Reviews: NEVER SAW YOU COMING & PORTRAIT OF A SCOTSMAN
It was a short week, but boy did it feel like a long one! I had a pretty quiet holiday weekend and therefore was able to get tons of reading done. Thank goodness too because I have so many books to review in September. Anyway, I’m thrilled to share my thoughts with you today on two great books I read over the holidays — the third book in a fun historical romance series called A League of Extraordinary Woman and also on my very first read from Erin Hahn.
Never Saw You Coming Goodreads Author: Erin Hahn
Publication Date: September 7, 2021
Publisher: Wednesday Books
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I was a little hesitant going into Erin Hahn’s new novel Never Saw You Coming because of its focus on religion. I have very complicated feelings about religion myself and worried that my own feelings might get in the way and make this a less than enjoyable read for me. I was pleased to discover that the exact opposite happened – this book and its main character, Meg Hennessey, really spoke to me mainly because Meg shares many of the conflicted feelings I’ve always had so I found her very easy to relate to.
What I found most relatable about Meg is that regardless of whatever conflicted feelings she has about church and her fellow Christians, those conflicted feelings never spill over into her feelings about God. Her relationship with God is strong; she just takes issue with those holier than thou Christians who somehow think they have the right to act as judge and juror over everyone else’s morality. I also like that the author uses very realistic scenarios to explore Meg’s conflicted feelings. Her feelings, for example, really come to a head when she finds herself attracted to a young man named Micah and wonders if exploring any kind of intimate relationship with him makes her a sinner. Meg also has to contend with a parent from the church deeming her unfit to lead the church youth group because Meg has purple streaks in her hair and because the parent witnessed Micah leaving Meg’s house late at night.
I really liked Meg and felt especially sympathetic toward her because at the beginning of the story, she has recently learned that her entire life has basically been a lie and that her parents have been keeping a huge secret from her. She runs away looking for answers, not just about religion, but really, about her entire sense of self and identity.
While I enjoyed watching Meg explore her faith and work through all the questions she has, I also really loved her growing relationship with Micah. He too has a complicated relationship with religion and so he and Meg are able to have some pretty frank and enlightening discussions about faith and purity and sex.
I also loved that the religious themes didn’t completely take over the story, but instead meshes very naturally into the budding romance between Meg and Micah. The author does a lovely job keeping the two parts of the story well balanced.
Overall, Never Saw You Coming is both a sweet romance and an exploration of faith that will leave readers with plenty of food for thought. 4 STARS.
Portrait of a Scotsman (A League of Extraordinary Women, #3) Goodreads
Author: Evie Dunmore
Publication Date: September 7, 2021
Publisher: Jove
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Portrait of a Scotsman is the third installment in Evie Dunmore’s entertaining historical romance series, A League of Extraordinary Women. I’ve enjoyed this series immensely so far and this latest book is no exception.
This time around, the extraordinary woman in question is Hattie Greenfield. Hattie is a suffragist and an Oxford scholar who is studying art. Hattie’s desires in life are quite simple: 1) she wants to become a famous artist, 2) she wants to find a noble cause to fight for that she is passionate about, and 3) she eventually wants to find a suitable gentleman to marry. Hattie is also the daughter of a prominent London businessman and therefore an heiress to a pretty substantial fortune. All of this comes crashing down around her, however, when she is found in an uncompromising position with the dark and broody Scotsman, Lucian Blackstone, a business rival of Hattie’s father. Lucian has a terrible reputation, both in business and in his personal dealings, so Hattie has set herself up for quite the scandal. The only way to save her reputation is for her and Lucian to marry, a prospect neither of them is overly excited about but that they are both resigned to.
Thus begins a slow burn of a journey as Hattie and Lucian begin an awkward married life together. Hattie is alternately attracted to and repulsed by Lucian, and doesn’t know what she wants from one moment to the next, and Lucian, while he’s most definitely attracted to Hattie, finds her to be a distraction from what he is really trying to do, which is seek revenge against someone who hurt him years ago. There is a lot of sexual tension as the two of them alternate between fighting their feelings and giving in to them. A trip to Scotland, Lucian’s homeland, really takes their relationship to the next level. Hattie learns that there’s a lot more to Lucian than meets the eye and as they finally start to have honest heart-to-heart conversations with one another, she realizes that they may have a lot more in common than she ever would have dreamed of.
