Max Monroe (1)Rezensionen

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book, this is my honest review. There are spoilers in this review, so be warned.

SPOILERS FOLLOWING:

I have mixed feelings here, primarily about the huge dichotomies in this book that were completely unexpected based on the description and the authors' own words in the beginning of the book. It's presented as a romance, which it is. But nowhere is it mentioned just how emotionally heavy this book ends up being. And my gosh, it was SO heavy. This was a literal tear-jerker masquerading as a grumpy-sunshine/runaway-bride/fish-out-of-water/single father with an adorable daughter/accidental pregnancy romance. There should have been some specific content warnings with this book, something to warn the reader what they were getting. I understand that the authors didn't want to give anything away, and the content warnings would have given away the majority of the plot, but it was hard not to feel blind-sided when the emotionally heavy themes started. It takes a sharp turn into heartbreak so have your tissues ready. Content warnings following (some of which I absolutely would have appreciated before picking up this book): domestic violence; estrangement from parent(s)/family; child abandonment; serious chronic/fatal illness in a child; infidelity; discussion of termination of pregnancy by a side character; sibling death by parent negligence/childhood death(s); possible high-risk accidental pregnancy; and finally, criminal proceedings that's hinted to relate to sexual themes by the female main character's ex-fiance and mother.

I also felt that the romance between the two main characters was written in a fairly predictable and cliche way, and relied way too heavily on the emotionality of Bennett's daughter's illness and subsequent death in order to keep the reader invested. The main thing that saves this book is Summer's storyline. My heart would have to be completely shriveled and black not to be charmed by Summer.

This was a quick read, despite its heavier themes. I've read books by these authors before and enjoyed them, but it may be awhile before I pick up another one of their books as overall this one left a bad taste in my mouth.½

What a fun story this was. I loved the fact that the characters had lived a bit of life already and were mature and relatable. Sammy is a divorced single mom trying to get her life back together and doesn't feel like she will ever meet or even find the time to find the man of her dreams. She is a very busy woman with a lot of responsibilities and has not been is the dating pool for years. So Sammy is completely shocked when she finds that she actually has two handsome successful men interested in her. The dialog is excellent and the banter between characters is a lot of fun. There are some fun and not so fun plot twists that kept this story interesting and fresh. I listened to the audio version of this book and the narrator was delightful. Overall I really enjoyed it. Highly recommended. 4 stars.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Max Monroe for the chance to read/ listen to an ARC of this book.

4.5*½

I read SIncerely, Dane by Ilsa Madden Mills and this short story was such a sweet read.

This is a cute and fun novella that is part of anthology and I hope will eventually be a full length story. Dane and Piper went to school together from high school on and now that Dane’s twin bother is married to Piper’s best friend they end up spending a lot of time together. Piper has always crushed on Dane but believes he has her firmly placed in the friend zone that she just accepts their relationship as is until one night a text makes her think about more. Dane hasn’t had it easy in life, he derailed at one point, and his relationship with Ari fizzled out because deep down I truly believe he’s always felt like Piper was his. In this story Dane comes to Piper’s apartment dressed as a werewolves and so the chaos ensues. He recruits her to help with a scavenger hunt that ends with an epic ending/beginning. The tension between them was tangible, the chemistry off the charts, and the can they will they flowed off the pages. I rally hope we get more of their story!!

I picked this off of Hoopla, and realized after a couple pages I had already read it. It appears that I did not record my thoughts though, so I skimmed it to refresh my recollection, and here goes. Jude, who is 36, is like a roided out 19 year old frat bro. He is repulsive. Not because he screws every hot woman who crosses his path. He is honest with all the women about just being in it for the fun and scrupulous about consent, so on that score I say have at it. No, he is constantly proving his manhood -- posing as a stripper to win a bet, gaslighting a woman he later purports to love so he can be free, talking and dressing like one of those men who writes books about how to nail women (think Tucker Max before he saw the error of his ways), calling women "babe" and "sweetheart" and more. He is gross. And Sophie buys into a lot of it which makes me question her too. They are so basic in so many ways that I found them off-putting. Also, they never had a meaningful conversation about anything other than their families and sex. This in not a solid foundation for love.

