Book Review: Heartless by Elsie Silver

Heartless (Chestnut Springs #2)
Pub Date: 14 October 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Panda Rating:

(4.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Working as a nanny for the world’s grumpiest single dad should have been simple. Except I can’t keep my eyes off him. And he can’t keep his hands off of me.

Cade Eaton is thirteen years older than I am and barely looks my way. Until I get him into the hot tub one night for a game of truth or dare. Then all bets are off—and so are our clothes.

He’s gruff, a little rough around the edges. But broad-shouldered ranchers with calloused hands and filthy mouths are this city girl’s kryptonite. So who am I to resist?

But it’s in our quiet moments together that he softens. It’s when he takes care of me that I realize his hardened exterior is just a façade. It’s when I watch him go all sweet with his little boy that I really fall for him.

Someone convinced him once that his best wasn’t good enough. But I’ve never felt more cherished than I do in his arms.

My contract may say this arrangement is only for two months.

But my heart says this is forever.

TL;DR: I can honestly say that I didn’t expect to love this as much as I did. I wasn’t a big fan of Cade in book one—as let’s just say his actions and words didn’t inspire much attraction—but this book flipped that script and boy howdy, did I love it! 😍 Their chemistry was great, the banter had me giggling, the romance was sexy and sweet, and a wonderful family dynamic shines through in this book. My favourite in the series thus far!

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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [246]

We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent your time reading in bed or wish you had time to read today!

I’m spending my Sunday night in bed reading A Rose Among Thorns by Ash Fitzsimmons. I’m reading this for a blog tour next week. It’s an indie fantasy novella, so it shouldn’t take long to read. The start was rough for me but I’m enjoying the banter and am keen to see where it goes 🙂

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Let’s Talk Bookish: Blogging Essentials

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits, and it’s where we get to discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Check out all the past topics if you want to join in the bookish discussion fun.

This week’s topic is actually a mid-year reading check-in but since I just posted my Mid-Year Check-In Tag earlier this week, I’ll be doing last week’s topic:

Blogging Essentials

Prompts: What could you not blog without? Do you have to have a posting schedule? Do you rely on a set TBR to make sure you get to all the books on your list? What have you discovered helps your blogging most?

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Book Review: Flawless by Elsie Silver

Flawless (Chestnut Springs #1)
Pub Date: 24 June 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

The rules were simple… Keep my hands off his daughter and stay out of trouble. But now I’m stuck with her… And there’s only one bed… Oh well, rules are made — to be broken… aren’t they?

I’m the face of professional bull riding — the golden boy.
Or at least I was, until it all blew up in my face.
Now my agent says I have to clean up my image, so I’m stuck with his ball-busting daughter for the rest of the season as my “full-time supervision.”

But I don’t need a goddamn babysitter — especially one with skin-tight jeans, a sexy smirk, and a mouth she can’t stop running.

A mouth I just can’t stop thinking about…

Because Summer isn’t just another conquest.
She sees the man behind the mask, and she doesn’t run—she pulls me closer, even when she shouldn’t.

She says this means nothing—but I say this means everything.

She says there are boundaries we shouldn’t cross.
That my reputation can’t take any more hits — and neither can her damaged heart.

I say I’m going to steal it anyway.

TL;DR: I can see why this is such a popular romance. I enjoyed their hate-to-love dynamic and how they got to know each other. Despite moments in the end when both characters irritated me with their decisions and drama, Summer and Rhett complemented each other well. This was a lot steamier than I expected but overall, a fun small-town cowboy romance!

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#TopTenTuesday: All the Travel/Transport Stuff

We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s topic is actually Planes, Trains & Automobiles/Books Featuring Travel (books whose plots involve travel or feature modes of transportation on the cover/title) (submitted by Cathy @ What Cathy Read Next)

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ARC Mini Review: A Night at the Tropicana by Chanel Cleeton

Special thanks to Amazon Original Stories for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Night at the Tropicana
Publisher:
Amazon Original Stories
Pub Date: 20 September 2022
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Cuba in the 1930s is the backdrop for a vibrant short story about the rhythms of the heart and the twists of fate that echo through time by the New York Times bestselling author of Next Year in Havana.

