Reading Update: Page 1

 

Finishing up some holiday dessert and my last book of the year. 

🥮📖 

A historical fiction that is inspired by true events. Three lives entwined with swirling determination, courage, desperation, and love. 

Have a safe, healthy, and happy New Year, everyone 

🥳❤️ 

A More Perfect Union by Tammye Huf purchase link

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake recipe

Review: Second Chance at Rancho Lindo

Second Chance at Rancho Lindo by Sabrina Sol
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

He'd been consumed with the idea that there was something better for him out in the world. When all he really had wanted was something different. 

When an IED puts an end to his career as an explosions technician because of lingering hand grip issues, Gabe Ortega goes back home to the family ranch that he couldn't wait to escape. His four brothers still work on Rancho Lindo and with a father that Gabe just can't seem to connect with, he's felt like an outsider. At a transitional point in his life, Gabe gets reintroduced to the ranch's horticulturist, Nora Torres and while he's instantly attracted to her, he has some past issues to atone for with Nora and his family, along with deciding what he wants out of life once and for all. 

He decided right then and there that his new favorite pastime was making Nora blush. 

Second Chance at Rancho Lindo kicks off the series about the Ortega family, they've owned Rancho Lindo for generations. Second oldest brother Gabe, always felt like he couldn't live up to his father's expectations of him and be good enough like his older brother Cruz. When Gabe turned eighteen, the tension finally exploded and he signed up for the military to just get away. Coming from a close knit family, this fractured some relationships and because Gabe left forgetting that he promised to take Nora, a girl who spent her summers on the ranch with her tia and tio, to a dance, he also broke trust with her. This was really a family ensemble story, the Ortega brothers along with their parents and abuelita were a big part of the story and I would suggest reading this for that kind of atmosphere because this was a good story in that aspect. For me, the romance took a big backseat and there wasn't much there. 

All she knew was that her pulse quickened at the way he looked at her. 

By 20% Gabe learns why Nora is standoffish with him and I liked how that issue when they were teenagers wasn't the number one issue of keeping them apart throughout the story. It played, along with Nora's father leaving when she was nine, into Nora's trust issues with Gabe but Nora didn't fixate so much on it. Around 30% I felt like Nora and Gabe were starting to get going more and I was ready for the romance to make a stronger showing since the setting and family dynamics had been laid out but these two never really got their engines revving and out of park. 

It was about time he truly appreciated what he had in front of him. 

And that included Nora. 

The majority of the story is Gabe figuring out what he really wants out of life now that his military career is over. He half halfheartedly checks around for jobs from his contacts but it's mostly him being wishy washy and not quite outright moping around that he feels like he could never live up to his father's expectations and therefore not wanting to try. An emotion and thread I think could have played better if around 20% had been trimmed from this, the story started to feel like it was dragging as this went on for the whole story. Halfway through we get Gabe learning about how the ranch is in financial trouble, health issues with his dad, and he and Nora kiss. It was around 60% that Nora and Gabe start up their relationship and while we get a few kisses here and there (one very fade-to-black scene) most of their romance is very much in the back and just about non-existent. 

Nora did the only thing she could do in that very big moment between them. 

She kissed him back. 

The ending had Gabe coming through for the ranch and Nora in the work sense and a misunderstanding that had everyone leaning into their insecurities and with only 5% remaining, Gabe finally making a decision that he grappled with for the whole story. I struggled with how to rate this because I liked the story but if you read it in the family fiction sense, I would have wanted more conversations, scenes, and flushing out with some characters. I would promote it as family fiction over romance though, the romance was more of pinch seasoning and too much in the background for me. A good story, setting, and family but the romance was not there for me.

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Review: Kissing Santa Claus

Kissing Santa Claus by Donna Kauffman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This month's prompt for #TBRChallenge was Festive. I'm not the best with shorter stories but for some reason I've really felt the need to collect holiday anthologies over the years, so I've been using this challenge and Dec. prompt to make sure I read one. Kissing Santa Claus had three authors that I've read before and two, Jill Shalvis and HelenKay Dimon, that have written some of my favorite or really enjoyed books. Overall, I'd have to say this was a bit disappointing. The short story syndrome really hit me hard and the stories seemed to lack some oomph. I'd give it a 2.5 rating as a collection. 

