Jake by Toni Denise
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow! I absolutely love this book!!! If you’ve read the Manhattan’s Titans series and are in a bit of a book hangover from it, then seriously check this out! It’s a bit of a slow burn, with the guy who’s used to being used for his money falling for the independent girl that unexpectedly steals his heart. I 100% will be waiting for the other books in the series. Can’t wait!
The Victor by Nicole Flockton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I fell in love with Ava and Cole. A second chance romance that will give you all the feelings. They are conflicted because she wants or, or does she but he doesn’t. Can they work through this? I found the writing to modern and contemporary. It felt fresh and realistic. I loved the romance that showed love is hard, it does require work. The chemistry is there. I was intrigued from the start. It’s a quick story and I had to finish it once I started to see where they ended up. This is one of my favorite romance authors and I am a new fan to this series. I cannot wait to read the others.
True Colors: Book Three by K. R. Raye
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have yet to read the previous books of this series, but I feel like I absolutely must. This book will have you feel every emotion you have on every.single.page. I read this while going through some things and let me just tell you this friendship has gone through it, and some how they all seem so much stronger.
THANK YOU seriously. Now go get all the books and go read this RIGHT NOW
Jake by Toni Denise
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a fun read this book is! Jake is done with dating after yet another girl he was dating was only interested in his bank account. He is just so sick and tired of it all. At a poker night his friends talk him into going on some Blind dates where his friends choose the girls he will date. He agrees as long as they also go on dates as well. This opens up to the rest of the series which I personally am excited for. Anyway back to the story, the dates are held in a completely darkened restaurant adding new meaning to the term Blind date. As you can imagine this creates some interesting times for sure. I don’t want to say too much more about the storyline as I don’t want to give too much away. Just know that this very talented author created a great storyline and wonderful characters, both main and side characters, that I just can’t wait meet again in the next book.
~ ~ ~ ~ BOOK SPOTLIGHT SHOWCASE ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
She wants a divorce. He wants her back. Who will be The Victor?
Ava Vaughan wants one thing from her husband–a divorce. When she demands it from Cole, the last thing she expects is for him to say No. What is he thinking?
Cole Jacobs has spent the last six months waiting for Ava to return to him. He isn’t ready to say goodbye to his wife or his marriage. Instead he proposes a deal—use her skills as an event planner to organise an important fundraiser, and then he will grant her want she wants.
Working together brings buried feelings to the surface forcing them both to face the reasons why their marriage fell apart. Suddenly letting go isn’t as easy as either one thought.
USA Today Bestselling author Nicole Flockton writes contemporary romances that sparkle and seduce you one kiss at a time. Nicole likes nothing better than taking characters and creating unique situations where they fight for their true love.
On her first school report her teacher noted “Nicole likes to tell her own stories”. It wasn’t until after the birth of her first child and after having fun on a romance community forum that she finally decided to take the plunge and write a book. She is a hybrid author and has published over forty books since 2012.
When she’s not busy writing she’s looking after her very own hero – her wonderfully supportive husband, as well as her two fabulous kids and various fur babies. Her kindle is never far from her reach. She’s a flower crown wearing certified chocoholic, Cinderella lover, major BTS fan, sports lover and a glitter aficionado.
I Loved You Yesterday: Book One in the Trading Heartbeats Trilogy by Julie Navickas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book had everything you’d want out of a romance book! Second chance lovers and a love triangle! Yes, please! It was full of drama and passion, and I couldn’t put it down. The characters are relatable, and the writing had great detail. The ending left off perfectly for the next book, and I can’t wait for it!
Reviewed by @darianamee21
I Loved You Yesterday: Book One in the Trading Heartbeats Trilogy by Julie Navickas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a fantastic, emotional second chance romance!!!
Mavis and Josh were high school sweethearts who had a wonderful future planned together, that is until an unplanned pregnancy upended all those dreams. Mavis made a choice she thought would be best for all of them, but as it turned out, it wasn’t good for anyone. Josh went on to attain his dreams, but his heart never healed from the loss of Mavis and the questions left unanswered in the wake of her leaving him. Now, ten years later the past will collide with the future and that secret along with another bombshell will come to light, and the broken pieces of their hearts may never be put back together again.
