This week I devoted some time to my heavily neglected kindle. I’ve so many unread ebooks so they were long overdue some attention.
I’d also been forgetting about my NetGalley approvals, despite getting so excited when I got the approval confirmation. It was like I forgot about them but I really needed to pick up the books that I’d previously been so excited about. I was so happy to pick them up because I had a good time with these books and I remembered why I was so excited to read them in the first place. Delighted!
Finally giving my kindle some love
In the last week I read the following books, which I ramble on about in my vlog:
Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger
A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley
Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen
Each of these books came from NetGalley but my rambles are my own
With February coming to an end, it’s time for me to wrap up all of the Scottish fiction read this month. It’s been a very good and varied month for me and Scottish fiction. This month I read two romances, for ‘tis the season, one fantasy, and one…I have no idea what genre Lanark belongs to!
Review Vlog
In this video, I chatted about the following books;
I didn’t ask to be a bridesmaid. And I didn’t expect it meant co-ordinating with my best friend’s uptight lawyer brother.
But I’ll do anything to make it perfect. Which means smiling even when I want to scream.
Until my psycho ex decides it’ll be fun to start stalking me, and Matt agrees to be my fake boyfriend to put him off.
So I guess he’s not all bad. But falling for the best man-or any man- is not on my agenda.
I think.
MATT
Thanks to my sharp instinct and work ethic, I’ve been successful in life. Except in relationships.
Ever since my perfect woman dumped me I can’t look at anyone else. But she’s coming to the wedding, and I can’t let her see me alone.
When I find my sister’s bridesmaid crying under a table, I figure out a way we can help each other. After all I’m a lawyer and I know how to draw up a contract: pretend to date without cuddling, kissing, or falling for each other.
It sounds simple enough, but I’m tempted to break my own terms.
What’s this? Me reading another romance novella? Yes it is! It’s February, I had to read another romance. Nicki Bell is my go to author for a happy ever after.
I really enjoyed the characters in this book, I got my grumpy/sunshine romance. Grumpy/romance is one of my favourite romance tropes! I found the relationship between Ashley and Matt was so cute and had me cheering for them.
Of course there was some conflict which felt very realistic and I just felt for the characters.
This was a short and sweet romance and I just ate it up. I really enjoyed it, it was cute and fun. The book was predictable but not in a bad way, I got the ending I hoped for and I really like knowing I will get a happy ending from this author.
This book was an exclusive story available by being on the author’s mailing list so while I did get this book for free, I wasn’t obliged to review it (or like it! But I did)
A perfect disaster – or a perfect match? Find out in this heartfelt rom-com novella….
“Just three dates. That’s all I’m asking. One boy shares your sense of humor. Another has similar interests and ideals. The third boy has a helpful heart like yours.”
When Aditi Gupta comes home late from work as a pediatric resident one night and her grandfather offers this pitch, she reluctantly agrees. She’s far too busy with med school to be dating, and besides, she dreams of a love for the ages, like her parents, not an arranged marriage. And yet she finds herself agreeing to three dates because she loves her grandfather. All she has to do is make herself utterly ineligible and problem solved!
And sure enough her first date with the disgustingly handsome and intriguing Krishna Lal goes exactly as planned: not well! But then the second date comes around and Aditi finds that there is more at stake than just three bad dates. Suddenly, her heart is on the line, and maybe her grandfather’s, too.
Well this was fun! I listened to this audiobook as it popped up on my audible unlimited homepage and I fancied something light and fun. This gave me just that!
At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy this book. I didn’t instantly enjoy the characters. Their first date was very cringey for me to read but once I got past the first date, I was in. By the end of the book, I still didn’t overly like the two main characters but I still enjoyed the story.
I love, love, love a meddling grandparent trope. I thought the grandparents were just so fun! I wish that they would have been the central characters or at least would have featured more.
I really enjoyed the reveal of why the grandparents were meddling. I like that it was just that they were controlling or anything bad, they had very adorable reasons for meddling and I liked their history.