Lock, Stock, and Jingle Bells by Donna Kauffman 3 stars 

Holly Berry Bennett hated Christmas. 

I think this was the longest story and definitely felt the most complete. Holly is heading back home after her mother dumps her Christmas themed store on her while she and Holly's father decide to enjoy retirement and take a cruise. Holly has never really enjoyed Christmas because of how she had to live it 24/hrs a day because of her mother's love of it. When she gets back home, Sean, who runs his family restaurant across street from Holly's mom's store sees her and is instantly drawn to her. Sean had a crush on Holly in school but was scared to be rejected. Guess what? Holly had a crush on Sean in school but was afraid to be rejected too! 

Sean brings Holly food, they admit their crushes, Holly just wants to be friends as she figures out what she wants from life, and there's a historical secret baby. Record scratch! Yup, suddenly there's a mystery from an old journal Holly finds and it involves richie rich scandals and ties in with Sean's family. I feel like these characters are from a series and this was used to lead into the next in the series. Anyway, Sean was hot, nice, and could cook, I bumped it up a half a star. 

Bah, Handsome! By Jill Shalvis 2 stars 

Hope had always been a sucker for the bad boy. 

This one was a rushed mess of bad '90s sexist takes and language. Hope runs a bed and breakfast and had taken out a loan from her step-brother. She's late on the payment and knows her evil step will end up taking the inn if he can. Winter's come and so has O Danny boy, who is the evil step's CPA. He's there to check on evil step's investment and negotiate a worse deal for Hope or just take the inn. Danny's a cute sweater adorned, glasses wearing geek that Hope can't help finding attractive. But he works for the enemy! Danny is also attracted to the flailing inn owner and has a crisis of conscious while he's snowed in at the inn. 

They get locked in a cellar, there's mistletoe, meddling friends, forced proximity, an angry mama bear, and sex in a shed. Danny turns from heel to savior and I felt the love from the angry mama bear protecting her cubs more than I did between these two. 

It’s Hotter at Christmas by HelenKay Dimon 2.5 stars 

She was one good-looking woman under all of that bad luck. 

This one was obviously from a series too. Ted (I feel like we don't get a lot of heroes named this) is the deputy police chief of Kauai and has been called to the hotel his sister manages to deal with a guest that has had some serious bad luck. Marissa is on a work assignment with a coworker and they're supposed to be in competition to produce the best marketing plan for the hotel. When Marissa tried to leave Kauai she realized her ID had been stolen and she had a run-in with TSA and they wanted to call the FBI on her but Ted came to the rescue and calmed it all down. Now Marissa's hotel room has been robbed and she can't possibly think of any suspects. The in competition with co-worker? No way. The same in competition co-worker who also has exhibited growing stalker-ish, I want you vibes over the year? COULDN'T POSSIBLY BE. Yeah, the “mystery” of Marissa's bad luck was obviously to put her in Ted's orbit; their instant lust felt empty of substance. 

Ted's been divorced and felt lied to about what his ex-wife wanted, he's scared to trust. Marissa grew up with a mom that lead her to be scared to ever be reliant on a man. Ted doesn't believe Marissa could ever be truly happy in Kauai and Marissa isn't sure she should give up her job for Ted. It was insta lust, insta sex, fast, and had kind of a cranky tone, if you're into those sort of vibes then Happy Holidays!

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

A blizzard outside but cookies and a book inside for me! This is week is all about holiday treats for breakfast and now cowboys 

🤠❄️🍪 

A second chance romance that has Gabe coming home to his family ranch after an injury ends his military career and Nora trying to prove herself as a horticulturist and make the Ortega's garden a success. A broken promise from the past and Gabe' yearning for more has Nora scared to trust in him again. 

Is Gabe wearing that cowboy hat when he's asking Nora for a second chance?! 'Cause Nora, you're a stronger woman than me to put a fight! 

