A contemporary romance whose love interest just happens to be an endearingly formal, well-mannered, and gently inquisitive vampire. I smiled and smileA contemporary romance whose love interest just happens to be an endearingly formal, well-mannered, and gently inquisitive vampire. I smiled and smiled at this book from beginning to end—so sweet and funny, particularly the notes they leave for each other and his puzzlement over/misunderstanding of modern language and customs.
It’s a little light on plot (if you enjoy Erin Sterling/Rachel Hawkins YA, I expect you’d enjoy this), isn’t much interested in complicated supernatural stuff, you might wonder why she doesn’t ask more questions, and it gets a little scattershot towards the end, but I don’t even care. An enjoyable little Halloween bonbon.
He's an asshole for most of the book, but this is pretty entertaining contemporary angst porn. (view spoiler)[I wish we'd seen more of what happened tHe's an asshole for most of the book, but this is pretty entertaining contemporary angst porn. (view spoiler)[I wish we'd seen more of what happened to Drew though, he was all kinds of intense and then he just...went away. More at the end on Nathan's regret/apologies/ending and how he felt about her and Drew would have made this even better. (hide spoiler)]...more
3.5 stars I’d forgotten how fun this series is. Pure fantasy to have this much emotional intelligence in one place, but the good-humored goodwill spil3.5 stars I’d forgotten how fun this series is. Pure fantasy to have this much emotional intelligence in one place, but the good-humored goodwill spilling over everywhere is hard to resist. The second half gets a little bogged down by too many miscellaneous subplots and minor relationships, but the chemistry between Alexis and Noah is sparky enough to overcome that.
Highlights:
—Man vs cat (and the fun cover!)
—A bachelor party spa trip during which the men hilariously debate whether they’re supposed to eat the cucumber slices
—Hugging, so much good hugging—between him and her, and between guys who support other guys.
I think cynics could easily dismiss this series because it is so light-hearted, but I don’t think enough credit is given to how cheerfully and persistently the characters—and the author—work to overcome toxic masculinity with this group of earnest, doing-their-best dudes. I like them and I like spending time with them....more
I was so sure I was going to love this, but it’s so busy being sex-positive and body-positive and starting over-positive anDNF about halfway through.
I was so sure I was going to love this, but it’s so busy being sex-positive and body-positive and starting over-positive and so many other things that the actual relationship gets the short end of the stick. There is a ton of sex but not a lot of romance, and for a book whose plot is centered around a Hallmark Channel-type holiday movie, it’s not particularly Christmassy, despite the gingerbread-scented body wash (which frankly, just sounds gross to me).
I looked on the beginning LA parts with amused affection—unlike a lot of books that feel like the author wrote a book set in the city after a single tourist visit or based off reality TV, this one is the product of someone who knows the city well—but once they get to Vermont it’s not nearly snowy enough for my taste. (Plus I don’t need the bookending chapters from the porn producer’s POV, I seriously thought he was the love interest at first!) With this title and premise and cover, I kept waiting for cuteness and humor and sweetness and I just never felt any of that. I’m so surprised, because I really like both these authors. But it just felt tonally off and the plot needed tightening up and more focus. Now, if this had been an indie-published erotica (that isn’t a 400-page $22 hardback from a big six publisher), sure—it feels a little closer to that, except then the story and characters and themes would get in the way of that.
Not sure yet if I’ll try the follow-up. Not terrible, but pretty disappointing considering how much I was looking forward to it. Ugh, just look at how cute and Christmassy the cover art and fonts and colors are. *kicks curb*...more
3.5 stars Windy and witchy and perfectly Halloweeny. A little light and haphazard on plot and deeper character development and emotion, but delightful3.5 stars Windy and witchy and perfectly Halloweeny. A little light and haphazard on plot and deeper character development and emotion, but delightful nonetheless. I enjoyed their chemistry and the ridiculousness of the gothic bedroom and such.
If you’d enjoy a historical romance with witches, try to find a copy of Jill Barnett’s Bewitching. It has a similarly humorous tone, with added sweetness and sadness and tenderness....more
Unexpectedly cute! It takes awhile to warm up to the guy (view spoiler)[he is inexcusably rude to his waitress, a shitty tipper, AND he does one of thUnexpectedly cute! It takes awhile to warm up to the guy (view spoiler)[he is inexcusably rude to his waitress, a shitty tipper, AND he does one of the worst things I’ve ever heard of that isn’t abuse/violence or infidelity (hide spoiler)], but he and they really got there in the end. Nice build-up, great apology, and perfect Christmas gift(s).
