Review: Marry Me

Marry Me by Mia Monroe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: My Fate Is Sealed

My Fate Is Sealed by Carmen Richter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



What's that you say? My Fate Is Sealed is book four in a series but you don't see books one through three on my READ list?



YES, you are correct. I have not as yet read the first three books in the Sealed With a Kiss series, but you don't have to have read them to enjoy books four through six!



Seriously! The first three is the complete Zoe & Elijah love story told from Zoe's perspective, while this beautiful book is the start of Elijah's version of events. I jumped in out of order with My Fate Is Sealed and what better place to dive in than by seeing the original storyline (and moment's you couldn't see from Zoe's point of view in My Lips Are Sealed) than right here and right now!



I'm normally skeptical of the teacher/student romance trope, especially when we're looking at a heroine in high school. This is not a dirty, taboo story!!! If that's the kind of tale you're looking for, then this book is not for you! However, if you want a story about a young, brand new teacher fresh out of school falls in love with a girl who he comes to find is his student on the first day of his teaching assignment and all the awkwardness that ensues, then this is the book for you!

Elijah and Zoe are very real - Carmen Richter wrote characters that you can feel no matter how short an interaction you have with them on the page. I’m already chomping at the bit to read about side characters and begging right here for every single one of Zoe’s friends (especially Grant!!!) to get a book of their own - and DEFINITELY Beth!!! For all the sneaking around and drama, all the nay sayers in their life standing against them, Elijah’s sister steals the show several times keeping his head on straight! Team #GiveBethABook right here!!!! <3



Elijah Larson is probably the most adorkable hero I have ever read! He's so many parts sexy and sweet, combined with a geekiness that speaks to my soul. He has a love for [Tolkien], is a true musical theater buff, and shares my hearty appreciation for one of the best shows to ever be seen on TV.



I love a character that you want to wrap in blankets and cuddle them until their true love comes along. That's exactly what Elijah is. He has so many scars from his past, losing his best friend to suicide, the first girlfriend he managed to open up to after that cheating on him, the poor boy needs sooooo many blankets!!! But despite all that, he's still sweet and honourable. If he wasn't so perfect for Zoe, I'd swear he was my soulmate. I'll settle for him being my Book Boyfriend FOREVER!

Just so you understand, I've licked him, I claimed him, Elijah is MINE!!!!.



I loved going on this journey with him, seeing how he opens himself up and falls in love with Zoe even though many might see their relationship as wrong. This wasn't an abuse of power by holding grades over his student's head in exchange for sexual favours, Elijah's not like that. Frankly, if you're looking for steamy sex scenes, you're going to be waiting through most of the book because Zoe and Elijah do not take their relationship to a more intimate level until closer to the end of the story when they're no longer trying to navigate the precarious teacher/student roles. By the time they do tumble into bed, the connection between them is deep and strong. That's not to say they're unshakeable, nor is it to say there is no angst from that moment on! There's plenty of angst, plenty of heartache, but this isn't the end of their story - this is only the beginning! Hold on to that when you reach the last page and be thankful that you're able to snatch up the next book right away!



I can hear you whispering from all the way over here. Before we get into some of my favourite lines, you might as well ask the questions I can hear you grumbling about!


FAQ

1) You’re sure that I can start here? This is BOOK FOUR after all!

YES, you can absolutely start here!



2) Seriously, I feel like I'm going to be missing something if I don't read them in order. You’re sure there's nothing in Zoe's story that isn't covered here?

I know I'm a little wordy sometimes, but I really thought I covered this? I'll even quote myself if it makes you feel better about it:

The first three is the complete Zoe & Elijah love story told from Zoe's perspective, while this beautiful book is the start of Elijah's version of events. I jumped in out of order with [book] and what better place to dive in than by seeing the original storyline (and moment's you couldn't see from Zoe's point of view in My Lips Are Sealed) than right here and right now!

3) Don't you feel like you missed something starting there? Don't you want to hear Zoe's side too?



Of course I want to hear Zoe's side too!!!! I will be reading them - I just got to Elijah first ;)

4) But Kate, I have to read series in order - how dare you suggest I read these out of order!?!?!

Like I said, you're just getting one POV for the story here so you don't have to read the first three to appreciate Elijah's books because he doesn't help tell the story AT ALL in the first three.



Annnnnnd that's enough, question time is over - on to a few of my…


Favourite Lines -

Yep, I was going to the special hell. In the express lane.

