lollylovesbooks's reviews
695 reviews

Not feeling it at the moment.

A journey of sapphic self-discovery.

Trish is struggling with her confidence and sense of self. She's a highly successful cook and manager at her family's café, but sees herself as being in the shadow of her sisters' successes. Kennedy is a hotshot estate agent from the city. She's more than a little burned out, and visiting her friend is the perfect excuse for a few weeks at a slower pace.

When the two first meet things seem to go from bad to worse. No matter what happens, they seem to keep annoying each other. That is when sparks aren't flying. Except Trish is straight, right?

This is the second book in the Three Rivers series but can be read as a standalone (although I highly recommend Passing Through as well). Trish features in book 1 and is Emily's sister. Kennedy is referenced in book 1 as Kim's best friend.

In terms of steam factor this is a slow burner, but the payoff is definitely worth it. Special shout out to the mutual self-appreciation scene!

This book is just as much about Trish and Kennedy finding themselves as it is about them finding each other. After finishing this I joked to a friend that my review would be "Katia, I was nearly in tears, how dare you??". The raw intensity of some feelings really resonated with me.

For Kennedy there's dealing with her toxic family, as well as feeling out of place. For Trish there's how she feels about being plus size and her confidence struggles. There's also Trish's thoughts and realisations about her sexuality, including heartbreaking recollections of times her thoughts were invalidated by others.

Is sister's girlfriend's best friend a trope? I don't know. But either way I would absolutely recommend this book!

Thank you to the author for the free review copy. All thoughts are my own.

First in a new series of Viking fantasy romance!

Freya has a pretty rough life in her village, thanks to an abusive husband who's revered by other villagers as being blessed by gods. But then her life gets even worse when her husband reveals to those in power that Freya herself has been blessed. From here Freya needs to navigate politics, power, just generally standing up for herself, and developing feelings for an entirely unsuitable person.

I really liked this book! The Viking setting worked so well, and I loved all the Norse mythology. It definitely made me want to look more into all the gods who were referenced. Freya is a great female lead - she puts up with so much from so many people but is still strong.

Bjorn, the enigmatic sort-of-outsider love interest, is a great character. The build up between the two is very slow burn, which is to be expected in the first book of a series as there's still some way to go. The romance and fantasy elements were well balanced, which isn't always a given in this genre.

Having previously read The Bridge Kingdom, I went into this expecting a cliffhanger. I'm glad I set my expectations this way. The book definitely reaches it's own end (it's not like a long book that's been chopped up) but I'm also going to be reading book 2 as soon as it's available!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free review copy. All thoughts are my own.

Sapphic celebrity and bodyguard fake dating romance!

Natalie is a successful Hollywood actor with a glamourous lifestyle. But she also struggles with PTSD following an extreme issue with a stalker years before. Meanwhile Taylor is trying to get back to life as a bodyguard following injury... she's just not quite as far down the road to recovery as everyone else thinks. To help ease her security fears, while giving positive publicity, Natalie hires Taylor to be her fake-girlfriend bodyguard.

Ok so we have a fair few tropes going on here: celebrity, bodyguard, fake dating, forced proximity. But for me this book goes far beyond those tick boxes. It's all the little moments that make this book so magical. The times that Natalie lets her guard down, particularly when she's accidentally honest, are so sweet.

Natalie's PTSD and anxiety play a big part in her life and therefore this story, but I thought these were handled really well. And I was so impressed with how the stalker plotline was handled too. 

The sexual tension in this book is off-the-charts. It builds and builds and builds for so long. And the pay off is absolutely worth it. Super spicy, and very fitting to the characters.

And shout out to the side characters with their adorable contributions: Taylor's parents, Natalie's colleagues, and (of course) the pets!

Honestly, I feel like I can't do this book enough justice. I was grinning throughout reading, and can't help but smile now every time that I think about it. Highly recommend to any contemporary romance fans.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free review copy. All thoughts are my own.

Smutty ski holiday fun!

This book is one of those that feels like it has ALL THE TROPES but actually manages to do it really well. Nick arrives for an annual holiday with his family and his best friend's family. Two slight issues. The best friend Chance isn't there, but Chance's annoying little sister Charlie is. For once, though, she wants to put differences aside and team up to stop both their mothers' horrible matchmaking plans.

So, yes, we have brother's best friend, enemies to lovers (she pranked him basically their whole childhood), fake dating (to avoid matchmaking), forced proximity (made to share a room) and only one bed (because of course there would be).

The sexual tension between them was off the charts. The dual POV worked really well here, as it gave chance to experience bits of the interactions from each side. I loved how Nick went all in with 'proving' to both families that he was serious about Charlie. And once the tension broke, the steam factor was HIGH. Shout out to Charlie's shameless attitude to her toy collection.... and Nick's enjoyment of it too.

Content warning that Charlie has a very bad relationship with her parents, and her mother in particular treats her cruelly. I thought this was handled really well, and was obsessed with Nick's reaction whenever someone was mean to Charlie, but please take care if this is a trigger for you.

This was my first book by this author and I'm excited to read more. Definitely one to try if you want a steamy winter read.

Thank you to the author for the free review copy. All thoughts are my own.

Geeky second chance romance!

Pearl works for a non-profit organisation that connects code-geek teenagers with mentors from the tech industry. Her boss is involved in a scandal, so she has to step up to lead. And as if that wasn't enough pressure, there's a new board member in the form of Cord - her old boss and sort-of-ex.

There is a lot of time jumping in the story, going back to what happened at various stages in the past, and this took me a while to get used to - particularly early on while I was still trying to get into the story. But once I did get into it I was absolutely hooked.

I loved Pearl's friend and family group. Those women are so supportive of each other (while being willing to call each other out). Pearl's sister's teenager features heavily in the book - as Pearl's houseguest and Cord's mentee - and they add a fantastic dynamic, particularly with the not-at-all subtle texts!

My geek heart was so happy throughout this. I'm a huge believer in highlighting the need for diversity in tech companies.

I can't skip mentioning the steam factor in this book. I had no idea what spice level to expect, but this was HOT! That study session has not left my thoughts since reading it.

This was my first Denise Williams book but certainly won't be my last. I'd recommend this to any lovers of second-chance contemporary romance.

Thank you Piatkus and Netgalley for the free review copy. All thoughts are my own.