Thursday, March 28, 2024

Lips Like Sugar by Jess K. Hardy [Review]

Lips Like Sugar (Bluebird Basin #2) by Jess K. Hardy
Format: ebook
Source: provided through NetGalley
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: February 4, 2024

Bluebird Basin
1. Come As You Are
2. Lips Like Sugar - Paperback | Kindle

Jess K. Hardy
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):
Fake Date. Real Feels.

Mira Harlow has finally lost it. Between running her bakery, parenting her 14-year-old son, and taking care of her mom, she’s a stretched-thin mess. But kissing a total—and very sexy—stranger before begging him to be her date to the biggest wedding her small town has ever seen so her ex won’t think she doesn’t have one? That’s a whole new level of chaos, even for her.

The last thing Cole Sanderson expects when he drives into the ski town of Red Falls, Montana is to score a date to his best friend’s wedding. But since his ex-rocker life in Seattle is stagnating, when the gorgeous, green-eyed bakery owner propositions him to play the role of her long-distance boyfriend, stirring his punk-shenanigans roots to their core, he doesn’t hesitate to say, “Hell yes!”

Mira hopes for a fun night with her fake date, but when their wedding weekend turns into a genuine connection, when Cole returns to Seattle and she tries to go back to her normal life, she wonders if she missed out on something real. But Cole isn’t done with her yet, and when he finds his way back to Red Falls, she’ll have to decide what’s more important: clinging to the neat and tidy life she’s struggled to maintain, or taking a risk, embracing the chaos, and maybe even falling in love.

Lips Like Sugar is book 2 in the Bluebird Basin Romance series but can absolutely be read as a standalone. This story features two main characters in their fifties, lots of laughs, plenty of open-door steam, and so many butterflies.

Content notes: Living with and caring for a parent with mild cognitive impairment, addiction, relapse, an unhealthy ex, grown men deeply in their feels, strong friendships, conversations about love languages, and an absurd amount of Say Anything references, including a steamy riff on the airplane seatbelt sign scene…
Thoughts on Lips Like Sugar: We're back on the mountain (or near the mountain, really) as Red Falls gets ready for Ashley and Mad's wedding. Actually, their wedding isn't the focal point for Mira and Cole's thing, but it is the catalyst. Because of said wedding, Cole walks into Mira's bakery at exactly the right moment and Mira plants a kiss on the hunky ex-rocker and things move forward from there.

On Mira's end, she's dealing with a lot. Some of it is self-inflicted (I don't meant that in a bad way, necessarily, but more in a "I have obligations and don't see a way out of them" sort of way) and some is the reality of dealing with an aging parent. The fake relationship she starts with Cole becomes more the longer they spend together. Which is kind of something Mira doesn't see coming because she doesn't expect more than that one fake-date night with him. BOY, was she wrong.

As for Cole, he's...well, he's kind of stuck. He's doing the things he loves and he's happy enough. At least that's what he tells himself. But spending time with Mira at the wedding shows him that happiness comes in a lot of different flavors and maybe what he thought was happiness before wasn't quite it. I don't know if that makes sense. Let's just say that Cole does some soul searching after his time on the mountain and he finds a different path that just might give him all the things he didn't know he needed.

A sweet kiss that starts it all, long conversations via text and phone, kiddos who want their respective parents to be happy, a truth bomb that makes Mira reevaluate everything, and an ex-rocker who loves hard. MAN, these two worked NICELY together. *thumbs up*

Snowballed by Melanie Ting [Review]

Snowballed (Moo U #10) by Melanie Ting
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: March 7, 2023

Moo U
1. Boyfriend
2. Blindsided
3. Slapshot
4. Holdout
5. Gametime
6. Overtime
7. Halftime
8. Darkroom
9. Playmaker
10. Snowballed - Paperback | Kindle
11. Goalkeeper

Related Series:
(find all the books in the series on the 1st book review)
The Busy Bean
1. Sweetheart

In Vino Veritas
1. Wildfire

Speakeasy
1. Touchstone

True North
1. Bittersweet

Vino and Veritas
1. Roommate

Melanie Ting
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):
She needs Prince Farming . . . but she got me instead.

