Romance Tropes – Page 2

Publish Date: December 19th, 2017
Number of Pages: 358 Pages
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance, New Adult Romance

Total Star Rating: 3 Stars

The going will get tough, and you’ll stick. We’ll fight, and you’ll stick. Our world could rock, Eliza, and there’s one thing I’m certain about, you’ll stick.”
– Kristen Ashley, “The Hookup”

This was an alright book that was a nice change of pace from what I’ve been reading recently. Lately I’ve been trying to overstock on more Fantasy-genre titles, and I think I’ve burned myself out with it trying to memorize all the different names and places and magic systems, so I tend to switch over to the Romance-genre when it all becomes too much. Romance titles are usually lighter and easier to read through, but are also limited by way more consistent tropes and clichés that you see in so many other titles. It’s a balance you just have to accept, but sometimes just going into a new title with the acceptance of knowing they’ll be there is how you’ll really enjoy it more.

This title has been on my “To-Read” shelf on Goodreads for quite some time, but not because someone recommended it to me by someone or I’ve heard really good reviews of it. To be honest, I really liked the design of the cover and at the time I guess I was just in the mood for a small-town setting with two young and attractive people who meet and fall for each other. You’ve gotta admit that has a nice appeal to it! For me, it makes me think of those romantic country love songs that are so popular in the summer. Anyways, one day while I was extremely bored while working at the bookstore, I looked through our database that shows us if any of the other stores have a copy of whatever specific title you’re looking for, and wouldn’t you know it, one store out of state just happened to have a copy come in! Since I’d never seen a copy come into my location in the two years I’ve worked, so I thought why not? I get a 50% off discount anyways.

The Hookup is an alright book to enjoy if you’re like me and you’re looking for some easy, mostly lighthearted romantic beach read that has the small town aesthetics; it’s nothing too special or unique, but still enjoyable nonetheless. I gotta stop thinking I’m going to find the next most innovative, distinct romance title because I just think that in order to count as a romance title, it has to follow a somewhat strict set of guidelines, and that’s where I think the clichés and overly familiar tropes stems from. Just because you see something over and over again doesn’t mean it’s automatically bad, so long as the author makes something unique about it.

The romance was, of course, the main highlight of the story along with the exploration of what the two main characters struggled with in their pasts before they met and how those issues came between them. I really loved the message towards the end of the book where it tells you that while you may have been dealt a shitty hand at life at some point and that there’s no going back from it or receiving any closure for it, sometimes those things can also lead you to what could possibly be the best thing that happens to you. Life throws many curveballs at you, some bigger than others, but it’s always a nice reminder to really enjoy the sweeter moments too, especially when life takes a more tragic turn for the worse.

What It’s About:

The official blurb:

When the new girl in town, Eliza “Izzy” Forrester decides to hit the local drinking hole, she’s not ready to meet the town’s good, solid guy. She’s definitely not prepared to engage in her very first hookup with him.

Then Izzy wakes up the next morning in Johnny Gamble’s bed and good girl Izzy finds she likes being bad for Johnny.

Even so, Izzy feels Johnny holding her at arm’s length. But Johnny makes it clear he wants more and Izzy already knows she wants as much of hot-in-bed, sweet-out-of-it Johnny Gamble.

Floating on air thinking this is going somewhere, Izzy quickly learns why Johnny holds distant.

He’s in love with someone else. Someone who left him and did it leaving him broken. Whoever was up next would be runner up, second best. Knowing the stakes, Izzy will take what she can get from the gentleman that’s Johnny Gamble. And even knowing his heart might never mend, Johnny can’t seem to stay away from Izzy.

Until out of nowhere, his lost love comes back to town. He’s not going back, but Johnny still knows the right thing to do is let Izzy go.

And Izzy knew the stakes, so she makes it easy and slips through his fingers.

But that’s before Johnny realizes Eliza moved to town to escape danger that’s been swirling around her.

And that’s why Johnny decides to wade in.

That and the fact Eliza Forrester makes breakfast with a canary singing on her shoulder and fills out tight dresses in a way Johnny Gamble cannot get out of his head.