I really enjoyed watching the relationship between Hattie and Lucian grow and evolve. There are awkward moments as well as hilarious ones, spirited arguments, and of course plenty of steamy, sexy moments as well. There’s also a bit of politics, feminism, social commentary regarding the rich vs the poor, and a pretty solid revenge story, so basically a little something for everyone. As with the prior two novels, Portrait of a Scotsman also appears to be well-researched in terms of events and issues of the Victorian Era.
All in all, another very satisfying installment in the A League of Extraordinary Women series. Fans of the prior two books in the series should enjoy this one as well, as should fans of historical romance. 4 STARS.
Top Ten Tuesday – Books Guaranteed to Put a Smile on Your Face
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is Books Guaranteed to Put a Smile on Your Face. I totally cheated on this one and just searched my blog for the word smile since I always comment on books that made me happy while I was reading them. Below are some of my recent favorites and a link to my full review for each one.
Books Guaranteed to Put a Smile on Your Face
1. VERY SINCERELY YOURS by Kerry Winfrey – A cute rom com featuring a sexy Mr. Rogers type and a young woman going through a rough patch. Has major You’ve Got Mail vibes.
2. THE LAST CHANCE LIBRARY by Freya Sampson – If a feisty band of senior citizens fighting to save their local library doesn’t put a smile on your face, I don’t know what will. I had so much fun reading about these characters and their antics.
3. A SPOT OF TROUBLE by Teri Wilson – Filled with adorable dalmatians and matchmaking old ladies who call themselves the Charlie’s Angels, this book is the absolute cutest.
4. THE KINDRED SPIRITS SUPPER CLUB by Amy E. Reichert – This is a charming small town romance that features two sweet protagonists you can’t help but root for, along with a fun fashion-forward ghost named Molly.
5. BETTER THAN THE MOVIES by Lynn Painter – A rom-com that features fake dating, enemie-to-lovers, and that basically celebrates all rom-coms.
6. PLAYING THE PALACE by Paul Rudnick – A laugh out loud funny rom-com that features a royal, a non-royal, and a loud and lovable Jewish family. This is a book that deserves more love than it’s getting.
7. THE SOULMATE EQUATION by Christina Lauren – Everything about this rom-com put a smile on my face, but River’s adorable scenes with Jess’ daughter, Juno, especially stole my heart.
8. WAIT FOR IT by Jenn McKinlay – This romance features hilariously snarky banter in the form of letters taped to doors, as well as finally bonding over an adorable tuxedo cat named Sir.
9. ISN’T IT BROMANTIC? by Lyssa Kay Adams – The Russian finally getting his own romantic tale is sure to leave you with a smile on your face.
10. ONCE UPON A ROYAL SUMMER by Teri Wilson – Teri Wilson makes my list twice this weekend because she is the Queen writing books that make me smile. This one features a sweet romance between a theme park princess and a real-life prince.
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Question: What are some books you’ve read that have left you with a smile on your face? Have you read any of my picks?
Rom-Com Reviews: WITCH PLEASE and A SPOT OF TROUBLE
Happy Friday everyone! Today is the start of a long holiday weekend here and I, for one, cannot wait to have a few days off to relax. Life has been pretty intense lately, so I’m all the more grateful for cute reads like the two I’m sharing my thoughts on today to distract me from real-life problems.
Witch Please (Fix-It Witches, #1) Goodreads Author: Ann Aguirre
Publication Date: September 7, 2021
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I was drawn to Ann Aguirre’s new witchy rom-com Witch Please as soon as I saw it being compared to Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls. Add to that comparison, a witch who has sworn off men, a man who is looking for true love but is pretty sure he’s cursed, and a meddling, matchmaking grandmother and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a very entertaining read.
Witch Please follows Danica Waterhouse, a modern witch whose magic centers around electricity and technology. Danica and her cousin Clem, also a witch and also a technomancer, use their magic to run their technical repair shop, Fix-It Witches. Both Danica and Clem have had bad luck in the love department and have made a pact to swear off serious relationships with men. Flings are great, but that’s it. This of course does not please their grandmother, who has made it her mission in life to find Danica a suitable magical husband. Needless to say, things get awkward every time grandma shows up.
