Series: Standalone
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Standalone
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Escape Publishing - Harlequin
Publication Date: 8/1/14
Format: eARC
Pages: 151
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3 stars
She mixes more than flour and sugar into her cake batter, and he’s about to find out if a little bit of magic is to his taste...
Bakeshop owner Emma Stevens has a secret — a delicious, slightly unorthodox secret. Each Monday, she mixes up a premonition to share with the bachelors of Buttermilk Falls, and sets one lucky man on the path to true love.
When reporter Jason Levine finds himself mixed up in a Las Vegas bachelorette party, he hears the strangest rumour: the marriage is happening thanks to magic cake batter. Seriously sceptical, and sick of frauds, Jason journeys to the backwater town of Buttermilk Falls to expose the baker and release the townspeople from her evil clutches.
But when Jason meets Emma, tempers flare and sparks fly. Will Jason cling to his logic at the expense of a future, or will he let himself fall under Emma’s spell?
My Thoughts
Batter Up was super cute. It's a story that I flew through, liked, but still don't have a lot to say about it.
I liked the premise, a baker who can help men find their true love, in the batter. Emma comes from a line of women who've been performing this magic for years. I thought it was adorable that her we have MEN looking for love. Too cute!
Jason and Emma were such a sweet couple. Believe it or not, I was relieved at how quickly they started falling for each other. The chemistry was good, the issue between them made total sense, and the way they ended up was great. But besides Jason and Emma, Brandon (Jason's friend) and Abby (Emma's cousin) nearly stole the show. I think they should get their own story!
Batter Up was sweet, it was romantic and I think it's a good fit for those looking for a bit of magic to spice up their romance.
Favorite Quote
"I'm not going to ruin you. I want to protect you."
Series: What Happens #1
Genre: Women's Fic/Chick Lit
Publisher: Harper Impulse
Publication Date:7/24/14
Format: eARC
Pages: 182
Source: Author
Rating: 2.5 - 3 stars
The question that 23-year old Amalia Hastings wants the answer to is: What happens to men when they move to Manhattan?
Life in the big city gives Amalia a ride she is not expecting. As she tries to find her way on the little island that never sleeps, she discovers she has a harder time navigating through life then she does the streets of Greenwich Village and finds herself truly lost in the complex world of men, graduate school, money, family, and friendship.
She thought she had everything she wanted – a new apartment in Manhattan, a first-rate education at NYU, a group of trusted friends and Nicholas, a boyfriend who she once believed was her soul-mate. But somehow, it isn’t enough.
Stumbling through her relationships, Amalia encounters Michael. An attractive classmate who quickly moves from being one of her close friends, to an inconsistent friend-with-benefits. After all, the only thing consistent about New York is its beauty.
After getting terribly lost searching for love in all the wrong places, Amalia finds herself torn between the possibility of a relationship, and an adventure she's been planning all along.
She eventually realizes that solely chasing love closes her off to all of the other good things life has to offer. Now she must decide – what is worth the chase?
My Thoughts
So this is one of those times where I honestly don't know what to say. What Happens to Guys When They Move to Manhattan was an okay story overall, but just didn't hit the mark for me. I've mulled it over, and still can't quite pinpoint what happened. Therefore, this is gonna be another short one.
You know when you walk into the middle of a conversation and you have no idea what's happening, only to spend the rest of the story playing catch up? That's how I felt in this case. For me it seemed the story plopped me down mid-stream, and I didn't really establish any sort of connection to Amalia until mid-story. Once I did start to connect, I ended up feeling unenthused about much of the story. It was basically Amalia torn between pining over her boyfriend and the guy she's crushing on. Fine. I get indecisiveness. I get the conflicting feelings. But I didn't know these character enough, she jumped back and forth so easily, that I didn't feel it.
I do have a couple of positives. First, though I felt some of story was tedious, the writing was nice. The big positive though, was the character growth. You know my gripes about Amalia and her love life? She does make some good changes by the end, and I really liked how it ended. To be fair, I believe What Happens When They Move to Manhattan? is a big picture story, part of a larger series. In that respect, I think the author did a nice job.
Favorite Quote
My new life however, in this very spacious and immaculate West Village apartment had made me into a caricature of myself. Being that I was twenty-two, and living in the greatest city on earth, I took every chance I could get to go out and improve my social life, which unfortunately included improving my alcohol tolerance.
In addition she competed in and taught figure skating for over a decade.
The first one sounds cute. Thanks for the reviews!
ReplyDeleteOh Batter Up sounds cute! I love foodie ones like that. Nice and sweet :)
ReplyDeleteI would read Batter Up because I like them light and fluffy not to mention the cover is too cute! I'll pass on the next one, sounds intriguing but the execution failed somehow.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. Batter Up does sound cute, and I really like that the guys are looking for love too. :) Sorry the Manhattan book wasn't as enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteAww Batter Up sounds cute and fluffy! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI'm feeling meh about these.
ReplyDeleteBatter Up does sound like a sweet story. What Happens to Men...well, I'm sorry it wasn't a winner. Thanks for the great reviews. And I hope your current read is fantastic! :)
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