{Review} From Blood & Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Page Count:  454

Publisher: Blue Box Press

Published on: March 30, 2020

Genres: new adult fantasy, paranormal

Amazon // Indie Bound // Barnes & Noble // Better World Books

Content Warnings: does contain some sexual/spicy scenes, death, gore, talk of losing a child, kidnapping, loss of a loved one, mention of suicide, assault, physical abuse, blood depictions, mentions of rape, anxiety depictions, war themes, and self-harm for the acquisition of blood

Rating: 4.5 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

A Maiden…

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

A Duty…

The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.

A Kingdom…

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.

 

~ ~ ~

Hey, guys!

This book has been on my radar for so long. Back in high school I really enjoyed reading JLA's Lux series. However, I when tried to reread them after graduating from high school, they just didn't live up to the hype. I never did finish that series and I don't really think I'll ever get to it. The writing wasn't my favorite and I really lost interest in the fates of the characters. I was really worried that this would be the case with FBAA.

I originally was going to read this with Crystal @crystalsbookishlife when she was hosting a buddy read back September of 2020. Needless to say, it was a flop for me. I wasn't in the mood and I couldn't get into the storyline. I think I put it down around 22% through it.

This time, I was pushed by a friend IRL to read this book. I'm not sure what switch was flipped this second time around, but I was instantly hooked. I didn't want to put this book down. I spent the first week of November devouring it on my work breaks, the gaps I had between writing for #NaNoWriMo, and any other free time I could muster. If it tells you anything, within the first 100 pages, I decided to purchase books 2 & 3 for my collection and instantly dove into book 2 after finishing this one. I'm hooked!

This book isn't peak literature by any means. I still don’t think JLA’s style is 100% my favorite, but her writing has definitely improved. It’s so addicting. Granted, It's pretty predictable at some points, but it managed to completely shock me by the end. I think this series is really promising and I'm really glad I picked it up. If you love high fantasy setting with a paranormal romance, you definitely should check this one out. If you love spicy content in your romance, you’ll definitely be pleased. I definitely will be continuing on with this series ASAP. As I said before, I've already picked up book 2: A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire and I have book 3: The Crown of Gilded Bones on standby when AKOFF destroys me.

Let's discuss second chances in the comments! What book or books have you given a second chance? Did they work out or were they consistent flops for what you wanted to read?

Other Reviews for JLA books:*

• Obsidian: 4 stars
• Onyx: 4 stars
• Opal: 3 stars
• Wicked: 4 stars

*Please know that these reviews were written when I was still in high school. I'm sure my thoughts and processes have changed since then. I do not ever plan on rereading or continuing with the Lux series because I felt the writing was quite lackluster. I really enjoyed Wicked and plan on rereading someday. When I read back on my review, I didn't remember nearly enough of what the actual book was about, but I cracked myself up with my comments. Of all the JLA books, Wicked is probably my favorite from high school. In my head, it's worthy of 5 stars. The Lux books are 3 stars when I think back on them. But the reviews posted are my immediate thoughts after finishing them. It's just really interesting to think back on what you thought after -- 6 years. How time flies!

Also, the Lux books were some of the first reviews I ever posted on Liv the Book Nerd, so that's pretty special and nostalgic for me. Hope you enjoy teen-Olivia's thoughts!

Happy reading!

Olivia

Liv the Book Nerd

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{Review} Love in the City by Jen Morris

 

Page Count: 392

Publisher: National Library of New Zealand

Published On: October 5, 2020

Genres: adult romance

Format: eARC from author/publisher

Rating: 1 star

Goodreads synopsis:

Turning thirty has a way of making you take a good, hard look at your life. And I think we all know what any sensible adult does in that situation: tequila shots. Lots of them.

It’s okay, though, because I’ve finally escaped my tiny New Zealand home town and my negative parents. And New York is better than my wildest fantasies. 
​
So is Michael, the sexy single dad who lives in the apartment upstairs. And he’s featuring in my fantasies more and more—even if he’s a grump and I only ever seem to make a dork of myself in front of him. Ah well, a girl can dream.

Anyway, I’ve got a writing career to build, and writing about being single is fun. If that means swearing off men for a bit, that’s fine. I can totally do that. It’s just a tiny crush. 
​
Besides… happily ever afters aren’t real. Are they?