Second Chance at Rancho Lindo by Sabrina Sol purchase link

Andes Mint Cookies recipe

Review: The Second You're Single

The Second You're Single by Cara Tanamachi
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

1.5 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

This year, we should all go on a dating cleanse. 

 Goodbye, Dry January. Hello, Solo February. 

Sora is over Valentine's Day, feeling bad about her appearance, and like she has to keep up in the dating world. When she publishes an article for the magazine she freelances for, she suddenly finds herself the popular leader of the #GoSolo February movement. So, of course, she runs into an old grade school classmate that has grown up right. Jack is working in a grocery store as their baker after losing his prestigious job working under a chef at a Michelin-star restaurant due to his now ex-fiancee. He's up for a baker of the year award and hopes to use the prize money to open his own bakery soon. When he sees the girl he had a massive crush on in school and then they start talking and he realizes she's still a funny and smart person, his crush comes roaring back. But personal and professional issues keep creeping up between these two. 

This is not my meet-cute. I am not in a rom-com. I am in a horror movie. 

The Second You're Single definitely leaned into the biting part of “biting rom-com” with a tone, secondary characters, and comments that weren't the most fun to read about. Told in first person pov chapters between Sora and Jack, I'm not sure there was clear definition between their character voices. Sora had more bitterness to her but the sense of humor between the characters that brought them together also made them sound the same. Sora is divorced after finding out her husband was cheating on her, the husband that she pregnancy scare married, she ended up miscarrying, and has bounced from man to man, the last being a man who she found out ended up being married. With her younger sister Nami getting married in a month, her mother breathing down her neck to lose weight, have a date for the wedding, and Valentine's Day coming up, Sora decides to let all the dating balls in the air drop and go solo all of February. The article she publishes for a magazine gets super popular and while her personal life feels in shambles, her professional life seems to be picking up.

I’ve wanted to kiss this man since I first saw him frosting baked goods at Margo’s. 

With a declaration to be single all of February, Sora, of course, meets Jack. They did have an entertaining meet-cute, Sora's ex-husband and his new girlfriend make an appearance and Jack kind of saves Sora, and I liked the two's banter at first. We learn more about Jack and how he's dealing with a stalker of an ex-fiancee who has the money to really devote herself and is trying to buy the building Jack wants his bakery in so they can be “partners” and she can get back in his life, after cheating on Jack with her brother-in-law. Jack's ex-fiancee Mal, and Sora's ex-husband's girlfriend get that Other Woman treatment and it never felt great how Sora's character thinking pitted herself against thinner, more health conscious women. From Sora's point-of-view the women give her “looks”, and maybe they do in the story, but this “I love bacon, therefore they hate me and I'm less shallow than them.” felt very tired. There was a didn't need to be this long scene where Sora's sister and mom take her to an aerial aerobics class and the whole thing felt cringy '80s movie. There was also this line thought by Sora: I can tell he’s got big, thick, muscular arms, and the tiniest hint of a beer belly. Not gross big, just a slight, comforting pudge. “Not gross big,”??? I was confused and turned off by how this story was going about it's messaging. 

“Sounds like you kind of have a crush on me, Jack Mann.” 

You can probably see where this was going, Sora gaining professional success with her go solo articles but meeting Jack and really liking his company and wanting to go out on the dates Jack is asking her to go. You might also think, “Well, they only have to wait a month.”. At halfway through, these two admit the elementary school crushes they had on each other and jump in the sack, a jump in the sack scene that had some good sexual lead up but just as the condom went on, we're abruptly slam-to-black and Sora's waking up the next morning. By 60% they admit their love for one another but Jack gets up in his feels about feeling like Sora's dirty little secret as she keeps promoting that men suck. There's some dealing with their issues, Sora growing up being told by her mom to not stick her neck out and dealing with how her father's temper (he died of a heart-attack/stroke a year ago) still affects her today and Jack deals with his trust issues and current stalking issues from his ex-fiancee. Their family and friends get brought in with Sora's friend Stella the psychologist giving her advice and her troubled relationship with mom and sister and Jack's younger brother having marriage problems with his wife after their young daughter is in remission from cancer. I'm not sure I'd market this as a rom-com with these very decidedly not laugh riot issues thrown in all over the place. 

