BOOK REVIEW: Love of My Lives by Yamile Saied Méndez

 

A contemporary love story about fate and the lifelong journey of finding your soul mate. 

BOOK DETAILS

Title: Love of My Lives

Author: Yamile Saied Méndez

Publisher: Kensington Books

Publication Date: September 26, 2023

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Point of View: 3rd Person

Trope(s): Soul Mates, Magical Realism, Travel 

MY SYNOPSIS

On the night Madi Ramirez lost her abuela at the age of 13, her grandmother's spirit paid her a visit and revealed an image of the man she was destined to marry. As Madi grew older and began to date, it became her single focus to find this mysterious man.

Fast forward to present day >> every man Madi believed was the love of her lives has turned out to be a disappointment. When Madi finds herself once again reeling from a breakup, she decides to seek solace by traveling to her grandmother's homeland in Puerto Rico. 

 

Madi immediately feels at home on the island and soon meets a man with whom she feels an instant connection. The only problem? He doesn't haven't the same initials as the man she saw in her vision as a child. Madi must decide if she wants to continue living for a day in the future that may never come or live in the present and enjoy every moment she possibly can with the man right in front of her. 

MY THOUGHTS

LOVE OF MY LIVES is a fun, lighthearted read that would be perfect for the beach. The plot is interesting and unique, and the author added a lot of great descriptive and background information about Puerto Rico. It made me want to book a flight to see the beauty for myself. 

However, I would have liked to feel a deeper connection between Madi and the main love interest. Their relationship just didn't feel believable to me. There were also a few events that seemed too far fetched and a few others that didn't really add anything to the story. Overall, I thought it was an enjoyable read that could use another round of editing. 

I'd recommend to readers looking for a fun travel romance, as well as fans of soul mates, magical realism, and instalove. 

OVERALL RATING: ❤️❤️❤️

*A big thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.  

BOOK REVIEW: The Architect by Nikki Sloane

THE ARCHITECT is a steamy three-alarm inferno of hotness!

The third installment of the Nashville Neighborhood series is much more intense (and satisfying) than the two that came before it. THE DOCTOR and THE POOL BOY are great, but THE ARCHITECT is just... more everything. 

Clay Crandall is an architect who's not happy when a problem with a current project sends him out of town. Because his relationship with next-door neighbor Lilith is new and he's eager to make good on the designs he has planned for her, he proposes an unconventional solution to satisfy both of their needs until he returns from Jacksonville -- LONG DISTANCE PLAY.

And not your typical long-distance play either. Oh, no. Clay wants to watch and direct a friend to carry out his plans for Lilith in his stead.

"I asked Mr. E if he'd be interested in a temporary arrangement. He said yes."

I swallowed thickly.

"What kind of arrangement?"

"Until I'm back, he'll be me."

"What?"

"I'll still control the scene, but it'll be remotely for now. He's agreed to fulfill the physical part for me. He's another way for us to play together."

Of course, there are a few stipulations. And, as you might imagine, things don't quite play out the way Clay originally planned...

I really loved the dynamic between Clay, Lilith, and Mr. E. It's such a unique situation that almost feels impossible to succeed, but Sloan somehow makes their relationship seem like the norm instead of an outlier. The writing is excellent, as always, but I will say this -- I think this might be Nikki Sloane's steamiest book yet. If you're at all familiar with her work, you already know that's really saying something.   

PLEASE NOTE -

THE ARCHITECT is centered around a MFM relationship and features elements of BDSM (bondage and pain infliction, mostly). If BDSM is a trigger for you or not really your thing, this book is not for you.

For those of you that don't mind a little BDM (minus the sadism), you're good. Humiliation, degradation, and/or victims of abuse are NOT aspects of this story.