~ ~ ~

Hey, guys,

If you've been following my blog for a hot minute -- or rather if you've been following my Goodreads and Instagram because I've been terrible about updating my site -- you'll know of my unconventional adoration of the romance genre of late. I'm obsessed. Romance has really been what has gotten me through 2020. No regrets. 

I've discovered that I have certain tropes and buzzwords that cause me to want to pick up a romance instantly. One of the concepts that I love surrounds writers. I love reading about writers and learning about how they find inspiration, but also how they fall in love. Naturally, when I was approached to take part in the tour for Love in the City, I wanted to participate because the book sounded like my cup of tea. 

Unfortunately, I really did not like this book. I wanted to DNF within the first 15-20%, but I stuck it out in hopes that the writing and concept strengthened as the novel continued on. It didn't and my one-star rating is the result. 

I had been asked to take part in the blog tour for this book, but as you can see. I backed out because of my rating. 

For me, one of the main things I unfortunately disliked was the writing style. There was so much telling instead of showing. It read like the character's journal and the writing wasn't solid or polished enough for me to genuinely enjoy the writing style. My dislike of the writer's style really caused me to struggle to immerse myself in the story or enjoy the characters. To me (this is just my opinion), the entire story read like draft-level fanfiction stuff. The wording was awkward and strange to read and there were many moments that were supposed to be funny or swoony, but I was just cringing. It was just really two-dimensional and surface level and I couldn't get behind it. 

Another thing that I didn't enjoy was that the main character was just really annoying. She was supposed to be really creative and artsy, but she really didn't use her noggin 100% of the time. The entire conflict surrounding her blog was that she had pitched an idea for a writing series for a large publication, but it wasn't even really set in stone until the end. She hadn't been given the 100% go-ahead to start on the work and she just pinned herself down to a topic that she didn't jive with throughout. She had so many options, but she blatantly refused to actually communicate with the person and company that she desperately wanted to collaborate with. It was completely unrealistic and bugged me to no end. So unnecessary. 

Additionally, she just didn't communicate with anyone around her until it became incredibly difficult to function. It was just so unrealistic and I couldn't handle it. 

Overall, I cannot recommend this book; however, I'd love to discuss this with other readers. I don't think I'm being too harsh because these are my opinions, but I'd love to discuss why you probably think I'm wrong. I love the discussion!

Happy reading!

Olivia

Liv the Book Nerd

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Mini Contemporary-A-Thon Summer 2020 TBR

Hey, guys!

It's that time! A mini round of the contemporary-a-thon was announced this week and I'm really excited to take part in it. All I've wanted to read is contemporary romance and historical romance, so I'm really excited to dive into my stack of romances. I plan on doing a few more romance-centered readathons, so stay tuned for my TBRs and reading vlogs on my Instagram stories.

If you're interested in participating, I will provide Julie, Chelsea, and Natasha's videos below! I adore their channels and absolutely recommend you subscribe.

Dates: May 22 - May 25 Challenges:

1. Read a book with peach/orange/pink on the cover 2. Read a book under 250 pages 3. Read a book that you think will be fun!

I have quite a few books lined up for the readathon. I've been reading a bunch of books this past week (but not finishing them) and I've been attempting to do TomeTopple as well.

Here are some books I hope to read this weekend:

1. Beauty and the Blacksmith (Spindle Cove #3.5) by Tessa Dare

2. Any Duchess Will Do (Spindle Cove #4) by Tessa Dare

- I'm officially obsessed with Tessa Dare. I'm binging all of her books and I want them all for my collection.

3. The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon (my BOTM pick for May)

-if you're interested in nabbing a copy, you can get your first box for $9.99 with the code MAY5

4. The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite (for BaeClub through @baecrate)

- I'm really excited about this book because it's a f/f historical romance!

5. War (The Four Horsemen #2) by Laura Thalassa ( for the @romancethequebookclub)

- I've only just recently started diving into the world of fantasy romance -- as in romance novels that take place in a fantasy setting. I've read a lot of fantasy and high fantasy that have romance featured in it, but I've never really found fantasy romance novels that I've absolutely adored. Maybe I'm incorrect, but I just don't feel like I've read adult fantasy romance with the smutty times or adult themes.

