Book Review: Love Under Quarantine

I don't know about you, but I'm flying through books during quarantine and I am not hating it. Not at all. I know I have a ton of books on my shelf I've yet to read and I have a few more coming (all of my gift cards are officially gone.... sad day) this week, but dang it if the best books are coming up for reviews! I cannot stop and I love how good they all are!

Lover Under Quarantine 

Kylie Scott & Audrey Carlan

While the world is ravaged by a global pandemic, hotshot NFL running back Evan Sparks is locked in his own personal hell. With a career-ending scandal on his back, Evan hides out in his best friend’s empty San Francisco home, the full city shutdown locking him in a lonely twenty-story apartment in the sky.

Romance writer Sadie Walsh is having the worst case of writer’s block ever…until the incredible, muscular stranger staying next door gets her muse going strong. The pair of loners, never expecting to find a friend in all the madness, meet each day out on their balconies like a modern-day Romeo and Juliet.

Each new day brings unique challenges for the pair as they navigate the unknown and find solace together. They quickly figure out that as long as they have one another, they can handle anything.

Even falling in love under quarantine. 

First things first, if you follow either Kylie Scott or Audrey Carlan on Instagram you may have seen something about this book maybe being insensitive given the fact we're still smack in the middle of a quarantine. As someone who read, and loved, this book I can tell you that is so far from the truth. YES, this book takes place during the quarantine we are living in but I will tell you that it is done really well. A lot of the feelings the characters go through are ones we can all recognize. I know when they go to the grocery store for food and witness the precautionary measures in place for the first time, both authors captured that so well because that is exactly how I felt when I went to Target and it looked straight out of a dystopian nightmare.

The best part of this book for me was the fact they found love right in front of their face. In what could have been an incredibly lonely, scary time for both of them, they had each other to talk it out and they fall in love. I love that this is a romance author falling in love with a football player and that he is literally the dream hero of a novel and she gets to live it out. She is different from anyone he's ever been with and it takes him by surprise how much seeing her, even on a balcony, makes his day. Throw in his athletic doping nightmare and we've got ourselves a NOVEL!

Other characters in the book that we meet are all variations of people we know in how they are handling Covid-19. We have people who get sick and take it seriously, some that don't, some on the front lines, and overall I felt like they wrote these characters and this story with care. I think in a few years, when we are hopefully past all of this, this will be an interesting look at what life was like in 2020.

I'm giving this one a solid 5 stars because the romance was great, steamy scenes were so good, and I really was rooting for these characters the entire time. Just the bickering and back and forth was so fun to read. Not to mention this was written by two authors who aren't in the same room throwing ideas out there. How they managed to do that seamlessly to bring a fun story, I'll never know and that's far more talent than I have! I immediately think of those group projects in college that were just absolute hell and one person (me) ends up doing all of the work. I can say that definitely doesn't happen here, and I have to add Audrey Carlan to my list because I already have read Kylie Scott, but now Audrey needs to grace my shelves, too!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A huge thanks to Social Butterfly PR, Kylie Scott, and Audrey Carlan for having me on this tour AND sending me a copy for review! If you want to help out, buy some books from indie authors! Writing is their job and your purchase is their paycheck. 💖

   

This post contains affiliate links. 

Book Review: The Rich Boy

I know I've been kind of MIA but I'm still here! I do have my trip post coming up but of course, I've waited because of Coronavirus to see if it changes at all so I might bite the bullet and just post it. We'll see.

Because you know as soon as I do something drastically changes because that's how my life rolls. In the meantime, you should read this.

The Rich Boy - Kylie Scott

I’m the type of girl who’s given up on fairy tales. So when Beck – the hot new busboy at work – starts flirting with me, I know better than to get my hopes up. Happily ever afters aren’t for the average. I learned that the hard way.

But how can I be expected to resist a man who can quote Austen, loves making me laugh, and seems to be everything hot and good in this world?

Only there’s so much more to him than that.

Billionaire playboy? Check.

Troubled soul? Check.

The owner of my heart, the man I’ve moved halfway across the country to be with, who’s laying the world at my feet in order to convince me to never leave? Check. Check. Check.

But nobody does complicated like the one percent.

This is not your everyday rags-to-riches, knight-in-shining armor whisking the poor girl off her feet kind of story. No, this is much messier.