One note: To the women who make up Max Monroe, I appreciate you did enough research to house the one "artsy vegan" (their words) in Bushwick, but as usual despite having two lifelong New Yorkers as your leads, nothing seemed like it was happening in NYC other than not being able to get a cab in the rain. New Yorkers do not go out for prime rib dinners or think that filet at The Plaza is top of the line dining. (High end steak eating means Gallagher's or Keen's, not conference hotel food.) Honestly, I don't think I know anyone who has eaten at The Plaza other than if they were at a wedding or a conference -- that is true of me, but also pretty universal, I think. Ditto on wanting good Italian and going, not to Lilia or I Sodi or the hundreds of Italian cafes sprinkled across every borough and neighborhood, but to someplace in what used to be Little Italy 40 years ago. No one dresses to go out the way it is described here unless they are Eastern European woman looking for a green card marriage. There are sex clubs, and as represented their locations are pretty secret, you need to know someone in that community to know, but they are not walking distance from Soho unless they are in private brownstones, generally West Village, or Tribeca lofts. There are no industrial buildings around there anymore, so those are out. On the good side, I was pleased to see these people sometimes used the subway -- they rarely do in romance, and nearly everyone without a driver uses the subway sometimes because it is so much faster than a cab.

One more thing: The speech at the end made me want to vomit, and I am someone who loves reading mushy romance. The ending monologue seemed like a parody of romance.

Things that saved this from being 1-star
1. Jude's relationship with his niece.
2. Sophie's relationship with her therapist.
3. I always say I can't stand it when characters I don't like in romance books have good sex, but this book proved me wrong on that. It wasn't realistic sex (15 orgasms in 24 hours?) but the whole illicit public sex scavenger hunt was really fun.½

Nope - DNF at 59%. I am done with Max Monroe. This is so terrible. I thought it was slightly better than the last one, but nope, it gets worse. If you are wondering what the problem is, I can identify two. First, I don't think this writing pair has met any people -- no one is anything like any of these characters, no one has ever uttered a sentence that sounds like a single sentence in the book, and if there was a person who was like any of these people everyone would hate them. Second problem, every sentient being knows that if you marry for the green card you have to live together and interview with USCIS because there are about 7 billion movies and tv comedies about this.

This was a very enjoyable take on Alice in Wonderland. I can honestly say I liked this more. I loved the world and the characters. The story was intriguing, the characters were very likeable and there was some growth throughout the story. The narration was excellent. I definitely recommend this one.

This had me cracking the hell up, her dad is the best!

I LOVED THIS! I forgot how much I love the authors behind Max Monroe. Its funny, sassy, snarky, love able, and utterly romantic.

Jude is one of Winnie's brothers that was introduced in Broody Millionaire: The Wes Lancaster Collection. Ty, Jude, Flynn, & Remy. Jude is a thirty six year old club promoter that's always up for a good time with no commitments and never backs down from a bet. He accepts a bet from one of the exotic dancers at the club he's promoting and dances in the VIP room for a bachelorette party. He's enthralled with the bride-to-be who happens to be filling in for her twin. Sophie is trading places with her twin for the party and has a night to remember with hardly any contact with Jude dancing for her. Running into each other later, Jude takes her on a date and to bed which continues for months before it becomes something more that has the asshole running. Working on commitment issues that he and his brothers have has Jude seeking Winnie's help dealing with fallout and what he really wants. Sophie was a little weak for Jude's strong personality. Looking forward to the next book in the series

A short story that introduces the Winslow brothers & Winnie thirteen years before the book "The Bet" takes place. This story focuses on Remy's bachelor party, the fortune teller visit, & being left at the alter which is the start of the Winslow bros "no love or commitment". A great intro to each brother's personality and how they were shaped by Uncle Brad.

Flynn's story. The quiet reserved brother is wrangling the rest of his brothers in Vegas for Jude's bachelor party. A delightful woman (Daisy) catches his eye in a casino and he later runs into her again as she is fleeing and climbs onto the back of his motorcycle for a quick getaway. Thus begins a quick quiet conversation in an out of the way bar. Daisy is going to lose her green card since she's so absentminded and frazzled that she never completed her visa paperwork to stay in the country. She talks enough for three people where Flynn is a man of few words. He makes a pact with her to marry her so she can keep her job and stay in the U.S. Throwing everyone for a loop they secretly marry and start living together to get ready for the interview in three months with immigration. An interesting story. I love the Winslow family dynamics and the closeness of the brothers with their sister Winnie. More tidbits of information about the gypsy fortune teller from years previous and the book runs parallel with the others in the series. I didn't care for Daisy. She never shut up and went on tangents that were a waste of time and of course there's the misunderstanding and big news at the end of the book. I will continue reading the series though. It would've added another star to the rating but Daisy was just too much

