Bebe Rachel's Whimsy and Reviews

In Brief:  funny and cozy but spicy hockey romance. I definitely recommend this book! 📗 📗 ⭐️ Overall Impression ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ 🔍 ADD Ease Of Focus: 🔍 🔍 🔍  Random side characters with storylines that went nowhere… And 2 people have names that are almost the same. Maeve and Fable. First of all. WTF are these names. No One Uses These Names. And I say that as a Barbara. WTF. Also too many characters… Needed to have a boss and an above boss? Why?  🌶️ Spice Level: 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ Just Wow. 🎤 Audio Quality: 🎤 🎤 🎤 🎤 🎤  The audible was excellent: loved the detail of dual narrators even within conversations.  🖤 Darkness Level 🖤 1 for surprising dirty talk. And also, MMC was a little bit of a stalker. ⚠️ Trigger Potential:  Terrible Parents. Near Fatal Car Accident. Living with Scars 📗 📗 📝My review What I ❤️ I really enjoyed this, even more than the 1st book in the series. This was touching, funny and SPICY. Loved the hockey rep, as always. Anyone ...

Enemies of the State by Tal Bauer My rating: 5 of 5 stars The first of a series, this is the unlikely and rule breaking romance between the US President and the head of his secret service detail. This is an incredible book. First of all, the descriptions of the DC area are spot on, I know well from living here. Tal Bauer is able to intertwine a complex political thriller with a steamy romance like no one else I have ever read. The challenges and journey facing Jack and Ethan had me biting my nails. Listened to the entire story in two days because I could not stop. The reader, John Solo, was incredible at the voices and the international cast of accents. Cannot wait for the next in the series. 5/5 stars! Highly recommend!

Time to Shine by Rachel Reid My rating: 5 of 5 stars Introverted goaltender Landon gets called up to the NHL for a temporary assignment and is set upon by the team's party boy, Casey, who is trying to help Landon feel at home. Underneath it all, Landon seems to be hiding something that's keeping him isolated while Casey gives a vibe of someone that can't stand their own company. Put them together and they become unlikely friends and maybe something more. I loved this book. I read a few other reviews and I wish I hadn't. Neither Landon or Casey are perfect. But maybe they are perfect for each other. There were some moments that were hilarious. Other moments were cringe inducing fumbles that were so human and relatable. I adored this story and the characters and I cannot wait to read it again and again, like I do with all of Rachel Reid's books. 5/5 stars.

The Paris Bookshop for the Broken-Hearted by Rebecca Raisin My rating: 4 of 5 stars Coco is having to flee London for her parents' home in Paris with almost no money, her career in tatters and a sulky teenaged daughter with whom she now has to share a bedroom. Broken hearted and fleeing scandal, she is having to cope with her daughter's grief and being removed from her home and friends as well as her own. Thank you to Net Galley, Boldwood Books and the author for the ARC. The opinions here are my own. This was a well crafted story with vivid descriptions that brought Paris to life. Most of the story centers takes place in this quirky and incredible sounding bookshop. The characters were well rounded and their intersecting storylines made me not want to put it down, once I got going. The interactions with Coco and her teenaged daughter will likely be relatable for anyone that is trying to navigate that. Found it a bit slow at first, but...

Generally speaking, I am a person of caution.  I plan, I schedule, I research.  Sure, I ride the occasional roller coaster, but I don't throw caution to the wind. Yet, that is what I've done by writing a book and asking for feedback. Promoting a book while juggling a full-time career, staying present for my family, and writing a second book has been a life-changing experience. I don't know how well I'm executing it all--but I'm trying.  Here's the thing about this. The late nights. The research. Chasing down feedback from others over email. The --just-one-more-part-and-I-will-go-to-sleep--all of that goes into the book. And I still forget to dot an "i" or cross a "t." I forget the end of sentence punctuation. I've been through that first novel dozens and dozens of times looking for errors. At some point I had to draw the line and decide that enough was going to have to be enough. Let it go. Then there are the reviews. Most reviews have be...

Light It Up by Evie Blum My rating: 5 of 5 stars In a few words: Loved and surprised by the spice level. Please note, I did receive this ARC for free; I am writing this honest review voluntarily and appreciate the opportunity provided by the author to review this book. So, Gabby and Ben are lifelong friends and right off the bat sex complicates everything. I loved how Gabby is not a swooning, weak willed heroine: she is sassy, sometimes in the wrong, stubborn and lives out loud. I enjoyed cheering her on. I felt the story was as much about figuring out if two people are any good for each other let alone going to get that happily ever after. There are no guarantees here—anything goes—and I really enjoyed that about this story. It was a roller coaster and I was totally here for it. I loved the Jewish and Israeli representation. It was timely, current, with some real poignant moments. I will say I was surprised by the spice level — ju...

  In a word: cute My review… Rosie is secretly a best-selling romance writer who has had a celebrity crush on her best friend‘s cousin. Suddenly she’s in a position of forced proximity with said cousin, Lucas, a professional surfer with a secret of his own. The thing is, I have a hard time with the slow burn. I know some people really enjoy them, but I want to hurry it up and get to the meat and potatoes. And without giving anything away, some of the instances that prevent sparks igniting just seem a bit much and annoying to me, but I think it’s because I really don’t like a slow burn. I’m ready for the fire. There’s plenty of that towards the end of the book And I really did like the ending and how everything came together and played out. So in addition to forced proximity, we have secret crush, an adorable pet, family, drama, fake dating. One thing that I didn’t particularly like was how the best friend/cousin was a foil to the development of a relationship. Her reasoning didn’t ...