Review: Pity Party by Whitney Dineen

As we return to the wonderful small town of Elk Lake in the second book of the Pity series, Pity Party by Whitney Dineen, we dive into the life of Melissa Corner. A small bridal shop owner trying to navigate life and maintain her optimism against the pressures of meeting someone and the influences of her mother and the all surrounding soon to be brides that remind her of how out of reach that seems to be. With her track record of potential relationships not working out, her optimism seems dim until a spunky twelve year old crosses her path with her gorgeous dad that ignites a little spark.

After some unfortunate events that affected his daughter’s life, they decide to make a new start and get settled into the town that captured their interest from their previous summer. Offering the new start they both anticipated, Sammy Riordan decides to explore the town and meets an unexpected friend whom she instantly hits it off with. As their day closes with anticipation to share the wonderful news with her dad, Jamie Riordan, comes to the bridal shop and gets a surprise of his own. Not expecting her first friend to be Melissa, despite their initial sparks, he leaves an unfavorable impression that has her forgetting his initial swoon.

His daughter on the other hand, leaving such a great impression on Melissa, was surprised when she got the ok to work in the shop. As time goes on, and Jamie and Melissa get to know each other, they find a growing attraction that seems hard to resist but gets suppressed under their friendship label. With both of them having broken pasts, unwilling or unable to take a chance, they find themselves at a crossroads that forces them to face their undeniable connection or lose out on what could’ve been everything they ever wanted.

I’ve never wanted two people to run to each other as much as Melissa and Jamie. Likable and relatable, they both bring some heartache from their pasts but seeing them finding their way made this such an engaging read. There is so much to love about this book. Besides, their own story being unfolded, what a special experience was the bond that developed between Melissa and Sammy. Her not having a mother in her life, Melissa coming in at her most impressionable age, giving her that motherly and older sister vibe brought some special moments in the book. Like the preceding book, I love the female friendships involving the characters. Their fun banter and supportive relationships want you to be part of the group. What I loved about Jamie is that you rarely get the pov from a single dad who has experienced what he has. Raising his daughter as both parents with unconditional love at the beginning of those teenage years brought some special moments.

Their story told itself in the pace and time it was meant to be. I will admit being impatient wanting them to be sooner but they had to go through and experience some things that made it worth sticking around for in the end.

Another wonderful book in the series. If you have been following the series, then you can wait impatiently with me for the third book, Pity Pact. That book will center around Paige. The release date is set for early next year.

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Review: The Sweetheart Crush by Miranda Liasson

The Sweetheart Crush by Miranda Liasson brings us back to the small town of Blossom Glen. With the conclusion of another wonderful small town series, book three centers around the youngest Montgomery sister, Vivienne.

When Vivienne left town to chase after her dreams, she not only left her family but also her best friend Logan Matthews. In particular, the night before, something happened that changed their lives for what seemed like forever, burdening a lifetime friendship broken, moving their lives on without each other.

Now, twelve years later, Viv is back in Blossom Glen, working at a local shop, feeling unsure of her future, trying to get her life in order, gets an unexpected visitor that brings the past crashing down in the present. In disbelief, a familiar voice unsettles her emotions when no other than Logan comes into the shop. No longer that young boy she last saw but a man all grown up and unlike her who is living out his dreams, has become a famous author.

In attempt to softened his image, a pr moment goes in the wrong direction and Viv steps in to help her old friend. On a whim offers her his services and to her surprised he hires her bringing them back as if no time left between them. As they work on his image and spend more time together, they find their friendship blossoming into more than just friends. Only one problem, Logan must share a secret that might ruin his chance at a happily ever after. Will they stand a chance second time around?

The Sweetheart Crush wraps up the series on a beautiful note. It's always sweet seeing the friends to lovers theme but what made this series wonderful was seeing both of them being able to reconnect and get a second chance to fix the past. I loved how we see how much Vivienne grew as a person and really found herself and where she's meant to be. And Logan, allowing himself to surrender the walls, especially with the cloud of his father's legacy to find himself brought him to where he needed to be allowing both of them to be the best versions of themselves.