GENRE: Erotica
POV: First Person (Lilith)
STEAM FACTOR: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
STORYLINE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Amazon | Apple Books | Nook | Kobo | Google Play | Goodreads 

**A huge thank you to the author and Valentine PR for giving me the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own and have been written in my own words. Life as Jane Doe does not accept monetary compensation for reviews, interviews, giveaways, and/or book tours and does not participate in affiliate programs.

BOOK RELEASE BLITZ & REVIEW: Playing with Fire by L.J. Shen

"Clear off a top spot on your Best of 2020 list.

Playing with Fire is coming in HOT!"

- Harloe Rae, USA Today Bestselling Author

Playing with Fire, an all-new intense and all-consuming small town standalone romance from USA Today bestselling author L.J. Shen is available now!

A broken boy on the path to destruction.

A scarred girl without direction.

A love story carved in secrets, inked with pain and sealed with a lie.

Grace Shaw and West St. Claire are arctic opposites.

She is the strange girl from the food truck.

He is the mysterious underground fighter who stormed into her sleepy Texan college town on his motorcycle one day, and has been wreaking havoc since.

She is invisible to the world.

He is the town's beloved bad boy.

She is a reject.

He is trouble.

When West thrusts himself into Grace's quiet life, she scrambles to figure out if he is her happily-ever-after or tragic ending. 

But the harder she pushes him away, the more he pulls her out of her shell.

Grace doesn't know much about anything beyond her town's limits, but she does know this:

She is falling in love with the hottest guy in Sheridan U.

And when you play with fire--you ought to get burned.

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/35scdah

Amazon Universal: http://mybook.to/PWFLJShen

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3bDlzRh

Add PLAYING WITH FIRE to Goodreads - https://bit.ly/MDVljgr

MY THOUGHTS

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Point of View: Alternating First Person
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I am so obsessed with this book! It's full of angst and witty banter. It will piss you off, warm your heart, and make you feel ...all the things.  

Grace Shaw and West St. Claire are polar opposites.

Grace likes to hide in the background.
West captures the attention of everyone.
Grace refuses to step outside of her comfort zone.
West HAS no comfort zone.
Nothing flusters West.
Everything flusters Grace.

Despite their differences, Grace and West have two important things in common:

1. They have suffered an unimaginable tragedy. 

2. They are stuck in the past and allow it to dictate their future. 

Grace is surprised to find an unexpected ally in West after being forced to work with him. While West is best known for his hotheaded attitude and total domination in an underground fighting ring, he's different with Grace. He's quick to smile and shares parts of himself that he keeps hidden from everyone else. 

"In a lot of ways, the food truck felt like our bubble.
A snug confession booth.
The rules were different in the truck.
Like we shed our primary skin, of our stigma and reputation and social status.
Here we were simply... us."

PLAYING WITH FIRE is much more than a simple love story. It's also a story about life, loss, recovery, and rising up from the ruins. 

ABOUT L.J. SHEN

L.J. Shen is a USA Today, Washington Post, and Amazon #1 best-selling author of contemporary, New Adult, and YA romance. Her books have been sold to twenty different countries.

She lives in California with her husband, son, cat and eccentric fashion choices, and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows and catching sun rays with her lazy cat.

Connect with L.J. Shen

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2OhSvp1

Twitter: http://bit.ly/36ELHZc

Pinterest: http://bit.ly/2oMbFsu

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2AlOiTo

Stay up to date with L.J. Shen by signing up for her mailing list: http://bit.ly/36MnmAQ

Website: http://www.authorljshen.com/

*A big thank you to the author and Social Butterfly PR for giving me the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own and have been written in own words. Life as Jane Doe does not accept monetary compensation for reviews, interviews, giveaways, and/or book tours and does not participate in affiliate programs. 

BLOG TOUR & BOOK REVIEW: The Pool Boy by Nikki Sloane

From USA Today bestselling author Nikki Sloane comes a sexy, edgy new standalone in the Nashville Neighborhood series.

BOOK BLURB

Nothing says happy birthday like catching your husband in a compromising position with his boss. 

