perusing_pages's reviews
1063 reviews

I enjoyed this one a little less than the last and that is purely down to the way the author decided to write the FMC...for someone who reads spicy romance books Paiges lack of knowledge/naivety when it comes to sex doesn't make sense! Yes she may not have the actual physical experience herself but she will have read about it, she will have read about dick piercings and lube etc so her bafflement towards these things when she is first with Wyatt was frankly ridiculous. It felt like the author was trying too hard to make Paige come across as quirky, but instead, all she managed to achieve was infantalising her. Overall, this was meh but had a bit of dirty talk at least. 🤷‍♀️ 🌶🌶

As a mood reader I was struggling to pick my next read so decided to play audiobook roulette on Everand and dived into this. I wanted something short and sweet that I could have on in the background and not have to pay full attention to but would hopefully still entertain me and this did that. It's a stereotypical small town romance, the characters and story were ok, it felt formulaic and predictable but that is what I was after in the moment so I can't complain. 🌶🌶

Liz goes to Miami with her bff Kayla to celebrate graduating. There, she meets Cooper, an MMA fighter building his career. After spending an intense 30hrs together, Cooper unknowingly relieving Liz of her Vcard and leaving behind a departing gift that takes 9 months to process they go their separate ways with no way to contact each other and the story picks back up 5 years later and goes from there. 

Keeping in mind that this was the authors debut, it was an OK read. There was too much telling instead of showing, and the writing felt clichéd and daytime soap opera-ish on the whole. Liz & Cooper were alright characters, but there wasn't much depth to them or the development of their relationship. It was all very insta-lusty/lovey. Bella wasn't the best written child I've read, but also, she wasn't the worst. The audiobook was available to me with my Everand subscription, the narrators were good and I was in need of something I could listen to but not have to give 100% of my attention to and this ticked that box. 🌶🌶

I will be giving the next book of the series a go however I already have a feeling that the  FMC of that book is going to make choices that are going to rub me the wrong way given what we see of her in this book... so we will see how that pans out i guess. 👀😂

"I know I messed up, but I am here now, and I am fighting. Just give me a second chance to fight for us. I promise you won't regret it. "

"She looks like a perfect, beautiful mixture of Liz and me. She has my green eyes and light brown hair, but it is curly like Liz's. She has tanned skin just like the both of us, and when she smiles, I can see a piece of my mom in her from her happier days."

*Disclaimer I rate novellas/short stories out of a total of three stars. 

A quick insta love single parent romance that was sweet with no angst ans a sprinkling of spice. The audiobook was available to me with my Everand subscription and provided an entertaining distraction whilst I was unwell in bed. 🌶🌶 

"My head is screaming, abort! You’re acting crazy and reckless, but my body is shoving my head to the side and covering her mouth, saying, get it, girl. You do you and worry about the fallout later."

Kayla is a hypocritical douche 

Boring.

Payne discovers his husband has been cheating and leaves him and their life behind to go back to his hometown whilst sorting the divorce. At 40, he never expected to be starting over and moving in with his brothers best friend Beau, and being roommates wasn't in his life plan either. Beau has always had feelings for Payne so being in such close proximity to him is difficult, he worries his scatterbrained tendencies are going to be too much for Payne to handle but Payne embraces Beau for who he is and feelings soon start to develop.

I enjoyed this friends to lovers/brothers' best friend/roommates romance. The way the romantic element developed between Beau & Payne felt so natural and steady, and their connection outside of it shone through. There was mutual respect and friendship there from the start. Beau is very clearly neurodivergent although that isn't expressly stated by the author, but if he isn't an ADHD King, I would be shocked! Beau is quirky and adorable, and Payne matches his energy and encourages/helps him with things it's clear others in Beaus past have ridiculed him for. I liked that the MCs were older Payne 40 & Beau 36, and the Divorce Men's Club Payne becomes a part of seems filled with characters whose stories I'm looking forward to.

Overall, this is a low angst, cute cosy reas with good banter and spice sprinkled in and gave me all the warm fuzzy feelings I was looking for. Nick J Russo narrates and, as always, did a fantastic job with their performance, and I had a great time listening to this book and am already looking forward to the next in this series. 🌶🌶

"The thing about loving someone is you don’t get to do it with conditions attached. I don’t love him, expecting him to return it. I don’t love him, hoping I’ll get over it or that I can transfer that love to someone else. I just love him."