I'm so glad the series concluded with them. Overall, this was a wonderful series about second chances, the friendships and the unbreakable family bonds. If you haven't read the series, go back an start with the first book. Ideally, the general concept of the book can be read as a standalone but I recommend for continuity to read them in order.

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Review: Between Love and Loathing by Shain Rose

About the Book

For fans of Ana Huang and Mia Sheridan, a scorching enemies to lovers romance about a young woman who agrees to fake date a man she despises for a chance to build her dream bakery.

Fake dating my enemy so I can design my dream bakery should be easy … as long as I don't fall in love with him.

Dominic Hardy might be an award-winning architectural engineer with fancy degrees and considerable accolades, but he doesn’t know a thing about baking. He probably doesn’t even like sugar.

So when my late stepfather’s will states that Dominic Hardy is set to inherit the Pacific Coast Resort he’d painstakingly designed, as long as my bakery can be plopped in the middle of it, it’s no surprise he balks.

Yet, my jaw drops when the will further requires us to mutually approve plans for my bakery’s design.

His stuffy taste will never mix with my whimsical vibe.

But then Dominic comes to me with a proposal I can’t refuse. He’ll give me everything I want in my bakery as long as I agree to one thing.

Fake date him for five months.

Keep his ex away by pretending we’re in love.

Smile and stare into his piercing green eyes at a gala or two.

Maybe share a kiss.

Nothing extreme.

Five months of acting in love when I really loathe him and his filthy mouth.

Even when he’s using it on me.

This should be a cakewalk.

Except there’s a fine line between love and loathing, and I think I’ve made the colossal mistake of blurring it.

Review

Four stars! No doubt, no debate. Four stars! Between Love and Loathing was addicting. And exactly what I needed after falling into a pattern of mid books (Not including Collide by Bal Khabra. I adored that one). Within the first page, I become obsessed with Clara and Dominic. I loved every second of their steamy, complicated, opposite attract love story. Both had depth, and substance. And beautifully flawed. They worked so well together, and it was so exciting to see them grow and reach the conclusion. I finished the book waiting more. And I could find myself rereading this book over and over—just to relive their love story. This was my first Shain Rose book, and I’m upset with myself for not reading more of her books. She’s gold.

Final Thoughts

Between Love and Loathing reminded me why fake dating is one of my favorite tropes. The characters were just good, as was their romance. Clara and Dominic might be opposites, but they work so well together and bring out so much fire out of each other.

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Review: Movie Star: They Always Say They're Single by Jessica Simpson

Being a fan of Jessica Simpson growing up, curiosity and nostalgia drew me into this short. I always loved her beautiful voice and her talent was entertaining. Much of my knowledge of her during that time included magazine articles, her reality show or just simply connecting with her music. It was disheartening seeing her portrayed a certain way by the media because at the end of the day, many of us just know them as entertainers but people forget they are real people. This was a refreshing reflection getting to learn about this side of her personality and her social life.

Beyond the gossip, it was nice getting a glimpse of her opening up about exploring relationships after being with the first man she ever loved. Her experience and sharing her thoughts, her experiences can be relatable on a personal level. Her growth and lessons she learned through those experiences allowed her to understand what not to do and just be in the moment.

After reading this short, I wish that I had listened to the audible version first. She did really well narrating her book. This was one of those shorts that the audible version made the experience much more fun. Who knew she was so funny? Seeing how beyond her singing she created a lifestyle brand for herself, I think this would make a great autobiographical series of shorts continuing with her story. I wish this could’ve been longer but overall, it was interesting.

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Review: Collide by Bal Khabra

Summary

An ultimatum from her professor thrusts Summer Preston into an unexpected collision with hockey captain Aiden Crawford. She’s caught in a delicate balance between fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a sport psychologist and veering far away from this god-awful sport.

For Aiden Crawford, being the captain of the college hockey team has its perks, except when a reckless mistake by his team threatens to jeopardize their entire season. Consequently, his coach nominates him as the subject of a research paper. It's the last thing he wants to do, especially since the girl leading the project looks like she could wield his skates as a weapon.

