Business or Pleasure is a sex-positive, low-conflict celebrity rom com that worked out great for me. I think a lot of readers will enjoy this book (especially the sex positivity!), but it won’t work for anyone looking for angst. Chandler Cohen wanted to be a writer since she was child, but she chose to focus on journalism rather than creative writing in college because it seemed like a safer bet. Now that there are fewer … Continue reading Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon →
I was mildly annoyed the whole time I was reading Nora Goes Off Script but I also enjoyed the heck out of it. I’m not sure how to grade a book that’s simultaneously pleasurable and grating. Nora is a single mom and a Hallmark-esque screenwriter who just had her big break—her depressing script detailing her recent divorce from her self-absorbed husband sold for a bunch of money. The book opens just as the movie crew … Continue reading Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan →
I love, love celebrity romance, so it was an extra bummer that The Reunion fell so flat to me. I would go so far as to say it doesn’t even really qualify as a romance. It’s more of a book about the heroine’s journey to navigate her second act in Hollywood with some strong romantic elements. Even then, the emphasis on physical details and not emotional ones, plus a stereotypical “villain” made for a tough … Continue reading The Reunion by Kayla Olson →
A Very Merry Bromance is the fifth book in the Bromance Book Club series, and while it can be read as a standalone, the sheer number of characters from other books can be distracting. It’s a Christmas romance, but it deals quite a bit with toxic families and childhood trauma, so I wouldn’t consider it cozy reading, which is what I had been expecting. Gretchen Winthrop had a one-night-stand with country music star Colton Wheeler … Continue reading A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams →
Shana and I both read While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory and we had thoughts! Anna Gardiner is an actress who is going to appear in an advertisement campaign for a new mobile phone. Ben Stephens designed the campaign and will be working closely with Anna during filming. Ben is a self-admitted playboy who is open that he’s only looking for fun, nothing serious. Anna is focused intensely on the next phase of her … Continue reading While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory →
I was initially skeptical of the newest installment in Rai’s Modern Love series. The main character, Jia, is a social media influencer who creates videos about make-up. I tend to avoid novels about models, and wasn’t sure that I was millennial enough to appreciate this romance. But First Comes Like might be my perfect pandemic read. It has a more lighthearted, fluffier tone than Girl Gone Viral, with a heroine whose thirstiness made me smile, … Continue reading First Comes Like by Alisha Rai →
I went into Crashing the A-List by Summer Heacock expecting a celebrity romance with RPF (Real Person Fiction) overtones. I love celebrity romance and I could even overlook the fact that the hero’s name is Caspian Twiddleswich and that he looks a lot like a certain Sherlock star. This book is light on the romance, though, and reads a lot more like the novels I devoured in the early aughts that were frequently labeled “chick … Continue reading Crashing the A-List by Summer Heacock →
I normally don’t devote an entire review to a novella, but One Wild Night had issues. GIF worthy issues. This is a celebrity romance, a sub-genre I’m always drawn to, but only seems to work out for me half the time. As SB Sarah has said, I’m interested in stories that feature public vs private lives. Movie stars, royalty, rock stars, all of that intrigues me. Now, I’d really like to read about celebrity romances with … Continue reading One Wild Night by A.L. Jackson and Rebecca Shea →
I was so, so excited to read #Starstruck by Sariah Wilson. The premise of a fan interacting with her favorite movie star on Twitter, and that interaction subsequently leading to a romance, is all of my catnips. I love private lives vs public selves stories. Unfortunately this book suffers from underdeveloped heroine, an offensive remark about homosexuality, a very misleading message about being sexually active and a poor understanding of feminism. The book pissed me off. Rant … Continue reading #Starstruck by Sariah Wilson →
Obvious questions first! Is Pretty Face as good as Act Like It? Alas, no, I don’t think it is. It’s close, but not quite. The hero and heroine are tremendous, but the obstacles for the characters are not as seamlessly integrated into the story, and there are secondary characters in this book whose portrayals are inconsistent from chapter to chapter. Is there a “But?” HECK YES there is a “But.” Lucy Parker’s dialogue is top-notch, and the London … Continue reading Pretty Face by Lucy Parker →