This was an almost insta-romance which is what I was hoping for. It was short and sweet and I got a wee happy ending. I would definitely recommend this book if you want a speedy little romance that pulls on your heartstrings because the side characters were lovely wee grandparents.
In this Vlog I read two utterly fantastic books. I am so giddy about how amazing this month has been for books so far…I’m also scared that I’m overdue a duff book. Statistically I should have had at least one but I’m trying to just enjoy the excellent month so far.
Any excuse to share my festive cheeseboard
My plan was to read The Shadow Glass by Josh Winning. It was a 400 page book so I assumed it would take me the full 3 days to read. However, I finished it in about a day and a half. This left me time to read Right to Remain Silent by Nicki Bell which was a sweet romance novella. I heartily recommend both of these books!
I’ve made a start on my Christmas film bingo board and checked off my first prompt. I’m feeling very accomplished! I finished the prompt for White Christmas which was a book featuring snow on the cover. For this prompt I chose The Witch and The Tsar by Olesya Salknikova Gilmore.
I also managed to squeeze in a wee novella and picked up Raising the Alarm by Nicki Bell which was short and sweet. I have preordered the second book in this series and I’m so excited about it!
So far, my plan to read at least 9 books by Christmas is going well. I hope these aren’t m famous last words!
Enter Vicky Romeo: lover, actor, bullshitter. Romeo is a slick, serial heartbreaker who is determined to land the lead in an all-women rendition of The Importance of Being Earnest. She thinks she has life figured out, but then she falls in love…
Enter Julie Turner aka Joolz: sexy, sarcastic, femme fatale and a cheerleader to boot. Stamping on hearts and traditional stereotypes she plays girls like Vicky Romeo at their own game.
Set in Glasgow in 2001, our heroines and their cohorts take on the world one incredibly gay step at a time.
I picked this book up when I was in Category Is Books, in Glasgow, at the start of the month. I’m still basking in the pride of reading a book in the month that I bought it. This has very much been the month for it but I have no faith in my ability to keep that up. I absolutely adored this book, I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads but it would have been 4.5 if Goodreads allowed halves.
This book was prefaced by a statement from the author who said that the book was written in 2001 which is the year that it was set. The attitudes and terminology used are that of the scene at the time and the book would have been totally different were it written today. I appreciated this because otherwise I’d have probably been a bit put off by some of the attitudes. As this book was about a community that I wasn’t part of in 2001, I’m taking the author’s word.
I absolutely loved that this was a story about a romance between Vicky Romeo and Julia Turner as I loved the nod towards Romeo and Juliet. While there is drama in this book, it’s very much not a rewrite of Romeo and Juliet. It was very much it’s own romance. It was a quite sweet romance which I really enjoyed.
At first I didn’t really like either of the main characters. I thought that Vicky Romeo was arrogant and reminded me so much of an old flatmate who used to boast about never being turned down by a romantic partner…and then one time they were and they were a wreck as they’d never faced rejection. However as the book went on, I could see through their shell and she was a sweetheart who just wanted to love and be loved and really wasn’t as confident as they appeared. Joolz annoyed me at first as they seemed to be playing games with Vicky despite saying they weren’t their type. There was a great deal of her being hot one moment and blanking her the next. Although I had to remind myself that these characters were 20/21 .
I really liked the strong parental role models in this book. I loved Mama Romeo and Sam! There were a lot of side characters that I did get a bit confused with. I enjoyed Kat but I didn’t like the other flatmate.
There were a few twists and turns in this book that I just did not see coming. They were very well done and really helped to make the characters feel real. I feel like I could have been friends with these people, I’d have gone to see their play!
I absolutely loved the setting of 2001 Glasgow. I loved the references to Nokia phones and a whole bunch of scenes in an Internet cafe. It was very nostalgic in places.
This was my second book by Ely Percy and it won’t be my last. I’m adding them to my autobuy author list! I’m so glad that I didn’t wait too long to read this book because I really did enjoy it.