“So, I’m not going to be afraid of broken hearts. That just comes with living. Just a risk we all take to find happiness.” 

The ending gives us Sora putting a dent in her career by trying to be gutsy and go for Jack, but it blows up with a Big Misunderstanding (the way Sora completely ruined a huge moment for Jack left a bad taste in my mouth). Then the last 20% was a flurry of everyone's relationships and issues getting happy resolves, some feeling less forced than others. This story took place over a month's time and I can't say I believed in Sora and Jack's love. The biting tone had some off-putting moments and the rom-com aspects were drowned out with some pretty serious issues. I would also feel remiss not mentioning that the dog on the cover did not in anyway match Sora's rescue pit mix, Larry who was described as black and white with a colored black patch over the eye that was missing. Justice for Larry (and maybe rom-coms?).

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

Early lunch and sneaking in some reading before the MN Vikings football game. 

Sora is a freelance writer who has started the go solo hashtag when she doesn't have a date for her sister's wedding. So, of course, she runs into an old elementary school chum and he's now a hot baker. 

Can Jack and all the attraction he brings with him (I'm hoping he brings some baked goods too!) break through Sora's fear of relationships always ending? 

The Second You're Single by Cara Tanamachi preorder (Jan. 31st) link

Lemon Grilled Chicken, Asparagus and Artichoke Pasta recipe

I season the chicken with lemon pepper before grilling

Review: Falling for You

Falling for You by Barb Curtis
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

She'd been rendered homeless and inherited a freaking house in the same day. 

A yoga instructor who travels around a lot to work corporate retreats, Faith finds that the buddy's apartment she planned to stay at after coming back from her latest job, has skipped out on paying the rent and she's locked out. However, after checking her phone messages, she gets a call from a lawyer from her mother's hometown. Losing her mother to a car accident when she was younger, her father moved them away and didn't talk about her mother because of how painful it was, Faith has never felt like she had a connection to that side of her. So when Faith is sitting in the meeting with the lawyer and learns that her uncle left her the Victorian family house, she's shocked but feels an instant connection with the house her mother grew-up in, even if it needs a ton of work. 

Rob is a couple months divorced and looking to get his life back in order after losing his job because he punched his boss, the boss his wife had been cheating on him with for over a year. He's done with the anger management classes he had to take in order to get visitation with his two little girls and looking to solidify his custody rights. When the owner of the Victorian home he's dreamed of fixing up and living in with his daughters finally shows up, he's thrown by the instant attraction. 

Faith Rotolo was invading his entire life, which both intrigued and infuriated him, depending on the day. 

Falling For You is third in the Sapphire Falls series that previously starred Rob's sister paired with his bestfriend and two of their other friends coupled up. I started here and had no problem getting into the small town world. Faith and Rob have a bit of a non-meet-cute when they bump into each other when they're both stressed out but their attraction to each other gets going as soon as they're formally introduced. Both characters had a lot on their plates and it took until around 30% for their flirting to really get going. Faith has been divorced for five years and has given into her wanderlust with traveling for her job and since her mother's accident twenty-three years ago, hasn't had a supportive circle around her; her father loves her but remarried and is a busy doctor. Rob has a supportive circle of family and friends but his ex-wife obviously likes to be in control and is using the custody battle to pull his strings, this along with him deciding if he should leave his banking career behind and work construction for his uncle, has him dealing with a lot issues too. These were two busy characters that I thought had their romance detracted from a bit too much with all the other real world issues demanding their time. 

“You matter to me,” he whispered. 

The second half does have them together more, we get some kissing and a fade-to-black scene but then some family history and mystery from Faith's side comes into play. Her great-great grandfather was a gangster during prohibition times and her great grandmother had a love affair that went wrong and there's questions about what happened to her lover that Faith suddenly feels drawn to figuring out. This brings on a third act break-up scene that had the last ten percent finally making Faith and Rob decide what they want, Faith dealing with her insecurities if she's worth investing time in and Rob learning how to navigate the life he wants and still be able to have fifty-fifty custody of his daughters. 