Sure, life’s been easy for me. Growing up in an oceanside house in SoCal, playing top-level college hockey, driving a luxury car with a generous allowance—sounds like the dream, right? Turns out what I didn’t have was freedom. And when I decided to transfer to Moo U for my last year of hockey, my controlling father cut me off.

No money, no car, no friends. I’m just another student struggling to make ends meet. The only place I can afford to live is the Meyers’ farm, where I’ll work in exchange for room and board. Farm work is so exhausting that I don’t even have time to wallow in the crappy turn my life has taken. Zoe Meyers is a hot blonde Amazon with all the energy of a chipmunk on crack. And her positivity is making me realize how lucky I really am, even though I’m broke. Too bad she’s not impressed by a guy who can’t figure out which end of a goat to milk.

Because suddenly I want to impress her. I want to do a lot more with her too . . . if I can get her out of the barn and into my arms.
Thoughts on Snowballed: Noah's transferring to Moo U (against his father's wishes) and to make up for the sudden loss of his allowance (among other things), he's helping at the Meyers' farm so he, you know, has a rent-free place to live. Two things: Noah doesn't know anything about farming (but he soon learns!) and Zoe's upbeat personality is soon growing on him. Well, soon-ish.

On Zoe's end, she has some baggage she has to deal with. She's determined to hold onto the family farm because it was her father's dream home. Except with her dad now gone, her brother staying in town, and her mom not interested in farming, she's running herself ragged to get everything done. Noah's help (even though it takes him time to figure things out) is appreciated, but there are THINGS she needs to deal with before everything comes spilling over.

It takes a little scare, a lot of soul-searching, and the realization that sometimes a person has to adjust their dreams before Zoe gets where she needs to be. Which is in a relationship with Noah based on the steam between them.

Hockey, goats, facing the past, and figuring out the future. GOOD STUFF.

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Playmaker by Sierra Hill [Review]

Playmaker (Moo U #9) by Sierra Hill
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: March 6, 2023

Moo U
1. Boyfriend
2. Blindsided
3. Slapshot
4. Holdout
5. Gametime
6. Overtime
7. Halftime
8. Darkroom
9. Playmaker - Paperback | Kindle
10. Snowballed
11. Goalkeeper

Related Series:
(find all the books in the series on the 1st book review)
The Busy Bean
1. Sweetheart

In Vino Veritas
1. Wildfire

Speakeasy
1. Touchstone

True North
1. Bittersweet

Vino and Veritas
1. Roommate

Sierra Hill
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):
There’s no faking it in love or hockey...

Transferring to a new school under false pretenses is harder than I expected, especially when my cocky new housemate, Callan Thomas, annoys me at every pass. He’s treated like a god and revered by everyone on campus. Too bad he made me feel like a rejected fool the first night we met.

But that doesn’t stop me from accepting his offer to become his fake girlfriend, because he has skills that I need. Only Callan can help me improve my game and make the USA women’s hockey team.

I try to keep despising him, but he keeps proving my first impression was wrong. And the more time I spend with him, the more complex my feelings become. I need to tell him the truth about who I really am before anyone finds out and things go too far.

Problem is, I think they already have...
Thoughts on Playmaker: Callan and Aria have a complicated thing going on and I am here for it! FYI, I don't mean complicated in the usual sense, but rather they're housemates (sharing the 3rd floor of their sports house which means they really can't avoid one another since, you know, they have side by side rooms and literally share a bathroom) and Aria had secret reasons for transferring to Moo U that she isn't keen on anyone finding out about.

As for the housemates thing...that would be workable. Probably. If the two of them didn't spark off one another something fierce and just tolerated the other's presence...no problem. But they do spark and they do more than tolerate and yeeeeaaaah. Throw in Aria's not so fun (well, most of the time) night terrors and things get verrry interesting.

