Overall: 4.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖(and a half maybe – I was pretty captured by this book and found myself wanting to read it and resenting my responsibilities hah)
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥 (the scenes are rather close together so might not feel this hot to others
Humor: Yes, a bit
Perspective: first person from both the hero and heroine (alternating chapters)
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: pretty soon in, chapter 2
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, it takes place about 35 years after the couple meet
Format: bought e-book
Mains: This is a M/F novel with cishet hero and heroine
Why I chose this book: I loved Blacketer’s release titled Death and Desire and wanted to try more of her writing. I was intrigued by a time travel back to the 80s!

Should I read in order?
This is the first in Blacketer’s Craving 1985 series.

Basic plot:
Katherine is mourning her life at the top of the Empire State Building when she finds herself going back in time to 1985.

Give this a try if you want:
- time travel – back to 1985
- contemporary (2020) heroine and...less contemporary (1985) hero
- shorter novel – it didn’t feel short to me but goodreads has it at 153 pages
- father’s boss
- workplace romance with employer/employee vibes – the hero hires the heroine as his assistant
- hero nurses heroine back to health
- play on amnesia trope
- architect hero
- hero cooks for the heroine
- silver fox
- heroine has heterochromia
- medium steam – it’s a slower burn and the spicy scenes are close together but I settled at a 2 steam within a shorter page count. One scene does have some light spanking and there’s light praise.

Ages:
- heroine is 32, hero is 40

First line:
This year sucked.

My thoughts:
I was SO curious about this one. Being born in 1985, I was so intrigued by a time travel that goes back – sounded fun seeing it through a contemporary heroine’s eyes instead of picking up a contemporary published in 1985 hehe.

I had a few conflicting thoughts about this one. It had so, so much that I absolutely loved. I loved so many of the scenes and lines, and the setting and the side characters really grabbed me too (and make me want to come back for more).

But I was a bit frustrated with this hero...He’s kind of a jerk and that also might be why I loved him (you know me, I love them jerky 😆 ). I thought his turn around was a bit too abrupt in a few parts. There is a part where he chooses not to talk to the heroine and then turns it around and is pursuing attention from her and it didn’t feel authentic. And when the hero needs help from his friends instead of wallowing in his self loathing and kicking my heart around I’m always kind of sad haha.

Still, I loved so, so much about this book. I’ll probably be returning to this series at some point!

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 2
Average rating: 4.5 stars
Favorite book: Death and Desire

Quotes

on cue, Arthur steps out of the far room. My heart stops at the sight of him. His shirtsleeves are pushed up exposing strong forearms. The vee of skin at his throat draws my attention upward to his angled jaw and full lips. Oh God, he’s hotter. How is that possible?
---
I pick up my fork and take a bite. The buttery crust and sweet tang of apple filling melts in my mouth along with the decadent vanilla ice cream. The combination wrenches a moan from my throat.
Arthur pauses mid-bite and stares at me with an arched brow. “That good?”
“Better than sex,” I murmur before stuffing another forkful in my mouth.
He chokes, and I meet his gaze across the table. In their stormy depths I see his hunger, and it has nothing to do with apple pie and coffee.
---
Mine
No. I shake my head at the strange possessive thought. She’s not mine. The irrational thought makes me recoil in horror. What would make me think such a thing?
The way she moaned while eating her pie. The way she so innocently claimed it was better than sex. The way my clothing caresses the sweet curves of her body. Her in my apartment. Naked in my shower. In my bed.
I pace the length of the room and rest my forehead against the cool glass of the window.
 

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- parental death and grief (one parent dies of cancer)
- thoughts of suicide
- minor scene of alcohol to the point of sickness
- brief remembrance of a bad breakup/relationship

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

Safe sex: 

  Condoms used 

Hows the consent? 

  It’s good 

Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!) 

  No children in the story. Side characters announce a pregnancy within the story. Children are mention in the epilogue (the epilogue takes place 35 years in the future) 

51% - kiss
73% - 🔥 oral for her, followed quickly by missionary, then a blow job in the shower

“I thought you were resting?”
“While you’re in here all naked and wet?” She slides her slick body against mine and wraps her hand around my cock.
“Damn it, Kate.” Her hand gives enough pressure to make me see stars. I brace my weight against the wall and the water sluices over us both. I swear again when she strokes twice and drops to her knees.
79% - 🔥 sex against the windows of the hero’s high rise apartment with spanking

"I told you not to move." He wraps his hand around my throat and strokes with a hint of pressure.
"Why did you spank me?" My outrage dims at the caress. It's difficult to remain outraged when it's what I crave.
"Did you lie to me?" He takes the lobe of my ear between his teeth and tugs.