Calling It by Jen Doyle

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Having a little bit of time before needing to get to my next book club book, I decided to look for something to fill up one of the remaining prompts from my Winter's Kiss board 1. One of the remaining prompts was starts with the letter C, so I went through my kindle and tbr. I came across Calling It by Jen Doyle. This is the first book in her Calling It series. I also was able to use this for the Heaving Bosoms 2022 Reading Embrace for the prompt catch my farts.

Nate is a star catcher in the MLB and just signed with a new expansion club in Chicago. After he gets in a really bad car accident and breaks up with his fiancé, he heads back to the small town he grew up in, Inspiration, Iowa. When he arrives at his sister's apartment, he is intrigued to find Dorie. She's the new librarian in town and hired to help renovate and reinvigorate the town's library. As lust strikes them both, they don't quite act on it. When Nate is roped into helping out at the library, they spend days together. Dorie has been a fan of Nate's since he was in high school and has followed his career since then. As they spend more time together both alone and with Nate's family, they start a connection that's more than just physical. As Dorie struggles with his fame and if it can work between them long term, Nate is all-in. 1,000%

This book was so good. I loved that I kept thinking that something was going to be the big conflict at the end, but it was solved or at least talked about soon. Nate was so freaking swoony and I loved how he used his works, actions and everything to prove to Dorie that he wanted her for life. It was a little love at first sight for him, but I enjoyed it. He was constantly thinking about her and what she likes and just wanted to spend time with her. Nate has had a rough go of things lately since the accident, but really takes the time to not only go home, but get back in touch with all of his friends and family.

There is a little bit of the trope where Dorie pretends she doesn't know who Nate is, but she actually doesn't recognize him at first because she's in the bath when he comes into the apartment (thinking his sister still lives there) and isn't wearing her glasses. When he tells her his name is DB, they both stay quiet on talking about who he really is. I also loved how much thought that Nate put into every moment with Dorie. There were times when they were upset with each other, but for most of it they would separate for a moment to calm down and then talk it out.

Why 4.5 instead of 5-stars? Honestly, it was Dorie. The big conflict was Dorie stuggling with believing that Nate was really in love with her and wanted to make it work. Yes it was fast, but Nate did everything he possibly could to get her to believe him. It really bothered me that Nate did more grovelling than Dorie in the end, especially because she was the one that pushed him away. I know that he said he wasn't going to go anywhere, but when she's spend 3+ weeks constantly telling him it's a fling and won't even let him talk to her about it being more, he ends up leaving her; like she asked. I get he said he wouldn't leave her, but how in the world is it okay for her to constantly push him away and hurt him emotionally? Is it not okay that after being constantly turned down that he decides to give her what she wants and step back? Yes it hurts him because he loves her, but it also hurts that when he's with her he can't even tell her he loves her because she shuts him down every single time. Maybe I should rate this 4-stars instead of 4.5 for how much it bothered me now that I'm writing this, but I really enjoyed most everything else in the story. My boy Nate though, he deserved better. I think if there was some sort of trauma or past relationship issue that caused Dorie to hold back so much, I would've been more understanding, but there wasn't. I just was left slightly disappointed by how she treated him and how quickly he forgave her for it. I just would've liked there to be a discussion about the hurt that she caused him by constantly shutting him out.

I am definitely interested in reading more of the series, but am a little disappointed who the books end up being. Nate has 3 or 4 friends from his high school basketball and baseball team but only one of them gets a book (and another gets a novella). The third book is with Nate's ex-friend that slept with his ex-fiance. I didn't see that Was gets a book and that make me a little bit upset. Former baseball player turned rancher in a small town? How can that not be a book? I guess I'll just live Wash's love story in my head. We'll see when I pick up them up.

Have you read Calling It?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Calling It, Jen Doyle, 4.5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 384 pages, published in 2016, small publisher

Using Fejo by Victoria Aveline

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The second book I read for the Romance Takeover Readathon was Using Fejo by Victoria Aveline. This is her newest release and the 5th book in the Clecanian series. This covered the prompts new release and 5-star prediction. I also used this to cover the prompt new release for the first board of Winter's Kiss and HB author for the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace.

Fejo is a traveler and a Cleclanian from the planet Huvuita. He's been under the thumb of Klinara and has been doing some smuggling and more gray area services for her. Since he has become a citizen of Tremanta, he's been working as a double agent to help the Queen of Tremanta build a case against Klinara. When the human Vanessa chooses Fejo in the marriage trials, he is beyond ecstatic to finally have a wife. Vanessa however is planning on using Fejo and his clearance to leave the planet to find a way back to Earth and her sick sister. When they start to get close and feelings develop, Fejo and Vanessa struggle to open up to each other and still be able to get everything they both want.

I absolutely loved Fejo and Vanessa. This felt a little bit on the angstier side, but I loved how I kept expecting something to be drawn out or be the 3rd act conflict, but she kept resolving the issues between Fejo and Vanessa. I absolutely loved it, even more so since the real 3rd act conflict was external. Ugh, Fejo was so sweet and tried to hard to get Vanessa to like him. He was so tired of getting used by those around him and just wanted someone to want him and want to be with him. It really gutted me and my heart really went out to Fejo. I loved that he had his space pirate captain alpha vibes at times, but then was also such a freaking cinnamon roll towards Vanessa.

