Posts Tagged: Alyssa Cole

Friday, August 02, 2019

Romance Mini Reviews #4: Novellas

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Can’t Escape Love
Alyssa Cole

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Regina Hobbs is nerdy by nature, businesswoman by nurture. She’s finally taking her pop culture-centered media enterprise, Girls with Glasses, to the next level, but the stress is forcing her to face a familiar supervillain: insomnia. The only thing that helps her sleep when things get this bad is the deep, soothing voice of puzzle-obsessed live streamer Gustave Nguyen. The problem? His archive has been deleted.

Gus has been tasked with creating an escape room themed around a romance anime…except he knows nothing about romance or anime. Then mega-nerd and anime expert Reggie comes calling, and they make a trade: his voice for her knowledge. But when their online friendship has IRL chemistry, will they be able to escape love?

I don’t care if you haven’t read the other books in this series but if you loved Geekerella you need to stop everything you’re doing and read Can’t Escape Love. It’s not a full-length novel but omg, the geeks falling in love + second chance romance vibes made my heart incredibly happy.

Reggie and Gus talked to each other on a livestream every night for three months and while they both came to mean a lot to each other, they eventually lost touch. When a serious bout of insomnia starts affecting Reggie’s ability to run her company, she has her sister Portia dig up the contact info of the man she met years ago and whose voice could soothe her like nothing else.

When Gus and Reggie finally reunite, and find themselves living within walking distance of each other, sparks fly and their friendship quickly turns into something more. Because this is a novella and there isn’t as much space to develop their story, it felt a smidgen like insta-love, but I still truly shipped these characters because they were such a great fit for one another. Gus is direct and unafraid to go after what he wants. Reggie is slightly more afraid of the emotional stuff but never afraid to ask for what she needs and set people straight. TOGETHER, THEY ARE A BUNCH OF ADORABLE NERDS.

ANYWAY, Can’t Escape Love is such a wonderful addition to this series and I am incredibly happy Portia’s sister also got a HEA.

 

Bridal Boot Camp
Meg Cabot

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Looking for a tropical escape?

Welcome to Little Bridge, one of the smallest—and most beautiful—islands in the Florida Keys, home to sandy white beaches, salt-rimmed margaritas, stunning sunsets, and some of the quirkiest—but also kindest and most resourceful—people you’ll ever meet.

Physical trainer Roberta “Rob” James moved to Little Bridge hoping she’d found paradise, but things haven’t turned out quite as she’d hoped. The closest Rob has come to her “happily ever after” is happy hour at the Mermaid Café with her buddy Bree, the bartender slash waitress who’s got romance problems of her own.

But Rob’s situation suddenly changes when sheriff’s deputy Ryan Martinez accidentally enrolls in her bridal boot camp class. Turning mush into metal in time for the big day is Rob’s passion (because even the happiest bride could use a little toning).

But what happens when a guy who’s all mush meets a girl who’s all metal?

They discover they have a lot to learn . . . about each other, themselves, and the island paradise they’ve come to call home.

 

I love Meg Cabot and will read anything she writes but I am honestly not sure if Bridal Boot Camp is worth the read. It’s not that it is a terrible novella, it’s just that unless you are super invested in reading everything that Cabot writes, Bridal Boot Camp is probably not how you should spend your precious reading time. The only real benefit of reading this novella is that it serves as a quick intro to the town Cabot’s new series will be set in.

The thing with novellas is that sometimes, because of their length, there is no real time to get to truly know the characters and be invested in their lives. I did not particularly care for either Rob and Ryan and felt like their romance went from 0 to 100 in a matter of seconds. 

So yeah, I didn’t particularly enjoy Bridal Boot Camp but the glimpse into this town made me even more excited  to read No Judgements this fall! 

Relevant, Funny and Swoony: A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole

Posted by on 04/30/2019 • 1 Comment

Idk how its possible but each book in this series has been as good as or better than the previous one and I am just truly in awe of Cole’s talent. I’ve been reading romance for a while now and I truly feel that Cole is changing the landscape of romance literature. Not only is A Prince on Paper unbelievably swoony and adorable, it also takes on really big and relevant things. It isn’t afraid to dissect racism and call out colonialism, we see fake news and propaganda make an appearance and we also see our MC deal with emotional and mental abuse from a parent.

When Nya’s father is arrested and sent to prison for attempting to poison Naledi, she can finally start living her life. She runs…

Romance Mini Reviews #3: The good, the not-bad and the bad

Posted by on 02/01/2019 • 3 Comments

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy Alyssa Cole

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Alyssa Cole returns with a fun, sexy romance novella in the Reluctant Royals series!

While her boss the prince was busy wooing his betrothed, Likotsi had her own love affair after swiping right on a dating app. But her romance had ended in heartbreak, and now, back in NYC again, she’s determined to rediscover her joy—so of course she runs into the woman who broke her heart.

When Likotsi and Fabiola meet again on a stalled subway train months later, Fab asks for just one cup of tea. Likotsi, hoping to know why she was unceremoniously dumped, agrees. Tea and food soon leads to them exploring the city together, and their past, with Fab…

The Best Romance You’ll Read this Year: A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole

Posted by on 08/22/2018 • 1 Comment

Earlier this year, I read and fell head over heels for A Princess in Theory. It was definitely one of my top reads of the year and when I dove into A Duke by Default, I expected to love it but I didn’t think it was even possible for me to love it more than A Princess in Theory.

For someone who has been reviewing for six years, it is quite baffling how easily words can escape me when it comes to a truly good book but you know, there you have it.

A Duke by Default is probably THE romance novel of the year for me. The one that has swept me off my feet and even a month after reading it, I cannot stop thinking…

The Royal Romance I Didn’t Know I Needed: A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole

Posted by on 02/15/2018 • 2 Comments

If you have ever read or enjoyed a romance novel, this book needed to be on your TBR yesterday. I was over the moon when I was approved to read an advanced copy and the book held up to every single one of my expectations + more.

REASONS TO READ Naledi Smith is in grad school studying to be an epidemiologist Spam emails that aren’t really spam from the assistant of the Prince of Thesolo Cocky Prince who doesn’t really know how to function outside of a castle but learns to impress a girl Some cooking experiments when said cocky prince is trying to impress Ledi Angst but like good angst Swoony romance with hate-to-love vibes. Discussion of socio-economic privilege Discussion of what it’s like to live in a non-western…

The Hamilton-Insipired Romances You Didn’t Know You Wanted: Hamilton’s Battalion

Posted by on 11/30/2017 • 1 Comment

Hamilton’s Battalion is one of the most unique romance anthologies I’ve had the pleasure of reading, ever. You’ve probably heard of Hamilton unless you live under the rock. The musical has really brought a lot of attention to Alexander Hamilton and given way to a lot of other media that adapts and retells historical events. This trio of romances is not only perfect for fans of historical romance but also for any Hamilton fans who just want ~more~.

This anthology is not only unique because it is one of the first ones that are inspired by Hamilton but also because even though it is three different stories by three different authors, the stories have a common overarching story.

Eliza Hamilton is collecting stories about her late husband and has reached…