Short Take Reviews: Small Town Romance Edition

 

Fall With Me

by Brooke Montgomery

Series: Sugarland Creek #3

Published: 5/29/2024

Goodreads

4.25 stars

✔ Grumpy x Sunshine (she's the grump)

✔ Frenemies to Lovers

✔ Six Year Age Gap

✔ She Can't Stand Him (but he's Obsessed)

✔ Family Saga Series

I've been loving the Sugarland Creek series since its prequel (Come With Me) and each book has focused on one of the close-knit Hollis siblings. In this instance, it was Landen and did he have a time with Ellie. Her outright hostility did nothing to diminish his feelings for her. When a barrel racing accident left her with some short term memory loss, and she showed interest in Landen, he was torn but ultimately saw his chance - and hoped that if/when her memory returned, her new feelings for him would override whatever animosity she once had. If you love a guy who falls first, you'll love Landen and his unwavering feelings (and patience!) for Ellie. It's worth mentioning that, as with the previous books in the series, the prologue is truly heartbreaking as it sets up a significant event in Landen's past. Montgomery provides trigger warnings and also notes that the prologue can be skipped. 

The One I Left Behind

by Piper Rayne

Series: Plain Daisy Ranch #1

Published: 5/14/2024

Goodreads

4 stars

✔ Second Chance Romance

✔ Single Mom

✔ Retired Football Player

✔ Return to Hometown

✔ Former High School Sweethearts

Ben and Gillian had plans for their future. Ben was headed to college on a football scholarship and once he was drafted by the NFL they would marry and start their life together. Instead, their relationship foundered under the strain of separation and the break-up had a lasting impact on them both. Gillian is now a single mother and Ben has returned to his small Nebraska hometown to help on the family ranch. It was obvious there was unfinished business between these two characters and Gillian was understandably hesitant to revisit the past and go down that road again. Even so, these two seemed to rekindle their relationship awfully fast for two people who had been apart for fourteen years. That could have been a stumbling block, but I found the characters to be so likable that I was willing to go with the flow and just enjoy the ride. A highlight for me was the side story with Gillian's son and his relationship with Ben. There was some animosity there (on the boy's side) and I appreciated the way Ben didn't push and eventually earned his respect. The great cast of secondary characters and a set-up for the second book has me more than ready to continue the series.

Do you enjoy small town romance?

The Sunday Post #364 | June 9, 2024

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's a chance to share news: a post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books, 

and share what's coming up on your blog in the week ahead.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

My Sunday Posts seem to be turning into an every three weeks kind of thing. I can live with that.

For those that use Blogger, have you noticed any formatting issues lately? It's been giving me fits the last week or so. Formatting text and links has become such a pain and I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed a change? My fingers are crossed that it's a temporary glitch.

Summer may not officially start for a couple more weeks, but Florida did not get the memo. It was over 90 F (32 C) every day this week, and today it's expected to reach 100 (37 C). I am not ready for this. 🔥

I am not a baker (mostly because I have no sweet tooth) and probably have not baked any kind of sweet treat in a decade. But I randomly felt the desire to whip something up last week and made these cherry pie bars. So. Much. Yum! The Husband took most of them to his office (he volunteers at the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society) and they were a huge hit. If you're looking for an easy treat, I can recommend these.

Photo credit: The Country Cook

My sister, who has been a huge Prince fan since the 80's, texted me Friday to inform me that it was Prince Day. Who knew that was a thing? 🤷 So, Terri, here's a Prince song just for you. 😀 

ON THE BLOG

Tuesday, June 4

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Evoked Strong Feelings

Thursday, June 6

Review: This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan

WHAT I READ

  

  

Kindle: The One I Left Behind by Piper Rayne - 4★

Kindle: Callum by Sawyer Bennett - 4★

Audio: The Pool Boy by Nikki Sloane - 3.75★

Kindle: No Tomorrow by Carian Cole - 4.5★

CURRENTLY READING

    

Audio: The Five Year Lie by Sarina Bowen

Kindle: Fall With Me by Brooke Montgomery

NEW ADDITIONS

Not a thing.

TOTALLY RANDOM

HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Review: This Could Be Us | Kennedy Ryan

This Could Be Us

by Kennedy Ryan

Series: Skyland #2

Pub: March 5, 2024

Genre(s): contemporary romance, women's fiction, adult fiction, African American romance

4.5 stars

GOODREADS

Soledad Barnes has her life all planned out. Because, of course, she does. She plans everything. She designs everything. She fixes everything. She’s a domestic goddess who's never met a party she couldn't host or a charge she couldn't lead. The one with all the answers and the perfect vinaigrette for that summer salad. But none of her varied talents can save her when catastrophe strikes, and the life she built with the man who was supposed to be her forever, goes poof in a cloud of betrayal and disillusion.