Summer can't stand his blasé approach to life, and Aiden doesn't understand her uptight, scheduled one. They are off to a rocky start, and provoking each other is what they do best, but defeat isn't something either of them is willing to accept.

Review

I am pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed Collide. Recently there has been an increased desire for hockey books. This can be traced back to Tiktok, and because of this—it seems like almost all sport romances are about hockey. We have unfortunately fallen into a pattern of all romances following the same formula, and it’s starting to feel that authors are adding tropes because they know that readers will eat them up. The tropes are starting to feel repetitive and ineffective. I was fully expecting Collide to be a disappointment. But why did I pick it up? Because I love a good cover, and this cover was too cute. I was fully expecting this to fall into the same hockey star and smart girl trope that are filling the market.

Yes, it did feel tropey and cliché at times, but I absolutely enjoyed this. I found Aiden and Summer to be swoony worthy main characters. They both were charming, and played off each other well. There was a lot of back and forth with them in the beginning, but that aspect didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the story. I actually found it to work. And I thought that Summer’s hesitation with the romance was relatable given her past.

There were several grammatical errors throughout this book. I normally don’t point them out because I normally don’t notice them. However, I caught them every time. By no means did it hinder my reading experience. I still very much enjoyed the book, I just wish that it had gone through another round of editing. Another issue I had was the timeline. At times it was hard to understand when something was happening. It often felt unorganized and at times I would have to go back and re-read it to see if I missed something.

Final Thoughts

Collide can be categorized as yet another hockey book that follows the same plot as several others. However, the selling point of this book is Aiden and Summer. They exceeded my expectations, and despite plot errors and grammatical errors, they sell this book. There were so many times I would read something with a smile on my face.

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Review: A Discovery: Love and Other Things: A Spicy Professor Student, Age Gap Romance by Victoria Woods

Summary

"Eight weeks excavating the Egyptian desert under a world-renowned archaeologist."

That’s what Kitty Taha expected when she accepted the position for a third-year field internship. She certainly never thought she’d find herself literally under said archaeologist.

Dr. James Campbell is everything Kitty was not expecting in a professor: broody, moody, and hot as hell. She might have been able to excuse his mercurial ways, if only he hadn’t chosen violence and berated her in front of the entire dig crew and a collection of mummified cats. With no luggage, a sprained ankle, and a suspension notice from Dr. Jerk-Face Tight-Ass, her internship is already a complete disaster, and it’s only the second day!

If she wants to graduate with the rest of her class next year, Kitty needs to complete this internship as scheduled. Seeing no other option, she swallows her pride and decides to play nice—but she can barely offer a bogus apology complemented by her fakest smile before James completely disarms her, leaving her confused yet very turned on.

Can they keep their chemistry a secret? Or will her discovery of love and other things derail her career before it even starts?

Review:

The romance was the selling point of this book, and unfortunately is the least interesting part about it. The interesting parts were the setting and Kitty’s major. I’ve never read a book with an archaeologist, and it was very interesting to read about Kitty’s discovery and reasoning for taking the internship. Not to spoil anything, but it had something to do with her family. I would have loved to see that expanded on and spend more time with her family considering it was a big part for why she put herself in that situation. I would have also enjoyed more time spent exploring Egypt, and learning more about it. Those are the things I craved and strived for whenever the book attempted to sell the relationship between Kitty and James.

To put it frankly, everything happened too quickly. Their relationship just didn’t seem believable to me, and at times their chemistry felt questionable. They barely had any interactions, and then they are kissing. There was no longing or any secret moments. And James felt like a mystery. Kitty was open to him, and he barely gave much of anything. I would have loved his POV to get inside his head to see what he was thinking, and to learn more about him.

Final Thoughts

A Discovery: of Love and Other Things fails to deliver on a romance that is anything more than fine. The two characters didn’t have any emotional chemistry nor did the progression of their romance feel smooth. James in particular felt immature and his actions were questionable at times.

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