Ty (ladies man extraordinaire, college tenured professor, & Jude's counterpart in all things immature) is at Jude's launch party when a beautiful woman starts dancing with him and hands him her panties and walks away. No name, no nothing. He's intrigued enough to keep the panties. Rachel is said woman who handed her panties away. Color them both surprised when she's his new T.A. for his class and her dad is the head of the department and Ty's mentor. Rachel has major problems with her dad trying to run her life and she likes to run away from all of her problems. She has her sister and sister's wife for support since their mother died. She & Ty begin a cat and mouse game off teasing until the sex starts. Most of the relationship is based on sex and sneaking hoping her dad won't catch them. Ty takes her to the hospital when Sophie and Flynn's babies are being born and that was the "meet the family". There wasn't too much interaction between the brothers as in the other books, but Remy steps up to help out when the couple hit some snafu's. Drama and angst on Rachel's part and the wonder of Ty as he actually falls in love. Still wanting to prove the gypsy wrong. I didn't really care for Rachel. The book ends with a set up for Remy's book

Remy's story. The oldest Winslow brother who has always taken care of his family since their dad walked out. Left at the altar years ago he has stayed single. A trip to fortune teller Clea to hear the rest of his fortune from years ago that he never heard (Flynn did) had formed an unlikely alliance with Clea. In Jude's building Remy gets stuck in an elevator during a blackout with his high school sweetheart Maria who he never really got over. She's pregnant with unusual circumstances. She and Remy reconnect and a second chance at love with a child are in the stars. The book jumps back and forth between now and 28 years ago in high school. Great finale for the series (there's an extended epilogue available on Book Funnel). I enjoyed this series. I didn't care for some of the ladies they ended up with but oh well. The Winslow brothers in order of my favorites: Remy, Jude, Flynn, & Ty

I thought this book was cute. Normally I love audiobooks but, in this case, I think I might’ve liked the story better if I read it myself. I did not care for the female MC’s narration. CJ Bloom has a distinctive style and a nice voice. I just felt her enunciation was too perfectly clipped and possible too “emote-y” for this book. I did like Joe Arden’s interpretation of the mail MC.

As far as the actual book content, it was cute. Cute service dog, cute close proximity situation. No deep dive in character and not really a lot of chemistry for most of the book. It seemed as though an inordinate amount of dialog was devoted to references to pee, poop and puke there for a while.

Thank you to NetGalley and Max Monroe LLC for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Two More Days

*A note before you slog through all of this. 1) I only listened to some of the stories. I skipped unfamiliar authors due to time constraints. B) I'm leaving this long mostly blank list as I had a hard time finding a list of the story names and authors so hopefully, I can save someone else a little time.

Tequila Mate - Author - Stars - Character Names - Review/Thoughts.

Always Cake - Max Monroe - 3 Stars - Emily, Austin - Two best friends born on the same day. They celebrate their birthdays together every year and on their 24th the night goes further than planned. Now it’s their 35th birthday and they have decided to honor the pact they made when they turned.

Confessions - Lora Richardson - Stars - Character Names - Review/Thoughts

Heels Over Head in Love - Willow Aster - Stars - Character Names - Review/Thoughts.

Second Summer - Laurelin Paige - Stars - Character Names - Thoughts/Review

Protected - Dr. Rebecca Sharp - Stars - Characters - Review/Thoughts.

The Vanished - Jennifer Wilson - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

The Shelby - Jewel E. Ann - 3 Stars - The issue with this being an audiobook is I forget names quickly - I wasn’t expecting his tale of revenge. It was indeed sweet.

Sunshine Rae - Kandi Steiner - 2.5 Stars - Parker and ? - Just an okay story. Nothing mind blowing, just angst about being in love with your best friend who is about to propose to his girlfriend. It’s been done before and done better. Also, I didn’t really like the narrator as she sounded very juvenile.

From Friends to This - SERIES INFO - Dominique Laura - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

The Kiss - SERIES INFO - M. Robinson - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Stone Heart - SERIES INFO - S. J. West - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Without Yesterday - Lexi Ryan - 2.5 Stars - James Cooper, Krystal aka Kris, - Honestly this I’m in a relationship but super attracted to someone else bit is not my thing. It was well written and there was no cheating, but I didn’t like the vibe.