She could belong here. 

If you're looking for a story with characters that have a very full plate, the custody battling, Faith dealing with the emotions of infertility and insecurity, and family history mystery, then this had all that and even more. I felt like the romance got drowned out too much for me and I started to feel like the story pace began to feel a little slow as it meandered away from the romance. If you're a reader of the series, past couples do make appearances here and you'd probably enjoy book one heroine's brother getting his happily ever after.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

Wintery day for me but I'm snuggled inside with some lunch and a contemporary romance. 

Don't you just hate it when you inherit a fixer-upper historic mansion in a quaint small town? Then even more bad luck in getting a grouchy hot single dad as your new contractor? Poor Faith, there's even an attraction growing between her and Rob. 

I've caught my fair share of This Old House, so I feel very qualified to read this 😉 

Falling For You by Barb Curtis purchase link

Chili Honey Lime Chicken and sweet potatoes w/ Avocado salsa recipe

Review: A Wicked Game

A Wicked Game by Kate Bateman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

She had to give him something worth living for. 

Even with their siblings and cousins crossing into enemy territory and getting married (A Reckless Match and Daring Pursuit) Harriet and Morgan still play into the family rivalry of never turning down a dare from a Montgomery or Davies. It's a tradition that goes back to their childhood days and while Harriet and Morgan's animosity may seem more provocative than combative, they both feel locked into their roles. When Morgan is getting ready to ship out to fight Napoleon, Harriet tries to hide her fear by making him a bet, if they win the war and Morgan comes home, she'll grant him three kisses. Morgan, of course, takes that bet and we have the bet that will finally bring these two together. 

He’d returned to England with two specific goals: seduction, and revenge. 

A Wicked Game is third in the series but new readers could pop-in here, you'd be missing some scenes that teased the chemistry between Harriet and Morgan and some history on why the Montgomery and Davies families have a low-angst combative relationship but otherwise, the only thing you need to know, is prepare for some spine-tingling moments. After the bet is made in the first chapter, the next chapter jumps us two years and Morgan is coming back home after having been imprisoned by a sadistic French general named Da Caen. Morgan was captured because he was using maps he'd lifted off a French vessel he'd previously took, unfortunately, those maps had been planted by the English. The English hired a mapmaker, Crusoe, to falsify maps to hopefully get French vessels lost or run aground on reefs they didn't know were there. Morgan spends six weeks as a prisoner before Napoleon is finally defeated and he and his crew can be let go back to the English. Morgan comes back to England bent on revenge on this Crusoe and to collect his three kisses from Harriet. While at sea and prisoner, he realized that he loved Harriet and is ready to convince her of not only his feelings but her own that he is sure she has. 

Even if he hadn’t ruined her in strictly technical terms, she’d ruined him. For every other woman, ever. She’d won, and she didn’t even know it. 

Within the first fifteen percent, Morgan learns that Harriet is “Crusoe” and that Da Caen has been spotted in London trying to find Crusoe maps. It's rumored that Da Caen stole Napoleon's treasure and ended up using one of Crusoe map to hide it, so in order to find the gold again, Da Caen needs another Crusoe map. This was a very low on plot angst story. Yes, Morgan was taken prisoner and tortured but we don't get flashback scenes, only short re-tellings of some of what happened and Morgan isn't overly broody over it. While Da Caen is brought up right in the beginning, the vast majority of the story forgets about him as the focus is solely on Harriet and Morgan's chemistry. There's actual fun little historical additives in this, mapmaking history, a shout out to Jeanne Baret, how cataracts was treated, and other time period placing trivia but I'm going to have to go back and reread to catch and appreciate them all, I was locked into every spine-tingling moment Harriet and Morgan had around each other. 

