Category: Romance

Romance Mini-Reviews: Talia Hibbert Edition

Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

I’m back with more mini(-ish) reviews and today it’s for two Talia Hibbert books that I’ve read in 2022 but still haven’t reviewed. Talia Hibbert is one of my auto-buy romance authors—she brings the swoon and the steam and while I’ve read one or two of her books that didn’t entirely sweep me away, for the most part, her romances have been winners! Without further ado, let’s get to it.

WORK FOR IT BY TALIA HIBBERT

Goodreads: Work for It (Just For Him #4)
Publisher: Nixon House
Publication Date: 03 September 2019
Genre: Contemporary Romance, M/M Romance

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

For men like us, trust doesn’t come easy.

In this village, I’m an outcast: Griffin Everett, the scowling giant who prefers plants to people. Then I meet Keynes, a stranger from the city who’s everything I’m not: sharp-tongued, sophisticated, beautiful. Free. For a few precious moments in a dark alleyway, he’s also mine, hot and sweet under the stars… until he crushes me like dirt beneath his designer boot.

When the prettiest man I’ve ever hated shows up at my job the next day, I’m not sure if I want to strangle him or drag him into bed. Actually—I think I want both. But Keynes isn’t here for the likes of me: he makes that painfully clear. With everyone else at work, he’s all gorgeous, glittering charm—but when I get too close, he turns vicious.

And yet, I can’t stay away. Because there’s something about this ice king that sets me on fire, a secret vulnerability that makes my chest ache. I’ll do whatever it takes to sneak past his walls and see the real man again.

The last thing I expect is for that man to ruin me. 

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Romance Mini-Reviews: Kiss and Don’t Tell, The Last Eligible Billionaire & A Deal with the Devil

Dini @ dinipandareads17 Comments

I’ve got quite a backlog of reviews that I want to share on my blog but with the number I’ve got going, it’ll take me forever to get many of them up so today I’m sharing mini-reviews for three romances that I’ve read in the last month! If you’re interested in reading any of these, all of them are available on Kindle Unlimited (at least for Amazon UK) if you have a subscription. 😊

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ARC Review: Those Three Little Words by Meghan Quinn

Dini @ dinipandareads15 Comments

Special thanks to Meghan Quinn and her team for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: Those Three Little Words (The ancouver Agitators #2)
Publication Date: 05 April 2022
Genre: Contemporary Sports Romance
Panda Rating:

(4.5 pandas)

I knocked up my best friend’s sister.
Figured I would get straight to the point because how it happened is a mere snippet of the story I have to tell. The real meat and potatoes is what happened after.

Let’s start with how she decided to inform me and Pacey the news…together. Imagine that nightmare. I was going into what I thought was a hockey marketing meeting and then BAM! I’m going to be a dad and my best friend/teammate is attempting to imprint my face with his fist.
It wasn’t pretty.

Threats were tossed around, friendships were revoked, and then I was marched up to her apartment, suitcases in hand, and forced to live with her so I could take care of her every need. Given how much I’ve pined for the girl, you would think that wouldn’t be a hardship.
Wrong.

This is my one shot to win my teammate back. Pacey is the only family I’ve got, so hooking up with his sister isn’t a mistake I can make twice…despite the fact that she’s pregnant with my child. But with every mood swing, every pair of pants that doesn’t fit right, and every late night run to find the perfect donut, I’m finding it harder and harder not to fall for my best friend’s little sister.
Especially when she kisses me…

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

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ARC Review: One-Timer by Teagan Hunter

Dini @ dinipandareads16 Comments

🎉 HAPPY RELEASE DAY! 🎉

Special thanks to Valentine PR for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: One-Timer (Carolina Comets #3)
Publication Date: 24 March 2022
Genre: Sports Romance, Romantic Comedy
Panda Rating:

(3.75 pandas)

“I’m pregnant.”

That’s what my teammate’s sister-in-law told me after our one-night stand.

I didn’t expect to see Hollis again, let alone end up raising a child with her.

We set some ground rules–we’ll raise the baby together, but that’s it.
No relationship, no future, and definitely no kissing.

But the more time we spend together, the harder it is to keep track of where the lines were once drawn.

