Short-Take Reviews: Unbroken (Jay Crownover) & Tangled (Emma Chase)


UNBROKEN
Jay Crownover
Publication date: May 14, 2019
Series: Loveless, Texas #0.5
Genres: Adult, Contemporary Romance
Format: eARC
Source: Forever Yours & Netgalley



GOODREADS  *  AMAZON








S Y N O P S I S

When rodeo star Crew Lawton loses everything in a bad bet, he has no choice but to take a new job to pay off his debts – even if it means becoming the face of an expensive male skincare line. Crew is used to getting sweaty and rustling in the dirt, not posing for photo shoots. And he’s certainly not used to being bossed around by a woman who doesn’t even know the difference between bulls and broncs. But Crew owes money to dangerous criminals, and he’ll do anything Della says in order to pay them back and keep them far away from his family in Loveless, Texas…

The launch of her new men’s line for her family’s company means everything to Della Deveaux, and she’s not willing to let some rugged, arrogant cowboy ruin her campaign. Crew Lawton is the last man she would have chosen to represent her chic, sophisticated brand. Unfortunately, her father already invested millions in Crew’s stupidly handsome face. Yet the more time they spend together, Della and Crew realize that opposites doattract. But when the time comes for Crew to face his past mistakes, will he be able to protect his family…and the woman he’s come to love?
 


M Y   T H O U G H T S

Jay Crownover has kicked off her new Loveless, Texas series with an opposites attract tale that checks all the right boxes. A gambling problem has sent rodeo star Crew Lawton toppling from the top of his field. He reluctantly accepts a modeling gig, the face of a new high-end men’s line, as a means to an end. He’ll do anything to pay off his debts and be free of the bookie who is now threatening his family. Della didn’t want Crew for her ad campaign but once he’s dropped in her lap she can’t deny his good looks and charisma. It was great fun to watch as these two lowered their walls, dropped their prejudices, and found a connection they’d never experienced before. These total opposites brought out the best in one another. While I found the plot line with Della’s father a bit much to be believed, I was willing to roll with it because everything else was so on-point. With a sexy cowboy, a good girl ready to get a little bad, some sexytimes and a little danger thrown in, Unbroken is a great start to a new series and has me ready for more.
4/5 STARS



TANGLED
Emma Chase
Publication date: December 31, 2013 
Series: Tangled #1
Genres: Adult, Contemporary Romance
Format: Audibook
Source: OverDrive











S Y N O P S I S


Drew Evans makes multimillion-dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women with just a smile. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed? He’ll tell you he has the flu, but we all know that’s not really true.

When Katherine Brooks is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating.

How can one woman turn a smooth-talking player into a broken, desperate man? By making the one thing he never wanted in life the only thing he can’t live without.


M Y   T H O U G H T S

I adored Emma Chase’s Royally series and was excited to read more. Tangled looked like the kind of rom-com that that would deliver all the feels. And while it was overall enjoyable there was also an aspect that left me wanting more. Drew is a total workaholic/manwhore and kind of a jerk, too. But he’s also pretty self-aware and didn’t try to pretend that he was Mr. Nice Guy. He meets his match in Kate – a new colleague who, according to his rules, is off-limits since they work together. A forced collaboration on a project has them spending time together and Drew discovers that he actually (gasp!) respects Kate. After that it’s the usual guy realizes he actually has feelings for the girl, guy screws up big time, girl books it, and guy tries to win girl back. My main issue is that I wasn’t totally convinced of Drew’s feelings and it sometimes felt he was just focused on winning. On the plus side, I liked that the story was totally from Drew’s POV (refreshing!), loved his relationship with his niece (and the swear jar he constantly donated to), and the humor than ran throughout the book. 

3.5/5 STARS


HAVE YOU READ EITHER OF THESE BOOKS? 





30 comments

  1. I'm trying to remember if I ever read Tangled but I have no idea. My memory isn't the best LOL and I need to pick up a book by Crownover! I'm glad the series started out great!
    Genesis @ Whispering Chapters

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    1. I didn’t realize that Tangled was from 2013 until I was looking up the pub date. An oldie but a goodie! I first picked up a Jay Crownover book on a whim and now she’s a favorite!

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  2. I feel like I read Tangled but now I want to ! Great reviews and I love the format.

