moments after that where I was temporarily confused by the worldbuilding, at a certain point I became totally invested in this story & couldn’t wait to see what happened. The ending left me shocked to my core (!) & waiting to see what happens in book 2. The premise of this fantasy is that magic is not allowed to be performed any longer, but our heroine Sylvia does it in front of the greatest threat to her: the leader of the monitoring force that makes sure magic isn’t being performed, & an heir, Arin. If you want forced proximity, slow burn with eventual kissing & a stunning ending that will make you wonder what & how & when things will happen in book 2, check this one out. It’s a lot of fun! 4.5⭐️. Out 07/18.Please see a trusted reviewer's list of CWs.
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