6. The Bewitched Viking (Viking I #4) by Sandra Hill (for the lols)

This book looks so funny. I'm fully going into this with low expectations because it's not something I would typically pick up. I don't remember my reasoning when I bought this.

The majority of these books would apply to the first challenge, the first book applies to the second challenge, and all of them apply to the third. I'm really excited to read these books. I've been having a lot of fun reading so much romance during my time in quarantine.

Are you participating? What will you be reading?

Olivia

~ Liv the Book Nerd ~

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{Review} On Dublin Street (Dublin Street #1) by Samantha Young

Page Count: 384

Published On: April 9, 2019

Published By: Forever

Genre(s): Romance, Contemporary, New Adult, Adult, Erotica

Source: ebook 

Where To Find It: Amazon // Book Depository 

My Rating: 2.5 stars

RATED R CONTENT WITHIN












Goodreads synopsis:

Four years ago, Jocelyn left her tragic past behind in the States and started over in Scotland, burying her grief, ignoring her demons, and forging ahead without attachments. Her solitary life is working well—until she moves into a new apartment on Dublin Street where she meets a man who shakes her carefully guarded world to its core.

Braden Carmichael is used to getting what he wants, and he’s determined to get Jocelyn into his bed. Knowing how skittish she is about entering a relationship, Braden proposes an arrangement that will satisfy their intense attraction without any strings attached.

But after an intrigued Jocelyn accepts, she realizes that Braden won’t be satisfied with just mind-blowing passion. The stubborn Scotsman is intent on truly knowing her… down to the very soul.

~~~

Hey, guys!

I picked this up for the 2019 ebook-a-thon and I didn't manage to finish it until a couple days after the readathon ended. Here are my thoughts on this book.

On Dublin Street follows Joss as she moves into a new apartment on Dublin Street. When she meets her roommate's brother, her life will never be the same. They hate each other, but they can't seem to stay away from each other. 

This book was just so meh for me. I originally enjoyed the hate-to-love premise, but the entire story was just too messy for me. This story came straight from the Fifty Shades era because the brooding, controlling dude trope was so prevalent in this story. I hated it. He was constantly getting up in Joss's space, grabbing her without her consent, lies to get his way and test her, and didn't communicate when it meant the most. Their whole relationship stemmed from the "best sex ever" (ew) and manipulation and withholding information from each other. 

Joss was also a nightmare. She was traumatized from a terrible experience in her past, but her trauma was just so cookie-cutter blah and she showed hardly any growth until the last minute because her guy "fixed her"...I just didn't like it at all. She constantly let Bradon walk all over her -- especially when it mattered. She just had no respect for herself (even if she had before). It was just so annoying. Her only personality trait was that she was either horny or emotionally detached. Annoying. 

I had hoped that I would love the side characters more than the main characters, but they were typically annoying too. Ellie -- Bradon's sister and Joss's roommate -- was sweet and adorable. I had the least amount of beef with her, but she also used manipulation and withheld information to get her way. Annoying. Adam was just as annoying and caveman-y too. He got a free pass at the end because he was just "so in love" with another character and I guess that makes up for the shitty actions from the rest of the entire book. ANNOYING!

This book was a bit of a train wreck. I had really enjoyed Samantha Young's other book Fight or Flight, so I had hoped this would be better. It wasn't. RIP.

Happy reading!

Olivia

~LivTheBookNerd~

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{Review + Excerpt} Waiting on Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey

Page Count: 320

Published On: June 11, 2019

Published By: Berkley

Genre(s): Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Adult

Source: e-book via NetGalley

Where To Find It: Amazon // Book Depository 

My Rating: 3.25 stars 

Goodread synopsis:

Can a romcom-obssessed romantic finally experience the meet-cute she always dreamed of or will reality never compare to fiction, in this charming debut adult novel from Kerry Winfrey.

Annie is twenty-seven years old, single, and obsessed with romantic comedies (she and her mother watched them religiously before her mom died). Her dating life is limited by the expectations she’s formed from these movies. She is not as open to new experiences as she might be, because she’s waiting for her Tom Hanks–i.e., a guy she’ll find in the perfect, meet-cute romantic comedy way. When Annie does finally meet her perfect match, it’s not quite in the way she expected, and she’s forced to reckon with the walls she’s built around herself over the years.

