stephsbooktalk's reviews
773 reviews

Mini Audiobook Review: Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for the free book!
Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the complimentary audio!

This book is out now!

I have read other books by this author and I absolutely loved the Bright Falls series and was excited to see that they were making a holiday book!

This book was a tough one for me in the beginning. I was getting the characters confused and who did what with who but I eventually got it all straightened out. There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed and other parts I felt that it was dragging a bit.

I am such a fan of second chances and in this one they were forced to be together in a snowy setting in Colorado during the holidays. The tension is high between Charlotte and Brighton. Charlotte rightfully so is still not over Brighton leaving her at the altar.

One thing that Ashley is so great at doing is spice! She made the intimate moments between Charlotte and Brighton feel so real and you could feel their passion towards one another. The old feelings never quite left them.

The audio was well done by seasoned narrator Kristen DiMercurio! I do wish we had 2 narrators for each person and perhaps that might have helped my confusion in the beginning. But I will always enjoy anything Kristen reads.

I thought this was a really cute read and great for the holiday season!!

Thank you so much to Wattpad books for an advance copy of this!

This book comes out on October 22nd.

This book has been on my radar since I saw it popped up on NetGalley and my goodness, I absolutely LOVED IT! As soon as I started reading it, I knew very early on that I was going to love this book.

"The truth is, plenty of girls have called me hot, Maddie, but you're the only one I've ever wanted to hear it from."

I just love the relationship between Maddie and Cameron. I have read a lot of brother's best friend books this year and this one is right up there. It gave me all the swoony feelings! Maddie and Cameron have had mutual crushes on each other for years but neither acted on it. They have come close but never went through with it.

They both were just so in love with one another but I love how we got to see them when they were younger and how their relationship grew. Cameron was so protective of Mads and knew that she was the one for him. He tried so hard not to want her, heck she even interrupted him while he was with someone else!

"You stayed the night..Trust me when I say I wouldn't have allowed that if I didn't find you absolutely addicting, okay?"

I was unfamiliar with the author prior to this and I really liked her writing style. Cameron had more of a storyline than Maddie and with that I thought Faison did a good job blended the story and spice. And lord, she did not hold back on the spice!!! There was a moment at a restaurant and made me feverishly keep on reading and it was just so hot! Another moment that will live rent free in my mind is when she texts him to come to her room after he was done playing video games with her brother - whewwwww!

I just really loved this book and breezed right on through! I am looking forward to the next book in the series!

Check this book out if you love a brother's best friend, childhood friends, full of swoon & spice!

3.5 - Mini Audiobook Review: Thank you so much to Penguin Young Readers & PRH Audio for the complimentary copy and audiobook!

This book is out now!

This was my first A.S. King book but she had come highly recommended. I also heard that her books & writing are different. And I can tell you this one is truly unique but yet I could not stop listening. There was a lot happening in this book and a lot of metaphors and I'm not sure I full understood what was happening. And even now thinking about it, I still am not sure I understand the ending.

This book has different elements, a rock opera, past timeline and a present timeline and even with having the items it all worked. It took a bit to get used to the format and I was happy to have the physical book to reference. Jane is young and curious and knows that something isn't right. Her mother is a rock star and when she is home she stays in tubes. And her father is insanely protected of her and her brother and don't allow them to do things that normal children do.

It's really hard to describe this book so I highly suggest either checking it out or reading other reviews from others who can speak more eloquently than I can on this one.

The audio had 3 narrators, Max Meyers, Jorjeana Marie and the author herself A.S. King who narrated the rock opera part. Max Meyers portrayed Brutus the rat (yes the rat has their own chapters). Jorjeana Marie did a fabulous job as the other characters including Jane.

The story is really interesting and I will be curious to read other work by her. If you are looking for something different to read that will make you hate men, give this one a try!

4.5 - Thank you so much to Dreamscape Media & LJ Shein for the beautiful PR Box and complimentary audio!

This book is out now!

I had never read a LJ Shein book before nor did I really know much about the author and their work. So I was going in blind into the author's writing and style. I have never read a bully romance and I'm fairly certain this book is a bully romance? 

The relationship between Cal and Ambrose was an interesting one. The way we saw how things started between them was a little awkward. Out of all the people that Cal wanted her first time to be with, it had to be her best friend's brother and THEN she walks in on the act! WHEWW  

When Cal returns home following her father's funeral and seeing Row stirs up old feelings. Cal is not interested in getting mixed back up with Row but more interested in repairing the relationship with Dylan. Row is a super successful chef and Cal ends up working temporarily at his restaurant. The tension between these two are so strong. Row is SO in love with Cal and always have been but he knows he cannot be with her as he will be leaving to move to London to start a new restaurant. 

I did not like how Row treated Cal because he would be mean to her for really no reason. I mean I know it was for his own defense mechanism but still! About half way through Row's feelings towards her changes and he starts to soften up to her.  One of my favorite moments between the two was when Row joins Cal on her daily runs.  I did love his protectiveness towards her. And how they found each other on a forum and had that connection with one another. 