What I Liked:

The Two Leads’ Inner Conflicts! Both Johnny and Izzy have some major baggage that threatens to keep them apart: Johnny was ditched three years prior by the love of his life and has been going through the motions ever since, and Izzy is secretly escaping from a psycho-ex. Add to the mix that both come from a childhood where one of their parents was gone, but for different reasons; one being more tragic than the other. I won’t spoil what I mean by that, but it certainly adds to the depth of what these characters have been through in the past, thus making you more emotionally invested that the two help each other and end up together because of it.
The Love Story Between Johnny and Izzy! The story starts the morning after they hooked up for the first time, and from then on the main drive of the story is their relationship and how it changes over time as they get to know each other on a much deeper and intimate level than just FWB’s. It wasn’t insta-love, but there was definitely an immediate attraction from both of them, and I thought their romantic relationship developed rather organically and realistically

We’re allowed to want things and not only earn them and work for them and fight for them, but have someone maybe once in a while give them to us because they love us and they want us to have what we want.”
– Kristen Ashley, “The Hookup”

What I Didn’t Like:

Where’s the Conflict?… Hate to say it, but the blurb made it sound like there was going to be a lot more drama in this story than there actually was. Yeah, Johnny’s ex makes a surprise reappearance in town after running away three years ago, but that ended up being such a minor part of the whole story and Johnny was hardly even affected by it to be honest. Izzy was way more wigged out about it, but most of the story is just them and how their relationship strengthens, so this may feel like a slower read for most readers. There’s something that happens at the end to add some level of stress and worry, but it’s really quick and over with before you know it.
Leads May be Too Perfect… There’s the cliché character turn named the “Mary Sue” where a character seems so perfect and hardly has any flaws that it’s almost annoying. That’s kind of the case with both Izzy and Johnny here. Izzy is like a straight up Disney Princess and has a plethora of pets that follow her around as she works from sunrise to sundown plus has other characteristics but too many times when you’re in Johnny’s head in his perspective chapters does he look at her and it literally seems like she’s the sun shining all up on everything she touches or stands by. There’s things about Johnny too, but overall it felt like the author put way too much emphasis on making sure her two main characters were absolutely morally and physically spotless despite both having difficult things from their pasts.
Male Lead Gets Angry When She Tries to be Independent… This was a minor thing, but it felt odd whenever Johnny got annoyed at Izzy for doing something heavy lifting and absolutely insisted he always do it for her, like only he was allowed to do what he considered “man’s work.” While it’s sweet that he offers to clean out the barn, mow her large lawn and plenty of things tasks, it’s weird how much it irks him when she still tries to do it too. Like when she sets up a table she had to grab out of the shed, he tells her to watch an infant when he put it away, and there was no room for debate…I don’t know, something about that seemed off to me.
Felt Very Little for the Minor Characters… There are plenty of side characters that also encompass the story and add to the relationship between Izzy and Johnny: there’s an elderly couple who are like Johnny’s parents with the wife being extra spunky and full of southern sass while the husband gives her a hard time but it’s obvious they’re very much still in love, there’s Izzy’s less-than-perfect sister who shows up with her baby unexpectedly and moves in, there’s also Johnny’s brother who shows up so late that I really felt very little for him…these characters just felt very cliché and didn’t really stick out to me; i’ve seen them in countless other romantic books/movies/tv shows before

Conclusion:

Overall, I found The Hookup to be an overall light & easy book; a sweet, small-town romance that can be a comfort read for anyone who’s a fan of the romance genre. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking or obsession worthy, but it was still a joy to read and definitely checks all the marks of what readers are usually looking for when it comes to books like it: two lead characters who have emotional baggage they both need to sort through while helping each other and falling for each other at the same time, an ex who “unexpectedly” shows up and causes drama, an elderly couple with plenty of spunk to remind us all what a long lasting love can look like, side characters who may or may not end up together later on, and of course pets and a baby. The story was equal parts sweet & tender mixed with a little steam and spice with some well written smut for romance readers who like the more descriptive side of the material, but the scenes of heartfelt confessions and admissions will also pull your own heartstrings.

I feel like fans of authors like Colleen Hoover and Christina Lauren will really enjoy this book; they have a similar style of writing with quirky female leads who have some heavy baggage that really gives them some great depth and great character development.

While I did think the story was pretty decent and Johnny and Izzy are easy to get behind and support, I don’t find myself caring enough to read the second part of this series—or duology—just because the side characters didn’t draw me in nearly as much, and most likely the next part will somewhat be centered around a baby of a single mother and I’m sorry, but those kinds of stories don’t interest me.

