This past month’s reading was all over the place. Sadly, no 5-star reads for me, but I did get two 4-star reads! I picked up Meet Your Match which is a hockey romance (recommended in my cozy Fall reads list), Happy Place (book club pick for August), The Umbra King which is an urban fantasy, and The Rebel King (paranormal/urban fantasy romance I recommended in my Halloween/spooky season list)! Check out my spoiler-free book reviews below!
Meet Your Match Book Review
Author: Kandi Steiner
Genre: Enemies-to-lovers, hockey romance
Pages: 347
Release Date: July 7, 2023
Forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers, and a hockey romance? Sign me up. I’ve met my match. Haa.
Maven’s excited to be working for a Tampa social media company as a new influencer. She’s hoping to get out in the community and focus on making content that highlights good in the community – like civic projects and non-profits. Except her first big assignment is an all-access monthlong pass to the 24/7 life of Tampa’s hottest new hockey rookie – Vince Cool.
Theoretically, this could be great. But the two have already met at a gala where Maven has shown her disdain for cocky, rich athletes, and made fun of Vince’s pottery up for sale at the charity auction.
With her bosses thrilled, the GM and coach on board, and Maven’s social media prowess put on display, Vince and Maven have no choice but to suck it up and be stuck at the hip for the next month. Following him through his daily routine, to away games, to nights out with the boys and more, Maven and Vince have undeniable chemistry and tension. But Maven’s had her heart broken before by a playboy athlete, can she learn to let Vince in?
This was such a cute read! I loved the enemies-to-lovers tension between Vince and Maven. Both Vince and Maven had a lot of depth as characters – I loved hearing more about their families and hobbies. And I just love hockey romance. *Swoon* I found Maven a tad annoying about the ex-boyfriend, but that’s conflict baby. I recommended this on my cozy Fall reads list, and I do not regret it! Set in November, it’s perfect!
The Rebel King Book Review
Author: Gina L. Maxwell
Genre: Enemies-to-lovers, paranormal romance
Pages: 327
Release Date: July 25, 2023
The Rebel King is the second book in the Deviant Kings Series. I actually didn’t read the first, but each book is a standalone, and I felt like the author provided enough back story to make the story make sense even though it’s a paranormal romance with different fae courts.
Tiernan Verran is set to be the new Night King – the last thing he wants. After his older brother abdicated to save his mate, Tiernan is stuck with the responsibility. Known as the Rebel Prince, Tiernan is used to not having any responsibility and living a playboy lifestyle in Las Vegas.
He’s also in love with his live-in housekeeper, a feisty redhead named Fiona. While he could date whomever he wanted as the spare heir, he can’t be with someone of a lower caste as king.
But there’s more trouble than just forbidden love in Sin City, Fae in his court are popping up dead around town. And it’s up to the new king and help from Fiona to figure out why they’re happening and stop them.
I enjoyed this book for the most part. I think the whole being exiled from the real Fae world is an interesting but strange concept. They’re just kind of stuck in Las Vegas. I liked the mystery of who was killing Fae way more than the actual love story itself. I wouldn’t have minded if some of the smutty scenes had been cut in all honesty!
*I feel like this book should have had a content warning for BDSM. That was a main part of the couple’s relationship, which just isn’t my personal cup of tea. But like I said, I really enjoyed the actual plot, and just skimmed over scenes I didn’t care for!
The Umbra King Book Review
Author: Jamie Applegate Hunter
Genre: Enemies-to-lovers, urban fantasy
Pages: 385
Release Date: September 20, 2022
There will always be someone who thinks of me as their villain. The least I can do is be a damn good one.
Rory
Rory Raven has spent the years after her sister’s murder looking for her murderer and her stolen soul. While doing this, she’s also been seeking retribution against black souls. Rory is a Fae, lives life in grayscale and can only see different colors through auras.
After being caught as the serial killer known as “The Butcher,” she is sentenced to 500 years in Vincula, the prison realm – which is honestly lucky because the other option is straight to hell. She immediately finds herself a bit of an outcast, as King Caius – the Umbra King and ruler of Vincula – outs her for her crimes when she arrives in Vincula.
King Caius isn’t just the king and ruler; he’s also currently a prisoner in the realm, framed for the murder of his sister. But he’s also who killed Rory’s sister. At least, that’s what she thinks…
This is a classic enemies-to-lovers, urban fantasy romance. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked that Vincula was its own little city where people had jobs and went to the pub and had parties and friends, rather than some literal prison. The side characters were great – both in the prison realm and light realm. She had great friends and made great new friends which I liked to see.
I liked that Caius and Rory both had their own storylines and things they were trying to achieve. They had inner prison realm issues, but also issues in Erdikoa. Caius is trying to figure out how to clear his name and be done being a prisoner. Rory is worried about her sick mother in the light realm, someone trying to hurt her in the prison realm, and still getting to the bottom of her sister’s murder.
The book ends on a cliffhanger, so I’m sure I’ll read book 2 eventually!
Happy Place Book Review
Author: Emily Henry
Genre: “Second chance romance”, chick lit
Pages: 400
Release Date: April 25, 2023
I had high hopes for this book since Emily Henry is an incredibly popular author, and my friend said this was one of her favorite books of the year. I think marketing this book as any sort of romance is absolutely wrong and a disservice to readers and the book itself. As a romance, I give this 1-star. As a chick lit or women’s fiction, I give it 3.
This book is about Harriet and her now ex-fiancé, Wyn, who are stuck sharing a room for the week at their friend group’s yearly getaway in Maine. They’ve been broken up for 6 months and still haven’t told their friends. Since the cottage is for sale, it’s their last trip there. Not wanting to ruin the week, they decide to go along with it.
Harriet is in residency in California for neurosurgery, while Wyn has moved back home to Montana to help care for his sick mother. Harriet, Wyn, and the group of best friends have been together since college, and it’s interesting to see how their friendships have changed over time in the book. The book is set in present day with flashbacks to college and throughout the last 10 years of Harriet and Wyn’s relationship developing – although I feel like their “development” was just saying how physically connected they were/PDA.
Hinting at being a second chance romance, you’ll have to wade through hundreds of pages of miscommunication and just an overall lack of communication from both our main couple and the broader group of friends. Harriet and Wyn both have their own issues that they never really resolved in life – a lack of selfworth.
This book was frankly depressing, and the ending was a waste. This book was not my happy place.
Farewell Thoughts
Let me know if you read or have read any of these books – in the comments or over on Instagram! If you liked this August 2023 reading wrap-up and spoiler-free book reviews, I’d love for you to share this post!