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    1. Thanks! Sometimes I don’t have enough to say for a full-on review, but I want to chat about my feelings. :)

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  3. I disliked Drew. A lot. I agree that it was refreshing to read a book from a male POV, but he just rubbed me the wrong way. Like you said, I didn't like that he thought of Kate as a challenge, and he just really wanted to win. Also, the girl said no over and over again, and he didn't respect that. He just kept pushing her boundaries until he got what he wanted. I enjoyed the narrator, but not the character.

    I STILL need to read a Crownover book!! I've only heard good things about the author. I actually met her last year, at the Origin Event with JLA, and she seemed so awesome.

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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    1. Yeah, I wish Chase could have sold me more on Drew. Let there have been more of a change in him and made me really believe in his feelings for Kate. Because it just felt too much like a competition or another way to "win."

      You totally need to try Jay Crownover! Both her Marked Men and Saints of Denver series are so good! And she seems like she would be a blast. She's good friends with Cora Carmack and whenever I see pics of their road trips together I totally want to hang with them. :)

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  4. Both of these sound like I would like them. I am sorry you weren't into Tangled. Great reviews tho. I will have to check these out.

    Mary

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    1. Tangled was fun (I loved the humor!) but I just never totally warmed to Main character Drew.

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  5. I have Tangled and so shoud get to it. I haven't read Jay Crownover in so long. Maybe I should check her out again.

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    1. Tangled wasn't my fave by Emma Chase but still a good read! And I've become so hooked on Jay Crownover over the last year or so.

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  6. I read Tangled a while back and really enjoyed it, but I read the next book in the series and wasn't too thrilled. I waited to long going back and forth on whether I should download a copy of Unbroken and then it got archived, lol. I'm trying to cut back, but then I did just download a copy of Justified which is book one in the series. I have a feeling Jay Crownover is going to make me love cowboys even more than I already do! :)

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    1. Don't you hate when that happens? LOL You waver back and forth, finally decide to go for it... and *poof* it's been archived. Gah! I imagine you can dive right into Justified without Unbroken, though. Can't wait to see what you think of it!

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  7. Tanya you don't know how happy I am (even if it's sad for you) that Tangled was lacking something for you too! It was the first book that I read from her and while everyone was praising it I felt like the black sheep as it was only "meh" for me ....

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    1. You, too?! I'm glad Tangled wasn't the first I read by Chase. I think it would have tainted how I felt about her books. Thankfully I listened to the first three Royally books and then Getting Schooled so I already knew I loved her writing. :)

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  8. I don't know, I was all about Tangled. Sebastian York just really sold this one to me. I am intrigued by Crownover's new series. I have read so few books with cowboys in them, and I need to fix that. Glad to hear it was a good start to the new series for you.

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    1. I seriously love Sebastian York. The man could read the phone book, y'know? LOL But I guess I wanted to be shown more that Drew was pursuing Kate for the right reasons. I wasn't 100% on board.

      I can probably count the cowboy romances I've read on one hand... but I know I want more. :)

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  9. So Crownover is writing cowboys now! Did not know that.

    Tangled was cute but I'd give it a 3.5 too.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. I know! I was kind of surprised at the new direction but I think she has another series (the Getaway series, I think?) that deals with cowboys. I haven't read those yet, but after reading this one I definitely want more! :)

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  10. Great reviews! Tangled looks like it would be really good, so it's a bummer that it was only a 3.5 star read. Drew does sound like a difficult character to love.

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    1. Yeah, I wished I'd got a little more from Drew, but it was still a good read overall.

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  11. I really want to read that Jay Crownover book. I love the blurb and the cover.

    For some reason, I have no interest at all in reading anything from Emma Chase. I don't know why.

    Great reviews!

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    1. I feel like you can't go wrong with Jay Crownover. :)

      And I've actually loved everything else I've read by Emma Chase... but Tangled just left me little wanting.

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  12. So many people raved about this book when it came out, but now that I read your review, I actually don't think I'd like it. I have a big issue when the guy in a romance is a jerk. (And I think my standards for that seem to be higher than others'.)

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. I mean, Emma Chase writes an awesome rom-com, and this one definitely had a lot going for it, but I did wish I'd felt more that Drew's feeling went deeper and he was really pursuing Kate for the right reasons.

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  13. You had me at sexy cowboy with that first book, lol.

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    1. LOL Crew definitely fits the role of sexy cowboy! *fans self*

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  14. I haven't read either of these but Tangled sounds fun.
    I love Jay Crownover but I'm not sure about Unbroken... Cowboys aren't really my thing. :/

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    1. I've never considered cowboys my thing, either. Never something I've been drawn to. But Crew might have changed my mind... LOL

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