Bebe Rachel's Whimsy and Reviews

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 ...

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace My rating: 5 of 5 stars really enjoyed I really liked reading this book—it was highly entertaining with tons of humor, had hockey, steamy romance, what more could I want?  It was very spicy so if that’s not your thing, this book is probably not for you, but I really enjoyed it. The struggles that each of the main characters went through was really engaging. One thing I didn’t like was that Robbie and Bobby had such similar names — I would get confused as to who we were talking about. But maybe that was just me. Otherwise— loved it.  One trigger warning: body dysmorphia and body shaming. Also to know: it is the 1st in a 3 book series. 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 🏒 #sportyRomCom #CharactersThatNeedThearpy #ContemporaryRomance #HockeyRomance

Wildfire by Hannah Grace My rating: 5 of 5 stars   First of all I really liked the entire series. I actually surprised myself by how quickly I could digest each book. This book, the second in the series, is a sweet story about a young man with multiple issues stemming from a family in turmoil due to his parents’ secrets and the girl that not only turns his head but wins his heart. TBH, for me, this was a real page turner due to the character development and the overall story arc. The female MC has her own daddy issues and is trying to learn that to trust another as well as herself is a bigger challenge than she might have imagined. The internal battles each MC has to face and overcome for their own growth, let alone to be in a relationship were the best parts of the story. Overall, the book felt as much about each character’s own personal journey as it was about the potential romance between two people. I really enjoyed this book! Highly recommend! Plus I am ...

 I loved this series. I had read Conventionally Yours and I remembered I really enjoyed reading it but I forgot how addictive Annabeth Albert’s writing is! She writes so seamlessly—all I can say is #goals to that. These MM military romances are not for those that like a modest story — these books have an extra spicy 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ content level. I read a book a day until I was done with the entire series and if you enjoy MM romance, I highly recommend these books. Each book touches on issues with sensitive topics including PTSD, so be sure to read the content warnings in the introductions. #🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈  I read the entire series in a few days. 🌶️  — 5 alarm spice — do not read if you do not enjoy explicit intimacy  🏷️ trigger warning: PTSD #ContemporaryRomance #romcom #ExMilitaryRomance #LGBTQ+ #ExtraSpicyRomCom

An Unorthodox Match by Naomi Ragen My rating: 5 of 5 stars Okay. I needed a minute to approach this review.  The easy part first: Loved the book. Could not put it down. It was giving beshert will find beshert the whole time. Did I mention I could not put it down? It was not spicy at all but it was so intriguing that I did not care. Loved it.  If you are here just for a book review, I recommended you move on. But I have something else to say about what happened to me while reading this book.  This book killed me. Just gripped the sorrow right out of me.  So backstory of the part of the book I am referencing: the FMC was born Jewish and is, as an adult, choosing a frum or religiously observant Jewish life, after a lifetime of being secular. Part of her is doing this to feel safe and found. She assumes these two things are not asking too much. She assumes wrong.  I don’t know Naomi Ragen’s story but when I say that the writer nailed the...