His male boss.

Why, hello, midlife crisis.

I'm starting over, but this time I'm doing it right.

Or at least I'm doing what I want.

Taking the day off from work to hang out poolside?

Yup.

Do I leave the swimsuit in my house?

Sure.

Does my very hot, twenty-something pool boy happen to catch me naked?

Oh, yeah, he does. And he likes what he sees... a lot.

My best friend keeps telling me to have a fling and get back out there.

But I'm not so sure she meant for me to do it with her son.

EXCERPT

Troy Osbourne came once a week to service both my pool and the freestanding spa. I'd hired him last year to handle closing and covering the pool for the winter, then reopening it for me last month, and the weekly visits that followed had kept the water crystal clear and the pH perfectly balanced.

My pool had never looked so good.

But Troy always came when I was at work and let himself in through the gate at the side of my fence, so I had completely forgotten his schedule. He must have gone behind the pool house and inside to fetch his supplies, and when he'd rounded the corner and discovered me topless, he'd dropped everything in his arms. 

Including the long pole with the net at the end.

It was as if someone had put their foot down on the sustain pedal of a piano, only this piano played the music of time, and the moment suspended with my long, drawn out gasp.

I was topless, and he was frozen, and holy shit, he's my best friend's twenty-four-year-old son.

It burst from my lips in horror. "Oh, f*ck!"

In my panic, I grasped at my towel to cover myself, only to struggle, hopelessly, since it was pinned beneath my body. I leapt to my feet and yanked the terrycloth up, pressing it over my naked chest.

Troy still hadn't moved. His lips were open, as if he'd planned to say something, but now he was frozen and unable to do anything. I couldn't see his eyes behind his mirrored Aviator sunglasses, but he didn't seem to be breathing. 

So, I did what any reasonable woman would when a gorgeous almost-stranger caught her naked.

I ran.

MY THOUGHTS

Genre: Contemporary / Erotic Romance 

POV: Alternating First Person 

Tropes: Divorce, Forbidden Love, Learning to Love Again, Musicians, Reverse Age Gap, Work Relationships

Overall: ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Character Development: 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨

Steam Factor: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

I've said it before and I'll say it again -- Nikki Sloane never disappoints. I've read every book, novella, and short story she's ever published, and every book, novella, and short story has been nothing short of spectacular. 

THE POOL BOY strikes the perfect balance between steamy and heartfelt moments.

It's the perfect mix of sweetness and filth.

At the age of 42, Erika is in the best shape of her life. So, she doesn't understand why her husband's sex drive seems to be fading. That is until she catches him cheating.  

Meanwhile...

At the age of 24, Troy is stuck working for his stepdad's construction company. It's one of a few jobs, actually -- he also teaches a class at the gym, cleans the pool for Ms. Erika, and performs at local dive bars on the weekends.  

Troy has harbored a crush on Erika for years but realistically knows he doesn't have a shot with his mom's best friend.

CUE: TROY'S FANTASY COMES TO LIFE

"His mouth was the same as his singing voice.

Gentle one second and full of commanding power the next."

FINAL TAKE

Like THE DOCTOR (the first book in the the Nashville Neighborhood series), THE POOL BOY is a fun, steamy, quick read. It should come as no surprise that I loved it, as I love everything Nikki Sloane writes. She can write a sex scene like nobody's business; they are always super hot and never a touch cringe. This is no easy feat, but Sloane somehow manages it every time. THE POOL BOY is the perfect summer read!

Download THE POOL BOY today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/39TKob6

Apple Books:https://apple.co/2BTlM5t

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/2Xm61LU

Kobo:https://bit.ly/2XnDmGm

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2Pm5tBy

USA TODAY bestselling author Nikki Sloane landed in graphic design after her careers as a waitress, a screenwriter, and a ballroom dance instructor fell through. For eight years, she worked for a design firm in that extremely tall, black, and tiered building in Chicago that went through an unfortunate name change during her time there.