I was hooked from the very first page, and I have truly been in a reading slump, and Julie Navickas got me out of it!!!! I was in love with most of the characters, especially the main three…Josh, his brother, Austin, and Mavis. They were far, far from perfect, but their imperfections are what made me love them. Their relationships were messy and complicated but full of love and forgiveness.
While this book does involve a love triangle, it is done so differently and so realistically. I could actually see why Mavis fell in love with both brothers, and she loved them in very different ways. Yes, she does make a choice! I believe that the flashes to the past clearly show the close relationship both Josh and Austin had with her and their genuine love for her.
Navickas is a phenomenal storyteller. She completely wrapped me up in the story and had me totally invested in her characters. On top of that, her writing is fantastic, almost lyrical! Can’t wait to see what happens in the next two books!
I Loved You Yesterday: Book One in the Trading Heartbeats Trilogy by Julie Navickas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
4/5 Stars
This is a second chance romance between a small group of friends that began in high school. Josh & Mavis have history and a love that can’t be quenched. Things take a turn when Mavis forms a relationship with Josh’s twin brother, Austin. Once Josh’s divorce is final, he decides to fight for his true love Mavis which unravels drama, secrets, and heartbreak. This book was cute and clean. I would’ve liked more depth to Josh & Mavis, but overall this is a sweet romance.
Battling Beckett: A Contemporary Step Brother Romance by T. Christensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was a great read. I enjoyed the storyline and the character development. This book is excellent if you like reading books from multiple points-of-views. It was nice to see how each of the two characters thought and felt at certain times.
In this book, you will fall in love with Greer. She is a strong girl that tries to take on all her battles alone and in silence—determined not to use others or the wealth they have. She gets thrown to the wolves by a person that should have shielded her. Then there is Beckett, the teenager that has it all. Money, status, friends, and a determination to never let a girl close.
What happens when two people from different worlds come together under one roof? Will there be sparks or fire? What if what is wrong feels right?
Want to know what happens with these two read and find out.
I Loved You Yesterday: Book One in the Trading Heartbeats Trilogy by Julie Navickas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Secrets and a love triangle
I loved you yesterday is an intriguing contemporary romance with twists and turns as long buried secrets had a way of surfacing. With angst, drama, emotional heartache and betrayal this book unfolds in a realistic way. This is the first book I have read by this author and I really enjoyed the writing. The characters are very well developed and easy to connect with. I am happy to see there is another book coming.
I Loved You Yesterday: Book One in the Trading Heartbeats Trilogy by Julie Navickas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this second chance romance story. This is the first book in this series and what a great start it is. I look forward to reading the next book in the future. This is a well written story about Mavis and her love for two brothers. One broke her heart and the other picked up the broken pieces. I enjoyed how these characters were able to pull me into the story from the start. They are engaging, creative characters that bring life to the story. They have great growth and their chemistry made the story easy to read. This is a fast paced story that is not only entertaining but had me coming back for more. I really enjoyed reading this book and what a great story. You don’t want to miss what happens with Mavis and her story with twin brothers. I highly recommend this book.
Review by @bjwagner
I Loved You Yesterday: Book One in the Trading Heartbeats Trilogy by Julie Navickas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I Loved You Yesterday was the first book in a trilogy and it was difficult to put down. The story follows a love triangle that started back in high school and after years apart, it starts back up again. Mavis finds herself caught between twin brothers, Josh and Austin. Josh was her high school love, but happily ever after didn’t involve sleeping with his brother and getting pregnant. How could she admit the truth and break his heart? Instead, she finds herself running away. Years later with both brothers back in her life, the past catches up fast. Lessons are learned, secrets exposed, and choices have to be made.
This is a great book with good character development. You find yourself lost in this love story. laughing with the characters at some times, and heart breaking with them at others. This story is well written and has you frustrated with the characters for some of their choices, while at the same time feeling for them and understanding their struggles. I enjoyed every minute and am glad it is a trilogy because I am not ready for the story to end. I would definitely recommend this book and I can’t wait to read the rest of them.
True Colors by K.R. Raye
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The author did it again. I have never been disappointed with one of her books. This book is definitely the one with the most twist and turns and surprises out of all of the books in this series. She draws you in from the beginning and never lets you down. Be prepared to laugh, cry, and be taken by surprise.
True Colors by K.R. Raye
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
3 Stars
True Colors is the third and final instalment in the Colors Trilogy by K.R. Raye. As with the other two books in this series, this is a contemporary New Adult story with romance, emotion, challenges, friendship, drama, angst, and humour.