On Cal's end, he's trying very hard to make good choices (which he articulates to Aria very poorly) and he has more than a few daddy issues. In the end, Aria's the best sort of complication even though she was hiding a thing or two about herself.

Hockey, steamy kisses, parental issues, sexy middle of the night shenanigans, and two people who have to figure things out before they can find their emotional happy place. *thumbs up*

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Darkroom by Kate Willoughby [Review]

Darkroom (Moo U #8) by Kate Willoughby
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: March 6, 2023

Moo U
1. Boyfriend
2. Blindsided
3. Slapshot
4. Holdout
5. Gametime
6. Overtime
7. Halftime
8. Darkroom - Paperback | Kindle
9. Playmaker
10. Snowballed
11. Goalkeeper

Related Series:
(find all the books in the series on the 1st book review)
The Busy Bean
1. Sweetheart

In Vino Veritas
1. Wildfire

Speakeasy
1. Touchstone

True North
1. Bittersweet

Vino and Veritas
1. Roommate

Kate Willoughby
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):
As a top draft pick from a family of hockey royalty, I'm under so much pressure that I’m losing my edge on the ice. I need something to snap my brain out of this self-destructive stress-loop. That’s where Indi Briscoe from my photography class comes in. She’s flirtatious and funny one moment, sweetly shy the next.

But she’s cagey. She has secrets. Also? She’s a virgin. Did I mention the pressure thing? Maybe I’m crazy for starting something with her. But we can’t seem to help ourselves...

Warning: this standalone novel contains heat, heart, familial expectations, extreme milkshakes, and a hamster with deep thoughts.
Thoughts on Darkroom: Okay. Sexy Hudson Forte is up and his special someone has maybe a tiny bit of baggage she needs to deal with before the two of them can be blissfully happy together in the long term. To be fair, Hudson also has some baggage to deal with. Just so you know it's not all one sided.

First up: Indi. Let's start by saying the lady has some self image issues. Between her birthmark (which got her bullied and teased relentlessly when she was younger, so I completely get where she's coming from with her coping mechanisms) and her disconnect with her heritage, she has a few things to work through. It takes time for her to come to terms with both.

As for Hudson, he's got big shoes to fill when it comes to his family and hockey. He's also been taught that he should suck it up and play through whatever's bothering him (okay, it's not said like that exactly, but it was the idea that some of the things he was dealing with weren't something that should bother someone like him) and that leads him to ignore some issues that could have been dealt with earlier. That said, once things start moving in the right direction, he makes big strides.

Family dynamics, pizza, self-image, more pizza, and some steamy kisses. *thumbs up*

Monday, March 25, 2024

Halftime by Kim Findlay [Review]

Halftime (Moo U #7) by Kim Findlay
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: March 6, 2023

Moo U
1. Boyfriend
2. Blindsided
3. Slapshot
4. Holdout
5. Gametime
6. Overtime
7. Halftime - Paperback | Kindle
8. Darkroom
9. Playmaker
10. Snowballed
11. Goalkeeper

Related Series:
(find all the books in the series on the 1st book review)
The Busy Bean
1. Sweetheart

In Vino Veritas
1. Wildfire

Speakeasy
1. Touchstone

True North
1. Bittersweet

Vino and Veritas
1. Roommate

Kim Findlay
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):
There’s no halftime in hockey, but maybe there’s one in love…

Drunk dialing your girlfriend to tell her that you didn’t really cheat is a bad idea--a lesson Seb Hunter learned the hard way. It was no surprise when she cut him completely out of her life. Now he’s finally moved on, and he’s looking forward to sophomore year at Moo U. Until his ex arrives on campus.

For goalie Faith Devereaux, cheating is a hard pass. She grew up knowing all too well how destructive infidelity can be. She’s gotten over Seb and picked the college of her dreams. The fact that he’s a student there will not be a problem. Hockey is her priority. Not guys, not dating, definitely not exes.