I’m known for my one-timer on and off the ice, but this game with Hollis just got a lot more complicated…

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

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Amazon Worldwide
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Book Review: Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane

Dini @ dinipandareads5 Comments

Goodreads: Don’t You Forget About Me
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 10 January 2019
Genre: Women’s Fiction, Romance

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

You always remember your first love. Don’t you?
It began with four words.
‘I love your laugh. x’

But that was twelve years ago. It really began the day Georgina was fired from The Worst Restaurant in Sheffield (© Tripadvisor) and found The Worst Boyfriend in the World (© Georgina’s best friends) in bed with someone else. So when her new boss, Lucas McCarthy, turns out to be the boy who wrote those words to her all that time ago, it feels like the start of something.

The only problem? He doesn’t seem to remember Georgina – at all…

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Book Review: The Worst Guy by Kate Canterbary

Dini @ dinipandareads11 Comments

Goodreads: The Worst Guy (Vital Signs #2)
Published: 28 December 2021
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Panda Rating:

(5 pandas)

Eight weeks of forced proximity is a long time to hate someone you’re trying not to love.

Sebastian Stremmel doesn’t need another headache. He has enough of his own without Sara Shapiro, the noisy new reconstructive surgeon, stomping all around his surgical wing with her chippy, chirpy cheerfulness.
But Sebastian doesn’t usually get what he wants.

No one gets under his skin like Sara – so much so a heated “debate” and an exam room left in shambles later, they land themselves in eight weeks of hospital-mandated conflict resolution counseling. Now they’re forced to fight fair…which quickly leads them to playing dirty when no one’s looking. 

They know it’s a mistake.
They promise themselves it will never happen again.
They swear they got it out of their systems.
They didn’t.

Author’s Note: Grumpy/recovering people-pleaser sunshine. Introverts attract. Enemies-to-lovers in the workplace. Banter, bicker, and button-pushing foreplay. Don’t tell the friend group, get jealous when the friend group tries to fix her up.
Heat: rip her clothes off before you get the front door open.
Angst: big laughs, big feels, no ugly crying. 

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BBNYA Blog Tour Review: Beneath Cruel Fathoms by Anela Deen

Dini @ dinipandareads16 Comments

Hello, hello friends! I’m so excited to be back for another blog tour hosted by @The Write Reads for BBNYA 2021 finalist Beneath Cruel Fathoms by Anela Deen. Don’t forget to check out all the other bloggers participating in this tour: here or click on the banner below! 😍

*For those who want to know more about BBNYA more information about the competition can be found at the end of my post!*

Special thanks to the author for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads: Beneath Cruel Fathoms
Publisher: Fine Fable Press
Publish Date: 17 May 2019
Genre: Adult Fantasy, Romance Fantasy

Panda Rating:

(4.5 pandas)

After a violent storm destroys her ship, Isaura Johansdottir knows better than to hope she’ll be rescued from Eisland’s vast Failock Sea. Adrift and alone, her plans to start over lost, it’s a tragic conclusion after the disastrous end of her marriage—until she’s saved by Leonel, one of the merfolk, a creature long believed extinct. In repayment for her life, Leonel enlists her help to investigate the Failock’s mysterious and deadly plague of squalls. But when Isaura discovers Eisland’s ruthless new Lord commands the storms, her life will be in more danger on land than it ever was at sea.

As guardian of the Fathoms, Leonel must find the cause of unnatural storms ravaging the tidal currents and destroying the sea life. There are rumors of dark magic stirring in the Orom Abyss, the resting place of old, vanquished gods who tried to submerge the land millennia ago. Yet without proof, no one in King Ægir’s court will listen to him. And if it’s discovered he broke the Blue Laws to save a shipwrecked landweller, he might not survive the consequences.

As storms spread, Leonel and Isaura uncover secrets as forbidden as the bond that grows between them. Betrayal lurks in the restless sea, and when ancient powers lay siege to Eisland’s coast, the truth may be drowned along with everything else

GET YOUR COPY – UK
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ARC Review: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Dini @ dinipandareads24 Comments

Special thanks to Travis Baldree for sending an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: Legends & Lattes
Published: 22 February 2022
Genre: Cosy Fantasy

Panda Rating:

(5 pandas)

High Fantasy with a double-shot of self-reinvention

Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv the orc barbarian cashes out of the warrior’s life with one final score. A forgotten legend, a fabled artifact, and an unreasonable amount of hope lead her to the streets of Thune, where she plans to open the first coffee shop the city has ever seen.

