Thursday, April 13, 2023

Review: 5 stars for The Coldest Winter by Brittainy Cherry

 


✨🤍𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘾𝙊𝙇𝘿𝙀𝙎𝙏 𝙒𝙄𝙉𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙄𝙎 𝙇𝙄𝙑𝙀 + 𝙁𝙍𝙀𝙀 𝙄𝙉 𝙆𝙐🤍✨

If you love….⁣
✔𝘎𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘺/𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦⁣
✔𝘏𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 *𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘯*⁣
✔𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘺⁣
✔𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥⁣
✔𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦⁣
✔𝘈𝘓𝘓 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘍𝘌𝘌𝘓𝘚⁣
Then this new release is definitely for you! ⁣
Grab your copy today, available now in Kindle Unlimited: https://mybook.to/thecoldestwinter

CHRISTY'S 5 STAR REVIEW



This is my favorite kind of Brittainy Cherry book. It had all the feels (no one does emotional books like her) but was also sweet, steamy, and forbidden. It had so much heart and left me in happy tears. Perfect perfect perfect!

Milo and Star meet at a frat party on her twenty first birthday and Star does something impulsive that's not like her. She gets together with Milo. She figures she'll never see him again, so no big deal, right? When she shows up to her student-teaching and finds him sitting in class she figures out it's a very big deal.

This book was a bit forbidden, but let me tell you about the emotions. When I tell you this one hit me so hard. Something came into play later in the book that was so unexpected, but brought such depth to the story and made it stand out far beyond any student teacher romance. Starlet and Milo both needed each other in different ways and had something big in common that not many people truly understood.
"I realize that it's you," I whispered.
"What's me?"
"You're the something that makes me feel better, even on the worst days."

The Coldest Winter is Brittainy Cherry at her best. It gave me the same kind of vibes as some of my older favorites of hers and I honestly couldn't have loved it more. Milo and Starlet are very much the grumpy/sunshine couple I needed and I highly recommend reading this one!



Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Review+New Release: The New Guy by Sarina Bowen

 


My name is Hudson Newgate, but my teammates call me New Guy.

That was my nickname in Chicago, too. And Vancouver. That’s what happens when you keep getting traded. Brooklyn is my last chance, especially after my poor performance last season.

But I can make this work. The new guy knows to keep his head down and shoot the puck. The new guy puts the game first.

What he doesn’t do is hook up with the other new guy—a hot athletic trainer who lives in my building. Gavin needs this job with my team. He’s a single dad with responsibilities.

We can’t be a couple. My arrogant agent–who’s also my father–will lose his mind if I’m dating a dude. And my team needs me to score goals, not whip up a media circus.

Too bad Gavin and I are terrible at resisting each other…

Amazon: https://geni.us/New-Guy-Amzn
Apple Books: https://geni.us/New-Guy-Appl
Kobo: https://geni.us/New-Guy-Kobo
Nook: https://geni.us/New-Guy-BandN
Audio: https://geni.us/New-Guy-Audible

All links in one place: https://shor.by/NewGuy
ADD TO GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63355404-the-new-guy

Christy's Review:

Sarina Bowen is one of the best when it comes to hockey romances and though this is the start to a new series for her (Hockey Guys) I was thrilled to see some of my Brooklyn guys in this one! 

Hudson Newgate is perpetually the ‘new guy’. He is constantly getting traded but he just wants to settle down and be able to live his life without the fear of being moved again. Maybe… just maybe Brooklyn will be the place this will happen. 

Gavin is a single dad and widower who just moved to Brooklyn for a job. He’s an athletic trainer and happens to be working for Brooklyn’s hockey team. But when these two meet in a bar they have no idea. 

Gavin and Hudson’s story was fantastic, though frustrating at times (Hudson’s dad… ugh) and I absolutely adored Jordan- Gavin’s daughter. Some authors do a really great job putting kids in books and this was one of those times. I’m not always a fan of the secret relationships, but by the end I was so happy with how this turned out! 

The New Guy is a strong start to Bowen’s newest hockey series and I for one can’t wait to read more! 

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Blog Tour: Best Served Hot by Amanda Elliot


Two restaurant critics learn their opposing tastes might make for a five-star relationship in the next foodie romantic comedy from the author of Sadie on a Plate.

By day, Julie Zimmerman works as an executive assistant. After hours, she’s @JulieZeeEatsNYC, a social media restaurant reviewer with over fifty thousand followers. As much as she loves her self-employed side gig, what Julie really wants is to be a critic at a major newspaper, like the New York Scroll. The only thing worse than the Scroll’s rejection of her application is the fact that smarmy, social-media-averse society boy Bennett Richard Macalester Wright snagged her dream job.
 
While at the Central Park Food Festival, Julie confronts the annoyingly handsome Bennett about his outdated opinions on social media and posts the resulting video footage. Julie's follower count soars—and so does the Scroll’s. Julie and Bennett grudgingly agree to partner up for a few reviews to further their buzz. Online buzz, obviously.
 
Over tapas, burgers, and more, Julie and Bennett connect over their shared love of food. But when the competitive fire between them turns extra
spicy, they'll have to decide how much heat their relationship can take.

 

Amanda Elliot is the author of several young adult and middle grade books as Amanda Panitch. She lives in New York City, where she owns way too many cookbooks for her tiny kitchen.