But when an exhibition game forces them into close proximity, it isn’t long before their old attraction flares. Regaining trust is hard, though, when the heart plays a good defensive game.

But when the goal is love, one more shot might be all they need.
Thoughts on Halftime: Oh man. Faith and Seb were kind of a mess for a while. And what I really mean is they were a HOT MESS. Seb had never really gotten over Faith and Faith had spent a year believing the person she trusted most had cheated on her at the first opportunity. Being on the same campus and (nominally) sharing space had both of them on edge from the start.

Good thing for both of them they had Seb's teammate willing (and able) to play matchmaker. Without Coop, they'd probably still be scowling their way around campus, desperately hoping they don't cross paths. Well, maybe Seb would have been okay with crossing paths, but Faith was all in on the avoidance.

As it turns out, Seb did not cheat. Faith had to work her head around that (which caused a little friction at times) and then she had to face down some baggage (courtesy of her mom and dad's weird relationship) that had unconsciously shaped her.

Hockey, family issues, trust, and two people who had to relearn how to be with one another. GOOD STUFF.

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Saturday, March 23, 2024

Kade by Tasha Black [Review]

Kade (Alien Adoption Agency #2) by Tasha Black
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: June 25, 2023

Alien Adoption Agency
1. Noxx
2. Kade - Paperback | Kindle
3. Tyro
4. Zane
5. Odin
6. Rexx
7. Arik
8. Jett
9. Zyon
10. Troy
11. Luka
12. Jace
13. Jhon
14. Rafe
15. Kian

Tasha Black
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):
She’s the target of an intergalactic bounty hunt. If he wants to protect her, first he'll have to capture her heart.

Aurora Day is running from a crime she didn’t commit – or at least, she didn’t mean to commit. But the intergalactic soldiers on the hunt for the woman known as the Fox don’t care about the details. Hiding out on the remote frontier moon of Clotho is her only hope for survival. But to gain access, she has to adopt an alien baby. Aurora is shocked when she learns that a dragon warrior of the Invicta is part of the package.

Kade knows two things about Aurora. The bright-eyed Terran is going to be the mother of the child he has pledged to guard and grown to love. And the mysterious woman is fated to be his mate. But Aurora has no interest in his love, and she doesn’t even seem to be that interested in adorable baby Lyra. She’s clearly hiding some secrets, and Kade is determined to unearth them before his dragon’s wild lust for her burns them both alive.

When Kade runs afoul of the local law enforcement, only Aurora can save him. The perfect life she’s dared to dream of is almost in her grasp, and now it’s all about to come crashing down around her. Will she stand her ground and fight for her new family? Or will the Fox keep running for freedom?
Thoughts on Kade: We're back on Clotho with the second of the three women who are part of the alien adoption thing. No lie, the fact someone who's considered a criminal made it past the agency's background check ahs me questioning their methods. BUT...maybe Aurora was just that good at hiding herself. Although she did use her real name and everything. You know what? I'm going to just go with it. Aurora's good at hiding.

So. Aurora only took the job as an adoptive mother because hiding out on the frontier gives her a little breathing room. To be honest, I'm not sure she really thought the whole "mother" part through. But she figures things out. She likes the baby after she gives herself a chance to hold her. She also likes Kade. Considering he's part and parcel with the baby this is a good thing. The sticky part? She's worried about putting people around her in danger is she's found out. Which means she's blowing a little hot and cold with the big dragon shifter.

On Kade's end, he's already smitten with baby Lyra. Feeling an instant connection with Aurora shocks him a little, but he's down for it. After all, he loves the adorable baby, why not her adoptive mother? But he's also a possessive, proud dragon warrior and when Aurora steps in to protect him, he gets a little miffed. That said, once she explains her reasoning, he understands that he needs to take care of himself in order to be able to take care of Aurora and the baby.

A protection racket nobody likes, a lady on the run, neighbors with their own secrets, a possessive dragon, a sweet baby, and a competition that leaves everyone surprised. *thumbs up*