~~~

My request on NetGalley was graciously accepted by Penguin/Berkley. Thank you Penguin/Berkley for allowing me to access this book. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

This romantic-comedy-esque novel follows 27-year-old Annie. Annie is absolutely obsessed with romantic comedies. She especially looks up to the characters that Tom Hanks plays. Because of the oodles of romantic comedies that she has watched over her life, her expectations are unreasonably high when it comes to getting into dating. When a Hollywood movie crew comes to her town to shoot a romantic comedy, Annie is coerced by her caring uncle to find a job among the crewmen. Thankfully, her uncle knows the director and gets her a job being his assistant. Through her job, she meets A-list celebrities, including the leading man. 

This was such a fun idea for a rom-com novel, however, I really didn't enjoy the constant and repetitive references to Tom Hank's movies. It would be really cute if there had been less, but it was just a bit water-logged with references. It got old quickly. 

Overall, I really liked the side characters, rather than the main character. Up until the end of the book, I just disliked her...However, that's pretty typical in any rom-com. This was fun, but I wish I had liked Annie better. (I actually know a fantastic Annie that loves movies. Check out her YouTube!) She eventually redeemed herself, but my feelings for her were really rough at the beginning.

This book was also pretty predictable but in the best rom-com way. It reminded me of the fun rom-coms from the 90s. I won't spoil anything about the actual happenings of the story because that defeats the point. You go into a rom-com with vague ideas of whether it's good in a good way or bad in a good way. The cheesiness is the point. 

This was a nice testament to the rom-com genre. I honestly haven't watched any of Tom Hanks' romantic comedies, but after reading this, I'll have to. 

This fun book comes out June 11! Pre-order your copy now before it's too late!

Here's a super fun excerpt from the book! 

Happy reading!

Olivia

~Liv the Book Nerd ~

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~ ~ ~

Exclusive Excerpt from the Novel:

I blink a few times, staring straight into Drew Danforth’s face. It’s like when you’re a kid and there’s a solar eclipse, and all the teachers are like, “Don’t look directly into the sun! You’ll destroy your retinas!” but there’s always that one kid (Johnny Berger, in our class) who can’t stop staring.

In this situation, I’m Johnny Berger. And I guess Drew Danforth is the sun.

“Are you okay?” he asks again, enunciating his words even more as if me understanding him is the problem. His brown eyes, I notice, are flecked with tiny bits of gold, which is something you can’t see when you watch him on TV. His hair is just as voluminous as it seems in pictures, but in person, I have the almost overwhelming urge to touch it, to reach out and pull on that one lock of hair that hangs over his forehead.

“She’s not responding.” He turns to Chloe. “Is something wrong?”

“She’s French,” Chloe says without missing a beat. “She only speaks French.”

“I’m not French,” I say, breaking my silence. Chloe and Drew’s heads swivel to look at me.

“I’m sorry about your coat,” I whisper, then I run toward Nick’s.

Chloe bursts in the door behind me, the bell jingling in her wake. “I’m not French?” she screeches. “Those are the first words you spoke to Drew Danforth? Really?”

“Well then, why did you tell him I was French?” I shout, ignoring the curious stares of everyone working on their laptops and the calming melody of whatever Nick put on to replace the Doobies.

“I don’t know!” She throws her hands in the air. “You weren’t talking, so I thought I’d give you an interesting backstory!”

I put my hands over my face. “This is ridiculous.”

“No,” Chloe says, grabbing me by the shoulders. “This is your meet-cute, and now you need to go back out there and find him and say something that isn’t a negation of your Frenchness or an apology for destroying his probably very expensive coat.”

“Meet what?”

Nick stares at us from behind the counter, a dishtowel in his hand.

“A meet-cute,” Chloe stands up straight, shoulders back, as if she’s delivering a Romantic Comedy 101 lecture to Nick and his patrons, “is the quirky, adorable, cute way the hero and heroine of a romantic comedy meet.”

Everyone stares at her blankly.

“Or hero and hero. Or heroine and heroine. Not to be heteronormative,” she clarifies.

“Like how me and Martha met at her wedding,” Gary says.