2021 has been a weird year so far, and I’m also bummed to admit that I think I may be in my first ever major reading slump…books just aren’t hitting me like they used to lately, and it’s been like that for the last month. I just can’t seem to sit down and want to concentrate. So I regret to say that maybe I won’t be posting as many reviews as I normally do, but it could also just be that my seasonal depression is just really hitting me different with everything like COVID and whatever the latest scandal on the news is because the writing for my college story has been on hiatus too…I’m not happy about it, but I’m also trying not to beat myself up about it too much as well. We’ll have to wait and see, but I also have a new iPad and downloaded Procreate to get back into drawing too, so there’s hope!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

New Adult, New Adult Romance, Romance

My Review: The Roommate: by Rosie Danan

November 3, 2020 nicholasjgoodsell

*Publish Date: September 15th, 2020*
*Number of Pages: 336 pages*
*Publisher: Berkeley*
*Genre(s): Contemporary Romance, New Adult Romance, Romance*

Total Star Rating: 4.25 Stars

Once I read the blurb for this contemporary romance title, I was immediately into the idea of a story of an uptight upper east sider inadvertently becoming roommates with a laid back, Californian porn star; think of the sitcom-like humor you’d get when two people who are two total opposites are forced to live under one roof! You can’t write this stuff…. oh wait.

While reading, this book was definitely a fun debut that I had a fun time reading; I liked both main characters more and more as the story developed, and really saw them grow throughout, especially the female main character: Clara Wheaton. She really learned to let a lot of things go and to not put so much on her shoulders, especially things that she couldn’t control. She definitely had a lot more growth than the other main character and her love interest: Josh Darling (porn name). It’s not that he didn’t have some growth of his own, but it felt like it didn’t really come until much later in the story and the rest of it was all about him trying to figure out his attraction to her in the first place while also figuring out his tricky job situation.

The sitcom-like setup was a definite part of the whole book that I liked; the more the two characters interacted and flirted, bantered, and had hot little scenes between the two of them, I truly did believe the growing chemistry more and more. I really thought they were cute together! I was also a huge fan of how one of the themes of this book was about being so sex positive, and how the author totally flipped what may seem like pretty cliché side characters. I go into more details about these further down in my review!

Some things I wasn’t a big fan of was how this story is set up just like any other rom com kind of story that you’ve probably read before. Not that this made me dislike the book in a big way, but part of me does wish more romance titles tried to veer away from the stereotypical setup we see in literally every book that falls within the genre and be more original. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of how the book ended…I mean, it was fine and all but it could’ve been a whole lot better too. Once again, I go into more detail about these further along in this review.

What It’s About:

The Official Blurb:

House Rules:
Do your own dishes
Knock before entering the bathroom
Never look up your roommate online

The Wheatons are infamous among the east coast elite for their lack of impulse control, except for their daughter Clara. She’s the consummate socialite: over-achieving, well-mannered, predictable. But every Wheaton has their weakness. When Clara’s childhood crush invites her to move cross-country, the offer is too much to resist. Unfortunately, it’s also too good to be true.

After a bait-and-switch, Clara finds herself sharing a lease with a charming stranger. Josh might be a bit too perceptive—not to mention handsome—for comfort, but there’s a good chance he and Clara could have survived sharing a summer sublet if she hadn’t looked him up on the Internet…

Once she learns how Josh has made a name for himself, Clara realizes living with him might make her the Wheaton’s most scandalous story yet. His professional prowess inspires her to take tackling the stigma against female desire into her own hands. They may not agree on much, but Josh and Clara both believe women deserve better sex. What they decide to do about it will change both of their lives, and if they’re lucky, they’ll help everyone else get lucky too.

What I Liked:

Opposites Attract! It’s a sitcom-y rom com with two totally opposite people forced under one roof together! Clara is the uptight, proper, and kinda prudish Upper East Side WASP who’s never done something like moving across the country before, and Josh is the charismatic, charming, and brow raising porn star who Clara inadvertently becomes roommates with in a small house in LA. You can’t write this kind of stuff! Oh wait……….Anyways, despite coming from different backgrounds, these two were a joy to read about, and their relationship was so enjoyable to see develop as they go from just roommates, to friends, and to lovers. There was definitely some chemistry there I thought, and the buildup of sexual tension was also fun. It was obvious that Josh’s feelings for her were way stronger than hers off the bat, and I love stories where the guy gets smitten first, but they were both feeling the urge as they lived in such a small space together for a hot LA summer.
Sex Positivity! This book sheds some light on sex workers and the topic of sex in general. I’m never one to slut shame anyone or judge someone as “beneath me” because they work in adult entertainment, and I like that one of the themes of this book is that there’s not “one pleasure to fit them all,” That couples need to be willing to open up to another, trust each other, listen to each other, and be willing to try new things that work specifically for them. It’s also a good message that no one should feel ashamed about pursuing their own pleasure out of something because of societal expectations and judgements; it sounds a little hedonistic, but there is some valuable life lessons that I think everyone should consider! So long as you’re not hurting yourself or others, I say go for whatever your heart desires.
Trope Flipping! One small thing I really enjoyed was how the author totally flipped two types of characters we’ve seen so many times before: the boy next door and the ex. Clara has had a crush on Garrett Bloom ever since he moved next door way back when they were kids, but as you meet him and learn more about him, he’s not really as much of a golden boy as the role usually has been in the past. Then there’s Naomi Grant, who’s Josh’s ex, but instead of being a woman scorned, she actually becomes friends with Josh and Clara and even works together with them on a business venture. It was refreshing to see these tropey character arcs get a new direction given to each of them.

What I Didn’t Like:

The Same Old Setup…I suppose this is a minor thing, but the storyline is set up like any other rom com storyline, so there’s nothing new there with how it develops. There’s nothing too original about it in this sense, but then again, it’s not like most readers are really looking for something like that in this genre to begin with.
Once Again, A Rushed Ending…I don’t know what it is about romance novels, but lately almost every single one of them feels so cramped and shoved together when it could’ve totally benefited to include another 25-50 pages, or maybe another chapter or two. It’s become a consistent thing with romance novels, and man oh man do I wish it’d stop!

Conclusion:

Overall, another pretty good contemporary romance to enjoy for anyone who’s looking for something cute and lighthearted to read! It’s nothing groundbreaking or extraordinary, but it definitely fulfills the expectations you have upon starting reading it. Sure, you’d think it’d be a little steamier since the male character is a porn star—and a pretty good one at that—but there’s other books out there if you’re looking for a much steamier read. Some readers would even go as far to say this book would be so much better if it went further in either the humor or the steam. I can believe that and support that, but I still say this book is an enjoyable addition to the genre. I know I really liked this story, and it’s a keeper on my shelf for sure!

I definitely recommend this title to those who love the rom com stories with familiar tropes that are given new and thoughtful changes to them to switch things up and make them feel fresh. I’d also say fans of books by authors like Christina Lauren, Elle Kennedy, and Sarina Bowen will probably also like this book.

It’s a pretty impressive debut novel, and if this is where the author is starting at, I’d say I’m definitely going to be on the lookout for whatever she comes up with next, she has another title already hyped to release in 2021, The Intimacy Experiment, which will star one of the side characters of this book, so I will for sure check it out upon its release!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Erotica, New Adult Romance

My Review: Pretty Reckless (All Saints High #1): by L.J. Shen

June 18, 2020October 28, 2020 nicholasjgoodsell

Publish Date: August 21st, 2019

Number of Pages: 360 Pages

Publisher: Self Published

Genre(s): New Adult Romance

Total Star Rating: 3.25 Stars

This title was constantly being tossed around as a popular recent release amongst the growing New Adult Romance genre that I’ve really come to love, so of course it was only a matter of time until I decided to give it a try. The blurb/synopsis has it revealed that it’s another addition to the “enemies-to-lovers” story trope, and after finishing this book, I can say it is a great example of just that.

Throughout reading, I found myself rolling my eyes a couple times at how gritty and overly sexualized the author made her cast of characters: the popular girls who are all frenemies who can’t help but say cutting remarks between pasted on smiles, the boys are all edgy and sexy while doing drugs, bragging about their badassery and sexual appetites while getting into fights while also having some random chick still wrapped around them, even how sophomores are hanging out with seniors and have an air of mystery with how good of a fighter they are… I don’t know, maybe it’s because I grew up in a midwestern suburb and didn’t party at all in high school, but this setting was a bit ridiculous for me to say the least. I will say it got better when the story finally started to narrow in on Daria and Penn, the two main characters, once the sparks began to fly between them. While the setup was over the top, I can say the author excelled at the romance and the rising sexual tension.

While the lust and romance was the major highlight of the book, even that was a bit over-the-top and eroticized–not sure if that’s actually a word, but whatever–with Daria and Penn fighting their animosity for each other with their growing feelings. There were some pretty erotic moments that occurred, and yes… fully aware I was dull in high school, but I’m pretty sure no one who’s 16-18 has done a few things that happens in this book, but I also can’t deny that it’s all still pretty hot book smut to read if you’re into that sort of thing.

