Short Take Reviews x 5: 4 Contemporary Romances + 1 YA


Here's a handful of quick reviews that are something of a mixed bag. A few were really enjoyable but a couple were not so great, including, I'm sad to say, an arc I had high hopes for. They can't all be winners! If you've read any of these, let me know what you thought... I'd love to hear.

    

THE CLOVER CHAPEL (JAMISON VALLEY #2) | 4 STARS
by Devney Perry
After loving Perry’s The Coppersmith Farmhouse, I was excited to return to the small town of Prescott, Montana. Nick and Emmy shared one wild night in Vegas which ended with a spontaneous wedding. But the next morning Nick was gone, leaving Emmy hurt and confused over what had happened and why he left. Flash forward nine years and Emmy, who has come to Prescott for a fresh star, runs into none other than Nick. While the story depended on the reader believing in Nick and Emmy’s near instant connection and the fact that they still carried a torch for each other almost a decade late, I was more than willing to roll with it. Perry managed to have me so firmly onboard the Nick & Emmy love train that even Nick’s insistence that she was his wife (which, technically she still was) had me swooning instead of rolling my eyes. When drama arrived at their doorstep I was so invested that I was turning the pages as fast as I could. While I didn’t love this one quite as much as the first book, I was still all-in for Nick and Emmy’s story. (The Clover Chapel is the second book in the Jamison Valley series but can easily be read as a standalone.)

FIGHT FOR ME (THE ARROWOOD BROTHERS #2) | 3.75 STARS
by Corinne Michaels
Come Back For Me, the first book in the Arrowood Brothers series, had the perfect set-up for Declan and Sydney’s story so I was excited to learn their background and watch how they reconnected. Declan and Sydney had been Declan+Sydney since they were kids. The best friends/lovers were a perfect match – until Declan abruptly broke things off and walked away. Years later, forced to return to his childhood home for several months, Declan had to face the fallout from his actions. There were times when I wanted to throttle both characters for keeping secrets, and their back and forth started to feel a little repetitive, but in true Michaels fashion, she made me care. And when the real emotional scenes came, I was right there, dabbing my eyes and forgetting all about wanting to throttle anyone, and just wishing for a happy ending. (While it’s not necessary to read Come Back For Me first, the brothers’ background is explained a lot more in that one and would probably help make sense of Declan’s decisions and actions.)

PERFECT LOVE STORY | 3.5 STARS 
by Natasha Madison
Hailey seems to have the perfect life – until her husband is killed in an accident and she learns that he wasn’t only her husband. He had another wife - and children. Devastated, she retreated to a beachside home to lick her wounds. Jensen (totally digging that name) was married to his high school sweetheart and thought his whole life was mapped out until his wife walked out on him and their daughter. When a new woman moves into the house he built for his ex it raises his hackles and the sparks fly. There’s no other way to say it: Jensen was a total dick at the beginning of the book. The way he treated Hailey was pretty atrocious and uncalled for. To Hailey’s credit, she didn’t just take it and she let him know what she thought of him. Eventually they did find common ground in their shared losses/betrayals and a relationship grew from there. Their story was mostly drama-free which I appreciated, but I also didn’t feel much of a connection with either character or their relationship. Even so, I appreciated their openness and honesty with each other and the ease they had together. Jensen’s daughter was totally cute and it was heartwarming to see the bond grow between her and Hailey.   

    

THE PLAYER | 3 STARS 
by Claire Contreras
The Player was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Warren was an international soccer star at the top of his game and Camila was a mere mortal who lived in NYC and worked for a non-profit. A chance meeting had Warren desperate to get in her pants during the two weeks he’s in NYC. So yeah, that felt like the entire premise for at least the first half of the book. Eventually they started spending time together and some real feelings started to develop but it took so long for there to be anything substantial to their relationship that it was hard to feel invested. As much as I liked Warren, Camila was hard to take. She had a total bias against anyone with money and was hung up on social class/standing. It was maybe a bit understandable considering her past but she took it to an extreme. And she played hard to get for so long I couldn’t understand why Warren persisted. When a secret was revealed late in the story, Camila overreacted and used it as an excuse to push Warren away (even her sister tried to reason with her), and Warren’s grand gesture, while huge, felt undeserved and as if he was the only one compromising. As much as I liked Warren and his story, Camila wasn’t particularly likable and that made it hard to pull for her.

