melstylensubstance's reviews
486 reviews

Infinity stars. Why do I continue to hurt my own feelings by rereading this trilogy???

Fantastic!!!  I loved Cammie. I loved how Chase was so gone for her. They were so well matched. And the university experience described seemed real. Well, real according to g to my GenX experience. I have no idea if res life is still the same, but either way, I loved it. 
I was glad that them being roommates wasn’t a permanent thing off the start, it allowed for a much better relationship development. 
And high school and university hockey games - the vibes were spot on. Puck bunnies too. 
I was also very glad that the sex scenes weren’t overly explicit. They were there, they happened early and often, but were short. Definitely not the focus of the book, but it’s still a very important part of the university experience, and to me seemed to be described more as a description of the developing intimacy between Cammie and Chase. 
The side characters were developed well too - looking forward to more in this series!

This book was funny and charming. It got absolutely the right notes for me. 

As always, thanks to the author for providing me with an advanced copy!

I’ve not read a book like this in a long time. Where the plot doesn’t just check boxes of tropes. The story is so well written. I felt it was so believable the way that Gemma and Everett’s relationship developed. They had their meet cute, ran into each other a few times, then an element of forced proximity to keep them together. Through all of this, I so clearly felt the sexual tension between these two. It made the progression of the relationship from crush to something physical to something emotional so believable. 

Gemma’s a single mom to her son Sutton. We also saw the love story of Sutton and Everett developing love and trust in a father son relationship. So of course, that only further drives Gemma’s feelings. 

I identified with Gemma in a few ways - I too, am a lighthouse nerd and have taken a date to a lighthouse. And, I too am an idiot at reading signals from others. 

I think what I loved most about this book was that it was simple, sweet story telling. No big shocking moments, not overly dramatic, and the characters were real and believable. The plot moved at the right pace to show the building of the relationship between our MCs.  There was a surprising turn at the end, but it made sense. 

Overall, a great start to a new series!

*ARC REVIEW*

I liked it. Val seemed older than her years. And Luca was exactly what I wanted the charming dangerous mob boss to be. Including a good father to his sons?!?!  Well, it did it for me. I thought it funny how Val’s friends called him investor daddy. But - it was kinda creepy how he “helped” her business without her wanting it. I mean, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth and all that, and in the end, her restaurant was improved and it was the start of her learning that change could be good. 

It was a fun and fast read. Easy to keep the plot and the mafia story lines were all resolved. 

War - it’s his nickname, but also refers to the fight to adopt Josie, the fight to keep Ava, and a little bit about his role on ice as the enforcer. 

For Ava, War is the “alter ego” for Tyler - the man she met and got the swoony feels for before they developed a working relationship based on antagonism. He - because of of course grown men annoy the shit of of girls they like. She - because she seems to always believe the worst in people and not give a fair chance to explain that a situation is not as it seems. Well - that character flaw of hers comes back to bite her in the ass on multiple occasions. And is actually the main source of conflict between the 2 characters. 

War is definitely a dilf. And I get it - the ovaries bursting at the sign of a man being a good father. He’s patient and fair and reasonable. He’s nurturing. The insight in to his own family story lends a small bit of believability as to why he would collect foster kids and try to make a family. 

Some of the sex scenes just seemed a little bit shoe-horned in. There was one in particular that I wasn’t really sure how or why it appeared or how it progressed. And a sex scene needs to have purpose beyond titillating the reader. 

This book really expanded on the found family of the bolts universe. And once again, Beckett Langfield to save the day :)

ARC review

4.5 stars. Way better than the first book in the series imo. The push and pull of Oscar and honoria was delicious. As in the first book, there was some over the top dramatics from the heroine, but at least in this case it seemed to have a decent motivation behind it. Sort of. Still not sure of why she had the signore cesario alter ego, but it certainly set things in motion. All along, I could see where this was going, but the delight is in figuring out how the author will make it all come together in the end. I’m thinking the bit with the townsfolk and the play to lure the villain was unnecessary for the plot. Maybe it plays into the next book of the series somehow?  The villain could have just been kept as a boogie man in name only.

Stern service oriented submissive duke. That’s all. No notes

I don’t remember who on bookstagram led me to this book, but I was pumped that my library had it. 

I’m in a minor slump at the moment, but this book reminded me of the sorts of books I love. An independent and smart heroine. A stern duke who is just begging to be taken apart. A cast of lovable side characters. A B plot with intrigue and mystery, where the villain gets his comeuppance. 

The relationship that develops between Caro and Dorian is swoon worthy. I completely understood each character and their motivations. Both had personal and emotional development as a result of each other. And to me, that’s what makes this book a slump buster. The relationship between the 2 made them both more self realized. 

This is a new author to me, but now I need to know what happens next!  This cast of side characters is ripe for more storytelling.