However, her dreams of a fresh start pulling shots instead of swinging swords are hardly a sure bet. Old frenemies and Thune’s shady underbelly may just upset her plans. To finally build something that will last, Viv will need some new partners and a different kind of resolve.

A hot cup of fantasy slice-of-life with a dollop of romantic froth.

TL;DR: If you’re looking for a feel-good fantasy that’s full of cosy emotion and a heartwarming message, and immersive writing that will make you feel like you’re right there at this cafe with its wonderful found family of characters, then I would immediately recommend getting your hands on a copy of this book! Trust me when I say you won’t regret it. Also, snacks. Bring snacks!

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ARC Review: What the Fang? by Stacey Kennedy

Dini @ dinipandareads8 Comments

Special thanks to Stacey Kennedy for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: What the Fang? (Undead Ever After #1)
Published: 25 January 2022
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Panda Rating:

(3.5 pandas)

Willa Farrington’s magic is broken. Shunned by her coven for failing to pass the Summer Solstice Rite, Willa escapes to the one place no witch belongs – Charleston, a city that belongs to vampires. Determined to embrace her new life, Willa opens Cauldron Boil Books, and unexpectedly finds some friends among the vampires…

Until one terrible night Willa ends up on the wrong side of a pair of fangs. Thankfully, her captor’s plan is ruined when Killian Constantine, the drop-dead gorgeous Warden of Charleston, shows up to save her. But just when Willa thinks she’s safe, Killian, rumored to be the most feared vampire in the city, furiously demands to know why she – a witch – telepathically called him for help.

Intent on finding answers, the two embark on a journey to unravel the mystery behind Willa’s attack and their unusual connection. As they get closer to the truth, the fiery passion between them ignites. But their forbidden romance isn’t making them many friends, and just as Willa starts to think that her entire existence is a lie, deadlier forces come out of the shadows. She will need to believe in her malfunctioning magic, trust bloodthirsty vampires, and cross her fingers that she and Killian make it out together… and that neither end up dead.

TL;DR: What the Fang? is one of those books that I would recommend picking up if you’re simply looking for a purely entertaining read—it’s one that you don’t have to think much about and can happily consume in the span of a few hours, which is what I did and it was exactly what I was looking for!

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ARC Review: From the Top by Jaqueline Snowe

Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

Special thanks to the author for providing an ARC via Grey’s Promotions in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: From the Top (Central State #2)
Published: 15 February 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

Falling for the captain was never part of the plan…
Cami Simpson is the ‘it girl’—at least until a string of terrible decisions leads to no boyfriend, no captainship of the dance team, and no fancy apartment. Due to a mold outbreak at her place, she’s forced to relocate to a co-ed dorm as a senior. And to top it off, she finds out she’s at risk of not graduating due to an error in her schedule. Talk about the worst senior year ever.

Frederick Brady the IV would never admit the massive crush he once had on the dance darling. Not to anyone. They’d almost had a moment a year ago, but she crushed him, so she’s the last person he wants to live next to. It doesn’t matter though. He’s on his way out to an internship and almost done with school where he can leave his heartbreak and data foes behind.

Neither expected to form a friendship or know what to do about their insane chemistry. With late nights, inside jokes, and the rare comfort they find in each other… lines blur, and the popular girl gets with the nerdy guy. Only, Freddie’s done this before and knows how it ends. His insecurities clash with Cami’s need to be picked first, so when Freddie has to choose where to attend his internship, he can either pick the job or the girl. And for the guy who’s set on protecting his heart, well, he might break hers in the process.

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add to Goodreads

Jaqueline Snowe lives in Arizona where the “dry heat” really isn’t that bad. She prefers drinking coffee all hours of the day and snacking on anything that has peanut butter or chocolate. She is the mother to two fur-babies who don’t realize they aren’t humans and a new mom to the sweetest baby boy. She is an avid reader and writer of romances and tends to write about athletes. Her husband works for an MLB team (not a player, lol) so she knows more about baseball than any human ever should.

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TL;DR: If you’re looking for a fun/fast read and a steamy frenemies-to-lovers situation between a popular girl and nerdy guy that’s full of sweet vulnerability and explosive chemistry, then I would definitely recommend checking this out!

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