freyafaithfull's reviews
387 reviews

Naughty & Nice (Love Notes Book 2) by DJ Jamison ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Jonas can't seem to forget his ex-stepbrother Quinn. After sharing a fleeting kiss on Christmas Eve four years ago, Jonas has held on to the memory and can't let go of his feelings for Quinn.

After Jonas rescues Quinn in a snow storm, they end up trapped together at Jonas's dad's cabin. Forced to spend time together alone, can they each put aside their baggage and rediscover their past connection?

I loved how Jonas doted on Quinn throughout the book and made him feel loved, but also gave him the space he needed to grow and learn to love himself again after his past bad relationship.

There were lots of both sweet and steamy moments in this book and you could really feel the connection grow between the two main characters. The only thing I wish is that we got to see Quinn's talk with his mum, it felt like it was built up throughout the book but then we never got to read the actual scene.

Overall, this book is a great Christmas read, giving off plenty of cosy, wintery vibes. I would have equally enjoyed reading it any other time of the year but the Christmas theme did make it extra special.

CW: grief, emotional abuse (from a past relationship- off page), negative body image

Secret Admirer (Love Notes Book 1) by DJ Jamison ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Benji has been infatuated with his best friends brother, Ace, for years. When Benji starts college at the same campus as Ace, they begin to spend more time together alone and gradually become closer.

After Benji is stood up for a date, Ace decides to become Benji's secret admirer and leave him notes and small gifts in the hope of boosting Benji's self esteem. Along the way, Ace starts to question his feelings for Benji and realises that he might not be quite as straight as he originally thought.

Benji is such a cute, sweet guy and it was so nice to see him get the happy ending with Ace that he deserved. I found this book to be a really satisfying, low angst read and would happily read more about Benji and Ace's relationship in the future.

CW: reference of homophobia

Love Notes complete box set by DJ Jamison ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Bad Boy (The Loyal Boys Book 2) by Charli Meadows ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A bad boy with a heart of gold

Keeper (Kensley Panthers book 1) by Nicole Dykes ⭐⭐⭐.5

A best friends to lovers small town romance ❤️

Camden and Kingston have been best friends since childhood and despite their shared love of Football, they are complete opposites. Kingston is outgoing and focuses on having fun whereas Camden is more serious and spends every day trying to balance his many overwhelming responsibilities.

Kingston lives his life oblivious to the secrets and desires that Camden keeps buried, unaware that once revealed they could tear apart their friendship. As secrets are revealed and the lines of friendship blur, their relationship becomes more complicated than ever. With Cam wanting to break free of small town life and Kingston never wanting to leave, the two of them struggle to find a way to deviate from their opposing paths and stay together.

This book was a satisfying start to the Kensley Panthers series, however, Camden and Kingsley's story turned out to be quite different than I was expecting. I found that the many small time jumps made the story feel quite rushed, especially as there seemed to be no progression between the characters in that time.

At times the story felt less centered on the characters' relationship and more on Camden himself and the change he so desperately longs for in his life. This in turn made it seem as if Kingston was more in the background than the forefront of the story and I wish we got to see more of his own character development as well.

Overall, I did enjoy this book but found myself longing for more from the individual characters and their story. We got a glimpse of some of the characters from the upcoming books in the series and I'm intrigued to see what Nicole brings to their stories. I will definitely be sticking with this series and look forward to seeing how the future books pan out.

❤️Friends to lovers
❤️Small town
❤️Highschool
❤️American football

CW: underage drinking, homophobic language

Two Truths and a Lyle by DJ Jamison ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A best friends to lovers small town romance

The Hideaway Neighbor (Corio Heights Book 4) by Rye Cox ⭐⭐⭐⭐

It's been two years since lonely writer Noah saw his childhood sweetheart Lucas. After having his heart broken, he moved into an apartment in Corio Heights where he lives an isolated life with his two kittens. The last thing he expects is for Lucas to show up out of the blue at his door and to find out that Lucas is in fact his new neighbor.

Lucas has endured a rough two years, losing himself to his grief and ending up in a downward spiral. With his life finally getting back on track, he knows that the missing piece of his world is Noah. Can he win back the love of his life or is it too late?

This book was the epitome of a sweet second chance romance. Regardless of their differing social status the two guys have only ever had eyes for each other and I loved that even after being torn apart for two years, all either of them wanted was to find their way back to being together again.

I would have loved to see more of their relationship reforming in the present day as there seemed to be a lot of emphasis on their past relationship which personally made the story feel a little unbalanced to me.

This wasn't my favourite book in the Corio Heights series but was still a nice addition and I was happy to see the reclusive Noah get his well deserved happy ending.

Guarded (Kensley Panthers Book 2) by Nicole Dykes ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Since an incident in kindergarten, Jameson Bates has always disliked Garrison Dixon. Bates does his best to avoid and ignore Dixon when he can, but being on the same Football team means it's not always possible. Dixon seems to enjoy pushing Bates's buttons and riling him up, however, deep down he dislikes their conflict and wishes to be more than the guy Bates hates.

Dixon is known for his loud, larger than life personality, he acts before he thinks and throws caution to the wind, putting on a carefree persona. Bates is his complete opposite, he over-thinks everything in his life. He's reserved, stoic and calculated and he knows his responsibilities come first and everything else second.

After Dixon finds out Bates's biggest secret, things start to change between them. They strike a deal which in turn pushes them to spend more time together and eventually re-evaluate their relationship.

Dixon and Bates were such opposites in the beginning but managed to find common ground and ended up forging a soul deep connection. Their whole relationship was so sweet and I loved all of their stolen moments and how in the end they were both willing to put everything else aside to be together.

This story had a great balance between the focus on their relationship but also their individual problems and struggles. I'm so glad I decided to keep reading this series as I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading the next one!

Fantastic short story. I really enjoyed Beau and Coops relationship and wish we could have another story about them or an extended epilogue to see how their relationship progressed in the future. Would recommend if you're looking for a sweet and sexy quick read.

3.5 stars

Started off great but really lost its way about halfway through. Such a shame as the story really had promise.