Now she lives in Kentucky, is married and has two sons. She is a three-time Romance Writers of America RITA Finalist, a Passionate Plume winner, a two-time HOLT Medallion finalist, and couldn't be happier that people enjoy reading her sexy words.

CONNECT WITH NIKKI

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1SbBUyM

Facebook: http://bit.ly/NikkiSloaneFB

Twitter: http://twitter.com/AuthorNSloane

Instagram: http://bit.ly/NikkiSloaneIG

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/NikkiSloanneBB

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/NikkiSloaneBB

Join her mailing list: https://www.nikkisloane.com/newsletter

*A big thank you to the author and her PR group for granting me the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own personal opinions and have been written in my own words.

BOOK REVIEW: Time of Our Lives by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

MY SYNOPSIS

Juniper has a chaotic life at home in Springfield, Massachusetts. She lives in a multi-generational household and yearns for the freedom an out-of-state school would provide.

Fitz lives in New Hampshire with his mom and feels a great deal of pressure to take care of her (she carries the gene for early onset Alzheimer's). Although he's resigned himself to a future attending a nearby college, he begrudgingly agrees to tour several universities in the northeast to appease his mother.

Juniper and Fitz meet each other while on their college tour and wonder if their friendship could turn into something more.

MY THOUGHTS

GENRE: Young Adult

POV: Alternating 1st Person

SETTING: Mostly NYC

TROPES: College, Coming of Age, Family Life, Love Triangle, Opposites Attract

STORYLINE: ⭐⭐💫

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 🧑🏽🧑🏽🧑🏽

ROMANCE: 💑💑

TIME OF OUR LIVES had so much potential but fell far short for me. There are several plot holes and too few romantic moments to qualify as Young Adult Romance. The focus is much more on the family dynamics of each character (which is okay!) than I was expecting. 

 

Perhaps, I would have found it more enjoyable had I not been expecting an adorable, feel good romance. But I chose to read this particular book, at this particular time, because I believed it would be similar to the YA romance stories previously published by this author duo and that isn't the case.

To read my full review (spoilers included), you can find it on Goodreads >>> here.

BOOK REVIEW: The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

BOOK SYNOPSIS

Tiffy and Leon share a flat.
Tiffy and Leon share a bed.
Tiffy and Leon have never met.

Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.

But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven’t met yet, they’re about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window.

MY SYNOPSIS

When Tiffy (short for Tiffany) breaks up with her boyfriend, he understandably wants her to find another place to live but her choices are limited.

Tiffy earns diddlysquat at her job working for a craft and hobby magazine. On top of that, she owes her ex-bf a bit of back pay on rent. She loves her job and doesn't want to quit, but neither can she afford to pay for a London flat by herself. Enter Leon's advert.

Leon is as a palliative care nurse at a hospice facility, but he needs extra income to take care of a family matter. Because it isn't really feasible for Leon to obtain a second job, as he works the higher paid overnight shift, he decides the best option is to procure a flat mate. This solution seems easy enough, as he'll occupy the flat when his roommate is working and he stays with his girlfriend on the weekend anyway. 

"I have a feeling Tiffy becomes 'our girl' easily -- she's the sort of person distant relatives and absent neighbors still like to claim credit for."

Leon's new flat mate is friendly, loquacious, goofy, and tons of FUN. Tiffy's bubbly personality, tall stature (six feet!), and funky outfits grab the attention of everyone around her. Leon, on the other hand, is kind, stoic, and likes to keep to himself. He's not a man of many words, and he often settles for the status quo to avoid change. In other words, Tiffy and Leon are polar opposites!

When Tiffy moves into the flat, they find creative ways to communicate and soon realize they've found an unexpected ally in each other.

MY TAKE

"There's more emotion here than at an airport arrivals lounge.
Love Actually was missing a trick."

Leon and Tiffy are utterly charming, adorable, and unique. In fact, unique is the perfect word to describe this book.

