Author: Arielle (Page 9 of 35)

BOOK REVIEW: Turnabout (Vino & Veritas #9) by Laurel Greer

May 6, 2021 / Arielle / 0 Comments

Turnabout (Vino & Veritas #9)
by Laurel Greer
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
“Auden and Carter are the swoony heroes I didn’t know I needed in my life! Turnabout is spectacular, and everyone should read it.” USA Today bestselling author Sarina Bowen

I don’t have time for an unplanned visit home to help out in my father’s struggling letterpress shop. My stint in Vermont will have to be short, for a couple of reasons:

One, I’m a busy executive trying to climb the corporate ladder.

Two, my ex is still my dad’s right-hand man in the shop. And I am not over him.

Nothing has changed at the Burlington shop. Auden still has his infuriatingly sexy Scottish accent. He’s still hot, and still stubborn. Between operating the antique press with his shirtsleeves rolled up, and moonlighting at Burlington’s hottest inclusive wine bar, he pushes every one of my attraction buttons.

My falling-in-love-again buttons, too. Except I’m his polar opposite. I love change, and taking chances. Everything he avoids in life.

So why am I trying to convince him to reach for more than we’ve ever dreamed of—the possibility of forever?

Turnabout is a second-chance romance with interfering family, groveling, and a large helping of artisan stationery geekery.

Review

Okayyyy I love this series SO MUCH. Every single one that I’ve read so far has featured such a range of characters and emotions and love stories that are completely unique and unforgettable. This one features a second chance romance between Auden and Carter. The two had met and fallen in love in college and are in the interestingly uncomfortable position of not ever having gotten rid of the other post-breakup due to the fact that Auden works with Carter’s dad at a his letterpress shop. Carter, who wanted to bring the shop into the 21st century and mayyyyybe didn’t present his ideas to his father in the best of ways, was heartbroken when his boyfriend and love of his life sided with his father instead of him.

Naturally, Carter, wanting to get the hell out, moved away to work with a bigger, more modern company and doesn’t visit home much. When he goes back temporarily to help both the shop (and Auden) and his parents’ marriage he finds himself thrown back into things with his old love and they find quite early on that even if their ideals on the shop still don’t align, those that they have about each other (in the attraction sense especially) pick up where they left off years ago.

I don’t know what it was about these two but between Carter’s bossy, white collared toned ass and Auden’s Scottish stubbornness I was entranced. On paper, the two shouldn’t make sense BUT THEY DID. Everything about them made my heart clench and expand. They both had their fair share of mental and emotional trauma to work through but of course, the power of love wins out. I loved every single bit of this story and I hope EVERYONEEEE make sure to pick this one up!

Huge thanks to Heart Eyes Press for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!♥

BOOK REVIEW: Darkroom (Moo U #7) by Kate Willoughby

May 3, 2021 / Arielle / 0 Comments

Darkroom (Moo U #7)
by Kate Willoughby
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
As a top draft pick from a family of hockey royalty, I'm under so much pressure that I’m losing my edge on the ice. I need something to snap my brain out of this self-destructive stress-loop. That’s where Indi Briscoe from my photography class comes in. She’s flirtatious and funny one moment, sweetly shy the next.

But she’s cagey. She has secrets. Also? She’s a virgin. Did I mention the pressure thing? Maybe I’m crazy for starting something with her. But we can’t seem to help ourselves...

Warning: this standalone novel contains heat, heart, familial expectations, extreme milkshakes, and a hamster with deep thoughts.

Review

I have been so deep in Moo U hockey over the past week and a half that I am going to be so confused reading another series with different characters when I pick up my next book, lol! I will say that I am very impressed with the range of topics that themes that this series has presented so far. There have been a lot of very different characters experiencing very different things and I really appreciate that.

This book features Indi and Hudson. Indi was born in China and adopted by an American couple when she was a baby. She has a port-wine stain on her face that she now covers up very thoroughly with makeup after being bullied for years as a kid. For a good chunk of this book she also denies any and all attempts to connect with her Chinese heritage until her roommate helps her realize that part of the reason why she has so vehemently rejected that part of herself is because she associated it with her birth parents having abandoned her at a Chinese orphanage. Delving into that part of herself really got to me because I’m sure plenty of other people struggle with that very same part of their identity as well after being adopted, especially if it was from a country other than the one they now live in.