Overall though I really enjoyed their story and was pulled in. The book is rather long clocking at 568 pages and I did feel like it went by fast. Plus with the audio, having Teddy Hamilton as Row was a perfect match as Hamilton's grit in his voice matches Row's rough personality. Lila Winters was great as Cal. Her voice came across as innocent and young. 

I recommend if you love a brother's best friend romance set in a small town that gives you a taste of the restaurant world, give this one a read or listen! 

Mini Book Review: Thank you so much to Libro.Fm for the complimentary audio!

"But Phoebe was tired of work. Her whole life felt like work now. Even the parts that used to be the most fun, like reading over the summer or orgasming during sex or having conversations with her husband at dinner. They felt like things she had to be really good at now, in order to prove that everything was normal."

This was one of the top books of the summer and people I trust have rave about this book so I was excited when it was chosen as a Books, Brunch & Booze club pick. The cover alone grabs your eye because why is a woman underwater holding champagne and a peace sign? And yet it makes total sense.

If you haven't seen or heard any reviews about this, this book starts off very strong with suicide ideation. But you learn more about Phoebe and what life was like for her leading up to the decision to take her own life. And then meets the bride Lila who thought she booked the whole hotel for her wedding and was surprised to meet Phoebe staying there.

The title of the book really set the tone of the book because this book is about the people of the wedding. Espach does such a great job with all the characters and explaining who they are and seeing how they all interact with one another. Phoebe seamlessly fit in with the wedding party. She struck a friendship up with Lila's husband to be Gary and their first interaction is a funny one.

I connected with Phoebe when she talked about her fertility struggles and the stress that it puts on a marriage. It is very easy to get into a dark place while going through it and then after when the world doesn't stop for your sadness.

I read this book with the audio before turning to audio only for the last 25% and I thought Helen Laser did a great job narrating. She had a lot of characters to navigate and was able to do different voices for each one.

I understand why this book was so hyped up this summer and I think a lot of people will be able to relate to the characters.

Thank you so much to Simon Books for the copy of this book!

This book is out now!

"But I trust you, I don't want to discuss this with anyone, ever, but if I have so, I'd choose you over anyone else."

I was so so excited to read this book!! I read the first book earlier this year and absolutely understood the hype of it. I did a re-read of it via audio leading up to starting this one and it gave me all the feels all over again. So when Lynn announced that we were getting a sequel I was very excited to get caught up with Liz and Wes again.

This book was nothing that I imagine the book going which isn't necessarily a bad thing but I was not expecting the themes of the book to be on the heavier side. Wes is going through a lot and rather lean on others to help or ask for help he took the brunt on himself. In the mist of his changes, he ended his relationship with Liz which he learned was a big mistake. After taking 2 years to get himself together, he was ready to get his life back on track and win his girl back.

"Libby, I don't know if you know this, but I am obsessed with your mouth, I've never seen anything as beautiful as the way your lips slide into a smile so that slick red lipstick served as, like a matador's cape --"

I love how Liz came into her own while in college. She always had her own thing going for her but it really shown through now that she is in college. Wes took notice. He is navigating his first year at UCLA while she has been there the last 2 years. As a reader, I was hoping we would have seen their lives as college students and navigating those first (parties, possible their first time together, temptation of others, school stress). Liz tried so hard to resist Wes but he knew exactly how to charm her and woo himself back into her life.

Lynn just has this way of writing young adult books and the crafting the characters. And not even the main characters but the crafting of the secondary characters even was so great. You really felt like you were apart of this group. I do wish we got to see them together as a couple more instead of Wes chasing after Liz. The moments where did see them alone just gave me those feelings back to the first book. Two of my favorite moments was the masquerade party and their official date.

If you are looking for a cute YA romance duology - give this one a try!

Thank you so much to Mary Jane Darling/Mary Warren for an advance copy of this book!

This book is OUT NOW!

"You'll come find me, right?"
"Yes, my pet. I will always find you."

As you might already know I am a huge fan of Mary Warren and when she announced she was going to start using a pen name for her monster realm stories, I knew I had to give it a try. Plus I trust anything she writes. I am such a novice when it comes to monster romances and I think if you want an introduction to the genre, this would be good one to read!

This is a novella but I felt we got a complete story. Now because it was a novella, things happen much quicker. So if you are okay with fast love, then you'll have no issues with this. I thought the fantasy element of this was perfect for my brain. Khuldruk aka Dru is an orc and is trying to find his mate in order to save the magic in his clan. He travels to the Earth world where he finds Calli and tries to woo her in some non traditional ways. With the help of Bridget (yes Bridget from Warren's other books) she pushed Dru to Calli and the rest was history! We also learn that Calli was filled with magic as being a part siren.

"Your song, your scent, your taste - they all call to me. You are mine, little mate, and you are mine forever.

In true fashion, the spice was spicy! I love how Darling/Warren explained the mating process and knotting (oh yes there is knotting!) so that it didn't make you feel silly for not knowing what it is. Dru was just so infatuated with Calli and Calli just felt so drawn to him. She was willing to go all in on this man that she just met.

The Fated Dated series all star a plus size FMC and are written by different authors with different "monsters" such as a mothman, wolves, gargoyle and more. Check out @fatgirlsinfiction for all the tropes, titles, authors and more!!