Havana, 1939: It’s opening night at the famed Tropicana nightclub. Cuban American college student Natalie Trainer, on vacation from Miami, is watching from the sidelines—as usual. Then comes an invitation to dance from a handsome stranger named Antonio. Normally cautious and reserved, Natalie somehow finds herself saying yes. A tiny thrill of rebellion, of taking a chance, and Natalie’s in heaven. Will her first step into this unfamiliar realm set a new course for her life, or only tonight?

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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [245]

We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent your time reading in bed or wish you had time to read today!

I’m spending my Sunday night in bed reading Flawless by Elsie Silver. When I started I didn’t realise I’d already read it (I thought it was the second book in the series) but I’ve been meaning to finish the series so maybe I’ll do that this time!

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Blog Tour Review: We Are Big Time by Hena Khan

Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on We Are Big Time by Hena Khan and illustrated by Safiya Zerrougui! Special thanks to the TBR team for having me on tour and to Knopf Books for Young Readers for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

We Are Big Time
Publisher
: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 6 August 2024
Genre: Middle Grade/Young Adult Graphic Novel
Rep: Muslim, Pakistani, Ghanian, Somalian, Malaysian, Asian, African

Rating:

(5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

SWISH! Cheer courtside for a Muslim teen as she joins an all-girls, hijab-wearing basketball team and learns that she’s much more than a score. This energetic graphic novel is inspired by a true story!

Aliya is new to Wisconsin, and everything feels different than Florida. The Islamic school is bigger, the city is colder, and her new basketball team is…well, they stink.

Aliya’s still excited to have teammates (although the team’s captain, Noura, isn’t really Aliya’s biggest fan), and their new coach really understands basketball (even if she doesn’t know much about being Muslim). This season should be a blast…if they could just start to win. As they strengthen their skills on the court, Aliya and the Peace Academy team discover that it takes more than talent to be great–it’s teamwork and self-confidence that defines true success.

For fans of The Crossover and Roller Girl, this graphic novel goes big with humor and heart as it explores culture and perceptions, fitting in and standing out, and finding yourself, both on and off the court.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Islamophobia, microaggressions, racism, anxiety

📚 BUY A COPY

TL;DR: I knew I was going to enjoy We Are Big Time but I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. There is so much to appreciate about this graphic novel and the wholesome, heartwarming story it tells about finding your place and believing in yourself. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a diverse coming-of-age sports-centred story about the underdogs! These girls will win your heart and the art will have you feeling like you’re sitting courtside cheering the Peace team on as they play their best game.

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Blog Tour Spotlight: The Girl With No Reflection by Keshe Chow

Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m shining a spotlight on a new YA fantasy: The Girl with No Reflection by Keshe Chow.

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

The Girl with No Reflection
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: 6 August 2024
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rep: Chinese, Asian

📖 SYNOPSIS

A young woman chosen as the crown prince’s bride must travel to the royal palace to meet her new husband—but her world is shaken when she discovers the dark truth the royal family has been hiding for centuries—in this lush fantasy debut perfect for fans of Song of Silver, Flame Like Night and Violet Made of Thorns.

Princess Ying Yue believed in love…once upon a time.

Yet when she’s chosen to wed the crown prince, Ying’s dreams of a fairy tale marriage quickly fall apart. Her husband-to-be is cold and indifferent, confining Ying to her room for reasons he won’t explain. Worse still are the rumors that swirl around the imperial whispers of seven other royal brides who, after their own weddings, mysteriously disappeared.

Left alone with only her own reflection for company, Ying begins to see things. Strange things. Movements in the corners of her mirror. Colorful lights upon its surface. And when, on the eve of her wedding, she unwittingly tears open a gateway, she is pulled into a mirror world.

This realm is full of sentient reflections, including the enigmatic Mirror Prince. Unlike his real-world counterpart, the Mirror Prince is kind and compassionate, and before long Ying falls in love—the kind of love she always dreamed of.

But there is darkness in this new world, too.

It turns out the two worlds have a long and blood-soaked history, and Ying has a part to play in the future of them both. And the brides who came before Ying? By the time they discovered what their role was, it was already too late.

📚 BUY A COPY

Keshe was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and migrated to Australia when she was two. She currently lives in Naarm (Melbourne) with her partner, two kids, and two cats.

She has won multiple awards for short fiction, as well as the 2022 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards Prize for an Unpublished Manuscript.

Her debut novel THE GIRL WITH NO REFLECTION will be out in 2024 with Delacorte Press.

Author’s Socials
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Is The Girl With No Reflection on your TBR or does it sound like a book you’d want to read?

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