I was pretty drawn into the story as the tension rose and the plot thickened, and I’m not even talking about the stupid & petty high school BS. There’s actually quite a lot going on, like domestic abuse, bullying, sexual assault, and just violence in general. There are some major triggers in Pretty Reckless for certain readers that they should be aware of before they decide to read this book. The author does also weave into the storyline of self acceptance and awareness that the two love interests help teach each other… you know, when they’re not getting hot and heavy after seducing each other to the point of eruption. Another issue may be the implied cheating that occurs with multiple characters who may or may not be in relationships already… the line is pretty blurry on that, but I can’t detract that there’s a vast amount of casual sex happening/implied throughout.

One thing that I’m still a little…. meh about is that while this is the start of a series, there are a lot of instances that imply inside reference to previous events with other books. This is the first book I’ve read by L.J. Shen, but this All Saints High series is a continuation/spin off/etc. of her other series, Sinners of Saint. While I do believe you can read and enjoy this book without having read any of her previous work, I did find myself wondering about when a past instance or person was mentioned or referenced. This was especially true with Daria’s parents, Jaime and Mel, and their neighbor, Dean. Actually, it turns out all the kids in this series are the kids of the main characters of the previous books. If I care enough as I keep reading on, maybe I’ll make it a point to go back and see how deep this all really goes.

Despite what can be contrived as mostly negative feedback on the book, I did really become encapsulated by it, and read it deep into the night instead of getting a good night’s sleep because I did feel the need to see what would happen next. Like I said, the romance was scorching even though it was a bit overdone for high school students, I liked the scorching chemistry between Daria and Penn, and the lessons they both taught each other throughout in order to give their relationship really deep meaning and more than just a sexy fling.

What It’s About:

This story stars Daria Followhill and Penn Scully, two teenagers who come from completely opposite backgrounds and live two totally different lives, but both ruin Penn’s twin sister’s life without fully realizing it. Daria and Penn’s sister, Via, don’t get along at Daria’s mother’s ballet studio, and jealousy gets the best of Daria when she finds out that her mother helped Via get accepted into an elite school for dance, so she takes the acceptance letter and runs outside, and that is when her and Penn meet for the first time.

They believed a new friendship was formed with the possibility of more over the torn pages of a letter, but Penn had no idea what he’d done and because of his actions, Via ends up running away and disappearing, to which Penn puts all the blame on Daria. The new friendship quickly descends into pure hatred and they become sworn enemies.

Four years later, life makes another unexpected twist, and Penn ends up living with Daria and her family to make up for how they didn’t help with his sister’s disappearance, and tensions are high with them wanting to make each other’s lives a living hell…

What I liked:

Everyone Is An Asshole! I know, this is a weird one to put under what I liked, but I did think it made the story that much more interesting to have all the characters be so morally grey and not entirely likeable. Some characters did have some more redeemable qualities than others as the story developed.
Daria’s Struggle! Her inner conflict really resonated with me on a personal level, because I’ve definitely been where she’s been. Maybe not fully to the degree of what she faces with her friends and mother, but I do get her feelings of being unwanted, unloved and irrelevant in other people’s lives, therefore making one absolutely unlovable in general, either with family or a romantic relationship. She wants the love and attention that any normal human being wants, but pushes away when it’s shown because of the past hurt and pain she’s felt, and she wants to protect herself from feeling that amount of pain again. Even more so when the person has hurt her so many times throughout, but they don’t see where the issue even stems from, nor do they try to learn in order to understand Daria better. Like I said, I really understood where she was coming from, and hopefully I have someone like Penn to help me move past it like he did for Daria.
The Romance! It was scorching and filled with plenty of juicy angst; I will give the author some major kudos on writing some steamy moments in the story. I still say quite a bit of it was pretty over-the-top for two kids in high school, but it was still enjoyable at least.

What I Didn’t Like:

Too Many Pop Culture References…This was something that was pointed out in my writing too, so now I really take notice to it, but there was a lot of current pop culture references made in this book. While for right now they all work well, the author weaved them into the story with much hilarity, what about in five years from now? Will they still be relevant, or will this just make the story feel very dated as time moves on?
The Extra-ness…The story does have overly sexualized, stereotypical characters as a backdrop which initially made wanting to keep reading something I absolutely didn’t want to do. The exaggerated focus on fighting, violence, sex, and drugs was just a bit overly dramatic and unrealistic, and didn’t convince me as much as the All for the Game books have done, but at least the romance made it all worth it.