As this is the conclusion to the series, I highly recommend reading the first two books before starting on this one- as knowing what happened previously will help you to better understand the characters, and their motivations- while also providing important backstory/storyline information (etc) that will definitely enhance you reading experience of this instalment (and the series as a whole).
Imani, Melody, and Lance have been through quite a lot since the beginning of the series. Together they have faced some serious challenges as they navigated their way through life. Their friendship was tested, and cracks opened up. In this book they are working at rebuilding their bonds, but it’s not quite that simple. We follow all the highs and lows and what happens makes for a great read, and is a fitting conclusion to the series…
Happy Reading!
Thank you, K.R. Raye!
Reviewed by @angelahayes
True Colors: Book Three by K. R. Raye
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book had me in my feelings while reading. And I love it! I was taken on an emotional journey. So many ups and downs. I felt this book spoke to me personally. Such a great way to end the series. The author knew exactly what they were doing to keep you wanting more until the end.
Battling Beckett: A Contemporary Step Brother Romance by T. Christensen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I give this book 3.5 stars. I loved the story but felt the end was rushed. The character development was great. The story lets you get an inside look at how mean kids can be to new kids, be possessive about things or people they think they have a claim to and how you can find friendship in the most uncommon people. I always enjoy a good enemies to lovers trope mixed with the stepbrother by marriage.
I Loved You Yesterday: Book One in the Trading Heartbeats Trilogy by Julie Navickas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I Loved You Yesterday is a really sweet story about second chances. It’s full of guilt, drunken bad decisions, love and friendship. Josh is a total push over who should have more respect for himself… but he is also very loving and forgiving which was sweet. The reason Mavis left was not much of a shock, I saw it coming. However, I didn’t expect all the other stuff that came AFTER her leaving. The end of the epilogue, I also kind of expected and secretly hoped for… maybe Austin will take that position at the Chicago office after all. I want a story about Lauren and Mitch too, here’s to hoping! Although the book was much of what I expected, I still really enjoyed it. It is a sweet book, full of some shock, and I recommend it to those who enjoy romantic novels.
Reviewed by @way2gosmartguy
Jake by Toni Denise
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a nice, short read. It went by pretty quickly and there wasn’t really any conflict in the book. The romance was fast-paced as well. The main character cared way too much about what others think. The male main character fell in love so fast it was almost comical. I really loved the idea of the blind date restaurant, it was a very unique idea.
Battling Beckett: A Contemporary Step Brother Romance by T. Christensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I personally really loved this semi-sweet romance. However there were a few editing issues which kind of pulled me out of the story as I was reading. But all in all it was a great story, full of romance, family, intrigue, suspense and more that it kept me interested through the story. The characters were great and you definitely felt the high school dynamic through the story. While this book was on the longer side there is definitely enough to keep you interested through the story as a whole.
Battling Beckett: A Contemporary Step Brother Romance by T. Christensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Totally great!
Battling Beckett is a contemporary step-brother romance told that runs the high school ‘enemy to lover’ line. Beckett is an interesting character – one that I went through a lot of feelings over – he was not a very nice person. Greer was so strong and went through so much. This was an easy read but I feel that this would have been even better being told in first person and multiple POV allowing for a deeper connection and understanding of the motivations behind the characters. Light on steam and romance but still for mature readers.
Battling Beckett: A Contemporary Step Brother Romance by T. Christensen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
3.5/5 stars
This book is my first read by the author and it was okay. The characters seemed older than they were, but that could be because they were wealthy. The storyline had a solid idea, I just don’t think it was executed well. The book was very predictable and I could tell what was going to happen next consistently. The parent’s reaction seemed unrealistic but it helped keep the main idea of the book flowing.
Battling Beckett: A Contemporary Step Brother Romance by T. Christensen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book for SURE takes me back to my Wattpad days. It’s a gorgeous enemies to lovers book, which is my favorite. It is a tad on the taboo side, but honestly so were 90% of the One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer fanfics that were running rampant all over the internet in the mid 2010s. I love it. I’m not a sports person, but such a sucker for the sporty dude and quiet girl romances. I wasn’t even half way through the book when I already knew I’d be obsessed with it. I definitely recommend!
