Vibliophile

Reliably Enjoyable

Revisado: 10-19-24

Classic Jennifer Peel romance. Enjoyable characters & dialogue. FMC beautiful but broken. MMC handsome but derpy in love for FMC.

I really, really liked Brandon for being a guy who wasn't overly confident around Holly & felt vulnerable. The author sometimes make her heroes overly perfect & this humanized him so he felt more real. (Though I have to be honest, ironically, my favorite books of hers are the ones with the alpha male who the female protagonist initially dislikes but he eventually wins her over & sweeps her off her feet 😍)

I docked a star mainly because the plot device with the 1st kiss was too weak to shoulder as much as it was made to & ended up being drawn out longer than was believable

The story isn't a stand out from her oeuvre, but is still solidly entertaining.

*Romance level: passionate kisses, approx a strong PG or weak PG-13, nothing graphic

*Language: a handful of minor swears (d*mn & h*ll)

[I purchased the audiobook & the narrators did a great job with the characters' voices, keeping them distinctive & sounding natural]

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(3.5 stars) - Cute story

Revisado: 09-23-24

Lighthearted fun! The plot is a little weak, but it posed some thoughtful questions along the way

Virtual Voice isn't remotely close to replacing real narrators, but is quite impressive for an AI reader! And I appreciate its availability for books that I wouldn't otherwise be able to listen to as audiobooks

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Different but Magiford is always good!

Revisado: 09-23-24

Jade's story is a little different. I think it's the slowest of the Magiford books. Her job is action oriented, but the development of her personal life feels more sedate - mainly because we view so much of it thru her inner thoughts, especially her social anxiety & insecurity. She's working thru it, & the pace picks up. Books 2 & 3 make it worth it.

I love everything Magiford, so I didn't mind at all, but I don't recommend starting here. Read Hall of Blood and Mercy first!

The narrators did a great job reading & distinguishing the different characters' voices!

***Content: clean - my whole family loves these books!

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Always delightful!

Revisado: 09-23-24

I love every one of the Magiford stories! While Jade & Considine's books aren't my top favorites, the ending to Book 2 is one of the most fun. The narrators did a great job with the narration & characters' voices.

***Content: Nothing more than kissing. ~PG

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As good as I remember!

Revisado: 04-19-24

I read this book years ago & had forgotten how much I enjoyed it! The narrator did a great job differentiating the characters voices & letting me fully immerse into the story!

*Romance level: passionate kisses but nothing graphic

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Even better as an audiobook!

Revisado: 10-15-23

I loved the book when it first came out, and the narrator did such a good job that she made it even better to listen to!

Olive's life as a self-manifesting doormat was a bit hard to listen to at first. Hearing how her constant conflicts with Miles eventually ends up bringing out the best of them both was fun & romantic. Definitely worth the credit!

*Romance level: passionate kisses, but nothing graphic

*Potential trigger: heroine is dealing with the anniversary of loss of a parent to cancer, not depressing or overly detailed, mainly discussion of how we move forward & remember

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

Enjoyable!

Revisado: 06-08-23

[Some minor spoilers ahead]
I read this book years ago & enjoyed it. The story has a bit of a Pride and Prejudice kind of flavor. Admittedly, the beginning of the story had me wondering how Logan could redeem himself, but the author did a fairly decent job of it. I had hoped that Brennan would end up with Logan's sister, but hopefully they'll get their happily-ever-afters in future books in this new series.

Laurie was a very sympathetic heroine and I really liked how she handled herself. I struggled a little with her clumsy moments, as I get sympathetic embarrassment so it's hard not to cringe, but it didn't make me want to quit or anything. The sort of pre-proposal proposal at the end was too soon, but at least they agreed to a longer engagement to spend time getting to know each other more fully.

Overall, I loved the protagonists and watching their relationship develop. I wouldn't mind more audiobooks of her roommates' stories!

*Romance level: sweet kisses, nothing graphic

[Audiobook: I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to listen to it at first. The narrator's voice is kind of higher pitched/younger sounding - chipmunky, for lack of a better description - & not well suited to adult voices or male voices, but I actually got used to it fairly quickly, & she did a decent job distinguishing character voices.]

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Absolutely delightful!

Revisado: 05-09-23

I don't generally care much for love triangles, but this is DEFINITELY one of the exceptions!

Enemies-to-lovers is one of my favorite tropes, and I already knew after enjoying "A Christmas Spark" that Cindy Steel knows how to do them right.

Cade & Kelsey are effectively best frenemies going all the way back to that disgusting incident in 2nd grade... But Kelsey's getting married & doesn't need Cade's pranks right now... Except she kinda does...?

Watching the two of them regress was seriously entertaining! The humor is never really mean nor does it go too far. And the fairly subtle, gentle progression the author takes them on from enemies to friends to more was deliciously believable.

The narrator does a fantastic job at bringing the story to life! Tessa & Logan are up next!

*Romance level: passionate kisses, nothing graphic

*Parents: There's a plot thread that illustrates how easy it is to slip into an unhealthy situation or relationship and not necessarily recognize it - it's a great message to share & discuss with older teens to new adults

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

4.5 star cinderella-esque story

Revisado: 03-10-23

No, it's not War and Peace, but I wasn't looking for that - I was looking for an entertaining romance and this totally delivered. Rallison has a gift for comedy, as well as authentically conveying teen snark & naivete, and the comedic timing was on point as well as entertaining, even while conveying Alexia's thought processes & emotions in a way that were readily believable & sympathetic.

There were a couple of times that I thought the author was going to take things a different direction than she did, and 1 or 2 where I wondered why she didn't, but it was such a well done story that I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.

The one thing I'd change if I could was that I kind of wish we were told what happened to everyone in an epilogue. (Even conniving Maren - maybe she ended up becoming besties with Lorna, lol)

[I've read the book several times now & always enjoy it, so buying was a no-brainer when the audiobook came out. The narrator does a great job distinguishing the characters' voices & conveying the emotions - definitely worth it!]

*Romance level: passionate kisses, nothing graphic

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Well done sweet variation on the popular trope

Revisado: 03-03-23

This is a very sweet, fairly simple story with likable protagonists, and I enjoyed it all the way to the end. The moms were a bit over the top & way too invested in their adult kids' lives - not to mention interfering. And I couldn't believe that Erin & Jake were so passive about it. It made the plot feel a bit more contrived than I like. It wasn't egregious enough to significantly detract from my enjoyment of the story. Overall it was very good, the narrator did a great job, & I'm looking forward to exploring more of Jaclyn Hardy's work.

*Romance level: sweet kisses, nothing graphic

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