But there is no time to pout or sulk, or even grieve the life she lost. She's too busy keeping a roof over her daughters' heads and food on the table. And in the process of saving them all, Soledad rediscovers herself. From the ashes of a life burned to the ground, something bold and new can rise.

But then an unlikely man enters the picture—the forbidden one, the one she shouldn't want but can't seem to resist. She's lost it all before and refuses to repeat her mistakes. Can she trust him? Can she trust herself?

After all she's lost . . .and found . . .can she be brave enough to make room for what could be?

________________________________________________________________

Every time I have a new Kennedy Ryan book in my hands, I know I’m about to experience something special. This Could Be Us delivered the same powerful reading experience that I have come to expect.

 

From outward appearances, Soledad Barnes has it all. The home in a desirable Atlanta neighborhood, the successful husband, the flourishing kids – until it crumbled in spectacular fashion. The life she envisioned is gone, destroyed by betrayal and greed. Suddenly scrambling to support herself and her three children on her own, Soledad relies on her domestic goddess skills and her own ingenuity and parlays that into an exciting new career. An unexpected development in the new life she was crafting was a burgeoning relationship with Judah Cross, the man who exposed her husband’s crimes. Filled with uncertainty about exploring a relationship with Judah, Soledad chooses to focus on herself. Self-reflection and self-discovery become the keys to unlocking a life she never imagined.

 

There was so much to love in This Could Be Us. Soledad had an incredible support system in friends Yasmen and Hendrix. These were truly ride-or-die friendships. Soledad’s journey was a lesson in self-reliance and resilience, the power of knowing your own worth and using your voice. I was in awe of Sol’s strength as she rebuilt her life, providing emotional support to her daughters, and prioritized her own healing and growth. My only quibble was that I didn’t understand Soledad’s insistence that she would not marry again. Yes, her husband proved himself to be truly unworthy, but the way she was so adamantly opposed to marriage puzzled me.

 

And then there was Judah. What a man. (Feel free to insert Salt-N-Pepa’s “Whatta Man” lyrics here.) If you love a pining hero, Judah is your guy. He had it bad for Soledad and I ate it up. He was also an amazing father to his twin autistic sons and he and his ex-wife should be in the Co-Parenting Hall of Fame. His devotion to his sons was obvious in every interaction. He was also sensitive, intelligent, and so smitten with Sol. He paid attention to every aspect, every detail, of her life and was willing to give her the space she needed, while also ensuring she was very aware that he wanted more.

 

Kennedy Ryan is an incredibly gifted storyteller. Whatever external factors occur in her stories, the focus is always on the characters and their journeys. I listened to this on audio and the narration by Inés del Castillo and Jakobi Diem breathed life into Soledad and Judah. I loved this powerful story of self-discovery and second chances.

Have you read This Could Be Us?

Top Ten Tuesday: All the Emotions | Books That Evoked Strong Feelings

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This Week's Top Ten Tuesday Topic:

Books I Have Strong Feelings About

 

I love a book that can evoke strong emotions. In fact, those are my go-to reads. I rarely go for the light and fluffy stories (no "sweet" romances or cozy mysteries), and I don't really care for rom-coms. Nope, give me all the emotions and the angst and let me wallow in it. I want a story that is going to make my heart hurt, make me pine right along with the characters, and (hopefully) elicit some tears. Those emotional books... that's my sweet spot.

But strong feelings can go either way - sometimes I'm overwhelmed with love for a special character, sometimes a character or plotline makes me positively ragey. There are books that will forever bring a smile to my face, and books that make me roll my eyes every time I think about them. 

So here's a mix of books that, for various reasons, I have very strong feelings about. (And yes, there's more than ten.)

The Characters Who Stole My Heart

  

Wolfsong (Ox) | The Girl He Used to Know (Annika) 

The Reckless Oath We Made (Gentry)

The Books I Wanted to Throw Across the Room

  

Until the Last Breath | A Thousand Boy Kisses | Fireball

The Character Deaths From Which I Will Never Recover

  

The Stars Are On Our Side | Boone | The Serpent King

The Books I Will Never Not Love

  

Some Kind of Perfect | Still | Him

Have you read any of these books?