He slid his fingers down her arm and caught her hand, then gently turned her so her back was to him. His soft exhale lifted the hairs on her exposed nape and she could feel the heat of his body all along her back, even though they weren’t touching. And then his lips pressed her shoulder and his arms slid around her waist, his fingers spreading across her stomach, and even through the fabric of her stays and chemise, it burned. A heavy pounding started in her blood.

Morgan already realizes he loves Harriet and wants to marry her, normally I like to “see” the falling in love but, again, The Chemistry. It was also just nice to have the male main character so focused on the female main character, Morgan delighted in their teasing, challenging relationship and clearly found her sexy, I love that in my romance couples. Morgan also realized that Harriet wasn't ready to believe in his love, this clearly was to keep them apart and you kind of have to go along with Harriet being so blocked from understanding what is between them. Morgan decides to use the three kisses to seduce Harriet but then gets uncomfortable thinking he is forcing her somehow and we get Harriet taking the reigns a little by making a new bet that she clearly set-up to win to show Morgan she wants this. By fifty percent the three kisses have been given and Morgan declares his love but Harriet doesn't believe he truly wants to marry her. 

Still, she raised her brows. “And you can’t get to know me better because—?” 

He flashed a glance at something over her shoulder and grinned as he leaned closer to whisper in her ear, “Because you’re the captain’s woman.” 

The second half has Harriet dancing with a man who was under Morgan's command and learning that Morgan spoke of her all the time, using her to sometimes keep his men under control and inspire them, always with a sense of love and awe. At around 60% Harriet admits to herself that she loves Morgan but still can't quite believe he loves her. Past main couples also come in to point out and wake-up Harriet to how Morgan has been showing her how much he loves her, helping her father get the cataract surgery he needs, intimidating a rival mapmaker to stop copying her maps, and generally being there for her. At 80% Morgan makes one final push and asks her to give him one week to prove he loves her. 

She opened it to find Morgan on the step, his broad shoulders made even broader by a heavy greatcoat, his face shadowed by a tricorn hat. 

The last twenty percent has Da Caen coming back into the picture and interrupting our grand declaration of love. There's some danger, some taking care of business, and finally a quiet but incredibly sweet moment of I love yous (I hope there is an ordering campaign using the charming Map of the Heart). I remember thinking to myself around kiss three that I had lost the plot but, I think the book did, too. However, the chemistry is the star here and my god did Harriet and Morgan have it and thank you to the author that didn't follow the recent trend of fade-to-black or closed door; parlor and bedroom doors get blown open, folks. A Wicked Game has hot building tension and crackling chemistry, don't miss Harriet and Morgan's story.

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50%

 

“I’ve dreamed of tasting you for fucking years.” 

Her mouth dropped open in surprise, but there was no time to process his unexpected admission. One of his hands slid to her hip while the other slipped beneath her bottom. She fell back onto her elbows, and then his mouth was between her legs, hot and wet, and she could only gasp in astonishment. 

Y'all. This is hot and I'm loving it. 

I faintly recall some plot that's happening in the background but am having trouble caring when lines like “I’ve dreamed of tasting you for fucking years.” gets dropped. 

I feel like there's been a dearth in historical romance hotness in my picks lately. 

All I can say is HAPPY HOLIDAYS to me!

30%

“Of course, some chaps might have been put off by the fact that you’re clever,” Morgan continued. “Or by that wickedly sharp tongue of yours. But not all.” He tilted his head. “In fact, the only way to be completely sure a man isn’t after your money now would be to remember who spoke to you before you were rich.”

“You spoke to me,” she countered tartly. “Is that a proposal, Captain Davies?”

His eyes glittered in appreciation of her calling his bluff, but his lips curved into that devilish smile that haunted her dreams. “Would you like it to be, Miss Montgomery?”

Reading Update: Page 1

 

It's a snow day for me! Curling up with this highly anticipated 3rd in the Ruthless Rivals series. 

❄️⚔️ 

This cover is why I don't do my Best of lists until January. The deeper coloring, the bare shoulders, the uniform, the night sky, LOVE IT. 

Captain Morgan Davies was shipwrecked and imprisoned due to an incorrect map. Harriet is a mapmaker who has a rival copying her work to get at Morgan. 