Conclusion:

A sexy enemies-to-lovers New Adult Romance that started off with an unrealistic base, but developed into an incredibly binge-worthy read! The romance was absolutely electric: from the initial seductive teasing and arguing, to the love scenes and then to the eventual admissions of their true feelings for each other.

I’d definitely recommend this title for those who are fans of the genre who like the morally grey main characters, or for those that have possibly read books by Penelope Douglas. Pretty Reckless heavily reminded me of Punk 57, which I enjoyed as well!

I think I will read on, as the next book in this series will feature Knight, who was one of my more favorable characters of the bunch, we’ll see what happens next!

Trigger Warnings: assault, sexual assault, cheating on significant other, bullying, violence, domestic abuse

Thanks For Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Romance

My Review: The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club #1): by Lyssa Kay Adams

April 13, 2020October 28, 2020 nicholasjgoodsell

Publish Date: November 5th, 2019
Number of Pages: 352 Pages
Publisher: Berkley
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance

Total Star Rating: 3.25 Stars

A second chance sports romance that is light hearted, and has an original concept that fans of the genre can really enjoy!

While a lot of other readers and reviewers can say they absolutely adored this title, I’m afraid I can’t necessarily join that group…The book wasn’t terrible by any means, believe me! There are plenty of great things to praise about this book, and I did enjoy it for what it was, especially with the more original concept for professional Baseball players getting together for a secret romance novel bookclub, but I can only say I just liked it and didn’t love it.

Normally I love sports romances! I grew up around sports pretty much my whole life, and have tried just about every single one at least once: Baseball, Hockey, Basketball, Soccer, and Football. I understand the dynamics of them, along with the brotherhood and camaraderie amongst the teammates as they compete for greatness. Even in this book, the athletes go against every stigma and stereotype of toxic masculinity as they read romance novels and help each other out with their relationships. The support they show each other is absolutely so genuine and heart-eyes, even though some of the dialogue is way off from a male perspective. Not that men can’t be sensitive and be in touch with their feelings, but you have to admit they talk about it differently than women do, and some of the dialogue that these grown men say about certain topics, even their take on toxic masculinity, is not realistic…sorry to say.

Besides that, this book has a lot of positive things to boast! The original concept of the book club, it’s a quick and easy read, there’s plenty of fluff and steam, and there’s plenty of likeable side-characters to get into!

Also, total side note: I got a real DJ and Stephanie Tanner vibe from Thea and her younger sister, Liv. By this, I do mean their sister dynamic from the Full House Netflix spinoff: Fuller House. It’s when they’re older and DJ has her kids while Stephanie is the cool aunt living in the basement while she’s trying to get back on her feet.

What It’s About:

The Official Blurb:

The first rule of book club: You don’t talk about book club.

Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott’s marriage is in major league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him.

Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.

Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville’s top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it’ll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife.

What I Liked:

BOTH Spouses Needed to Work on their Marriage! One part of the story that I really enjoyed was how it’d turned out that both characters, Thea and Gavin, had issues they needed to work on if their marriage was to be fixed. I was worried about what the story would’ve been like if it’d continued being just about Gavin’s side of fixing their relationship, because this may shock some people: men aren’t the only ones who can ruin a relationship. Sure, Gavin didn’t handle it well when the issues had become too big to ignore any longer—which was a big part of the issues too—it’d become obvious that Thea wasn’t all that innocent either. Both needed to put in some more work, and I’m glad it became that way for the story, even though it’d felt like it was all about how only Gavin seemed to be doing anything to try and fix the problem for a lot of the book. I do wish Thea could’ve had her moments of growth earlier on in the book, as hers felt so rushed at the end.
Crossover With A Novel Within The Novel! Like it’d mentioned in the blurb, there’s a regency romance mentioned quite a bit throughout the story. It has a similar theme to what Gavin is going through—hence why the book club chose it—and some chapters are actually excerpts from this book. If this book were a movie, I’d imagine Gavin and Thea also playing the characters in flashback-like scenes straight out of Courting The Countess.
A More Original Idea for the Romance Genre! One shortcoming of the Romance genre in general is how it’s run on a lot of clichés. I mean that by character arcs and plots and how too many of them all have the same thing over and over. This book is a refreshing and new type of story for the “second chance” trope that I’m sure a lot of romance fans enjoy. I mean, I personally haven’t ever heard of any other story that has professional Baseball players forming a secret book club to read romance novels in order to help each other’s relationships. It’s a sweet idea, and novels like this one should be praised for their originality within the genre!