THE MALL | 2.5 STARS 
by Megan McCafferty
I had such high hopes. I mean, it’s a book set in 1991 and is practically an ode to late 80’s/early 90’s pop culture (90210, Designer Imposter perfumes, Wilson Phillips and Color Me Badd). And it’s Megan McCafferty, the creator of the Jessica Darling series (which, by the way, never got the attention it deserved). But I’m sad to say, The Mall just didn’t do it for me. Main character Cassie was quite a pill. Cassie was wallowing in post break-up status and absolutely oblivious to anything or anyone around her. She was super judgey about everyone she encountered and behaved like a total brat with her parents. So there was that. It’s the summer between high school graduation and college and Cassie was meant to be spending it working with her longtime boyfriend at America’s Best Cookie. Instead, he cheats on her, they break up, and she gets fired (I never did understand why she got fired.) She finds a job at another mall shop, working with her former bff, and gets pulled into a bizarre scavenger hunt while continuing to be whiny and self-indulgent. By the end it seemed like she supposedly learned a lesson from the other mall-ites she encountered which felt too after-school-special for me. I’m bumping this one up by a half-star sheerly for the nostalgia factor of all the 90’s references. (Side note: The 90’s setting, while fun, seemed like an odd choice considering that anyone old enough to actually remember and appreciate the references is much older than the intended YA audience.)


Have you read any of these books?


24 comments

  1. The Clover Chapel sounds so good. I love the small town setting, and you have me so curious about Nick and Emmy's relationship, especially how the author managed to make a potentially cringeworthy moment so palatable, lol. That's an impressive feat so I feel like I need to meet this couple. I'm still bummed The Mall turned out to be a dud but yours definitely isn't the only mixed review I've seen for it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, The Mall just didn't deliver much for me. It had some laugh but ultimately seemed pointless. I definitely recommend The Clover Chapel (or The Coppersmith Farmhouse), though. Devney Perry is becoming a new favorite.

      Delete
  2. OUCH! I can't believe you finished a book that you gave 2.5 stars too. That is a huge disappointment to me too, because I have The Mall and have been avoiding it because of all the poor ratings. I remember seeing Dahlia Alder's review for this book, and she mentioned how the publishing imprint was more for cross-overs, which may have been the objective with this book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know but I felt totally obligated since it was a review book. I'm really interested to see what you think of it.

      Delete
  3. Glad to hear Clover Chapel was good. I think I have a copy. I do want to read more by her. You're right, you can't love them all. It's hard to write a review for those that you didn't love but didn't hate, right? Great job here! Hope your next reads are excellent!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! Those middle of the road books can be tough to review. And for some reasons with those books I find myself focusing on what bothered my instead of what I liked. Oops!

      Delete
  4. So Devney's book aside these have been more on the "meh" side .... damn!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've only read two by Devney Perry so far but have really enjoyed them both.

      Delete
  5. The fact that The Mall is set in my home state and in a place I spent many hours as a teenager made me want to read it, so that's a bummer to hear that it wasn't a great read!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wellll... maybe it was a "it's me, not you" thing with the book and you would love it. :)

      Delete
  6. The only one that I have read on your list here is The Clover Chapel and I really enjoyed it. I have had a fun time with the series and this author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm excited to continue with Perry's Jamison Valley series.

      Delete
  7. I'm sorry to see The Mall didn't live up to your expectations. I had such high hopes for it too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was so hopeful about this one but sadly it just didn't work for me.

      Delete
  8. I'm so sad to see The Mall wasn't as fabulous as you were hoping it to be. I was really excited to hear about that book, since the 90s were my teenage years. But that doesn't sound like it'll work for me much either. I'll keep it as one that I'll borrow from the library instead of purchasing on my own. Thanks for the heads up!
    Jen @ Star-Crossed Book Blog

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm glad you liked Clover Chapel. That was one of my favorites in that series. The Player wasn't my favorite book by Contreras. I probably rated it about the same. Same for Perfect Love Story. She has such better books. That one felt odd. Great mini reviews!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I need to try something else by Natasha Madison. Because I did enjoy Perfect Love Story but hearing you say that it wasn't her best makes me think I should give her another try.

      Delete
  10. I haven't read any of these! Devney Perry is an author I have on my TBR though so I'm glad her book went down well even if it wasn't as good as the first in the series.

    Sorry to hear that The Mall was such a let down for you. A lot of people seem to be reading it at the moment but it was always a pass from me on that one... :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Devney Perry is one that that I'd been meaning to try for a year or more. When I finally did I wanted to kick myself for waiting so long. :)

      Delete
  11. Perfect Love Story is the only one of these I've read so far. That book started out so strong for me but then fell a bit flat in the relationship, like you mentioned. I'm curious to read another book by Madison, though, because I did feel like her writing had potential. So, I'm anxious to see how I'd like something else from her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here, Alison. I didn't dislike Perfect Love Story by any means but it also wasn't something unforgettable. I've seen a few people say this wasn't her best so I'll probably try something else by Madison at some point.

      Delete
  12. I agree with you about The Mall. I was so excited, but Cassie was sort of a downer and there wasn't much in the way of a plot. I'm going to try Coppersmith Farmhouse - I am reading way more romance lately!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, The Mall was quite a letdown. Cassie really was a downer and so judgey. The more I read, the more I just didn't care.

      Delete