After getting dumped by her long-time boyfriend right before their couple’s weekend in Ireland, aspiring screenwriter Cara decides to take the trip solo. Upon arriving sans luggage, Cara meets Finn; a handsome rideshare driver whom she ends up running into multiple times throughout her trip. On the last day of her trip, which happens to be Leap Day, Cara ends up going to hear Finn’s band play at a bar…where too much alcohol has Cara embracing a certain Irish Tradition. Upon waking up next to Finn with a tinfoil ring on her finger and learning that there is no way to quickly undo their impromptu wedding, newlywed Cara heads home to her demanding job in LA with her husband Finn and his dog in tow. Living with her new husband turns out to be way better than expected and ultimately Cara and Finn decide to postpone their marriage’s inevitable end. After Cara’s connections in the film industry help Finn land the acting role of a lifetime, new information comes to light that has Cara questioning her budding romance with Finn. Lucky Leap Day is a closed-door new adult romance novel that invokes the stuck together, fake relationships, vacation romance, friends to lovers, and there’s only one bed tropes. This book would be perfect for fans of People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, The Summer of Broken Rules by K. L. Walther, and Shipped by Angie Hockman. Lucky Leap Day deals with themes such as change versus tradition, displacement, companionship and loneliness, character, fate versus freewill, facing reality, love and heartbreak, truth and lies, history and culture, and job struggles. I believe that the moral of this story is to take control of your own destiny.
In terms of cons, I don’t want to give anything away but, in my opinion, I found that the “conflict” towards the end of the novel was guessable; it would have been a lot more engaging and interesting if the drama was more unexpected and less predictable. Since I’m not a fan of books that flash back and forth in time, I didn’t like the chapter layout whereby we learn that Cara has married a virtual stranger in the first chapter and then we flash back to discover how Cara and Finn met/ got together before (finally) getting to see the fallout of their Leap Day marriage. Furthermore, even though Cara and Finn’s pre-nuptial adventures were short-lived, in my opinion, since we already knew what the outcome would be, the flashbacks at the beginning made it hard for me to get excited about the novel. Similarly, I didn’t understand why the epilogue was told from Finn’s dog Oscar’s perspective; since all the other chapters were told from Cara’s perspective, the change of perspective in the epilogue was a bit jarring. Lastly, I don’t have a big interest in history, so I didn’t enjoy reading the side story about the Irish Rebellion, which mostly took place during Cara’s tour of an Irish jail.
Overall, Lucky Leap Day was a cute and relatively clean romance novel with a happily ever after that would be perfect for fans of travel, adventure, and spontaneity; especially people who fantasize about travelling to Ireland and enjoy Irish accents!
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But Dani needs help planning and building her “spite house” and the only person willing to help is her handsome yet surly co-worker, Wyatt. Yet, as the build progresses, Dani comes to realize that her “spite house” is becoming less about revenge and more about wanting to spend time with Wyatt outside of the office (where dating each other would be frowned upon). Love at First Spite is an adult/ new adult romance novel featuring the enemies to lovers and forbidden love tropes. The “spite house” construction as well as Dani and Wyatt’s relationship was reminiscent of Wes and Bethany’s story in Tools of Engagement by Tessa Bailey and Dani’s personality, especially when she trashes her wedding dress at paintball, reminded me of Zara from The Singles Table by Sara Desai; so, if you liked either of these books, you are sure to enjoy Love at First Spite! I would also recommend Love at First Spite to fans of new adult/ adult romance novels like The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams, How Sweet It Is by Dylan Newton, and 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne. Love at First Spite deals with themes such as love and heartbreak, revenge, destruction, communication or lack there of, family, female roles, social class, trust, as well as health and wellbeing. For me, the moral of Love at First Spite is that moving forward is better than living in the past.
