I had an extremely slow week in terms of books last week. We traveled a bit, including one day that turned from 4.5 hours in the car to 11 hours… and I drove for 8 of those hours and rested the other 3. By the time we got to our final destination, I was EXHAUSTED (and also it was midnight). I really struggled to get into a couple of books so I feel like I wasted some valuable reading time. I ended up starting and stopping three books on Sunday alone. Hopefully this week is better! 🙂

With all that being said, I did read three books that I loved and one that I liked last week!

Just a reminder, my rating scale is as follows:
Five-star: I LOVED this book and would highly recommend it to anyone that asked me for a recommendation. I believe the writing is quality, the characters are so loveable that you can’t help but love their story, and the plot has little or no gaps in my opinion. A five-star book often results in a re-read because I loved it so much.
Four-star: I really liked this book and would recommend it to most readers. The writing is good, the character development is great, and the plot has just a few areas that I think needed more development.
Three-star: I liked this book. I wouldn’t necessarily re-read it again, but I didn’t stop reading because I felt compelled to find out what happened. There might be errors or other editorial complaints.
Two-star: This book was not for me. I couldn’t get into it for whatever reason. There were likely many things that turned me off, including but not limited to: a poor choice in POV, character development, flow, energy, attention grabbing, etc. I would not recommend this book to my friends.
One-star: Likely, a one-star is a DNF book for me. There were too many problems. Would not recommend this book to anyone.

Started my week off by reading Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras.

Blurb: Sought-after social media influencer Sara Vance, in recovery from an eating disorder, is coming into her own, with a potential career expansion on the horizon. Despite the good news, her successful siblings (and their perfect spouses) have a way of making her feel like the odd one out. So, when her unreliable boyfriend is a no-show for a Florida family vacation, Sara recruits Luis Navarro—a firefighter paramedic and dive captain willing to play the part of her smitten fiancé . . .
 
Luis’s big Cuban familia has been in Key West for generations, and his quiet strength feeds off the island’s laidback style. Though guarded after a deep betrayal, he’ll always help someone in need—especially a spunky beauty with a surprising knowledge of Spanish curse words. Soon, he and Sara have memorized their “how we met” story and are immersed in family dinners, bike tours, private snorkeling trips . . . sharing secrets, and slow, melting kisses. But when it’s time for Sara to return home, will their fake relationship fade like the stunning sunset . . . or blossom into something beautiful?

Rating: 3 stars.

It took me a few too many chapters to get into this book to consider it love, but I’ll firmly plant myself in the LIKE category. Sara and Luis’s relationship is definitely one of convenience, but it just felt… too convenient? Like, the characters didn’t even know each other for five minutes before they decided to dupe Sara’s parents and siblings for the week.

Both characters are very sweet and sincere, both have personal motivators they are working through, and they end up liking each other a whole lot. But the whole…. knowing each other five minutes and then being in love by the end of a WEEK of vacation for some reason just pulled me too far out of this story to really enjoy it/believe it/root for these characters.

The Bet by Max Monroe

When it comes to life’s fun and games, always know:
The rules.
What’s at stake.
When to quit.

Wise words from…well…my fortune cookie. But wise words, nonetheless.

I just wish the Fortune Cookie People had considered how hard the whole “knowing when to quit” would be to carry out when a woman like me is gambling with her feelings.

Heart-palpitating, vageen-tingling, butterflies-in-my-belly feelings for a noncommittal, hot-as-sin player by the name of Jude Winslow.

After a crazy night where we were both pretending to be someone else, I’ve found myself immersed in the fun of the fling.
The thrill.
The irresistible charm.
The pleasure of being with a man like him.

Problem is, I’m positive he’s the exact opposite of husband material, and that is a serious issue for someone who is fixated on finding her happily ever after.

I know the rules and I know the stakes, oh wise Fortune Cookie.

Now I’d just like to know how close to self-destruction I have to get before I find the will to quit Jude Winslow.

Goodness knows, when your heart is on the line, you can’t ante up your bet with an IOU.

Rating: 4 Stars

I ALWAYS love a good Max Monroe, and they did not disappoint with Jude and Sophie. Jude is a saucy bachelor who gets hooked on pretend bride-to-be Sophie. Their chance encounter, all because of a bet, leads to an ongoing tangle of tension that stretches the boroughs of New York and even Las Vegas, where these two take their chemistry to new levels. Jude makes Sophie more adventurous, and Sophie shows Jude that you can believe in people.

I love the families in this story. Both main characters have siblings they really rely on in their lives. Sophie and Jude were raised differently but still find so much common ground, a solid foundation forms.