There were a couple times where I struggled with Vanessa, but once she started opening up to Fejo about why she was depressed, guilty and had to get home was also heart-wrenching in it's own way. I just loved so much about this book. I also enjoyed seeing more of Victoria's expanded universe. While a lot of time was spent on the ship, it was still really cool to learn about the different ports and other worlds out there. We've been pretty much exploring Trementa and the other cities on the planet they women all ended up, and it was really interesting to learn not only about other places, but some other races of aliens. 

I love Victoria Aveline's books and can't wait for more. We get a little scene with Rhaego and I really want to see his book. I'm also intrigued because I feel like we might get Julie (Vanessa's sister) in a book in the future as well. They also ended up rescuing 12 more women, so there's hopefully a lot more couples in our future. If you enjoy Sci-Fi romance, please check out Victoria Aveline. She has one of my favorite Sci-Fi series ever.

Have you read Using Fejo?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Using Fejo, Victoria Aveline, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 312 pages, published in 2022, indie published

Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas

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The first book of 2022 for the Rake Appreciation Society was Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas. This is the second book in her Fitzhugh Trilogy. Rake Appreciation Society is hosted by Crystal from Crystal's Bookish Life and Jenn from The Book Refuge. I was able to use this read for the Winter's Kiss board 2 for the new to you author prompt. I also read this as my first book for the Romance Takeover Readathon and it covered the author you've never read, POC author and historical romance prompts.

Millie was engaged to an Earl at the tender age of 16. When he suddenly passes, the marriage contract is reconfigured with the new Earl, 19 year-old Fitz. He his in love with his schoolmate's younger sister Isabella and is forced to marry an heiress to help get the earldom out of debt. They come to an agreement to separate after 8 years to allow each to move on with their life. As the 8 year time limit comes to an end, Fitz approaches Millie about begetting an heir before they separate. Millie has been in love with Fitz all this time and has struggled as she tries to be his friend and offer support however she can. She gets nervous that she won't be able to hide her feelings when they start to get intimate. When Isabella, now widowed, comes back into their lives Fitz gets torn between choosing to stay with his friend and wife and his first love.

This book had me crying a lot. It was higher angst-wise than I usually prefer. Despite my rating, there's a lot that I liked about this book. This was written as 3rd person which took some getting used too. I loved the friendship that we see grow between Millie and Fitz throughout the book. On Millie's end it hits love almost instantly, but watching Fitz slowly fall in love with Millie was so sweet. I also really enjoyed that he really saw a lot of little things and actions that Millie had, even if she tried to hide it. Now, there are a lot of flashbacks in here. I thought where they were placed in the storyline felt natural and a good way to tell their 8-year history without doing too much in the beginning. Where I had issues with them is it felt like they were just as long, if not longer than the "present day" chapters. I just wanted more time with them as they were reaching the end of their agreement.

Now to where I had issues. First off, a small nitpick. Mrs. Graves (aka Millie's mother) is only referred to as her mother like 4 times. The rest of the time she's called Mrs. Graves. Now I get that part of it is from the POV of the story, but it also felt off. Even more so when you see that Millie doesn't have an estranged relationship with her mom. Another problem I had was Isabella. She was made out to be the villain, which fine. At first she seemed just impulsive and like she never really grew up, but later she does some things that made me see her actions as more manipulation. I get that's not to be liked because we want Millie and Fitz to have their HEA. I just wished that Fitz and Isabella could've realized that they had grown apart and changed without her becoming the "mean girl." 

The biggest issue I had was the payoff. If there is going to be this much angst in a book, I need more happy. I was so frustrated with how it ended and it didn't even have an epilogue. I was getting nervous as I passed the 75% mark, but it seemed like they were finally going to admit their feelings to each other at about 90%. Then things happen (another freaking conflict) and it goes to about 93%. I thought we'll get about 7% of them being happy together. While I would prefer longer, that would at least hopefully give me something. Two pages later it's over and the rest of my eBook was a prologue for the next book. I was not pleased and while I believe that Millie and Fitz are going to be happy, I needed to see it. This book did really effect my emotions, so that would make me more inclined to rate it 4-stars, but because I was so emotionally invested and wasn't left feeling happy at the end I couldn't give it the 4. It just left me feeling disappointed and unsettled. This book almost put me in a book hangover, and not in a good way.

I have heard good things about Sherry Thomas, but I believe she is on the more angstier end of historical romance. I can't say I won't pick up any more of her books, but if I do it'll most likely be because of a book club or filling a super specific reading prompt. I just don't enjoy this kind of angst and I would be really hesitant picking up something else from her just because I didn't get the payoff I needed at the end. But as they say, "Never say never." I did really enjoy the story mostly and loved Millie and Fitz. I just needed to see them happy for more than a few pages. It was a really good discussion on the live show and I loved getting to chat about this book with everyone! I can't wait to read our next book. Even if the books that Jen and Crystal don't always work for me, it's always a great discussion.