Titus Winnaker is the handsome owner of Sugar Daddy’s bakery. Titus feels like he has been looking for love forever but every time he starts to get serious with a woman, she inexplicably dumps him. This has gone on for so long that not only is Titus still a virgin, but he has become convinced that he is literally cursed. He has no idea that when one of his ovens goes on the fritz and seeks service from the Fix-It Witches, that his life is about to change.
I really adored both Danica and Titus. Danica is feisty and passionate, and she’s also very witty. I also felt tremendous sympathy for her with respect to the tension with her grandmother. Titus is a sweetheart too. He’s a bit awkward but he’s so sincere about wanting to find someone to spend the rest of his life with that you can’t help but cheer him on. He’s also got some unsettling family drama in the form of his father trying to force Titus and his sister to bond with their pregnant new stepmother. Considering he was never around for his first family, Titus and his sister aren’t overly interested in bonding with family number 2.
Looking at everything these two had going on in their lives, I immediately wanted them to find each other. It was clear from the first moment they met that they had off the charts chemistry. The banter between them was both cute and hilarious and I immediately wanted more. It’s a wild ride watching Danica and Titus get to know each other though because per her pact with Clem, all Danica wants is a one-night stand, whereas Titus is smitten with Danica from that first moment and knows she’s the one. There’s a real push and pull between them as they both give in to and yet constantly fight their attraction to each other.
I did get a little bogged down along the way a few times. There are some details that feel like loose ends or pieces of a puzzle and it took almost the entire story for those pieces to finally click into place and make sense. I wanted the cute and sexy so I felt like my brain was having to work too hard to piece those elements together, haha! There was also one character that shows up that just feels out of place and unnecessary. It turns out that there’s going to be a second book and I think he’ll feature in that one, but for this one, I was just like ‘Why are you here? There’s already enough drama without you.”
Even with those couple of issues, I still quite enjoyed Witch Please. If you’re looking for a super cute witchy rom-com to ease you into the spooky season, this is a great pick! 3.5 STARS
A Spot of Trouble Goodreads
Author: Teri Wilson
Publication Date: September 7, 2021
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I had no idea until I read the author’s note that A Spot Of Trouble is actually a loose retelling of the Disney classic 101 Dalmatians. I just saw that adorable cover and that it’s written by Teri Wilson, whose books I enjoy, and I knew I had to read it. Having this turn out to be a fresh take on one of my favorite Disney films just made it all the more appealing to me.
You guys, this one is so cute and so funny! Here’s a quick run down of the highlights. It has a smalltown setting with a very close knit community, the kind where everyone knows everyone else’s business. There’s also a major rivalry between the local firefighters and police officers, which comes to a head every year during the Guns and Hoses baseball tournament. There’s also a mischievous trio of old ladies who fancy themselves matchmakers and call themselves Charlie’s Angels. Last but not least, the stars of the story are Violet Marsh, a bubbly cupcake baker/yoga instructor who owns an out-of-control goofy dalmatian named Sprinkles, and Sam Nash, a grumpy firefighter who is new to town and who also owns a dalmatian, Cinder, who has been trained to near perfection. Add all of these ingredients together and it’s a recipe for nonstop laughs!
The sparks flew between Violet and Sam from their very first meeting when Violet accuses Sam of dognapping Sprinkles and sends the police after him. As the daughter of the police chief, she is firmly on the Guns side of the Guns and Hoses rivalry and declares Sam her nemesis even though the two of them are clearly attracted to each other. Hilarity ensues when the “Charlie’s Angels” also see the attraction and start hatching various zany plans to try to force Violet and Sam together. I loved seeing what these ladies would come up with and how well their plans really did work in terms of making Violet and Sam look past the silly rivalry and really see one another and how good they could be for each other.
I don’t want to give anything else away, but if you’re in the mood for a fun read that delivers laugh after laugh and that features an opposites-attract romance, and of course two adorable dalmatians, A Spot of Trouble should be on your reading list. 4 STARS