Good Girl Gone Bad - SERIES INFO - R. K. Lilley - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Of Potions and Poison - SERIES INFO - Chanda Hahn - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Breaking the Rules - SERIES INFO - Charleigh Rose - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Stray - SERIES INFO - Jessica Hawkins - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

A Home for Hobgoblins - SERIES INFO - Eric R. Asher - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Falling for my Stepbrother - SERIES INFO - Kelsie Stelting - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

When Fire Strikes - SERIES INFO - Marni Mann - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Armageddon, Again - SERIES INFO - Aileen Erin - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Strike One - SERIES INFO - Meagan Brandy - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Office Hours - SERIES INFO - Alessandra Torre - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Pineapple - SERIES INFO - Leia Stone - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Sincerely, Dane - Ilsa Madden-Mills - 3 Stars - Dane and Ava - A cute story. I loved the scavenger hunt and how it didn’t end the way I expected it to end.

Dark Eyes - Karina Halle - 3 Stars - Amethyst, Wolf, Shannon, Ezra - It was nice to see a PNR twist in the middle of all the contemporary stories in this anthology. This was an interesting examination of who the real monsters are. This world shows me more and more of that every day.

What If… - K. Bromberg - 3 Stars - Shiloh ”Shy”, Jake - I liked the set-up of this second chance even if it involved one leaving their fiancé (who we could all tell was wrong for her)

When It Happens - SERIES INFO - Micaela Smeltzer - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

F*ck - Tijan - 3 Stars - Tysan Koda, Kase Crow, Aiden - Why did I find this story so hot. At first, I was disenchanted by the thought of another jerk hero but that somehow melted away.

The Dress - Colleen Hoover - 3 Stars - Can’t Remember the Names - A woman chooses herself over a superficial man. It was okay. I think I am fatigued from all of these stories.

Non mi è piaciuto per niente, talmente brutto che, per quanto mi sia sforzata, non sono neanche riuscita a finirlo (e, sinceramente, ce ne vuole per farmi desistere!).
Uno stile da dimenticare, una scrittura meno che elementare e, soprattutto, volgare e grossolana.
Una storia per nulla originale, personaggi che non hanno alcun corpo e del tutto incoerenti, non c’è stata una cosa, e dico una sola, che mi sia piaciuta.
Irritante, sboccato, tutt’altro che coinvolgente, un libro che dovrebbe essere divertente e di pieno svago e che invece è riuscito soltanto a farmi innervosire oltremodo.
Di certo uno tra i peggiori libri letti quest’anno.
Sconsigliato sotto qualsiasi punto di vista.

Just goes to show that even though enemies to lovers is an overdone romance novel theme, you can still find a novel using this old trope that manages to be fresh.

Grumpy Cowboy is a lot of fun, and Leah Levy is a surprisingly good heroine. She's intelligent, she has fun, she's outward looking and caring, and she doesn't misread situations for the sake of the plot. That's left to grumpy cowboy Rhett, and fortunately, that's quite brief.

His daughter Joey is also a notable character, and at 5 years old, she's cute in a sassy, endearing way.

I haven't read, or heard of, Max Monroe before, and I'm surprised to see there are none of her audiobooks on Overdrive/Libby, in any of the 5 libraries I am using at present, even though she has written 37 books. But thanks to Hoopla, I'll have access to quite a few more by her.

This book is brand new, published in 2022.½

4. 6stars

So many laugh out loud moments in this book.the inner workings and stream of consciousness moments had me laughing and smiling most of the movie. I loved Luca and Billie. I hope Birdie gets a story too.

4.4 stars

I love anthologies. This one was really unique because of how each story started. It was interesting to see them all take a different approach to their story that fit into a plethora of romance subgenres.

You've Got Mail 50 Shades Tinder= This book

Quick quirky read that I found as a freebie. Had all the nods to the things we have loved in the past. Hey, when a formula works why mess with it? Although her parents were a hoot and a half! Three minute orgasms....you have to read it to get the full scope of how funny that will be to me from now on.

You want a HEA with a sweet couple, an awful break up over a "misunderstanding"and a romantic gesture to win back the woman of his dreams....read this.

Meh, quit around 21%

See Amanda's review.also: Transphobic joke

Read in one sitting, so fun and the chemistry was high level quality. I am not a fan of misunderstanding so i rolled my eyes a little bit near the end, but overall i had a really great time reading this.

4 stars

Very cute lighthearted red. This was exactly the type of book that I needed tonight. Great characters, banter, and snark.