Lets talk about the pros first:

• I loved Alice. I really liked the characters in general but Alice was really great and I liked her from the start. She's strong and independent and won't settle and she's EXACTLY the kind of character we need more of. 
• Even though I mention Beck is a bit much in the beginning, together with Alice, they make a great couple. 
• This almost screams Hallmark movie, but with sex. So.. would that be Lifetime? Netflix? I don't know, but even the setting is screaming made for subscription service movie. 
• It gave me some warm fuzzies. 

I have to be honest and talk about some not so great:

• It started really slow for me, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep reading. I try VERY hard to read a review book all the way through because that's what I signed up to do, but this was slow. Once it got going, my interest obviously was invested so I say stick with it. 
• Beck is immediately attracted to Alice and he's already picking out wedding stuff and the first thing that came to mind was Clinger Alert. I'm all for a guy really into you but this was a bit much. Also, he's the total opposite of what we read in a romance male character. Yeah, he's rich and sexy but he's insecure in several areas and it just wasn't my thing. 
• The sexy areas didn't blow me away but in hindsight maybe this was aimed more at the emotional connection aspect because that's where it really excelled. 

Overall? I liked this book. I'm a fan of Kylie Scott and I feel like every one that I read from her is different but also similar to her style, and I really like that. It's nice finding an author who doesn't follow the same recipe for every book. 3.5 stars, round up to 4.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

   
Thank you to Social Butterfly PR and Kylie Scott for sending me a copy of this and having me on the tour! Of course all opinions are my own, and this post contains affiliate links.

Book Review: Chaser (Dive Bar #3)

I have to check but I think I only have one other book from this series and that is Twist, and I gave that one 4/5 stars. I got this one as a Christmas gift and I'm trying hard to work on my back list of books and let's just say it's kind of extensive but I'm making a real effort.

Chaser (Dive Bar #3) - Kylie Scott

Given his well-earned bad boy reputation, Eric is having a tough time scoring.. When single Jean moves to town, she seems heaven sent by the sex gods. Only problem is, she not only wants nothing to do with him, but it turns out that she's pregnant.

Starting over in a small town, Jean is determined to turn her wild lifestyle around and be the kind of mother she always wished she'd had. Since local bar owner and all round hottie, Eric Collins, is now determined to steer clear of her pregnant self, it should be easy. When she goes into labour during a snow storm and her car slides on some ice, it's Eric who comes to the rescue.

There seems to be a bond between them now, but is it enough? And can Eric give up his manwhore ways to be the man Jean needs? 

Full disclosure, I feel like Brittainy C. Cherry has ruined me for all other others because her books are amazing and blow my mind, so I'm not sure anything is going to live up to her and so you need to know that going into my review.

In this book we are following Eric, basically the man whore of the group from the Dive Bar. He's made some not great decisions and part of those play out in book one (which I haven't read but having read book two and three now, I don't really need to read book one since I've gotten the run down). Part of those bad decisions is Nell, who used to be pregnant with his baby and miscarried, and they are still friends but it's a little rocky. In walks Jean, she's fresh from Florida looking to make a new start and of course Eric is instantly attracted and tries to hit on her but is instantly rebuffed once he learns that Jean is Nell's friend AND Jean is really very pregnant. Like seven months pregnant.

Despite that, he's pretty attracted to Jean and even though Nell has made it very clear he is to steer his penis away from Jean, Eric finds himself spending time with her. Through a series of events, Eric unexpectedly finds himself as Jean's birth partner and the sparks are flowing though both of them are adamant that they are only friends. Can they be friends with benefits? How can this play out long term now that Eric forms attachments he's not at all accustomed to?

Overall, I kind of really loved Eric. He admittedly has no idea what he's doing and he is genuinely trying to do the right thing with Jean. What drove me nuts through the entire book is how terribly people treated Eric. He was probably a little immature but they act as if he's wholly incapable of being a good guy. Nell is the absolute worst but they all really shoot him down every time he tries to step up and I felt really bad for him and I got to thinking, if everyone put you down with every attempt, what would be the motivation to get better? So that was irritating for me throughout.

I would have to give this one a 3 1/2 star but I'll round it up to 4 for Goodreads. It was good, I'm not going to tell you to drop everything and buy this, but if you're looking for a solid romance with some steamy scenes and a good story line, this is a good option. It was also a really quick read and sometimes that's just what we need.

   

Just so you know, this post does have affiliate links which means when you purchase something from them, I get a couple of cents (literally) and it comes at no cost to you, and those cents add up (eventually) and it helps me keep this blog going.