Chloe thinks about it. “I don’t know that I would necessarily call that one a meet-cute, but sure, Gary.”

“Did you just make that up?” Nick asks, arms crossed.

I shake my head. “No. It’s a thing.”

“Watch a romantic comedy, dude,” Tobin says.

Nick rolls his eyes.

“Anyway,” Chloe continues, “Annie straight up ran into Drew Danforth and spilled a cup of coffee all over his coat, which is, like, the cutest of meets.”

“That doesn’t sound very cute,” Nick says skeptically, rubbing the scruff on his chin. “Was it still hot?”

“Scalding,” I say, sinking into my chair and resting my head on the table.

“Sounds like a meet painful,” says Gary, and a few people laugh.

“Thanks,” I mutter. “I’m so glad you all find my embarrassment entertaining.”

“Annie!” Chloe sits down across from me as a customer walks in and the rest of the shop stops paying attention to us. “This isn’t embarrassing. This is merely a story I’ll tell in my toast at your wedding to Drew.”

I lift my head to look at her. “I hate to break this to you, but I don’t think he’s my Tom Hanks. I think he’s just a famous guy with a possible third-degree burn on his chest. And now my first day on set is going to be super awkward because I accidentally assaulted the lead actor with a beverage.”

Chloe’s about to say something, but then a song starts and she closes her mouth, looking up toward the speakers. “I swear to God, I told Nick not to play any more Bon Iver. It makes people look up their exes on Instagram, not buy coffee. I’m gonna go put on some Hall and Oates.”

As she walks away, I rest my head on the table again. As if it wasn’t embarrassing enough to have my uncle get me a job on set, now I have to deal with this.

{Series Review} Fae's Captive (#1-4) by Lily Archer

Fae's Captive (#1) by Lily Archer 

2.5 stars

Page Count: 100
Published On: February 19, 2019

Road to Winter (Fae's Captive #2) by Lily Archer

2 stars

Page Count: 94 
Published On: February 19, 2019

Bite of Winter (Fae's Captive #3) by Lily Archer 

2 stars

Page Count: 125 
Published On: March 22, 2019

Beyond the Mountain (Fae's Captive #4) by Lily Archer 

2 stars

Page Count: 164
Published On: April 18, 2019

Series Information:

Published via Amazon Publishing (independently) 

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, Erotica

Goodreads synopsis of #1:

My college roommate is the worst. Cecile steals my food, brings guys over at all hours, and parties instead of studying. But those quirks pale in comparison to what she does next. She drugs me, and I wake up imprisoned in an alternate universe full of terrifying creatures.