Hudson comes from a hockey dynasty. There has been a member of his family in the pros since the league was formed about a hundred years ago. He struggles with some really intense pressure and anxiety over preforming well in front of others and also find out over the course of the story about a medical issue involving his hearing that also really takes a toll on him as well.

While I overall really enjoyed reading about how all of those aspects of life affected and shaped Indi and Hudson both separately and together, there were times that I became frustrated with Indi especially. It’s brought up one time by her mom after she blows up at Hudson but it could really be overwhelming for me when she went from 0-100 with her anger and verbally lashed out at people. Sure it was realistic but I just didn’t vibe with her as much as other characters. Still, it had a great ending and I was so happy for how both of their journeys were wrapped up by the end!

Huge thanks to Heart Eyes Press for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review!♥

BOOK REVIEW: Halftime (Moo U #6) by Kim Findlay

May 1, 2021 / Arielle / 0 Comments

Halftime (Moo U #6)
by Kim Findlay
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
There’s no halftime in hockey, but maybe there’s one in love…

Drunk dialing your girlfriend to tell her that you didn’t really cheat is a bad idea--a lesson Seb Hunter learned the hard way. It was no surprise when she cut him completely out of her life. Now he’s finally moved on, and he’s looking forward to sophomore year at Moo U. Until his ex arrives on campus.

For goalie Faith Devereaux, cheating is a hard pass. She grew up knowing all too well how destructive infidelity can be. She’s gotten over Seb and picked the college of her dreams. The fact that he’s a student there will not be a problem. Hockey is her priority. Not guys, not dating, definitely not exes.

But when an exhibition game forces them into close proximity, it isn’t long before their old attraction flares. Regaining trust is hard, though, when the heart plays a good defensive game.

But when the goal is love, one more shot might be all they need.

Review

I feel like I’ve mentioned this in previous hockey romance reviews but it is freaking hilarious to me that I have become to entangled in these books and I know NOTHING about hockey. Seriously. Like the fact that Faith also played hockey in this one made it 10x better to me for whatever reason and again, it’s not because I am a rea life hockey fan lolol. Really though, this book, along with Sarina Bowen’s, Bombshells has me so excited for future books featuring players from the women’s league. I really love that dynamic and learning more about how much of an unfair advantage those ladies are at compared to their male counterparts.

To get more into this story though, we start out the book about a year before the main events actually happen. Faith (who has grown up with seeing her dad cheat on her mom for YEARS) gets a drunken call from her boyfriend, Seb. He’s so drunk and distraught that he’s not making any kind of sense but from what she can decipher, he’s cheated on her. Not wanting to deal with that shit in her own relationship and life, she completely cuts ties and blocks him on every platform imaginable.

Fast-forward to a year later and the beginning of the semester at Moo U. Seb is at the rink with a few of his teammates when he catches sight of a goalie. A female goalie. One whose very movements on the ice were as familiar to him as his own. He did NOT know she’d be attending and high tails it out of there. The two ~of course~ end up bumping into each other and eventually wind up back in each other’s lives.

Let me first start out by saying, THANK YOU Cooper. He’s Seb’s best friend, teammate, and roommate and helps play matchmaker throughout the entire damn book LOLLL. At one point he says, “The two of you are worse than Romeo and Juliet. If there was any poison around here, you’d both be dead.” Wiser words were never spoken. Even though these two have always had explosive chemistry, obviously the cheating thing is problematic. Just as I had expected/hoped. Seb didn’t cheat on Faith. He was drunk and missing her, a girl crawled into his bed, and when he realized it wasn’t her, he FLIPPED out. Of course, the fact that Faith THOUGHT he had for an entire freaking year isn’t just going to go away.

I am glad that they did talk about that and that she came to terms with how that could affect their relationship down the road. Seb really was an all around great guy, possibly even one of my top favorites of this series so far. He was kind, loving, honest, and I just wanted to wrap him up in a tight squeeze considering how he felt forgotten within his own family. I really thought these two were great together and the quote that I added below that is from the epilogue 10000% solidified how much I loved this book. It seriously gives me goosebumps every time I read it.

The puck dropped. My wife deflected the first shot on goal. My daughter and I cheered.
It was perfect.