This was neither mysterious, thrilling or suspenseful. What was going on and who was behind it all and why was obvious to me from VERY early on and I thought to myself surely it's not that obvious? Surely the author is going to throw in a massive twist somewhere? But nope it was exactly what I thought it was. 🙄 I understand the point this story was trying to make but it was just done so lazily in my opinion. The constant repetition of how men treat women got old very fast because as a woman I am aware of that and have that lived experience from being raised in a patriarchal society etc. The story keeps piling up evidence that every man in town is a bad egg etc, especially in the latter part of the book and the examples of bad men within this story are only breifly mentioned and then brushed under the carpet without proper development or handing over a satisfying ending.  The premise, blurb and setting were what drew me to this story but they all fell flat upon execution which is shame as this had the potential to be more than it was. I don't really have much more to say about it tbh. 

Book 3 in the True North series gives us Zach & Larks' story. Zach we know from the previous two books had found his way to working on the Shipley farm after few years ago after being beaten and tossed out of the religious cult he had been raised in and left to fend for himself. Lark is May Shipleys bestie from college and is recently back stateside after a harrowing ordeal when working for a nonprofit organisation abroad and is looking for a place to slow down and try to heal from her experiences and the story goes from there.

I really liked both Lark & Zachs characters. Both have been and are still going through a lot. Lark is suffering from nightmares/ptsd, and Zach is still trying to find his way in a world he is unfamiliar with, and over time, they form a friendship that leads to more. I thought the way the relationship developed between these two was mostly done well, i do think the physical aspect happened a tad too quickly and would have liked to have seen the emotional bond form more first as once the physical side of things started it felt like that took priority and given who these characters are for me this story would have benefited from being more of a slowburn than it was... which is not something I thought i would ever say, but here we are. Again, the found family and small town vibes were there, and I really like reading about this group of friends/family at the Shipley farm. This series is scratching that small town itch I currently seem to have. 🌶🌶

"I would work on this farm and share meals with these people. I would smile and act normal for as long as it took. Until acting normal seemed normal again, and the dragons in my heart forgot to blow their fire."

"Sometimes the end of a stage in your life doesn’t announce itself with trumpets or fireworks. Sometimes, it just seeps in, like the smell of snow on the air as fall gives way to winter."

Reuben Taylor works hard as a rugby player to achieve his dream of being noticed and selected by the All Blacks. He also has to deal with his seriously shitty father, his drunken brother (who is also a bit of a shitty father) and his 4 year old nephew Cory whom he adores and is clearly on the autistic spectrum even if Ruben's brother refuses to acknowledge that fact. Not willing to add more pressure to his already hectic life, he made the choice long ago to keep his sexuality a secret and refuses to/is scared to come out to anybody for fear of the repercussions. But then he meets Cameron Wano. Cameron is the brother of one of Rubens' teammates. He is out, sassy, and not willing to be involved in a relationship where he would be a dirty little secret (been there, done that). Although there is instant chemistry between them the circumstances surrounding Ruben, Camerons experiences in the past and their less than stellar first meeting puts a kibosh on anything romantic even if that is something they both want deep down. A tentative friendship is formed, and the story goes from there. 

I've seen a few people mention how they struggled with the prologue of this book, but IMO, you're meant to. It sets up and gives context to the entire story and Ruben's character. Does it paint him in the best light? No. But for me personally, it made his internal and external struggles throughout this book feel realistic for someone brought up the way he was and the sporting world he is a part of. Pretending the toxicity in sport and in some of the people who play and are part of that world in whatever capacity and that these exact situations/people saying and doing these things doesn't exist is an injustice to the struggles the Queer community face and the internalised homophobia and fear it can cause and I think Jay did a great job demonstrating that through Ruben. 

Overall I thought the topics covered in this were handled well, I enjoyed seeing the relationship between these two build and it didn't feel rushed, some good spice and there was great humour throughout but I would expect nothing else from a Jay Hogan read. I connected with this story and characters better than I did the first book from this series and enjoyed the journey these characters go on. The F slur is used a fair amount in this, so keep that in mind if that is something you struggle with. 🌶🌶 

"But the most important thing taekwondo ever taught me had nothing to do with the ability to fight, and everything to do with owning who I was. There was no hiding I was gay and a card-carrying fem to boot, but I was nobody's pushover, and you underestimated me at your peril."

"Reuben Taylor was so far in the closet, he had dust from the fucking extinction of the
dinosaurs thick on his shoulders."

"Cameron Wano was no longer simply the wet dream impossibility he was a year ago, a kohl-eyed fantasy way out of my league. He was a
man I knew to be good, and genuine, and sexy, and... holy shit, currently in my arms. He flipped every switch I didn't even know I had and yeah, I was so, so, so fucked."