Now, the biggest and scariest creature of all - a fae king - believes I'm his mate. He's freed me from the dungeon, but, keeps me close. So close, in fact, that I'm beginning to like his wintery gaze and ice-chiseled body. But, secrets and villains lurk throughout this new world. And I don't know if I'll survive long enough to figure out how to get back home.

~~~

I originally picked the first book up for fun. It was recommended to me on Facebook, the cover looked hilariously cheesy, and the premise was just ridiculous enough to pique my interest. I knew this wouldn't be the height of literature, but I didn't expect it to be this discombobulated and disappointing. From the comments that I had read on Facebook and the few reviews on Goodreads, I expected this to be cheesy, but bearable. It was what I wanted. Just for funsies. Buckle up, folks.

This novella and its sequels have a lot of potential to be fantastically cheesy and fun. If you squash all of the little books together and edit it, it would be a decent full-length novel, but it just seemed like the author wanted to churn out chunks of the story (which do not fully connect) and publish them on Amazon without actually editing them. By the end of the fourth installation, I still hardly knew the characters or even cared about their stories. The entire story was just so haphazard that I was purely reading them all to get some sort of closure. I still don't understand the point of the story. 

There's just an immense lack of depth in the characters, the plot, and the world. I wish that there had been more description, less cringe-y dialogue, and more world building. The characters just accept that things are happening, when a realistic and well thought out character would question everything. The explanation that a good fantasy novel would have is not there. It felt like the author was too focused on being mysterious and keeping things for "twists" when there was a perfect place to add some explanation to hint toward the twists that were coming. I constantly found myself annoyed with the lack of explanation.  

As I read these books, I continuously lost hope for any potential that this series would improve. The author continued to make the same mistakes that were found throughout the other books. She constantly over explained her work. I think she did this because of the lack of planning and cohesiveness as she was writing. It's obvious how much she lacked proper planning. Overall, there was just a lack of editing. The switching between modern and older vernacular, inconsistent writing, missing scenes and information, unrealistic sex scenes and emotions surrounding the scenes, and convenient plot additions all revealed her lack of editing and organization.

ALSO the use of "creamy thighs" needs to be ERADICATED from any novel. NO. GROSS! No more of that, please.

I can see the passion behind this story and the characters, but there needs more work, more beta readers with actual experience, and a good editor. I'd love to be this author's editor. It'd be so fun to get this story to where it could be. Right now, it's just a few chunks of a story that aren't written well. It almost felt like reading a strange fanfiction (of something???) that was written on Wattpad in 2014. It just wasn't an enjoyable time. 

I hate to roast these books, but they just need a lot of work before they can be actual books. 

Happy reading!

Olivia

~LivTheBookNerd~

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{Review} Meet Cute by Helena Hunting

Page Count: 384

Published On: April 9, 2019

Published By: Forever

Genre(s): Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Adult, Fiction

Source: paperback - BaeCrate crate

Where To Find It: Amazon // Book Depository 

My Rating: 3.5 stars 

Goodreads synopsis

Talk about an embarrassing introduction. On her first day of law school, Kailyn ran - quite literally - into the actor she crushed on as a teenager, ending with him sprawled on top of her. Mortified to discover the Daxton Hughes was also a student in her class, her embarrassment over their meet-cute quickly turned into a friendship she never expected. Of course, she never saw his betrayal coming either...

Now, eight years later, Dax is in her office asking for legal advice. Despite her anger, Kailyn can't help feeling sorry for the devastated man who just became sole guardian to his thirteen-year-old sister. But when her boss gets wind of Kailyn's new celebrity client, there's even more at stake than Dax's custody issues: if she gets Dax to work at their firm, she'll be promoted to partner.

The more time Kailyn spends with Dax and his sister, the more she starts to feel like a family, and the more she realizes the chemistry they had all those years ago is as fresh as ever. But will they be able to forgive the mistakes of the past, or will one betrayal lead to another?

~~~

Hey, guys!

I received this book in the first ever BaeCrate and I really enjoyed it! 

This book follows Kailyn and Daxton in a dual perspective hate to love romance that you don't want to miss. When Daxton's parents die tragically in a car accident, Daxton is entrusted with the care and custody of his younger sister. This then puts Kailyn in charge of the little sister's trust fund and the investigation surrounding Daxton's legitimacy when it comes to being in charge of his sister's funds. The two went to law school together back in the day and their rivalry was flirty, intense, and competitive. Kailyn's firm gives her the opportunity to recruit Dax to their firm. If she recruits him and convinces him to transfer, she'll be promoted to partner. As she continues to help Dax and his little family, she questions whether the promotion is really worth it or if she's going to follow her heart to a relationship.

I really enjoyed this romance novel. I really loved the focus on family and the conflict that resulted from the custody suit. Reading this soon after my friend's death, I really related to Dax and his little sister. Their grief was so realistic and handled so well and throughout the novel, the two face their new reality where their parents are no longer with them. The trauma that the two face throughout the book was so relatable and I really felt for their predicament and the feelings that resulted from their loss. 

I loved the characters in this novel. Kailyn was so freaking smart and fun. I loved the nerdy side of her, though I wish it was expanded on more. Daxton was also really great. I really loved his soft caring nature, especially when it came to his sister. The romance was very very nice. Steamy, passionate, and realistic. It was just awesome! I'm not going to reveal much, but I do recommend. I wish that there had been more description? I guess??? Some of the scenes where they were showing their adoration for each other were just explained instead of shown.

Overall, this story was really fun. I'm definitely going to have to check out some more of Helena Hunting's work. 

New Adult Romance Recommendations:

• Roomies by Christina Lauren
• Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren ~ 4.5 stars 
• One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
• The Hating Game by Sally Thorne ~ 5 stars

Happy reading,

Olivia

~Liv the Book Nerd~
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