katiedermody's reviews
1977 reviews

This one was sweet, spicy and fun. Shorter than the ones from the other series, but didn't feel like it needed to be longer for the most part. In Queen's Cove, a small town in the coast of Vancouver Island, Avery has been working at a restaurant and saving to eventually buy it from the owner, but then finds out the owner needs to sell in a couple of months instead of years away. At the same time, Emmett Rhodes, one of the four Rhodes brothers who were raised in the small town (unlike Avery, who moved there five years ago), decided to run for mayor. Neither of them want relationships, and he actually annoys the hell out of her with his friendly, overly-confident ways, but they realize they can help each other out by fake dating, a fake engagement, and fake wedding. He'll look more settled and responsible to constituents and she'll have someone to co-sign her business loan. Of course there's attraction and getting to know each other more, and things change. I liked it, did notice a couple of the same tendencies by this author but not as many (this series also started before the other one), so it was fine. Looking forward to the other brothers' books. 

This one was still enjoyable but I think it's my least fave of the three. I really liked the "best friends to lovers after she ends her long term relationship with their other best friend, moves in to have somewhere to stay, and asks him to be her dating coach so she can be a player like him" storyline. Except that he has liked her for years so that's a little torturous. It takes her a bit to realize she's attracted to him too but they soon start crossing all sort of "just friends, practicing, helping you out" lines. I thought the best friends part was really well done and especially enjoyed her long-running prank on him. But this book felt like it had a lot of recycled aspects from the previous two, specifically phrases people say in certain situations, the exact same pet names, etc. It wasn't enough to make me dislike it but it happened enough times that it annoyed me a little every time I noticed and it took me out of the story. Am I still going to read the next one when it comes out in June and go back and read her older series? Absolutely. 

Their wedding, we get a bit of sweet but majority of the 15 page bonus story is smutty. It was a nice cap to the story and have some big time hints for the next two books! It clearly takes place after the next one for sure, possibly the fourth one that isn't even out yet. 

Smutty little bonus scene. Only 12 pages so not counting it in my reading total, but was good!

Okay I LOVED this one! The first one was really good but this was the one that I knew I wanted to read for sure because it has my favorite tropes: irritated to lovers (aka where he annoys the hell out of her and she thinks he's an ass but then they spend time together and it turns out he's so gone for her) and fake dating! We met Rory in book two, former friend of Jamie's who played for an opposing team but then got traded before this book starts. He's cocky, seemingly a playboy, a jerk, hurt her friend in high school, and annoys her to no end, but when Hazel's ex also gets traded to the team she tells him she and Rory are together. He agrees to the scheme and it was so great watching it unfold as she started to see the real him and help him see the good in himself. Their banter was so great, the spicy scenes were excellent (playful and sexy), and the mutual pining in both POVs was so sweet. They both deal with family issues (his mom left as a kid cuz his dad was also a pro player and obsessive with Rory's game, and Hazel is trying to start an inclusive yoga studio and trying to help her mom stop talking so negatively about her body, etc.), but we also get to see Pippa and Jamie a lot, and get to know the guys on the team a little more, and I'm looking forward to Hayden and Darcy's story next!

I fully admit that I'm late to the Stephanie Archer fan club, but I'm here now! Whenever I'd see her book's covers I'd think "I want to read those" and I'm glad I finally did. They give me a Becka Mack vibes: a Vancouver hockey team (this one is the Storm), an interesting group of guys, funny moments, lots of excellent smutty moments. Pippa recently left the concert tour she'd be following and working for for two years, her boyfriend as the musician. She's given up on music for herself and is looking for other jobs, and becomes an assistant for a player on the team her sister, Hazel, works for as a physio. Surprise: the player is her old high school crush Jamie. What she doesn't know is he also had a crush on her back then. He's very serious now, doesn't date, has a mom he's taking care of, has a dog he just rescued from the street even though he isn't sure he wants a dog, and is kind of a grumpy asshole to her at first. But he ends up being super supportive and encouraging (and demanding, but she likes it), and helps her orgasm, which she's only ever done solo before. I really enjoyed this one and I can see myself going through the author's backlist now, starting with Hazel's book. 