Have you read Ravishing the Heiress?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Ravishing the Heiress, Sherry Thomas, 3.5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 304 pages, published in 2012, traditionally published

Winter's Kiss Board 2 TBR

Update: Wrap Up is posted! 

Happy Thursday! I am finally moving on to the second board in the Winter's Kiss reading challenge! The event runs from December 1st, 2020 through February 28th, 2021, so you still have time to join. Shelby is the host and creator and has all the information on her instagram. If you are looking for more ideas, check out my tbr for the first board as well as the wrap up! Below is the blank board if you haven't seen it yet.

Over the past almost two months, I have been able to apply books I read to this board that didn't work for remaining prompts, so I do have some spots already covered. Below is my current board. Since January is almost over, I'm planning on looking at what prompts I won't be able to use for FaRoFeb and try to get them in before February starts. I have quite a few ideas so I can mood read a bit too.

🌲 I recently picked up Elizabeth Harmon's Pairing Off. It's the first book in her Red Hot Russians series set around figure skating. I loved it and definitely want to read more. They would cover several prompts, including the more unique of atypical sport romance, underhyped, and model wearing sweater or hat.

🌲 A go to author for me is Jackie Lau. I have several of her books I could pick up that would help cover holiday novella, set in winter and set in Canada.

🌲 There are a couple prompts that are also related to Shelby and her reads. She has a couple favorite authors that I still haven't tried yet and have been happy with the recs I've gotten before. Two of the ones I'm intrigued in picking up are Melanie Harlow and Meghan Quinn. I also want to pick up more of Max Monroe and Eve Kasey.

🌲 For disability or chronic illness rep I had one book immediately jump into my mind that I've been wanting to pick up; Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks. I have it in paperback and need to get to it soon. I've heard such great things about it. I do have a couple other options on my tbr as well, but Maya is at the top of my list right now.

🌲 For the holiday and winter prompts, I want to try to stay away from the Christmas books. With Valentine's Day coming up, I looked into some Valentine's timed romances and had a couple marked as to read on my goodreads. A couple that stuck out to me were Love Kinection by Jennifer James and A Little Bit Cupid by Jennifer Shirk.

I don't have too many options here since I'm going to get as many books that I read for FaRoFeb also fit into prompts here were able. There were a few that were a little more specific, so I tried to focus on those for this tbr. We'll see if I can get through the remaining prompts by the end of February! I sure hope so.

Are you participating in Winter's Kiss?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews

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The last book assigned for January for the Kate Daniels readalong hosted by Stef, Heather and Megan is Magic Binds. This is book nine in the long running series by Ilona Andrews. I was able to use this for the prompt white on the cover for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss and for the prompt a light kidnap for the Heaving Bosoms 2022 Reading Embrace!

We pick up shortly after Magic Shifts. Kate and Curran are on the brink of war with her father Roland. When he starts doing more to antagonize Kate and Curran as well as the other groups in Atlanta, Kate realizes she needs help. While Curran and crew plan to rescue the kidnapped Saiman, Kate returns to her father's prison Mishmar to ask for help from her own blood. As the first major battle approaches, will Kate and company be able to not only withstand Roland, but possibly defeat him?

Oh my gosh. This book has so much. The first 20% just has so much going on and you jump right in. There's so much I could talk about, but I don't want to get too spoilery. I just was blown away by so many pieces that were put into place (some that we didn't even realize were pieces to play). One thing that I really enjoyed (as well as with Magic Shifts) was that we get Curran and Kate together for most of the book. Now that Curran has resigned as Beast Lord of the Pack I love getting to really see Kate and Curran be equal partners and really be able to put themselves and their family first without politics getting in the way. A big plot line throughout this story is the planning of Kate and Curran's wedding. Kate is very much not a wedding person so Roman ends up basically planning everything and officiating. I loved seeing Roman again. He's become one of my favorite characters of the world.

I also loved the Kate didn't really get or need a "power up." I've been wanting one for her, but I love that there was more emphasis in that she actually does have the power, just doesn't know how to effectively use it. So while she is technically getting stronger, it's not the gaining of more power. I character that I really enjoyed earlier on in the series is back to help train her and I loved learning more about the history of Kate's family. So many characters come back in this book and I loved getting to see a lot of them again. We also get to learn more about some that have been around for a few books that have been more mysterious.

I'm so excited to see how things wrap up in the series, but am also sad it's almost over. The books we read this month really amped up the overall storyline. Next month books 9.50 and 10. I believe the readalong group will then be moving on to the Aurelia Ryder spin-off and I'm so excited to see Julie as our new hero. I've really enjoyed my time reading Kate Daniels and if you are looking for an expansive universe in an Urban Fantasy, definitely check it out!

Have you read Magic Binds?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STASTICS: Magic Binds, Ilona Andrews, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 352 pages, published in 2016, traditionally published