ARC Review: The Summer I saved You by Elizabeth O'Roark

I have loved everything I’ve read from Elizabeth O’Roark, but I especially loved The Summer We Fell, so I couldn’t wait to read The Summer I Saved You. This book is a standalone and you do not need to have read The Summer We Fell before starting this story. While I wanted to love this book, this one just didn’t live up to what I had been hoping for.

I really struggled with Caleb for the majority of the story. I understand he had been through a lot, but honestly it didn’t excuse his behavior. He never seemed to really apologize or grovel and instead just tried to justify everything he did wrong. Lucie also just forgave him time and time again and just let him get away with it all. I also just felt like her feelings for him were so much stronger than his were and when he did say he had feelings for her, it really felt more like him telling us he had them than him actually having them if that makes sense. 

The third act breakup was just not it for me. There were so many things here that set this one up to be such a great read, but ultimately just didn’t deliver, and had this one falling flat for me. I highly recommend The Summer We Fell and the entire Grumpy Devils series, but this one was disappointing for me. I will probably still read the next in this series, though I am not sure how that one will be for me after I saw who the main characters are. I love Elizabeth O’Roark’s books but this one was a miss for me.

**ARC Provided by Valentine PR**

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ARC Review: Pucking Wild by Emily Rath

 

Pucking Wild is the second book in the Jacksonville Rays series by Emily Rath, and while technically it is a standalone story, I highly recommend reading these in order. This book had a different feel than previous stories, yet it fit in this world perfectly! Those that are already familiar with this world will be happy to know we get plenty of time with familiar faces and favorites, but not so much that they take over Tess and Ryan’s story.

Tess and Ryan were so amazing. They each had vulnerabilities and insecurities that they didn’t show to others, yet they were able to learn and grow together here. I loved the support they gave to each other. They really helped one another in so many ways and were perfect together. They had steam and chemistry, and I honestly couldn’t get enough of them together. But it was their undeniable connection that I loved the most. Don’t get me wrong, I love Rachel’s guys, but there is just something so irresistible about Ryan that I could not love more. He definitely gives Jake a run for his money as my most loved character from Emily. 

This book was funny from start to finish in a way that I have come to recognize with Rath’s writing, but it was also perfectly balanced with steam and chemistry as well as heart-warming moments that keep you wanting to read and not put the book down. I loved the glimpses Emily gave us here of things to come in this series, and I already can’t wait for the next installment in the series! Morrow, Novy and Poppy are sure to be new favorites of mine when their book Pucking Sweet releases later this year! If you are new to Emily Rath, I highly recommend her books, and I’ll admit I’m a little jealous you get to experience her words for the first time!

**ARC Provided by Author**

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ARC Review: I Could Never by Penelope Ward

 

Penelope Ward never misses, and I Could Never was no exception. I love her books and this one was really good. I honestly didn’t even read the blurb before starting this one, that is how much I love her writing and she has become an auto-buy author for me over the years. This book had everything you could want in a great story though, humor, romance, angst, and so many beautiful heartfelt moments.

From start to finish, I really loved the characters here. Carly and Josh were so genuinely likable. I felt their insecurities and emotions like I was connected to them. They had so much that they’d each been through and that they didn’t know they had in common. But once they really started to get to know one another, I loved seeing things progress. They were a lot of fun and so cute together, I loved their notes and interactions. But they were also so much more than that. They were supportive of each other and so open and honest. I really just loved their story. 

This book was a journey for these two, and I was so glad to be on the ride with them. I felt every bit of the story was exactly as it should have been, and there was purpose in everything that happened. The ending left me happy that I had gotten to know them as they had each other and was just one of those feel good stories. Besides these characters having a great, even if surprising to them, connection, they also had such strong chemistry and I loved seeing them fall for one another. Highly recommend this one and can’t wait for Penelope’s next book.

**ARC Provided by Give Me Books**

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ARC Review: You or Someone Like You by Winter Renshaw

I absolutely loved You or Someone Like You by Winter Renshaw! I couldn’t put this book down! I was hooked from the very first page until the last, and was completely lost in this story. I didn’t know much about this book going in, but the wrong twin, right guy part of the blurb sold me and I am so glad that I read this book.

Roman is a widower left to raise his young daughters after losing his wife and has struggled to move on since her death. Sloane gets sucked into helping her sister try to get a promotion when her sister’s boss insists on setting her up with her nephew. Agreeing to help her sister out, Sloane is shocked to find out that the date is with Roman, the person that got Sloane fired from her job a few years prior. Both Sloane and Roman are lovers of art, while he collects it, she sells it. They quickly find themselves bonding over art, but with so many secrets and lies between them, what happens when it all eventually comes out?

I could feel the connection and chemistry between these two right away. It was clear on their first “date” that they had more in common that either wanted or expected, and I loved seeing them grow from that. They were so good together and I couldn’t get enough. Honestly I haven’t been this invested in characters or a story for awhile, and Roman and Sloane were everything I love to read about and had been hoping for here! I loved seeing how things unfolded and how art really brought them together. It all felt so natural and believable. 

This is one of the best books I’ve read this year, and I cannot recommend it enough! This one is an absolute must read!

**ARC Provided by Ardent PRose**

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ARC Review: Something Unexpected by Vi Keeland

 

I have been a Vi Keeland fan for years, so much so that I don’t even read the blurbs for her books anymore, I just know whatever she writes I am going to read and love! Something Unexpected was no exception, though I will say that this book definitely lived up to it’s name! While I loved the book, this is not what I have come to know and love from Vi Keeland’s past books. It was so well written and something I hadn’t anticipated from her, and it had me unable to put it down!

I won’t go into details, as I truly believe this one is best gone into blind. What I will say though is that I loved the characters and the story from start to finish. Beck and Nora were total opposites in a lot of ways, yet there was so much chemistry and tension between them and I couldn’t stop flipping pages!

I highly recommend this book! Not only is the writing fantastic, but the characters are so easy to like and root for. I found them all so interesting, including the side characters! Vi Keeland never disappoints, and while this one felt different than her previous books, it was just as good if not better! Her writing just continues to draw me in every time and make me fall in love with the world and characters she has created. This one was great, and I loved the message here. Something Unexpected was a one of a kind read and I am so glad that I went on this journey with Beck and Nora. Highly recommend this one to fans of Vi’s and new readers alike!

**ARC Provided by Give Me Books**

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