If you've read the previous two books in the series, you'll remember the sparking chemistry these two had together. 

I mean, "Morgan decides to combine revenge and seduction into one delightful package..." 

Sign me up! 

A Wicked Game by Kate Bateman preorder (Dec 27th) link

Cajun Chicken Burger recipe

Review: Lunar Love

Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Of course the founder of our new competition is a Rat, my exact opposite sign. 

Olivia is poised to take over her Pó Po's Chinese zodiac matchmaker business, Lunar Love, from her aunt when she learns that an entrepreneur has developed an app called ZodiaCupid. It's taking the same business of matching people by their Chinese zodiac animal signs but also using an algorithm. Lunar Love has started to struggle with people wanting fast and easy and Olivia is instantly upset at this new app, what she sees as cheapening a system that is very near and dear to her heart and taking potential business away from her. 

Many moons ago, I did love being in love. I used to fall in love easily. Too easily. Now I know better. I’m wiser. More careful. 

Told in first person point-of-view and present tense, Lunar Love, was a story of rivals-to-lovers and opposites attract. I have a personal problem of it being more difficult for me to fully connect with characters and a story that uses first person pov with present tense, so my overall feelings are colored by that, if other readers have no such problem, their enjoyment would probably be more. With Olivia leading readers, we see that she's nervous but ready to take over Lunar Love and even though her life revolves around love, she definitely takes a more pessimistic view of her personal love life. It's alluded to and then fully revealed why at around midway, that Olivia has been burned before. The situation involved her best friend Colette, a guy Olivia set Colette up with, and an opposites attract guy Olivia was dating. It reaffirmed that only compatible signs should be matched together to Olivia. Olivia also has the habit of meeting someone and then playing out how the relationship would go, in a negative light, as their animal sign traits would have them clashing. Olivia is that character that believes in love, was burned by it, and now is scared to ever put herself out there. 

“You pick a match for me, and I’ll let my algorithm pick one for you, and we’ll see who finds love.” 

Bennett O'Brien comes into the picture with one of the best meet-cutes I've ever read, they negotiate and flirt over a pork bun and vanilla roll!, and the reader can feel the instant sparks. I will say, with this written all from Olivia's pov, I still felt like Bennett's feelings and thoughts came through in a way that, I the reader, could “see”; I didn't feel like I didn't know where Bennett stood at all times. Olivia learns who Bennett is and decides to game the system on ZodiaCupid and get a date with him, thinking to hide her identity to get insider knowledge of her competition. They go on a couple dates where their chemistry is still evident but Olivia lying for nefarious reasons will have the reader feeling more for Bennett. The jig is up around 35% and Bennett reveals some secrets of his own. With their identities known, a bet gets made and we have Olivia and Bennett trying to find each other love. 

I grip his hand tighter and pull him closer. Our cheeks graze as I bring my lips up against his ear. “I hope you’re ready to fall in love.” 

They show up at each other's dates and it's obvious that Bennett isn't fully into this because he has feelings for Olivia. Olivia struggles to get past her feelings about being burned and we get some push and pull moments. Around 70% the bet gets called off and Olivia tentatively seems to be coming out of her protective shell but the author gives us that 3rd act break-up and the last 20% has Olivia working through her emotions, Bennett delivering a public act of love, and a sad event that probably puts a dent in calling this a rom-com. 

Because compatible or incompatible, we’re all just trying to love and be loved, however that might look. 

With this being told in first person pov and present tense, characters other than Olivia didn't shine as well for me, Bennett being the exception. Olivia's relationship with her grandmother delivered some emotion and who she had the best scenes with, other than Bennett. Olivia's sister and work employees Alisha and Randall felt too much to the side of the story, instead of in it and didn't add those dimensions and layers I would have liked. This was also a few kisses only romance, so you're going to have to get your sparks from conversation, Olivia and Bennett do have fun, cute, and some sparking chemistry through their by-play. If you don't struggle with pov and tense choices like I do, this would be a solid debut to pick-up, especially with that very charming and fun meet-cute.

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