Thank you so much to the author Kelly Reynolds for the advance copy of this!

This book is OUT NOW!

If you recall from earlier this year, I raved about the first book in this series. I still think about Soren & Clarke when I think about baseball couples. I was so happy that we got to see them cute as ever in this book! But this book was all about the star pitcher Jared Pink and romance bookstore owner Nessa Gibbs.

"Who are you, the big bad wolf"
"All the better to eat you with, angel."

I have been really into the "he falls first" trope and this book did this trope so well! Pink was SO in love with Nessa from the moment he met her in the first book and the feeling carried all throughout this book. And he made it very known to her as well as to the other around that he was head over heels for her. Nessa though made him work for it. She had his preconceived notion about him and his "reputation" and just didn't want to be part of that. I also loved how Nessa was older than Pink and even though that was initially a turn off he eventually he won her over.

I really just love the way Kelly has been writing this series. We get these full arc of characters and love stories without dragging it on. And just like with her novellas, she continues to bring different representation in her stories. This one we have both characters bisexuals, Pink reads Nessa's romance novels (& buys from her shop!), and do I dare say there is some pegging?!

Smile. You're on T.V.

I just love this couple and even if the pretense of them "getting together" stemmed from fake dating (one of my fave scenes in the book when that happens). You just knew that they were going to get together in some way. And this fake dating felt very believable to me!

Just like with the last one, I was so happy to see actual baseball on page! And the timing of reading this could not be more perfect with watching my baseball team fight their way through playoff games.

I *think* I know who the next book in the series is going to follow but I'm not entirely sure!! But I will be keeping an eye on socials for the next one!!

If you are looking for a fun, spicy, swoony baseball romance series -please consider this one!!!

Mini Audiobook Review: Thank you to Bibliolifestyle & Harper Perennial for the free book!

This book is out now.

If you are looking for a quick celebrity & athlete romance, give this one a try! This has been dubbed the book for fans of Taylor and Travis which I can totally see why people say that but I tried to keep the two separate.

I have only read one other Cotugno book and that was more fiction so there was very little romance. But this was spicier than I was anticipating! And from what I saw from other readers was that this was her spiciest book. Makes me anxious to see if Cotugno will do that more in her future works.

I really enjoyed this. Was it my favorite book of the year? No. But I didn't feel like I wasted my time reading it. It geared towards both of my favorite tropes - celebs and sports romance. With playoff season in the works, I was excited to have a baseball romance lined up.

I did do this one via audio and I had the book next to me to reference if needed. It was such a quick listen plus with dual POV narrated by Callie Dalton and Andrew Eiden - you know you are in for a treat! Both of these narrators did a great job with their characters and made the time go by really quick. One could easily knock this out in a day (under 7 hours).

I guess I understand why people have been rating this low but I enjoyed it for what it was. Perhaps the characters could have developed more if it were longer but then other areas might have dragged out.

4.5 - Thank you so much to TBR and Beyond Tours & Amber Roberts for having me on this tour & the complimentary copy!

This book comes out October 8th.

This is my first Amber Roberts books but I knew of Roberts from her debut Text Appeal as it was everywhere on Bookstagram. I wanted to get into the fall season and this book is the perfect jump start but guess what - this actually takes place in December!! Hey the vibes are still there.

"My brain always shuts down when pretty people were involved, so it was probably an attempt at flirting gone terribly wrong."

I was pulled into this story right away and I felt like I could see myself a little in Lex! She loves her hometown and doesn't do well with change especially when it comes to people leaving her. I just loved her story from start to end. I loved her relationship with her best friend Natalie. They were so much like sisters and Lex was very codependent on Natalie just always being there for her. I am glad that the author dove deeper into Lex's relationship with her parents because that was such a strong theme throughout the book. And I was proud of her parents for recognizing that they needed to change & was willing to change.

James. Sigh. This stranger who comes into town and just turns Lex's world upside down. Their early relationship and how he just wouldn't let her go even when she acted not interested. I love how they had share complicated relationships with their parents and it truly was a bonding item for them. James overall just seemed like a really great guy who was supportive in anything Lex wanted to do in the present as well as in the future. And I don't think Lex in some moments could appreciate how great of a support person he was. The two of them together really made me smile.

"You can't live your life thinking you're an island. People are here for you, so let them be. Lean on someone else for once, please.

So how does graveyards and hauntings play a role in this book?! Well young Lex used to run a vlog with Natalie on the haunted areas but it turns out they were all fake just to get views. BUT James and his partner Julian who are in town to make a documentary on the haunting areas of Stowe and tap the two of them to help with it. Except James and Julian do not know that all the vlogs were fake. I thought that was a fun twist to the hauntings! And I did feel bad how it all came out and then the fall out between James and Lex.

There was a lot that happened in this book but it did not feel like it as I was reading it. The author was able to manage the storylines really well.

I just really enjoyed this & it made me want to go back to read Roberts debut book!

PS - I have visited Stowe, VT and it is absolutely gorgeous!!!

PSS -

FILMING A SEX TAPE in 2024!!!