The plot is unique.

The characters are unique.

The writing format is unique.

Even their jobs are unique.

And, that's what really tipped the scales and made it a real winner for me. It's always refreshing to find a book with a unique storyline, especially when it comes to romance novels. 

MY RATING

OVERALL: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 👥👥👥👥👥

STORYLINE: 📚📚📚📚📚

BLOG TOUR: The Hunter by L.J. Shen

THE HUNTER really surprised me. While Shen's writing is as clever as ever, it took me a while for me to warm up to Hunter. Initially, I was not a fan.

The story begins with Hunter knee deep in debauchery from the jump. And, it's shockingly gross debauchery at that. 

Hunter is completely different from the heroes I'm used to seeing from Shen.

He's a manwhore with a potty mouth and can turn anything into a sexual innuendo. He has zero shame and gives zero f*cks.

But... he has his moments. He can be funny and flirtatious, kind and charismatic. He can be completely charming when he wants to be. And, let's not forget that he is F-I-N-E, fine.

He's Sebastian from Cruel Intentions (minus the stoicism). He's Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl (minus the snobbery). He's Wade from Hart of Dixie (if you replace his southern accent with one from Boston). He' s John Tucker from John Tucker Must Die (but a hundred times filthier). 

Despite Hunter's arrogance and gross sexual habits, he grew on me and I had fun watching his character develop into something resembling a human being. 

There's a few brief cameos of Knight, Vaughn, and Luna, but don't expect to see much of them. Although Troy and Sparrow have a solid showing, and it was great to get some insight into the Brennan family dynamic.

THE HUNTER is a funny and delightful addition to the Boston Belles series, but there is very little romance and it wasn't my favorite.

MY RATING

OVERALL: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 👥👥👥👥

STORYLINE: 📚📚📚📚

STEAM FACTOR: 🔥🔥

*I highly recommend reading Sparrow and the previous books in the Boston Belles series before reading this one. 

BOOK REVIEW: Admission by Julie Buxbaum

ADMISSION is a fictional story about the very real college admissions scandal that sparked outrage and passionate debate across the country. With sensitivity and grace, Julie Buxbaum has woven a tale about the forces that perpetuate elitism and white privilege and the destruction those forces leave in their wake. 

Chloe Berringer is living the good life in sunny, southern California. Well... she was living it before the FBI showed up with guns drawn and a warrant for her mother's arrest. 

Until that fateful day, Chloe had lived the most uneventful life that ever existed. Nothing bad ever happened, and senior year was shaping up to be the best yet! An acceptance letter from Chloe's dream school had just arrived (despite her mediocre GPA and the school's notoriously selective acceptance policy), and her lifelong crush had finally asked her to Prom.

In the blink of an eye (or the clink of her mom's cuffs), Chloe's good fortune makes a complete 180 before nosediving straight into the ground. Unable to return to school and with her best friend MIA, Chloe is forced to face some hard truths alone.  

MY THOUGHTS

I found myself captivated by Chloe's story. Indeed, I read this ARC from start to finish without putting it down. Despite a few (very minor) holes in the subplot of a secondary character, I thoroughly enjoyed ADMISSION and think it's an important story worth telling.

Ignorance may be bliss, but it's also irresponsible. 

OVERALL RATING: ❤️❤️❤️❤️

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 👩‍⚖️👩‍⚖️👩‍⚖️👩‍⚖️👩‍⚖️

STORYLINE: 📚📚📚📚

Scheduled Release Date: December 1, 2020

*A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

BOOK REVIEW: Twisted Twosome by Meghan Quinn

Racer is a total man's man.

He builds houses.
He works hard for his money.
And he's got a hot bod to show for it.

(If you've read My Best Friend's Ex from the Binghamton series, you may remember Racer's obsession with Little Debbie Cakes.)

While Racer is rough around the edges, Georgiana is as polished and refined as fine china. Although, delicate she is NOT.