What I Didn’t Like:

Too Cheesy in Some Areas! What I really mean by this is how all the professional athletes get a little too introspective during their meetings for the bookclub. Like, hear me out…I’m a gay male who’s been around quite a few different types of people, especially during my recent college years, but never have I heard any male of any orientation have conversations like the ones that happen in this book. Similar themes may have come up, but the way the guys spoke about certain topics like love, women, toxic masculinity, and relationships sounded a bit too far fetched for this male reader. Sure, women probably want men to sound like this when they get together for guys night and talk like the characters do, but it’s not usually the case, at least with how they did it. The tone was way off with how men actually speak, and you can tell a woman wrote them to sound like that, and not trying to start a sexism argument or anything here…but I HEAVILY rolled my eyes at some of the lines said, especially from the particular character, Braden Mack. He’s a smooth lady killer one moment that all the guys can’t stand, then next he’s the most introspective member of the whole group…I wasn’t sold.
Thea Doesn’t Help Out! I mentioned this earlier, but also thought about saying it here too. Thea has her moments of growth in the story, but it happens so much later in the story—and is totally rushed—so she’s really unhelpful through almost 75% of the book. It’s learned how she’d faked orgasms with her husband, and just kept so many other issues bottled up, but got mad at Gavin when it seemed like he couldn’t read her mind. I personally get so annoyed when people do this—both men and woman—but holy freakin’ bitch-tits….COMMUNICATE! No one can know what the issue is if you don’t talk about it out loud and just leave it inside your own head. She doesn’t tell Gavin any of her issues, and gets upset at him for not immediately understanding her about a lot of it. She didn’t make things all that much easier when he actually starts putting in a lot of work to try and make things work for their marriage. I get the whole feminism thing and putting a masculine male in his place when it’s needed, but she was seriously just an unreasonable bitch at some points!
Lack of Character Descriptions! This is a really small irksome critique for me, but there were almost no descriptions for any of the characters except for Gavin at the very beginning. I like to know the character’s skin tones, eye and hair colors, etc. and I got none of that in this book! Paint me a picture! Don’t leave it so wide open! Give me something to work with!!

Conclusion:

Overall, I liked this book but didn’t love it. It had its moments, and was a cute, funny, heartwarming, cheesy and informative take on what it takes from both people to make a relationship work after it’s been getting worse and worse as the years go by. While giving readers everything they’d look for in a romance novel, but also provides some intelligent and valuable life lessons that just about anyone can grow from. It was an unexpected amount of depth for the story; almost coming of age.

The characters were all extremely likeable, especially Gavin Scott, and had you rooting for them all to have their happy endings, and since knowing this is the first in a series, provides some minor moments with others to hint at more to come later.

Some of the dialogue amongst the men and how they spoke about women, love, relationships was a little too far fetched and non-believable—this is coming from a male reader who’s gay too—that added a lot of the cheesiness to the story, but I don’t think everyone will be annoyed at that as much as I was.

I recommend this to anyone who likes “Second Chance” romance stories where the characters come back into each other’s lives and both work on what went wrong in the first place in order to make it work better the next time around. It’s an adorable story with a more original base with the book club, and I think lovers of contemporary romance will get a kick out of it!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Romance

My Review: The Unhoneymooners: by Christina Lauren

September 5, 2019October 28, 2020 nicholasjgoodsell

Publish Date: May 14th, 2019
Number of Pages: 400 Pages
Publisher: Gallery Books
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance

Total Star Rating: 3.75 Stars

I can treat this trip like an actual vacation on a tropical island. Yes, it’s with my nemesis, but still, I’ll take it.”
– Christina Lauren, “The Unhoneymooners”

The co-author duo of Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings have come together to write another swoon-worthy, romantic comedy title that I think many readers will enjoy immensely!

I for one will always recommend their work towards anyone looking for a funny, romantic, witty, easy going beach read, but lately for me it seems like their books aren’t getting that extra oomph factor that I felt in their Beautiful Bastard series. I still enjoy their books, don’t get me wrong, but it just doesn’t seem like their standalone titles coming out now measure up as much to me.

