Reviews: FANGIRL DOWN & NOT YOUR CRUSH’S CAULDRON
Hey everyone! Sorry for disappearing yet again. I had yet another blog issue where Jetpack kept disconnecting from my site therefore removing all of my posts from the wpreader. Jetpack has been such a hot mess ever since they started monetizing it and I would really love to dump it but all of my blog stats are tied to it so I feel stuck. It has been one thing after another with it for the past few months and I just needed to step away and take a deep breath before I did something drastic like delete my entire blog, haha. It seems to be working now so I’m carrying on and hoping for the best because I really do have a lot of reviews and book recs I want to share with you!
Fangirl Down (Big Shots, #1) Goodreads
Author: Tessa Bailey
Publication Date: February 13, 2024
Publisher: Avon
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley and a complimentary ALC from Libro.fm. All opinions are my own.
Fangirl Down is a golf romance and the first book in Tessa Bailey’s new “Big Shots” series. I’m fairly new to sports romances and even though I’ve enjoyed all that I’ve read so far, I wasn’t sure if a golf romance would be my thing. I love Tessa Bailey’s books though so I knew if anyone could win me over, it would be her. Not only did she win me over, but Fangirl Down is actually my new favorite book from her.
I fell in love with the premise of the story right away, that Wells Whittaker, a down-on-his-luck pro golfer ends up turning to his biggest fan to help him out of his slump. I also adored the main female character from the first moment we meet her. Josephine “Joey” Doyle is smart, sassy, upbeat, loyal to a fault, and she probably knows more about golf than even Wells does.
I wanted to hate Wells at first because he was so unpleasant to Joey, but just like Joey’s charm quickly won Wells over, his newfound appreciation of Joey once he finally stopped having a pity party and opened his eyes won me over. He especially won me over though when he learned that Joey is a diabetic who has been rationing her medical supplies to save money. Once she agrees to caddy for him and help him out of his slump, he becomes determined to mount a comeback and split his earnings with her so that she can afford to take care of her health and buy the supplies she needs.
I’m a big fan of the “he fell first” trope and so I enjoyed every moment of watching Wells realize what an absolute gem of a person Joey is. She’s not just a great caddy, but the more time they spend together, the more Wells appreciates that Joey is the perfect partner for him in every way. Throw in some of Tessa Bailey’s fun banter and plenty of sexy, steamy moments and Fangirl Down was a hole-in-one for me!
The audiobook was narrated by Callie Dalton and I highly recommend it because Dalton does such a wonderful job of bringing these two characters to life and making their banter and chemistry just pop! It was also a very comfortable listen at a speed of 1.75x.
4.5 STARS
Not Your Crush's Cauldron (Supernatural Singles, #3) Goodreads
Author: April Asher
Publication Date: February 13, 2024
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffn
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary e-copy and an ALC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Not Your Crush’s Cauldron is the third book in April Asher’s paranormal romance series, Supernatural Singles, and it focuses on the youngest Maxwell sister, Olive. Unlike her sisters who are major players in the magical community, Olive has chosen to teach about the supernatural rather than to actively take part. When she assigns a project to her students that requires them to step out of their comfort zones, she decides that it’s time for her to do the same and creates a to-do list of challenging tasks that will accomplish just that.
Bax Donovan, a Guardian Angel, is Olive’s friend, long time secret crush, and now also her roommate. Bax is the pierced, tattooed, motorcycle-riding opposite to Olive’s shy, introverted personality but the two of them still have amazing chemistry.
Bax finds himself in an uncomfortable situation when something on Olive’s to-do list puts her on the Guardian Angel Affairs radar as needing protection and they make her Bax’s assignment. Bax is not allowed to tell Olive she’s his assignment, so he decides to accompany her as a friend to help her complete the tasks on her list.
There’s just one problem with that – the more time they spend together, the more Bax and Olive realize they have more than friendly feeiings toward each other, which is another no-no for Bax as her Guardian Angel. Is an HEA possible for them?
This one was so much fun! I enjoyed being back in this world and seeing Olive’s sisters again, and I also really loved the chemistry, and especially the fun banter between Bax and Olive. They’re just so cute together. I also loved that underlying tension that comes with forbidden love. It really made for a fantastic read that I couldn’t put down.
The audiobook was narrated by Zura Johnson who did a beautiful job capturing all aspects of the relationship between Bax and Olive and really enhanced my reading experience. 4 STARS
Reviews – THE BRIGHT SPOT & RED STRING THEORY
Hey everyone! Well, we’ve made it through another week. I can’t decide if the year is already flying by or if it’s dragging, but all I know is that I’m ready for some warmer weather. The older I get, the less I like the cold. Anyway, today I’m back to share a couple of romance reads that I enjoyed this month. I’m so late to the Jill Shalvis game, but I am really loving her Sunrise Cove series. I want to read some of her backlist titles but the list is overwhelming. If anyone has a rec for which series I should try next, let me know! I’m also sharing my thoughts on Lauren Kung Jessen’s latest novel, which is just as much of a gem as her debut was last year. Let me know if you have read either of these!
