Six Ways to Write a Love Letter by Jackson Pearce [Book Review]

 

Six Ways to Write a Love Letter 

By Jackson Pearce 

 This one is for all of my fellow T. Swift fans! 

I loved pretty much everything about this book! It has everything, rock and roll, celebrity relationships, forced proximity, and the sweetest love story! 

I’m not going to lie and say the references to T. Swift aren’t everywhere. Vivi is fictional… but she is highly Taylor-Esque right down to her cherry red lipstick. I loved her character and I loved the way Jackson Pearce showed the lonely side of celebrity, especially from the view of Vivi’s super celebrity. In fact, my one complaint is that I would have liked to have had alternating chapters with Vivi’s POV as I would have loved to see her world through her eyes. 

This story is told by Remy, our drummer/producer/good guy who goes on tour at last minute and ends up falling for the star. 

The slow build to their relationship felt believable and I was so invested to watching their feelings develop that I couldn’t stop reading. 

This book had no spice, it was closed door, but the relationship was so sweet and well done I loved it anyway. ❤️

If you’re a Swifty, get this book ASAP. If you’re not a Swifty you’ll still love it. 

I recommend this one to anyone who loves the celebrity relationship trope, sweet romances, and Taylor Swift. 

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! 

How to Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder [Book Review]

How to Fake it in Hollywood

By Ava Wilder 

Release Date: June 14, 2022 

A talented Hollywood starlet and a reclusive A-lister enter into a fake relationship . . . and discover that their feelings might be more than a PR stunt in this sexy debut for fans of Beach Readand The Unhoneymooners. 

Grey Brooks is on a mission to keep her career afloat now that the end of her long-running teen soap has her (unsuccessfully) pounding the pavement again. With a life-changing role on the line, she's finally desperate enough to agree to her publicist's scheme... faking a love affair with a disgraced Hollywood heartthrob who needs the publicity, but for very different reasons.

Ethan Atkins just wants to be left alone. Between his high-profile divorce, his struggles with drinking, and his grief over the death of his longtime creative partner and best friend, he's slowly let himself fade into the background. But if he ever wants to produce the last movie he and his partner wrote together, Ethan needs to clean up his reputation and step back into the spotlight. A gossip-inducing affair with a gorgeous actress might be just the ticket, even if it's the last thing he wants to do.

Though their juicy public relationship is less than perfect behind the scenes, it doesn't take long before Grey and Ethan's sizzling chemistry starts to feel like more than just an act. But after decades in a ruthless industry that requires bulletproof emotional armor to survive, are they too used to faking it to open themselves up to the real thing?

Review: 

 Fake dating is one of my all time favorite tropes, and I’m also a sucker for the “famous person” trope where one or both MC’s are celebrities. 

Imagine my squeal of delight when this book scrolled across my feed! 

The entire time I was reading this book I couldn’t believe it was a debut. When I say that I devoured this one, I mean that I literally did nothing else all day other than flip pages because I was obsessed. 

We meet Grey who is an aging starlet who was on a semi popular teen drama and is now struggling to be taken seriously in the acting world. 

Ethan is an A list actor who’s seen better days after experiencing trauma. When these two are set up to “fake date” to help their images… things don’t go as planned fast. 

While this book has all the makings of a rom com, it deals with strong themes such as drug/alcohol abuse, grief, death of a loved one, etc… 

I felt these issues were dealt with tastefully and in a real manner that made my heart ache for the characters as they went through heart ache. 

This book is not all rainbows and butterflies, but it is so so enjoyable and I loved it. I found myself comparing it at times to Daisy Jones and the six - the storylines are 100% different but the feeling this book gave me was reminiscent to the vibes I felt then. 

And for this to be a DEBUT! Seriously, I give a major round of applause to you Ava Wilder. You kept me up half the night reading and broke my heart just to put it back together. 

Huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa [Review]

 The Wedding Crasher 

By Mia Sosa 

Release Date: April 5, 2022

The USA Today bestselling author of The Worst Best Man is back with another hilarious rom-com about two strangers who get trapped in a lie and have to fake date their way out of it...

Just weeks away from ditching DC for greener pastures, Solange Pereira is roped into helping her wedding planner cousin on a random couple’s big day. It’s an easy gig... until she stumbles upon a situation that convinces her the pair isn’t meant to be. What’s a true-blue romantic to do? Crash the wedding, of course. And ensure the unsuspecting groom doesn’t make the biggest mistake of his life.