I enjoyed this one, it was exactly what I expected the reading experience to be like. A mostly fluffy and smutty (with a side of more serious) sports romance. My instinct is to call it a quick read but it's over 500 pages and I was called out for that last time, so what I mean is it was an easy read that felt like it went by quickly. I've been waiting for this story since book one in this series, possibly longer since many of her books overlap. Maeve and Asher have been best friends for almost ten years and end up in a marriage of convenience after making a marriage pact and later being in Vegas. She's an artist who just got a big job doing a mural for his hockey team's rink, and he's starting a new charity with her brother, so both decide to stay married for the optics. But he's been into her (and in denial) for a couple years, and she's more recently felt attracted to him too. Smut, falling in love, etc. etc. etc. The serious I mentioned earlier is that he deals with some mental health stuff (anxiety leading to obsessive tendencies) and I thought it was handled well. This book also set up the next one really well and we met the MMC for the last book. There was a hot second at the start that I confused which series I was reading because Helena Hunting's current hockey series has similar storylines, a group of girl friends, etc. and I enjoy both series, but I got there. 

Okay, I loved this! I was always a big Beauty & the Beast girl, especially after I played Mrs. Potts in high school, so I was looking forward to this as soon as I saw people start to talk about it. It took me a bit to get to my hold, but I'm so glad I finally have. The references to the original are really clever, the enemies (ish) lovers is full of growling, banter,  denial, and pining. Bellamy is taking on this historical restoration on her own without her dad for the first time because he's been ill. She arrives to meet the mysterious "lost grandson" of the ridiculously rich man who hired them. Oliver has been hiding himself away for years after an accident that injured him and killed his parents, rumors abounding that he and the family are cursed. Over the months, they butt heads, eventually give in to their attraction, and become friends. Barely. It is all from her POV and it was pretty clear to me that he was into her but didn't know how to behave or express himself, which of course lead to distress for her. It's eventually spicy, often funny, definitely swoony and sweet at times, and I love that giving each other hell is a love language right til the end. I really enjoyed it and look forward to anything else the author brings us in the future. (And seriously, the references! The car, the chef's daughter named Nick... Incredible!)

I loved this one! I remember enjoying her first book and was excited for this one but took a little while to get to it between other holds, arcs, etc. and I'm glad I finally did because it's both so freaking cute and swoony and just so incredibly poignant for people my age (especially women). Josephine (Josie) is the creator, founder, and CEO of a fashion line that's working to expand into brick and mortar locations from just online, as well as achieving B corp status. After literally running into Will, a guy from her past, he ends up consulting for her and they eventually figure things out between them. It's all in her POV, but it was clearly to me very quickly how much he wanted her and when he finally let himself express it HOO BABY it was swoony and sexy. It takes longer for her because of her workaholic nature, partly of her own doing but also reality for women in their late 20s and early 30s who grew up as part of the grind culture. There were funny moments, a ton of lovely soft moments, and some great conversations about burn out and finding the right priorities in life. And seriously, some of the things this man says are just peak book boyfriend. Well done, Clare! 

Quotes:
"Because you are not and never have been a surface-level girl, Josephine. You're just a girl who loves things you have every right to love. And if I'm the boy who once convinced you that can't be true, then I will become the man who convinces you it absolutely is."

"What if I was okay with being your collateral damage?" he whispers.
My breath hitches. "What?"
"What if you took from me what you wanted and left the rest? I can take it." His voice is deep in his throat, breath warm on my skin. "Use me. Please. It would be an honor."

"The truth is I've been disguising the way I feel about you the best I can. But I'll stop that now. If you want."
His words create an avalanche. They create waves. They crack earth.
I cling to him, rubbing my nose against his soft shirt. "I want."

Beta read: I really enjoyed this and am looking forward to the series now!

Reread: I love where this ended up after the beta read I did earlier this month! I really liked Damián and Nat's best friends to lovers story; the short story was a great intro to the new upcoming series. After he asked her out in college and she asked for friendship, that's what they've had: purely platonic, with him fully shoving down any feelings or attraction and ignoring it. Now years later, he's having a harder time denying what's still deep down and now she's starting to see him in a new way as well. The mutual pining is excellent, and because it's a short story we don't have to wait long for them to confess, talk about things, and test whether adding a physical aspect to their relationship is feasible (spoiler alert: it is!). Just a few hints into the series but they've got me excited!