Despite growing up in a life of wealth and privilege, G dreams of finding her own way in the bridal boutique business. Armed with a business degree from Columbia and a solid business plan, the only thing standing in her way is Daddy Dearest. He has other ideas about the role a woman should play, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to sabotage her dreams.

When Georgiana's father uses his clout in the construction industry to blacklist his own daughter, G finds herself in a precarious situation. She desperately needs help from Racer to complete the remodel on her storefront, and Racer risks losing the house he built with his own father if he says no. A partnership may seem like a no-brainer on the surface, but a previous encounter that ended in a shouting match has left them both with not-so-fuzzy feelings about each other.

Forced into a volatile situation out of sheer desperation, Racer and Georgiana must learn to work together without killing each other or falling in love. As per usual, Quinn has dreamt up some wild shenanigans that will have you laughing out loud and Racer's sweetness is guaranteed to melt your heart into goo.

"He believes in you, G. Straight-up, that man is a keeper. I know you're guarded, and you have every reason to be. But Racer? Even though you've never looked for or needed a knight in shining armor, that is what he is. Not as a rescuer, but as a believer. In you. He is completely and unashamedly there for and with you." 

MY RATING

OVERALL: ❤️❤️❤️❤️

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 👩👩👩👩

STORY LINE: 📚📚📚📚📚

STEAM FACTOR: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

BOOK REVIEW: Violent Triumphs by Jessica Hawkins

Violent Triumphs by Jessica Hawkins

(Book 3 of the White Monarch Series)

MY REVIEW

Violent Triumphs is an action-packed, evocative, gripping, heart-wrenching, tragic, beautifully written, and highly original piece of work. 

You should all be well-aware of my love for Jessica Hawkins and the White Monarch series by now. I am utterly obsessed and there's never been another book I've been more impatient to read than I was this one. (For the record--it was worth the wait.) 

"Sometimes, if you want to learn to be ruthless, you have to start by ripping out your own heart."

The White Monarch is an three-part series about the daughter of one of the most powerful cartel kingpins in all of Mexico.

You can read my review for the first two books in this series here and here.

"I wouldn't be allowed in Heaven, but I swear on all that's holy -- I'd rattle the gates until they let me have you."

The thing I love most about this series is that it's unique. The story hasn't already been done a million times--which makes it interesting, and powerful, and suspenseful, and thrilling. 

Violent Triumphs is about --

Love and war.

Betrayal and sacrifice.  

Triumph and defeat. 

Death and rebirth.

It's a story about a metamorphosis. 

It's impossible for me to share more about this story without spoiling it for you. So, you'll just have to trust me when I say this entire series is truly superb and you need to read it... NOW.

AMAZON | APPLE | GOOGLE PLAY | NOOK | KOBO

Goodreads  & Audible Alert

Learn more >>> author's website

"Bienvenido al inferno.
Welcome to Hell, my friends.
It happens to look and feel quite a lot like heaven." 

FINAL RATING: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

My self-curated White Monarch Playlist

Unfoolish - Ashanti

Poison & Wine - The Civil Wars

Tragic Endings - Eminem (feat. Skylar Grey)

Let Me (Acoustic) - Belle Mt

Electric - Alina Baraz (feat. Khalid)

Hate to Love You - The Revivalists

Never Let Me Go - Florence + the Machine

Sail - AWOLNATION

Live or Die - Noah Cyrus & Lil Xan

Hold On - Chord Overstreet

Judas - Cage the Elephant

I Know Places - Taylor Swift

Wreak Havoc - Skylar Grey

Take Me to Church - Hozier

Ember - Katherine McNamara

Heathens - Twenty One Pilots

Bad Girls - M.I.A.

Santeria - Sublime

Glycerine - Bush

I Have Questions - Camila Cabello

 *An ARC of this book was provided to me by the author. The thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of the blog owner (me) and have been written in my own words.