A Glasgow Kiss [n.] A headbutt or a strike with the head to someone’s sensitive area
Meet Zara Smith: 29, single and muddling her way through life as a trainee nurse in Glasgow. With 30 fast approaching, she’s determined to do whatever it takes to find love – or at least someone to sext! Cheered on by best friends Ashley and Raj, Zara embarks on a string of dating escapades that are as hilarious as they are disastrous. From online dating to blind dates, hometown hook-ups to flirty bartenders, nothing is off limits.
But when Dr Tom Adams, aka Sugar Daddy, shows interest, it’s a game-changing moment. Zara has had a crush on Tom since her very first day at the aesthetics clinic she works at part-time. As things heat up between them, Zara can’t help but wonder: is this it? Or is it another disaster waiting to happen?
I bought this book a few months ago and put it aside for February. My thought process was that it was a romance/erotic novel and that seemed like a February thing. I am so sad that I put this book aside as opposed to reading it straight away because this was definitely a 5 star read! I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more.
I genuinely cackled while reading this book, it was absolutely hilarious! I kept disturbing my boyfriend as I felt compelled to give him a dramatic reading of some of my favourite passages- The bit with Zara’s mother and the vampire bit each received quite the round of applause. I think that this book included a lot of concerns with modern dating. Some of the interactions were so funny that I found myself crying with laughter but in spite of that, I found this book to be very realistic!
At the start of the book I actually saw a lot of early 20 something me in Zara. Desperate to be loved and ending up with a wrongun (I found my lobster in my late 20s). Zara gave her heart quickly and often ended up getting hurt. I quickly stopped relating to Zara as otherwise we were pretty different but so many of her actions reminded me of stories that my friends told me about their dating lives! I loved her friendship with her childhood best friend and her boss who was pretty much Boss Goals.
If you’re offended by swearing, especially by the c-word (which is also a term of endearment in Scotland) then be aware that there’s a fair bitty of swearing in this book which I found to be very authentic. There were times in this book where the only realistic reaction was to swear. I’m looking at you, Mark. The interactions with him set the tone for the rest of the book and I loved it!
My old uni got a mention and so did my old gym! Little thing like this are the reason I love Scottish fiction so very much! I don’t know if I’d have loved it quite as much if it wasn’t set somewhere that I’d previously lived because the familiarity of the setting really gave me fun nostalgic vibes. It would definitely have been at least a 4 star read if the setting were different but the setting is what pushed this book into the 5 star category for me.
While this was a hilarious wee read, it also had some pretty strong themes of finding what makes you happy, believing in yourself, and the power of friendship. This book gave me way more than it promised! Yes, I managed to overthink a fun erotic novel! I loved this book and will be keeping an eye out for any more books by this author because I am always happy to read some hilarious erotica/romance!
Jaded-by-love Amara Hart owns a retro-style gaming arcade in the local shopping mall that is bustling full of people who’d rather play Pac-Man than have a candlelit dinner with the charming Casanova store owner next door. Despite her cynicism toward anything roses, Amara finds herself agreeing to help Valentino Rossi when his store is robbed a few days shy of Valentine’s Day—his biggest annual moneymaker.
Valentino believes in endless love and has made it his mission in life to help others express that love through romance and custom-made jewelry. Silly little love songs are what make him get out of bed in the morning, and meeting the anti-Valentine Amara has thrown him for a loop. Determined to prove love me tender is more than a retro ballad, Valentino sets out to give Amara a Valentine’s Day she’ll never forget.
As Amara feels her rough edges begin to soften, she begins to wonder what would happen if she asked the man next door to…be mine, Valentino.
What a super fun read! I was really in the mood for lovely sweet romance and this gave me exactly what I was looking for. I gave this book 4 stars because I just really enjoyed it and can see me reading more books by this author as this was so delightful and quite an innocent little romance.