"But as much as I want to listen to the voice of reason in my head, I can’t do it. Because I’ve never met anyone who makes me feel the way you make me feel. I’ve never felt this kind of connection to another human being before. And I can’t turn away from it. As stupid and reckless and dangerous as this is, I can’t not be with you. If that’s what you want.”

“And now I know you love this girl. Telling me it’s up to her when you start doing the horizontal happy.”

“Mattress mambo. Bedroom rodeo. Hide the cannoli. Opening the gates of Mordor.”

Opening the gates of Mordor? Well, that was a new one.

“What in the hell are they teaching you at that school?” I teased, chuckling.

“A ton of euphemisms for the word ‘sex,’” she shot back.

Umbridge? She was using Harry Potter characters for code names? Sweet. I’d found another way to distract her. And I was genuinely curious what she was calling me if Megan was Umbridge.
Me: Umbridge? Really? Do I want to know what name you use for me?

She chuckled.

Mimi: No, you really don’t.

Mimi: No, THIS must be what going mad feels like. My mom can’t stop talking about how cute she thinks you are.

I made the mistake of taking a drink of coffee while I was reading the text, and I promptly sprayed it out of my nose and mouth laughing.

"When I first found out she was one of my students, everything in me was telling me that I should tell her to find a different elective to take and get out of my class. But I didn’t have the willpower. Because I fell in love with her the night I met her.”

I'd give you more, but…




Come along on this ride - I dare you not to fall in love with Elijah and Zoe’s story! I also dare you not to jump straight into the next book in Elijah’s version of the trilogy because I totally failed and devoured the next book as soon as I could!

One click this baby today - you need a little Elijah in your life!



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Review: Jock Blocked

Jock Blocked by Pippa Grant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Do you know what I love the most in the world, other than coffee and donuts at least???

THE BOYS OF SUMMER BABY!!!! Baseball!



So you can bet this was an automatic HECK YES for me to read, but let's get into the why…

What happens when you're the losingest (yeah, yeah, I know it's not a word but it's perfect for this one) team in baseball and their newest, and arguably hottest, player is about to ruin their chances of winning again by finally losing his V-card?



Don't know? Well, let me tell you! You get Jock Blocked by the exceptional Pippa Grant!

Mackenzie has soooooo many things that make you just laugh and sob a little for her, but come on! This is Parker's brother Brooks' book and YOU KNOW that means a return of the Elliott family group texts!!! These were just priceless moments in the story - THANK YOU FOR THAT!!!

I'm on Team NO SPOILERS, but you must know that this return to Copper Valley for a Fireballs story was EVERYTHING I was hoping it would be and it turned the virgin trope on its head! How many books have you read where it's the young, naïve girl who’s the virgin?



The correct answer is TOO FLIPPING MANY!!!!



I have read maybe one or two other stories where it's hero who's the virgin and not the heroine in M/F Romance and this was something so very needed because a) he's not super young and naïve, and b) IT'S THE HERO and Brooks is a super hot ball player so you'd think he'd be getting laid at every conceivable opportunity!

Brooks is trying desperately to lose his V-card now that he's been traded from New York to the Fireballs since he doesn't see where him playing any worse could be detrimental to the team and their chances of getting fans back and winning games. Enter Mackenzie Montana, the Fireballs' biggest fan (FIERY FOREVER!!!!) who knows her baseball and believes in superstition, good luck, and curses to cock block him in a flaming meatball mascot costume. Ridiculous? NO, it is PERFECTION! The fan culture that's brought into this story are not only hilarious, but totally on point. If you're a serious baseball fan you know you have superstitions and rituals that you have to go through for each game to keep your team's streak alive. Mackenzie nails these, she also nails how I felt when my singular mascot became several for my team.



Aside from the virgin trope, I had a hard time classing this because they're not really friends to lovers, at least not at first. They become friendly eventually, but their feelings are winning out by this point. They also aren't really enemies to lovers, but kind of because they seem to start that way - especially with how hard she's trying to cock-block Brooks just so he can keep hitting the ball! It's kind of a slow burn, but with laughter and some amazing moments with friends that show just how deep of a world Pippa has created. Whatever you want to class this as, make sure you class it as EXCELLENT and 100% worth your time!