Christy's Review: 



Last year I read Sadie on a Plate, which was Amanda Elliot’s debut novel, and I was so impressed. I was excited to jump into her sophomore novel, Best Served Hot when given the chance. I love books with food in them, and this was another great read by this author. 

Julie is a food critic/influencer who would love to make it her full time job. She has aspirations to do just that. She applies to be a critic for ‘The Scroll’. It would be the dream for her. But Bennett Richard Macalester Wright is the guy that gets the job over her. The guy with connections, of course. When she runs into Bennett at a food festival, she confronts him. 

Julie may know who Bennett is, but Bennett doesn’t know who Julie is. Their banter was great and I loved watching them get to know each other. It’s very much more of a rivals turned friends to lovers story. I loved seeing them try new things together and even though this wasn’t super heavy on the romance, I enjoyed watching them start to fall. The conflict was fairly predictable, but I was happy it was resolved quickly and enjoyed the end of the book!


Excerpt: 

New York Scroll names new restaurant critic, Bennett Richard Macalester Wright.

Suddenly none of the food looked all that appetizing anymore.

"What is it?" asked Alice.

I sat back down with a thump. "I didn't get it," I said dully. And it wasn't like I'd expected them to read my passionate cover letter and resume and social media stats and immediately roll out the heirloom-tomato-red carpet. But they hadn't even bothered sending me a rejection email. Or any kind of acknowledgment at all. Maybe my application had been one of a million, even though the job hadn't been listed online for the general peasantry to apply for (I'd been tipped off about the opening through an email my boss had gotten and I'd read).

Or maybe they hadn't taken my resume seriously. Laughed about it in the office. Who does this girl think she is? She thinks some followers and some videos make her suited for us? The New York Scroll had never hired a critic who wasn't a white dude over fifty. They had social media, of course, but they still published trend pieces where they gaped at it and how it worked like it was a zoo exhibit. And over here we have people—wait for it—actually getting their news on social media. Thank goodness the protective bars are here, or they might attack us. 

Not unlike my boss, come to think of it. I still didn't think he knew about my second "job," but I'd heard the way he snorted as he watched his daughters take selfies or the older one herd her kids into the perfect light for a family snap.

Alice made a sympathetic mmm in response. "Who'd they name? Is it at least someone good?"

The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I was already frantically googling to learn more, leaving the food to cool before us. "He went to Dartmouth," I reported. Which, if I judged by the alumni I knew—my boss and his daughters—was stereotypically rich and fratty. "And he played on the squash team." Which was basically code for "has an enormous trust fund." I scowled down at my screen. "Hobbies include boating and collecting ancient coins." 

Bennett Richard Macalester Wright had almost certainly never misbudgeted and run out of food money his freshman year of college and had to subsist on ramen and scrounged-up free pizza from various club meetings to get by. 

"And then it looks like he was a food reporter at the Times for the last five years," I said. I scrolled through a few of his past headlines. A profile on a chef semi-famous for his cooking and very famous for his string of ever-younger actress wives. A report on why high-end restaurants were trending toward smaller but more expensive wine lists. A few reviews of pricey restaurants—it looked like he'd filled in for their regular critic while she was out on maternity leave.

"At least he seems like he's qualified," Alice said. I scowled at her. I didn't want to hear that he was qualified. I wanted to hear that he sucked and that they should've hired me. But I didn't say that. I continued my googling, but turned up nothing except dead ends. Like most major food reviewers, he'd clearly done his best to take down as much as he possibly could about himself, especially photographs. No serious food reviewer wanted to tip off a restaurant that they were there, since that might lead the owner or the kitchen to offer them special treatment that would bias their review. It was why I never made a reservation under my own name, though I couldn't do much about my face. Sometimes, if I got recognized on one visit, I'd go back with a wig or glasses the next time.

"Excuse me, ladies?" Our waiter smiled down on us. "How are we doing?"

"Not great, but the food is delicious," I told him. 

His smile wavered, not quite sure what to do with that. "Would you like anything more to drink? We have some lovely wines on offer tonight."

"No thanks," Alice said. "She doesn't like wine."

"Alice!" I hissed. Which was always fun. Alice had a particularly hissable name. 

The waiter nodded and went off to bring our check. Alice turned to me, blinking. "What?"

"We've had this discussion before," I said. "Don't tell anyone I don't like wine."

"But you don't like wine," Alice said. 

It was true. Wine tasted like literal sour grapes to me, whether it was the cheap boxed stuff our roommates used to bring home in college or the ultra-fancy kind my boss gave me last year for the holidays. It literally made my lips pucker and my cheeks suck in. I'd never been able to understand why people actually enjoyed drinking it.

But my followers wouldn't agree. Again, they were mostly young women around my age or a bit older. There was a whole meme industry around wine. The wine moms. Giant wine glasses. Social media love turned on a dime. Not like I was hiding it hardcore. It was just that I'd rather the truth not be known, because I didn't want to do anything that might alienate me from my followers. Sometimes being loved on social media meant being loved as someone who isn't really you.

"You know who I bet loooves wine?" I said, rather than continuing my lecture. "Bennett…" I couldn't remember his two middle names, so I made some up. "Bennett Rigatoni Mushroom Wright." Alice giggled, which made me go on. "The Scroll always includes a wine list in their reviews, and the wines they choose always cost a fortune."

 


Excerpted from Best Served Hot by Amanda Elliot Copyright © 2023 by Amanda Elliot. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.


BBU - Coming Soon