Review: Ravensong by TJ Klune

Ravensong

by TJ Klune

Series: Green Creek #2

Pub: July 31, 2018

Genre(s): fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal, lgbt/queer, m/m romance, shapeshifters/werewolves, adult fiction

4.5 stars

GOODREADS

The Bennett family has a secret: They're not just a family, they're a pack. Ravensong is Gordo Livingstone's story.

Gordo Livingstone never forgot the lessons carved into his skin. Hardened by the betrayal of a pack that left him behind, he sought solace in the garage in his tiny mountain town, vowing never again to involve himself in the affairs of wolves.

It should have been enough.

It was, until the wolves came back, and with them, Mark Bennett. And when his town is caught in the jaws of a beast, Gordo is summoned back into the life that left him.

“Gordo, you must rise. For your pack. For us. I must ask you to become the witch to the wolves.”

Now, a year later, Gordo has once again found himself the witch of the Bennett pack. Green Creek has settled after the death of Richard Collins, and Gordo constantly struggles to ignore Mark and the song that howls between them.

But time is running out. Something is coming. And this time, it’s coming from within.

The Green Creek Series is for adult readers.

________________________________________________________________

Wolfsong, the first book in the Green Creek series, was an unforgettable reading experience. Because of that, I went into Ravensong with such high expectations, but most of all I was just happy to be returning to the Bennett pack (packpackpack). It felt like coming home (homehomehome). #IYKYK

 

Gordo was still a child when his father began adding the tattooed runes to his arms and teaching him what it meant to be the witch for a powerful werewolf pack. His mother told him things, too – you can’t trust a wolf, they don’t love you, they need you, they use you. But the Bennett pack was like family – especially Mark. While he may have once been strange and annoying, shadowing Gordo everywhere he went, they became friends – with the promise of more.

 

“I’m making sure you’re safe.”

I took a step back. “From what?”

He shrugged, looking more awkward than I’d ever seen him. “From… like. You know. Bad guys. And stuff.”

 

Tragedy struck, leaving Gordo without both mother and father, but the Bennett’s were there. Taking him in, providing home and family, love and support. But even that did not last. The Bennett’s left Green Creek, and Gordo. There were promises that they would come back for him, that he was loved, that he was still theirs. But all Gordo knew was that he was being left, he wasn’t enough, and he was being betrayed by the one person he never thought was capable of such a thing.

 

“They don’t trust me. And since they don’t trust me, you are leaving me here. You chose them over me.”

“No, Gordo. Never that. I would never –“

“Then stay here.”

 

Over the years, Gordo’s hurt and feelings of betrayal turned to anger. It was easier to be angry than deal with the pain of abandonment. And when the Bennett pack finally returned to Green Creek, he kept his distance, his anger creating a wall between them. When circumstances pulled him back into the Bennett pack, he had to question what he knew of the past and how it had shaped his life. And when danger encroached the bounds of Green Creek, Gordo was tested in ways he could never have imagined.

 

Ravensong delved deep into Gordo’s past and covered the years during the pack’s absence, especially his complicated relationship with Mark Bennett. Gordo, a man who begged to be chosen, wanted (“Right now. Here. Choose me. Mark, I’m asking you, for once in your life, to choose me.”) and Mark, a man who had to make an impossible choice that had lasting consequences. Gordo and Mark were characters who both made great sacrifices for those they loved and those sacrifices changed them. But despite time and distance and anger and hurt, their bond was always there.

 

I thought of a boy with eyes of ice telling me that he loved me, that he didn’t want to leave again but he had to, his Alpha was demanding it, and he would come back for me, Gordo, you have to believe I’ll come back for you. You are my mate, I love you, I love you, I love you.

 

As compelling as the plot was (intrigue, adventure, betrayal, suspense), it was the characters that kept me turning the pages. This cast of characters embodied the spirit of family and friendship and loyalty, even when tested under the most extreme circumstances. When war was brought to their doorstep, all differences were set aside and they came together as a united front.

 

“You are not alone, Gordo. And I promise you that you never will be.”

 

It is impossible for me not to compare Ravensong and Wolfsong. And while Gordo’s stranglehold on his anger over the years sometimes made me yearn for the sweetness and softness of Joe and Ox (from Wolfsong), I understood it came from a place of hurt. And let’s not forget that Gordo was also a total badass (“You done f*cked up. You would do well to start running now. Because the last time someone came for our pack, he ended up getting his head torn off.”). All in all, Ravensong delivered an incredible tale of family in all its forms, the lengths some will go to to protect them, and a love that can overcome it all. I will return to the Bennett family again and again. 4.5 stars

Art credit: unknown

Have you read Ravensong?