The Bright Spot (Sunrise Cove, #5) Goodreads
Author: Jill Shalvis
Publication Date: January 16, 2024
Publisher: Avon
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
The Bright Spot is the fifth book in Jill Shalvis’ heartwarming Sunrise Cove series. As with the other books in the series, The Bright Spot is set in the picturesque Lake Tahoe region and even though it’s part of a series, it works quite well as a standalone.
Luna Wright, adopted at birth, grew up knowing little about her biological family. She has created a home and family for herself at Apple Ridge Farm, the charming but struggling farm she has managed for years. When the crotchety owner Silas passes away suddenly, Luna is surprised to find that she has inherited one half of the farm. The other half is under the control of his investment manager, Jameson Hayes, who arrives unexpectedly to help Luna save the farm. Luna doesn’t trust him but is willing to do whatever it takes to save her beloved farm so she and Jameson begin to forge an uneasy alliance.
There’s so much to love about this book. Apple Ridge Farm is just the most perfect setting, filled with adorable rescue animals, including a baby goat named Dammit Ziggy who had me laughing from the very first page of the book. There’s also a quirky and lovable cast of secondary characters who all adore Luna and think she’s amazing, even when she doesn’t see it for herself. The found family vibes on this farm are everything!
I also just loved watching Luna find her way, especially after several big secrets Silas was keeping are discovered after his death and practically turn her life upside down. Jameson has some issues that he is working through as well so in many ways, the story is a journey of self-discovery for them both. I also enjoyed the two of them interacting. Once they get past those initial trust issues, it was lovely to watch them start to grow closer. I loved the easy banter between them and that they worked together so well as a team.
If you’re in the mood for a heartwarming story, you can’t go wrong with The Bright Spot! 4 STARS
Red String Theory Goodreads
Author: Lauren Kung Jessen
Publication Date: January 9, 2024
Publisher: Forever
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Red String Theory is the latest romance novel from Lauren Kung Jessen. I really enjoyed her debut, Lunar Love, so I was eager to read this new one, an opposites-attract romance that explores the idea of whether or not some people are fated to be together.
Rooney is a Chinese-American artist who wholeheartedly believes in the Chinese legend that everyone is tied to their soulmate by the red string of fate. She believes in this idea so passionately that she has even created an outdoor art exhibit that is inspired by it. Jack is a NASA engineer who is all about science and facts. He doesn’t believe in fate at all but on a trip to New York, he happens across Rooney’s red string art and is very intrigued by it.
When Jack later meets Rooney, he has no idea that she is the red string artist, but the two of them really hit it off and end up spending the most magical night seeing all of the sights around the city and just enjoying each other’s company. By the end of that night, they both feel that they have a special connection and Jack tells Rooney his number so that they can keep in touch after he heads back home. Sadly, Rooney mistypes the phone number and Jack is lost to her. When fate unexpectedly reunites them months later as coworkers, Rooney is convinced that this is a sign and that Jack must be her soulmate.
I really enjoyed this one. I’m always on the fence about whether or not I believe in fate, so as Jack and Rooney find themselves debating the topic, I could understand where they were both coming from since they were each voicing some of my own thoughts on the subject. Ultimately though, I just loved them together so much that I was just rooting for them to find a way to agree to disagree and just be happy together.
Jack and Rooney’s magical night in NYC was a highlight of Red String Theory for me, as was the inclusion of so many elements from Chinese culture. This was a sweet romance, but at the same time, a thought provoking read, which is a combination I enjoy. I look forward to reading more from Lauren Kung Jessen. 4 STARS
Can’t Wait Wednesday – THE LOST STORY by Meg Shaffer
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about. It is a meme that I have loved participating in since I first started blogging, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.
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My selection for this week is THE LOST STORY by Meg Shaffer. I just read this author’s debut novel The Wishing Game last month and fell in love with her storytelling. This new book sounds like it has the potential to be just as whimsical and as a huge Chronicles of Narnia fan, I’m beyond excited to read it.
THE LOST STORY by Meg Shaffer
by Random House – Ballantine Books
Publication Date: July 16, 2024
Inspired by C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes—just in case—from the author of The Wishing Game.
As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell vanished in a West Virginia state park, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.
Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Jeremy is a famous missing persons investigator with an uncanny ability to find the lost, while Rafe is a reclusive artist unable to stop creating otherworldly paintings and sculptures he shows to no one. He bears scars inside and out from his disappearance but has no memory of what happened while they were gone.
Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth behind their time in the woods. While the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons.
But the time for burying secrets comes to an end when vet tech Emilie Wendel hires Jeremy to find her long-lost sister . . . the long-lost sister he and Rafe knew while living in that hidden kingdom. Now the former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories. Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy return to the enchanted world they called home for six months . . . for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.
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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