Huge thanks to Heart Eyes Press for allowing me to read a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion!♥

BOOK REVIEW: Overtime (Moo U #5) by Kat Mizera

April 29, 2021 / Arielle / 2 Comments

Overtime (Moo U #5)
by Kat Mizera
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Hotshot hockey star Patrick Graham has been groomed for the pros since before he could walk. Fast forward to his junior year of college, and he’s having the time of his life. What could be better than pucks, partying, and having his pick of campus women? But if Patrick doesn’t buckle down and get his grades up, he could find himself benched for the championships. Could a beautiful brainiac be the solution to his problems?

Nineteen-year-old Master’s student Ellie McGinn could do so many things with her biology degree, but her mother is pushing her toward a future she doesn't want. Tutoring a hockey hottie seems like the perfect opportunity to start making her own choices and living life on her own terms.

When learning turns to yearning, will they be ready to face the heat and heartache that love can bring?

Review

She reminded me of old-fashioned ice cream sundaes and drive-in movies, which made no fucking sense, but that’s what came to mind when I looked at her.

This specific trope is one that, if done poorly, I find so incredibly unrealistic. Kat Mizera though–she hit it out of the park. Sometimes authors just capture that one specific moment where the two main love interests have a single interaction and you can FEEL their spark. The energy. The connection. That’s how I felt with Patrick and Ellie. I honestly don’t even know how to explain it other than I knew it was going to be a good book even just based on this one interaction.

I was especially nervous because Paxton’s book wasn’t my favorite and Patrick was kind of a dick in that one and that one just wasn’t my favorite in general. Unsurprisingly we saw a totally different Patrick in this story. I loved how straight up smitten he was with Ellie–so cute. I also loved watching her being able to experience life. I can’t even image what it would have been like to go to college at that young of an age all the while have that much of an overbearing mother. It was clear that she loved Ellie and wanted the best for her but…sometimes parents want very different things for their children than what they actually need. The fact that Ellie eventually just took charge and made some big decisions for herself was great. (Also loved the support she got from the WAGs from the Vegas team).

I was also so relieved that the twins finally cut their asshole dad off at the end. My heart hurt for them SO BADLY. Good riddance.

Overall, great addition to the Moo U series!

Huge thanks to Heart Eyes Press for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion! ♥

BOOK REVIEW: Gametime (Moo U #4) by Jami Davenport

April 28, 2021 / Arielle / 0 Comments

Gametime (Moo U #4)
by Jami Davenport
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
One drunken night and one case of mistaken identity turns a friendship inside out...

You’ve seen the hockey twins around campus--they look identical, but you can tell them apart by their actions. Patrick is the one who’s busy charming women. Paxton is the one in the library.

Until one night when Paxton parties a little harder than usual. Next thing he knows, he’s waking up naked next to Naomi, the girl of his dreams. He bares his heart before an awful realization sets in. He’s not the twin she thought he was...

Naomi is the only child of a hockey legend. Partying hard is the best way she knows how to rebel against her controlling father. After a particularly crazy night, she realizes her big mistake. Her hookup isn’t the guy she’s been crushing on. It’s Paxton, her friend, the guy who gets her, who she can always count on. The guy she’d never want to hurt. And yet, the sex was good. Better than good.

Now she’s wondering if the wrong twin might be the right one after all . . .

Review

Ugh it really pains me to rate this a three but I couldn’t in good conscience give it anything higher. I honestly think it was a case of the “It’s not you, it’s me” for the trope. That or I’m just getting older and now that I’m not actually in college and haven’t been in some time I can’t handle as much of the hot shot sports swagger/ college party and hookup scenes like I used to. Mainly though, I couldn’t get over the fact that Naomi slept with the wrong twin (WHO WAS ONE OF HER BEST FRIENDS) and didn’t know it until she woke up and licked her way down to his tattoo that was obviously Paxton’s hockey number and not Patrick’s and the two got to live in that awkward moment together. From then on I was like nope–no thanks, lol. I really think most people will like this one. I still obviously loved seeing Paxton’s journey coming out of Patrick’s shadow and his work with Garf (lol love that guy) to become the best player he can be and prepare for the pros. I loved seeing grumpy ass Kaitlyn, sweet, loyal Lex, and the rest of the team, too. I just really couldn’t be convinced by Paxton x Naomi.

Huge thanks to Heart Eyes Press for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review!