Dean Chapman had his future all mapped out. He was about to check off “start a family” and on track to “make partner” when his modern day marriage of convenience went up in smoke. Then he learns he might not land an assignment that could be his ticket to a promotion unless he has a significant other and, in a moment of panic, Dean claims to be in love with the woman who crashed his wedding. Oops.

Now Dean has a whole new item on his to-do list: beg Solange to be his pretend girlfriend. Solange feels a tiny bit bad about ruining Dean’s wedding, so she agrees to play along. Yet as they fake-date their way around town, what started as a performance for Dean’s colleagues turns into a connection that neither he nor Solange can deny. Their entire romance is a sham... there’s no way these polar opposites could fall in love for real, right?

Review:

I LOVED THIS BOOK! 

I have never read a title by Mia Sosa so I was going in essentially blind. While I knew this was the second in a related “series” having not read the prior title did not in anyway effect my ability to enjoy it. 

Solange and Dean are wonderful together, and the amount of spice (and some kink👀) was a welcome surprise! 

I loved the family dynamics, loved the slow development of feelings, and honestly I just couldn’t get enough. 

This was fake dating done correctly. 

I loved the fact that the fake dating wasn’t one sided, they both needed each other for vastly different reasons and the struggle of everything colliding was just *chefs kiss.* 

If you haven’t read this one do yourself a favor and pick it up the next time you’re at the book store as it will leave you laughing, swooning, and falling in love! 

Kissing Games by Stefanie London (Review)

 

Joining the ranks of contemporary reads I love is Kissing Games by @stefanielondon! 

This book was a hallmark movie with added SPICE and I was here for it! 

Kissing Creek is a cute quaint little town where Llamas wander (well, one wanders), libraries have active book clubs, and one librarian, Sloane, is trying to create the roots she never had as a child. 

Ryan is an MLB star missing his team’s best season due to an injury and stuck in Kissing Creek out of necessity and not want. 

These two are forced into proximity by the small town forces that be and out comes such a cute rom com with just the right amount of spice. I laughed and cried reading this one and I had so many feelings! 

My chest lurched, at the third act turn and I found myself so invested in Sloan and Ryan’s story that I was glued to it! 

The beginning starts off slow, but ultimately this one was the perfect Spring time light read and I highly recommend to anyone who wants their Hallmark movies to have more life (and did I mention the SPICE?!) 

I loved the book club, the spicy reading choice, the re-enactments, the family time, and ultimately I just loved this book.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Brush With Love by Mazey Eddings [Book Review]

 Harper is anxiously awaiting placement into a top oral surgery residency program when she crashes (literally) into Dan. Harper would rather endure a Novocaine-free root canal than face any distractions, even one this adorable. 

A first-year dental student with a family legacy to contend with, Dan doesn’t have the same passion for pulling teeth that Harper does. Though he finds himself falling for her, he is willing to play by Harper’s rules.

So with the greatest of intentions and the poorest of follow-throughs, the two set out to be “just friends.” But as they get to know each other better, Harper fears that trading fillings for feelings may make her lose control and can't risk her carefully ordered life coming undone, no matter how drool-worthy Dan is.

Blood, gore, and extra-long roots? No problem. The idea of falling in love? Torture. 

REVIEW

I LOVE this book! 

I was not expecting the emotional journey that I went on with Harper and Dan, but now being on the other side I can tell you I feel euphoric that we made it through. 

This one starts out with a meet cute (they literally run into each other) and initially I wasn’t expecting the depth of character and deep emotional pull I felt reading. 

Harper is dedicated to her studies and determined to get into a great Residency. Dan is doing Dentistry because he feels he has to. On paper, these two are polar opposites… but they’re not. 

As a person who has dealt with anxiety disorder for my whole life I loved the attention placed here on Harper and her dealings with her own anxiety. I am very familiar with the battle between wanting to be “me” even if that means being anxious rather than changing myself with medication. I have also dealt with the thoughts of separating myself from my anxiety and I loved the thoughtful focus placed in this book on Harper’s struggle with it. 

There is a stigma to mental illness of any kind and this book truly touches on so many aspects of it that it felt real, and my stomach was in knots as I read. 

Dan was a sweet guy, and he would do anything for Harper. I loved the attention he put towards constantly confirming everything was what Harper wanted and he never forced anything on her which I loved. 

Also, who knew Dentistry could be so hot? 

I recommend this one to anyone who loves some depth to their romance/rom-coms. There are some important things touched on here and the story itself felt real and powerful and I loved it. 

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!