MINI REVIEWS: Romance Mini Reviews

So I’ve been reading a lot of romance (what else in new lol) and thought I would do some mini reviews for the books that I enjoyed, but did not want to write a full reviews for.

It Happened One Autumn (Wallflowers book #2) by Lisa Kleypas 

I read this as the first book in a historical romance book club I joined on Instagram (hosted by StrandedInBooks). Y’all should follow her if you do IG. I am not the biggest historical romance fan, but I want to read more of the genre. I was excited that our first book was a Kleypas book, because hers have been some of the only HRs that I’ve enjoyed. This was not my favorite novel by her, but still was a better than average historical romance (that I’ve read so far) & for being written in 2005 there was less problematic stuff than I thought. However, I did not like the couple once they got together and thought that the man was too possessive. The first time they sleep together, isn’t explicitly consensual as well and even though they talk about it, I was not a fan. However, the heroine was a lot of fun and I really liked her relationship with her sisters and friends. 3.5/5 stars

Faking it Under the Mistletoe by Ashley Shepherd

What do you do when quarantine, work, and school get to you? Well impulsively download a Christmas themed romance of course! That is exactly what I did and you know what, it helped. This book was just a lot of fun and honestly that is all I have to say about it. I loved the two main characters and their grumpy and sunshine dynamic. I will say that I do not like the boss/employee trope which is featured here and the power dynamic is a bit iffy at times. But, there are so many other fun tropes like fake dating and hilarious banter, office romance, and more. Plus the Christmas element was so fun, even though I read this in March. The first half is a lot lighter and it gets more serious and touches on some darker themes so do not go into this only thinking it is solely fluffy holiday fun if you’re sensitive to certain topics. 4/5 stars

TW: sexual assault, death of parent (off page, but discussed)

You Had Me At Hola by Alexa Daria 

First of all. THIS COVER IS ART WORK. In my Goodreads review I literally wrote, “First of all, a moment of silence for this gorgeous cover”. So clearly I am not over it and I have a flair for the dramatics. Anyways, I flew through this romance novel and loved seeing two Latinx characters as our main characters. I liked how both Ashton & Jasmine had their own character arcs and goals, which provided for some interesting side plots. I LOVED Jasmine’s cousins and their group chat (are the rest of the cousins getting books? Please!). I will say it was a bit steamier than I expected so I may have skimmed a bit lol. It reminded be a bit of Jane the Virgin with the whole telenovela aspect, but the guy is the one with the complication family situation. Also, I’m sorry I forgot to write down if there are any triggers in this one! Sorry & if I find a review that lists any, I will update! 4/5 stars

*Thanks to Edelweiss for an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon

I struggled in rating this one. I really enjoyed the beginning and the friendship between the girls but the romance was only okay. I loved the representation for black women in computer sciences and the frank discussions that the author had around that subject. I loved that the love interest was a spy/special agent but I don’t think their storylines of meshed well and the climax was very predictable and dumb.

The book did do a good job of taking me out of the real world, which is kind of what I want in books right now, but overall it fell flat and was just an average romance. I do think this series will continue to get better & this book set some solid foundations but the romance between the main characters wasn’t as strong as it could have been. 3/5 stars

*Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

An Extraordinary Union & A Hope Divided by Alyssa Cole

Okay this is a romance trilogy and I have only read the first two books, but they are amazing!! (You can read them out of order). Remember when I said I do not typically love Historical Romance? Well these are an exception! In the first two books we follow different black women during the Civil War as they fight for justice, equality, and to bring the Confederacy down. Did I mention they are spies??? These books perfectly balance the historical fiction elements and the romance elements creating some amazing books. They also are not too long, one of my pet peeves of HR, and are action packed with high stakes!! I highly recommend both of these for all romance readers! I loved the first one a bit more and I wish the characters from book one made cameos in the second book, especially since the characters are related. I’m hoping out hope it happens in book three.

An Extraordinary Union: 5/5 stars
A Hope Divided: 4/5 stars 

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner

First of all, this is Berkeley Publishing’s first f/f romance so WE SUPPORT THIS ONE. I did really enjoy this one.  Jo is a famous screenwriter and Emma is her assistant. We follow them as Jo is transitioning to writing a big blockbuster film and as Emma (Jo’s assistant) is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. They go to an event together and everyone thinks they are dating. oops! This leads to them slowly developing ~feelings~. First of all, this is a super slow burn. Like even slower than the average. I love slow burns, but this was too slow for me. I wanted a touch! A kiss! A talk about feelings! Something! Once they get together it is super cute and I wish we got to see more of that. But, this is an enjoyable romance read with great side plots and characters. I loved both Jo and Emma, but Jo was my favorite. She has had to deal with racism, misogyny, and more to get where she is and she works so hard to make Hollywood a better and more diverse place. We stan!! I just wish the romance moved a bit faster and then I would’ve been SOLD. 4/5 stars

TW: sexual harassment

*Thanks to Edelweiss for an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

Thanks for reading!

xoxo, Tree