I also enjoyed the ranch setting and alllllll the food. :D I got so munchy reading this, I’m happy there are leftover mashed potatoes and cookie dough in my fridge....more
This super cute Cinderella-goes-to-Geeky-Con story is probably closer to a 3.5 in terms of merit because I think it could have been eveSo. Much. Fun.
This super cute Cinderella-goes-to-Geeky-Con story is probably closer to a 3.5 in terms of merit because I think it could have been even better (view spoiler)[ pretty much all the adults are terrible, the emotional beats could have been stronger, and a major issue with sticking so closely to your source material is that it becomes fairly predictable. Its sparks back to life once Elle arrives at the Con, though (hide spoiler)], but it is such a cute and enjoyable read, it gets rounded up to 4 stars!
Please ignore the terrible cover art and pick this up if you've ever gotten excited when you saw someone wearing a tee-shirt referencing a movie/book/band you like, or if your heart secretly melts over meet-cute romances, or if you enjoy, you know, SMILING ABOUT ADORABLE THINGS.
Review to come. I'm still grinning from ear to ear. :D...more
3.5 stars Seriously, how cute is this book? It makes you remember feeling shy and giggly and melty-puddly around the guy you like. *sigh*
It took me a 3.5 stars Seriously, how cute is this book? It makes you remember feeling shy and giggly and melty-puddly around the guy you like. *sigh*
It took me a bit to get into the story and I didn't love the music-heavy playlist conceit, though the latter was obviously the pitch that got the book sold. (view spoiler)[I was also a bit upset over the way June repeatedly put down other characters' ignorance or lack of smarts, both internally and verbally. Denigrating someone's intelligence is one of the worst things you can do in my book, and while one sexist pig of a character in particular deserved to be put in his place, I was still bothered by the number of times this issue came up, and not just with him. But I'm glad that later on, June comes to see partially why he behaved that way, and that her expectations of other people were challenged. (hide spoiler)] I'm never crazy about books set up around prom either (I genuinely didn't care about it in high school and I still don't!), but I know it's a big thing to a lot of kids so I'll tolerate the cheesiness because it's written so sincerely and with such good humor.
I enjoyed everything else so thoroughly. The book is diverse and sex-positive. The school routine feels solid and real. June and her affectionate, razzy friendship with her gay BFF Shaun gave me warm fuzzies. Oliver's girlfriend isn't a stereotypical bitch. June's girlfriends are so fun and funny, and it all feels so comfortable and familiar, like you were hanging out with TV characters you've been watching for years. Everyone has agency, everyone is memorable. (view spoiler)[I didn't love Itch, but hey, neither did June. I did love the whole way their break-up unfolded, though, especially the very end. (hide spoiler)]
The book also portrays another notable thing exceptionally well. One of the most fundamentally life-changing things occurs when you're a teenager: the realization that your parents aren't necessarily who you thought they were. The maelstrom of complicated feelings that arise from that aren't to be taken lightly, and in the context of this romance, it's handled with just the right touch.
And all that is before we even talk about Oliver and June. Guuuuys. They are so flipping cute! Because they're both with other people in the beginning and they're forced to spend time together, they have to learn about each other slowly and become friends first. They know each other before anything ever happens, and it's so ooey-gooey good watching them fall for each other.
Technically speaking, there were a few minor things that I think might've been smoothed out or fleshed out a bit more; the whole issue with why June's not driving, for example, and a few other random bits like suddenly finding out she volunteers with animals late in the book.
But the book is a really well-crafted contemporary otherwise. The characters are believable, all of them evolve in their story arcs, and the author made me care about what happens to everyone. And it's cuuute. So cute.
Excited to see what this author, who is a writer for GREY'S ANATOMY, does next. I might have to try watching that show after all.
DNF about 150 pages in, after an endless cycle of both parties constantly hooking up with one idiot after another, immediately followed by automatic fDNF about 150 pages in, after an endless cycle of both parties constantly hooking up with one idiot after another, immediately followed by automatic friends-with-benefits sex every time. If a book is going to be based around a premise this iffy/icky, you'd better be convinced that these two are meant to be be together, or at least have fun living vicariously through their mindless hook-ups. As it was, I have no idea why they kept coming back to each other, on any level. They barely seemed to be friends, and the sex sure didn't seem to be worth it.
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for this review. Unsolicited copy, so you win some, you lose some....more
Wendy Darling
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