I honestly think that grumpy sunshine romances may be my new favourite trope and this book gave me that. Val was a Casanova who had been linked to various women within the shopping mall, he was almost arrogant and definitely standoffish. Mara was whimsical, friendly, and chirpy. They seemed like such an unusual pairing but they really brought out the best in each other. Despite this being a novella, the main characters of Mara and Val were full of layers. I was rooting for them from the beginning.
I really enjoyed the two main characters having to work together which let them get to know each other. They were thrown together as they had to work overnight security at the mall…I only know of the shopping centres we have in Scotland but they tend to have security staff. Especially the big ones but I didn’t mind that this was perhaps a little unrealistic because the setting of the mall was very enjoyable. I love the shop names – Barber Streisand, Tequila Mockingbird, Son of a Bun Bakery. Plus the mall had an arcade and a cheese based food truck…it sounded dreamy!
The epilogue me happy cry because that’s what I hoped would happen. I thought this was a nice addition to the story as it still would have worked without the epilogue but it made me so very happy. I am such a sucker for a happy ending and with romance stories, I expect them and this really did leave me feeling warm and fuzzy. It wasn’t realistic at all but that’s ok!
This book just made me so happy! I smiled throughout the whole book and am very glad that I read it. For full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I’m now almost up to date with my ARCs, like a lot of people I’ve spoken to, I requested way more than I had budgeted time for and now I feel really behind. This book comes out on 11 February 2022 so I’m super pleased with myself for finishing this gem before it comes out.
In The Christmas Runaway by Jenni Fletcher, willful, independent heiress Fiona MacKay impulsively runs away to a remote Scottish tower, where she’s trapped in the snow with equally headstrong, deliciously disheveled Angus Drummond.
In Their Snowbound Reunion by Elisabeth Hobbes, Amy Munroe and Anthony Matthews were cruelly parted fifteen years ago, and each blames the other. When Amy becomes Anthony’s new housekeeper, their passion is reawakened!
I pre-ordered this book as Jenni Fletcher, the author of the first story, is Scottish and I thought that this could be a fun addition to my “Reading Scottish” challenge. This was a Mills & Boon Historical Romance and while I have read a decent amount of both Romance and Historical novels, I had never read a Mills & Boon.
I must admit that prior to reading this book, my only knowledge of Mills & Boon came from my experience working in a shop where very elderly women would pick the shelves clean every time a new selection was added. So I thought that as a 35 year old lady (95 at heart sometimes!) these books weren’t for me. How wrong I was because I really enjoyed each of the stories in this book.
The Christmas Runaway was a fun romance set reasonably close to where I live which gave me an extra level of enjoyment. I always enjoy reading books set in places that are familiar to me. This book was very short so I got my bearings very quickly.
Of the two books, I actually preferred Their Snowbound Reunion as the book was less predictable. I saw the twist coming from the start but the responsible party was one of two people. So I got an extra little something out of this book because of that.
The characters in each of these books were very classic-the grumpy rich guy, the outspoken yet childish rich woman, the proud man, the cold woman…there was nothing new in the characters but they were enjoyable to read about.
The sorties were completely predictable from start to finish. I suppose in historical fiction, there is always going to be a certain type of ending which coincidentally is my least favourite kind of ending. However, based on conversations that I’ve had regarding Mills & Boon books, this seems to be the traditional ending of this collection of books. I do sometimes wonder if I’m too free with my ratings in December, I gave this book 4 stars as I enjoyed it more than the books that I’d rated 3 stars…I don’t know whether I’d have rated so highly had this been read in any other month.
While these books didn’t give me anything new, they did give me cute romances that developed over the length of the story with each character denying their feelings. I wanted to read an easy romance with low stakes and preferably no nasty meddling characters. If you want a quick and easy romance, I’d recommend giving these stories a whirl! If you want some spice from your romance, these books will not deliver.
I actually really did enjoy reading this book! I didn’t know what to expect from a Mills & Boon but I was pleasantly surprised and may pick up another from this collection one day.
Kapowski Reads 