Honourable mention for scene stealer awards go to Mackenzie's daddies (in and out of drag!), Coco Puff the dog because it's Pippa and it's an animal and she does those ridiculously well and we all know that, the Mascot Alternatives that are *NOT* Fiery (FIERY FOREVER!!!!!!), and the Elliott Family Text Messages.

Favourite Lines:

Oh, god, baseball forearms.

They’re lethal to women’s panties everywhere, because baseball forearms.

Plus you don’t want to know what the internet is saying about echidna penis. You really don’t.

Adrenaline surges in my veins, and before I can think better of it, I knock his phone away, kick it down the hall, shove him, and yell, “Fiery forever!”

And then I take off at a dead run.

This is the most insane conversation I’ve ever had, and my brother’s married to a woman who knows over a thousand euphemisms for penis and uses them liberally, and my sister’s autocorrected text messages need their own museum.

What happens at the club during curse-breaking stays at the club.

“How is a thing with a four-headed penis family-friendly?”

Tripp chokes on his drink, and the two owners share a secret look.

Dammit.

I want a secret look-sharer. Is that too much to ask?

Opening day should be a federal holiday, especially when opening day happens at home.

“What are you doing here?” I growl.

Yes, me. Mackenzie Montana. Growling at a baseball god.

Do not fuck with my family.

It’s not enough to cock-block him.

I have to make him believe the Fireballs can go all the way.

Dingo Bazookarooka hey macarena.

If you didn't know this was text from Parker - please for the love of all that's holy - go read Stud in the Stacks RIGHT MEOW!

I might’ve been actively invited to the de-cursing night at spring training—nope, still not telling what we did with the dildo—but I don’t know which of my new teammates is most likely to put bubble gum in my helmet or which one most deserves to have his car parked in center field before a game.

“You want to be a Fireball.”

He shifts his seat to face me again. “I am a Fireball.”

That’s a morning shot of joe straight to my clit. There is nothing sexier that a man could ever say to me. Ever.

I’m in for better.

I mean, not sex better. I still need him to hit a ball. But gah, am I tempted, because he did hit the ball after we masturbated together.

So tempted.

Honourable mention to Coco Puff's collar -

"I love you!"

"Smiling cures everything!"

"You're a winner to me!"

"Are you tired? Because you've been running through my mind all day!"

Lingering Thoughts…

I would read the heck out of a novella bout Mackenzie's daddies and how they came together. Stick that little plot bunny in your basket!




Go on and grab this baby today! Just because we can't watch baseball right now doesn't mean we can't read some excellent romances that touch on baseball culture. You won't regret one-clicking this one. Go on! Grab it!!!





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Review: Hitched

Hitched by Pippa Grant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

People… PEOPLE !!!!!!!!!!!

Is there anything better than going back to your favourite fictional small town to watch two of the most electrically charged (pun fully intended) people fall in love and get their explosive happily ever after? No, no there is not!



Welcome back to Happy Cat where the town is filled with handsome O'Dell brothers, cooky raccoons who dabble in Clown Costumes and garbage can surfing, hedgehogs who steal panties from clotheslines, and feisty women who are super fierce and sure of themselves and what they want! If you haven't read Hosed and Hammered, you don't really have to but….. I recommend them heartily! It helps to know what all the rest of the cast and crew of Happy Cat have been up to, especially those hunky O'Dell brothers! But Hitched is the fake relationship/marriage of convenience/friends to enemies to lovers that you've been waiting for, you just didn't know it. Ok, well it's at least what I was waiting for and sorry, not sorry but I LOVED it!!!!!

Lili Valente and Pippa Grant are the ultimate duo - they write so well together that I can't tell where one starts and the other ends - ladies, you really knocked it out of the park here and surprised me at the same time, and here's why…

This is where I should have a snappy comeback, because I know for a fact that Hope got married first.

But we don’t talk about that.

Ever.

Throughout the series, Hope St. Claire and Blake O'Dell have had this incredible chemistry - c'mon, you know I love my enemies to lovers bantering but what we all didn't know is that that this fake marriage isn't the first time that Blake and Hope have sauntered down the aisle. THAT'S RIGHT PEOPLE, THIS IS NOT A DRILL! Blake and Hope were married before - drunken Vegas escapades for the win! - and it didn't end the way that Blake was hoping, hence some of the angst between them. Hope and Blake have bantered their way into our hearts - especially with her propensity for shorting out electronics - because their chemistry is just so… ELECTRIC!!!! And when they come together (pun definitely intended!) it was nuclear!!!!!