I really loved Sophie as a character. She takes what she needs, she learns to give herself permission for what she really wants, and she works really hard. I also really connected with Sophie because she’s an enneagram 9 like me, so I might be a little biased 😉

Favorite quote: “He isn’t just a tasty snack; he’s the whole damn meal. Six full courses, with the biggest, most delectable chocolate cake dessert at the end.”

It wouldn’t be a Max Monroe classic without a Thatch sighting, too, so that’s an added bonus. I cannot wait for the other Winslow brothers books!

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

Eve Brown is a certified hot mess. No matter how hard she strives to do right, her life always goes horribly wrong. So she’s given up trying. But when her personal brand of chaos ruins an expensive wedding (someone had to liberate those poor doves), her parents draw the line. It’s time for Eve to grow up and prove herself—even though she’s not entirely sure how…

Jacob Wayne is in control. Always. The bed and breakfast owner’s on a mission to dominate the hospitality industry and he expects nothing less than perfection. So when a purple-haired tornado of a woman turns up out of the blue to interview for his open chef position, he tells her the brutal truth: not a chance in hell. Then she hits him with her car—supposedly by accident. Yeah, right.

Now his arm is broken, his B&B is understaffed, and the dangerously unpredictable Eve is fluttering around, trying to help. Before long, she’s infiltrated his work, his kitchen—and his spare bedroom. Jacob hates everything about it. Or rather, he should. Sunny, chaotic Eve is his natural-born nemesis, but the longer these two enemies spend in close quarters, the more their animosity turns into something else. Like Eve, the heat between them is impossible to ignore… and it’s melting Jacob’s frosty exterior.

Rating: 5 Stars

I cannot believe I’m saying this, but Eve might be my favorite Brown sister! (I KNOW RIGHT?!)

To be fair, I loved ALL the Brown sisters, but I loved how Eve really discovered herself in this book and began to recognize her own strengths, with the help of a little hottie named Jacob.

Jacob, a Bed and Breakfast owner on the autism spectrum, meets Eve when she spontaneously applies for the chef position at his inn. He immediately hates her… and she hits him with her car (albeit on accident – still hilarious though).

Eve feels guilty and stays to help Jacob care for the inn, but ends up wow-ing him with her skills. Where Jacob lacks, Eve seems to have an abundance, and they become quite the team. Both wrapped in their own unique perspectives, Jacob and Eve struggle to communicate their emotions, which obviously leads to the tension that leads to the happily ever after.

It took both characters looking inwardly at themselves, and allowing themselves to see where their own insecurities and flaws got in the way, in order for them to be successful together. I loved that both characters grew, independently and together, throughout this book, and they realized their dreams could come true with hard work.

I think this book resonated so much with me because I often don’t try new things because I want to be PERFECT at them… something both Eve and Jacob struggle with. It was a beautiful reminder that we don’t have to be perfect to be good, and our own standards don’t have to mean we’re disappointing other people, including ourselves.

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

Single mom Jess Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. After all, her father was never around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn’t “father material” before her daughter was even born. Jess holds her loved ones close but working constantly to stay afloat is hard…and lonely.

But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that’s predicted to change dating forever. Finding a soulmate through DNA? The reliability of numbers:This Jess understands.

At least she thought she did, until her test shows an unheard-of 98 percent compatibility with another subject in the database: GeneticAlly’s founder, Dr. River Peña. This is one number she can’t wrap her head around, because she already knows Dr. Peña. The stuck-up, stubborn man is without a doubt not her soulmate. But GeneticAlly has a proposition: Get ‘to know him and we’ll pay you. Jess—who is barely making ends meet—is in no position to turn it down, despite her skepticism about the project and her dislike for River. As the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the “Diamond” pairing that could launch GeneticAlly’s valuation sky-high, Jess begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist—and the science behind a soulmate—than she thought.

Rating: 5 Stars

There still isn’t a Christina Lauren book I’ve read that I haven’t liked… but this one is LOVE.

It was a smart, different, and completely captivated me, to the point where I read it in one sitting!

Jess and River are, individually, two unique characters who you don’t see falling in love. Together, it is almost comical. But once they do, it turns supremely sweet.

I love this book’s approach to untraditional family. Jess raises her daughter with the help of her own grandparents. River’s close with his two sisters, and we learn that he was closest with his own grandmother before she passed.

These two are endearing, and watching their love story unfold, fall apart, and then come back together was every romance novel readers dream. Read this book… you won’t be disappointed!

What are you reading this week?