This title is a great addition to anyone who likes the hate to love, enemies to lovers, fake relationships story tropes, and while it’s not the greatest story involving these kinds of storyline, it’s still a lot of fun to read!

What It’s About:

Olive Torres is a twin sister to Ami and while her sister is in better shape, always wins contests and giveaways, and is getting married to a gorgeous guy; basically Ami seems to have all the luck in the world…Olive does not. On the day of her sister’s wedding, Olive is forced to spend time with her arch-nemesis, Ethan Thomas, who is also the best man and older brother to the groom.

Like they always do, they bicker and get on each other’s nerves, but when disaster strikes and the whole wedding ends up getting violently ill at the reception (Yes, this includes the Bride and Groom), they have an unusual task before them…go on the honeymoon together!. Ami won the whole trip through entering her name countless times into a drawing, it’s non refundable and not able to be rescheduled, so with her luck seemingly about to change, Olive and Ethan unwillingly go to Maui together instead of the bride and groom.

They both expect the absolute worst to happen, and it definitely starts out pretty rough, but when more craziness ensues, and they have to pretend to be happy newlyweds in order to not tip off the other guests and the hotel staff, they just might discover that there might have been some hidden, unrequited feelings beneath all that anger and frustration…

What I Liked:

It Takes Place in Minnesota! Being a native Minnesotan myself, I enjoyed the fact that this story took place in the Twin Cities whenever Olive and Ethan weren’t over in Maui. It gave me a little spark whenever Loring Park, Edina, Dinkytown and other known locations are mentioned because in my head, I’m like: “OMG, I’ve been there! I know exactly where they are! I live here!!” It’s also a little refreshing that it took place in places that are always used in books; like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago or San Francisco. Switch it up on the locations and settings of contemporary books, authors!
The Massage Table Scene! I’m just going to leave that there for you to ponder about, so read the book to find out more!
The Boat-Bathroom Scene! Another iconic scene within the story like the one above, but for entirely different reasons! Basically, if anyone’s seen The Proposal with Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock, get back to me when you’ve read this bathroom scene!
The Ongoing Theme of Luck! The idea of people being lucky or having luck on your side and how it affects your outlook on the world shows up quite a lot in this book. I personally related to Olive a lot on this level because like her, I constantly believe I am unlucky in all aspects of my life, and so I’m a Debbie Downer a lot of the time because I feel like the universe or fate or whatever is against me…um actually bitch, I prefer the term “Rita Realist.”
The Family Dynamics! Olive comes from an extremely large Mexican-American family, and some of the scenes of how much they’re willing to do for each other, how far they go to take care of each other and show their love & support was pure fluff and so heartwarming, so adorable that it became one of the highlights of the book for me!

What I Didn’t Like:

Really? They’re Each Other’s Worst Enemies?…What I mean about this is that at the beginning of the story, when Ethan and Olive are still in the “hater” phase of their story, it honestly didn’t feel like they actually hated each other all that much. Sure, they were usually annoyed at each other while both trying to rile each other up, but it felt like the back and forths between them could’ve gone further, or have been more dramatic and over the top. It felt more like they were just an old married couple who just had to say some comment on everything the other did, or it was just plain old foreplay and neither one really even realized it until they are trapped in a honeymoon suite in Maui together. The backstory of their rivalry also felt a little weak to me, to be honest. It didn’t feel like something that would cause such a tense relationship over the years, and then to have her completely forgive him right away when he screws up again…It just didn’t add up to me.

Conclusion:

Christina Lauren continues to put out another story that is hilarious, fun, easy-going, and lighthearted rom-com of a book that fans of the romance genre will soak in like a 99 cent Mai Tai 😉

I recommend the title to anyone who wants to read a fake relationship, enemies to lovers story trope that has plenty of awkward, laugh inducing moments with a quirky, clumsy heroine and a cynical, aloof guy who turns out to be amazing with a huge heart of gold!

I still wanted a little more from the authors; this title is good, but still not their greatest in my opinion. I feel like they just need to stop playing it safe and really go somewhere, you know? Drive it home and really just go wilder with it. Despite my subtle disappointment, I did enjoy this book of theirs, and will continue to read their stories until my wish is granted!

Side note: If they ever make this into a movie, PLEASE cast Gina Rodriguez to play Olive and maybe someone like Sebastian Stan to play Ethan…I will accept nothing else!