firewhiskeyreader

Well, this week definitely did not go according to plan. I don’t know what it was about the week, but I couldn’t convince myself to read the books I’d set out to, but I did read some things that qualified for this readathon (and a couple were on my TBR, so… winning?) so let’s talk about those.

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Secret Heir Seduction by Reese Ryan

First of all, category romances are literally my saving grace right now. Whenever I have a bad day at work, I just read one of these until I forget my issues because I’m entirely swept up in a category. They’re like injecting therapy into your veins (for the record, my favorite coping strategy is avoidance, don’t at me). Anyway, I requested this book on a whim from Netgalley (shout out to Harlequin) and I’m so glad I did? I wasn’t sure what I was getting with the plot because it sounds a little convoluted. Essentially, Darius finds out that his biological dad was this rich Texan white guy and winds up staying in a house owned by the family of the dad, which happens to be next door to where his ex-girlfriend is staying. The ex-girlfriend is Audra Covington who is designing Darius’ biological sister’s wedding ring and other wedding jewelry and the two of them (Darius and Audra) keep getting pushed together. As a person who doesn’t love second chance, I felt like this one would have worked together if Darius wasn’t still deliberately keeping Audra in the dark. I mean, he’s got reasons, but it was kind of dumb. But then, the person who reveals the secret gets away with breaking the law??? And like, that’s not cool. So, basically, this was fun, but not totally my thing, which makes sense because I don’t love second chance romances. Anyway, this is out March 1st if you want your own chance to read it!

A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev

I read this one because of how much Dani loved it and while I also really enjoyed it, I really wish deception plots were less common. I hate them. But Mili is such a unique character and I really liked her and Samir together despite the deception. Mili was married to Samir’s brother when she was four and then never saw her husband again, but very much still counts herself as married. Samir, as a favor to his brother, tracks Mili down in Michigan, but Mili thinks he’s someone else and injures herself badly trying to run away from him. Samir takes care of Mili and finds himself really coming to care for this woman and trying to figure out how this sweet woman is trying to claim a share of his brother’s estate. There’s a lot happening in this book plot wise, but it still manages to feel fully fleshed out and developed. I do want to mention that Samir has a traumatic past that comes up several times (child abuse) and there is representation of a serious illness in here.

Love on My Mind by Tracey Livesay

You know, this might explain why this week of reading was a challenge… This is also another deception plot! Chelsea Grant will do just about anything to get her promotion to partner at her PR firm so that she can finally feel like she’s made it after her very financially and emotionally unstable childhood. Almost anything includes convincing CEO and tech genius Adam Bennett to let her help him with his PR without letting him know his company hired her. What she doesn’t intend is to fall in love with her client. I really liked that Adam had Asperger’s and we got to see him having rich connections with two friends and falling for Chelsea. I think that representation is really important. Community is really important in general. What I didn’t love is that even knowing how much Adam hates lying, Chelsea doesn’t come clean and then Adam is still the one who has to apologize? That just seemed wrong to me somehow. I sympathized immensely with Chelsea, but… Idk. I didn’t like that part. But I am glad I finally read this one!

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Bear with Me by Lucy Eden

Okay, yes, technically a book about a shifter is probably not a contemporary, but this book reads like a contemporary so I’m counting it anyway. This was my first Lucy Eden, but it’s definitely not going to be my last. This was a quick novella and it was delightful. Chellie is an influencer (hence the feel of a contemporary) who has a very public meltdown on NYE because her ex gets engaged like a week after they broke up. So to escape until things die down, she goes to stay in a cabin where she meets the very large and handsome, Tanner, who keeps trying to take care of her, but in a very gruff way. Could I have used more time and world building? Yes, absolutely. Did I still love this a whole lot? Yes. It’s short and sweet and just really worked for me.

Asking for Trouble by Tessa Bailey

I read this because it’s going to be featured on Fated Mates soon and this is the first Tessa Bailey I actually managed to complete, so that’s something! I think that has more to do with the fact that the audiobook moves quickly, which made a lot of things that may have bothered me more in print seem fine. Brent and Hayden don’t like one another, but somehow one night a challenge Hayden makes goes a little too far and they have a sexual encounter they can’t stop thinking of. The thing about the two of them not liking one another that bugged me a little is that they both had very clear expectations of what the other would be like solely based on the other’s class. Idk, maybe it’s just me, but that seemed a little obnoxious. But anyway, it’s definitely steamy and was an enjoyable enough read. I’ll likely read the first book in the series since that’s supposed to be mentioned in the Fated Mates episode too.

So there you have it. The books I read last week for ContemporaryAThon! Did you participate? If so, how did you do?

xx