View all my reviews
Battling Beckett by T. Christensen – Review by
Battling Beckett: A Contemporary Step Brother Romance by T. Christensen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a very good story. Our FMC finds herself in a mansion and new school where the MMC is less than pleased. What set this apart was that while there was catty girls it wasn’t OTT. While Beckekett was a jerk, he wasn’t impossibly so. He also didn’t “run the school” like other male leads have done in other books.
Battling Beckett: A Contemporary Step Brother Romance by T. Christensen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Soooo I have step siblings. I don’t like to use the word “step” because to me they’re just my siblings. That being said I was very curious as to how this book would make me feel seeing as I could never look at one of my siblings as anything but my sibling…BUT…no lie it was a great story.
I liked that they were from different social groups. Beckett is rich, popular, good looking quarter back of the football team. Every guy wants to be him and every girl wants to be with him. Greer is not poor but doesn’t come from money, quiet, not popular, pretty but a “no one really sees her” kinda girl.
I enjoyed the tension between the 2 of them. They both had internal battles about their relationship. They don’t really like the other person but can’t help this magnetic pull towards each other.
There is also some drama/danger there that makes the story a little more interesting and helps bring the couple closer together.
I think there was some really good supporting characters in the story as well. I really enjoyed how the football team started to treat Greer like a little sister.
All in all I really enjoyed the story. I think it’s one of those stories that would make a great lifetime or hallmark movie.
Jake by Toni Denise
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I typically lean away from blind date books but this was so clever! A wonderful surprise! Jake is a genuine person who craves a partner. You fall in love with him. Meanwhile our heroine, is opposed to men with money. However, she doesn’t know if she wants to resist him. I wouldn’t either!
Battling Beckett: A Contemporary Step Brother Romance by T. Christensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Beckett learned at a young age that the women who take interest in his father are out for one thing, his money. When his father moves in his new fiancée and her daughter Greer, he decides he is going to keep a watchful eye on both of them because although they seem to be down to earth they are likely not.
Greer has watched her mom put her first all her life and she loves her for it, she knows Beckett is not thrilled to have her move to his home and now attend his prestigious school. He has made the fact known to her loud and clear. That being said, Greer keeps her head down and tries to stay under the radar at home and at school. It only works for so long though and the secret is out that she is living with him. That puts a target on Greer’s back though and when Beckett finds out he decides to protect her. Everything about Greer baffles Beckett, she is a ray of light to him but the rough exterior surrounding Beckett makes it difficult to put in words how he really feels. Will it be too late to fix his mistakes though when it comes to Greer?
I really enjoyed this one. Beckett is a jerk to Greer, no doubt about it but Greer just keeps on going. Greer is a wonderful character, she at first keeps quiet but not for long and their is a fire within her that calls Beckett to task. I would definitely read more by this author, very well done.
Battling Beckett: A Contemporary Step Brother Romance by T. Christensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I love enemies to lovers romance books so much! So I really really enjoyed this read! Greer and her mom move into her moms fiancés house..with his son Beckett. The men come from money so when Beckett sees Greer and her mom barging into his life..He thinks it’s just for the money. He doesn’t like them and he doesn’t want to like them. Until he realizes Greer and her mom are the complete opposites of a gold digger. They don’t want handouts. They don’t want help. They’re independent. And greers mom loves his dad so so much. But Beckett and Greer are constantly bumping heads. Is it because they can’t stop their feelings towards one another? Does Beckett care for her more than he leads on? Read this to find out! You won’t be disappointed! Great characters, great plot and all around great book.
Battling Beckett: A Contemporary Step Brother Romance by T. Christensen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
WHOOOOWHEEE That was one hell of a rollercoaster ride.
Enemies to lovers is one of my absolute favorite tropes but this book….. this was the best Enemies to Lovers I’ve read in a long time.
The author took me from highs to lows in seconds and the characters!!!
The emotional development of the characters is superbly written. The storyline with the little extra danger thrown into it was a perfect fit.
I also loved that the book didn’t immediately cut off after they got their HAE it went on and gave an extra little HEA.
Great read!! Highly recommended.
Jake by Toni Denise
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was such a nice easy to read romance! The author is new to me and I really liked her writing style! I was thoroughly pleased with how the book flowed and I adored the characters! Jake and Lauren were the couple that you just hoped lasted a lifetime! The book had a good balance of drama, excitement and sweet moments! Would definitely like to read more of the series!!