I also liked how the end of Love at First Spite included some unexpected twists that kept things interesting; including an incident involving the fire department and a ninja-like break-in. Lastly, I loved how Dani’s story ended and I appreciated that Collins extended Dani’s story by including an epilogue and a playlist at the end of Love at First Spite. The main thing that I disliked about Love at First Spite was the fact that, in my opinion, there was a lot of unnecessary information included in the first third of the novel pertaining to the acquisition and designing of the “spite house” that I could have done without. Furthermore, I was disappointed that Dani and Wyatt’s love story didn’t really start until about halfway through the novel. But, after the halfway point, things get a lot more interesting as this is when Dani and Wyatt start to blur the lines between professional and romantic and this is also when conflicts arise between Dani and her ex-fiancé as well as Dani and her Cousin Mia. Overall, although slow to start, I enjoyed reading Love at First Spite and would recommend it to fans of Tessa Bailey, Sara Desai, and Dylan Newton as well as fans of building/ renovation shows featured on HGTV. I gave this book a rating of 8 out of 10. This article was written for "The Nerd Daily". Click here to view this article on "The Nerd Daily's" website or copy & paste the following URL into your web browser: https://bit.ly/3387A5Y
One of my Instagram posts about Love at First Spite was shared on "Thindbooks Blog"! Check out their article by clicking here. “Maybe I’ve found my person. My one true…well, whatever.”
Influenced by her best friend Tessa, Lenore decides to look for a European summer romance and, when she spots a handsome boy at the Trevi Fountain, it seems like her wish may just come true…until she finds out that the handsome boy, Alex Lee, is a total jerk with an infuriating 10-year plan! Even worse, Alex and his family have been assigned to Lenore’s dining table and their families have decided that they will be doing all the excursions together. To add to the drama, Lenore’s older brother is keeping secrets like breaking up with his long-term boyfriend, sneaking out at night, and constantly typing on his phone. The more time Lenore is forced to spend with Alex, the more she starts to open-up and show her true self. But this isn’t one of Tessa’s romance novels and one true loves don’t happen in real life…right? One True Loves is a contemporary young adult “enemies to lovers” romance novel that takes place at gorgeous destinations across Europe. One True Loves could probably be read as a standalone, but I think that it makes more sense (and you are more invested/ interested in the characters) if you’ve read the companion novel, Happily Ever Afters. I think that One True Loves is ideally suited for recent high school graduates and University/ College freshmen as, looking back at that time in my life, I found that Lenore’s experiences of self doubt and indecision were very relatable, and Lenore’s story perfectly encapsulated the often-challenging transition from high school to University/ College. Furthermore, One True Loves would be great for teens and young adults who are fans of contemporary young adult novels like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon, Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson, The Summer of Broken Rules by K. L. Walther, The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott, and, of course, Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant.
My favourite parts of Lenore’s story were the detailed descriptions of the beautiful destinations that Lenore’s family visited throughout the cruise. I also loved how Lenore had a similar vibe/ personality as Alexis Rose (from one of my favourite shows, Schitt’s Creek); she is extremely stylish, sassy, and cool on the outside, but she is also secretly sensitive, insecure, and loving. Similarly, I loved how Alex allowed Lenore to feel comfortable enough to stop playing the part of “cool, calm, collected, and confident Lenore” and finally reveal her vulnerabilities and insecurities; before Alex, Lenore had always kept these vulnerabilities and insecurities hidden, even from her family and best friends. Some cons were that the book was slow to start and, in my opinion, wasn’t as engaging as Tessa’s love story in Happily Ever Afters; but, as the cruise progresses, Lenore and Alex grow closer, and Lenore starts to uncover her brother’s secrets, One True Loves definitely becomes more interesting! Similarly, as I mentioned above, I feel like One True Loves would have been a lot more engaging and enjoyable for someone in their late teens/ early twenties (in comparison to someone who is closer to thirty like myself). I also would have liked to see an epilogue whereby we see how Lenore’s story is progressing after the cruise. Overall, I thought that One True Loves was a fun read full of travel and young love that would be ideal for recent high school graduates or University/ College freshmen. I gave this book a rating out 8 out of 10. This review was written for "The Nerd Daily". Click here to view this article on "The Nerd Daily's" website or copy & paste the following URL into your web browser: https://bit.ly/3zsI0o9
Check out my Q&A with One True Loves author Elise Bryant by clicking HERE! |
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