I called their HEA from the first moment I saw them together. I CALLED IT!!!!! They were perfect - their banter was PERFECT and you could just tell that the banter was something that was going to become a playful part of their romance.

This is Pippa and Lili. If you think there weren't wacky moments of hilarity, you are sorely mistaken. Sex toy bingo and Baby Goat Yoga???

His lordship the trash panda flips me off—I swear he does—and scampers around what’s left of the enclosure, making yogis and goats scream. He tosses aside mats and knocks down more of the fence in his quest for baby carrots, careless of the Zen and property he’s destroying as he literally steals snacks from the mouth of babes.

“George, STOP! Bad raccoon! Bad!”

When did the little beast get so fast?

How is he so fast?

He’s the size of three normal raccoons, but he’s dashing around like he’s half-cheetah, and of course the babies are freaking out in response.

You’re welcome, friends!

There are also some incredibly sweet moments, because this wouldn't be a true romance without moments that make you go…



And I'm not even thinking about the impromptu picnic in the tasting room, but rather little moments like when Hope sleepwalks straight into Blake's arms, and his sofa bed, and he's so kind and gentlemanly about it. Throughout it all she thinks that she just can't have him, that relationships are always doomed for her because she's a St. Claire and all their marriages are toxic wastelands. When Hope finally accepts that she isn't doomed to be alone but meant to be loved is beautiful. Just beautiful!

So let me share with you just a few of my…

Favourite Lines -

“Your parents love me, boo-boo-cakes,” Blake grits out through his own smile.

Doubtful—also, boo-boo-cakes?—but I beam at him.

My heart is achy and empty, like it’s hit that point in a good romance novel where all is lost, only the author died before she could finish the story. And now the two characters she left behind will live in limbo, in the land where happily ever after never comes.

Blake: She’s the one who demanded the annulment in Vegas, not me. She doesn’t think I’m marriage material, except when she needs something.

Clint: But you went along with it AGAIN, Mr. “Marriage is for Love.” So clearly you see an opportunity here.

Blake: An opportunity to make her as miserable as she makes me.

Clint: Not buying it, bro. You’re secretly hoping it works out.

“Actually, I make love more like a giraffe,” Cara says.

It’ll be fine, they say. No ghosts or demons or blood in the elevators or creepy twins this time around, and absolutely no one will go insane and try to kill you with an ax. They’re probably right, but I’m still not setting foot in that hotel anytime soon. Maybe ever.

Normally, he’s far too lazy and spoiled to actually hunt for his food. But I guess being on an ice chip and cricket diet since his run-in with the peanut butter has made George hangry. And hangry George is actually kinda terrifying.

Do not get between tired Southern mamas and Publix fried chicken on a Friday night. They will run over your feet with their cart and not even bother to bless your heart after.

"To give you what you really need instead of what I think you need, you know? And…listen better and shit.”

She laughs softly. “That’s the most important part, I hear. The ‘and shit’ part.”

“Go on, get,” he says, shooing the would-be cake bandits back toward the gate enclosing the backyard. “I’m serious. Mom and Dad used to raise show wieners. They’ve got a kennel plenty big enough for all of you.”

Only I get to make her moan like that, Mr. Taco.

“Chewpaca. You in, dude?”

Chewy hums and nods.

Hope giggles at their interaction. “I love how normal and down-to-earth your family is.”

“Al-poker!” Mom and Pop cry together, then burst into giggles, making all of us laugh too.

“Well, you were very heroic during the argument part. It was pretty hot.”

“Yeah?” he asks, his chest puffing up, making me laugh.

“Yes. But now you look like a rooster on the verge of a victory strut.”

“I’ll do that when we get home,” he says, wiggling his brows. “Naked. The way god intended.”

I can't wait for more from Happy Cat! This has been one of my most favourite series I have ever read - and while I hate seeing that it will soon come to an end (we only have one O'Dell brother left people!!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!!!) but I know that it will be everything I could want and more!

One-click this baby today and fall in love with Hope, Blake and Chewpaca (his bonus epilogue is TO DIE FOR!!!!) and then you can wait with me for more from this hilarious cast of characters.



Seriously, I'm trying to be patient but gahhhhh!!!! I can't wait for more!!!!

Read this one - you're going to love it!



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