Review: A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon

 

💬: “Well, hey there, little lady,” he said in that fake Southern accent that made her laugh and drove her crazy all at the same time. “I haven’t seen you around these parts before.”

Weatherspoon, Rebekah. A Cowboy to Remember (Cowboys of California Book 1) (p. 306). Kensington Books. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: romance, contemporary romance, spicy

📚Page Count: 307

🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 33min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5 

----

A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon is the first book in the Cowboys of California series, it's the first western I've ever read and it was very cute. Evie Buchanan is a chef who has a spot on a morning show and she has recently lost her memory from a accident at an industry party. After waking up with amnesia she's informed that there's only one person on her emergency contact list, a sexy African American cowboy named Zach, apparently from her past. Zach messed up the first chance he had with Evie, now that he has a fresh start, will he be able to convince her to fall in love?

Evie and Zach were cute together, and almost all of the side characters were really nice. I don't think this was my favorite romance story, but I did enjoy the read. I can not see myself reading this again though, because of the slow pacing in the middle of the book. It feels as if not much happens for a bit and I hate when I feel like the plot is stalling. I did like the epilogue.  

The spicy scene was okay, there was only one if I remember correctly. It wasn't my favorite spicy scene and I honestly wish there were more, but I understand that the author is trying to tell an actual story that's not exactly an erotica. I'm giving the spicy scenes two point seventy-five chilies 🌶️🌶️.75 out of five chilies

Overall this romance was okay, there were cute moments, a few moments that were boring, and the one spicy scene was alright. I'm giving this 3 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5  Stars

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]

Review: Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon

💬: “It’s a sex chair,” Xeni blurted out. “A sex chair for a sex witch,” Mason joked. “Pretty much.” He walked over and examined it more closely. “May I?” he asked."

Weatherspoon, Rebekah. XENI: A Marriage of Inconvenience (Loose Ends Book 2) (p. 206). Rebekah Weatherspoon Presents. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: erotica, romance, contemporary romance, interracial romance

📚Page Count: 217

🎧Audiobook Length: 07h 13min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5 

----

Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon is the second book in the "Loose Ends" series. Xeni's famous aunt Sable Everly passes away and leaves most of her estate to Xeni. Due to Xeni's mother and her other aunts having a decades-old feud with their sister Sable, Xeni has a limited amount of time to clean out her aunt Sable's house alone. That is until she finds out that to claim her inheritance she has to marry her Aunt Sable's young friend and protégée. Well, now Xeni and her new husband Mason can clean out Sable's estate together. They're trying to make the best of the situation, maybe that includes falling in love.

This was a really cute romance and I enjoyed the read. Both Xeni and Mason seem very attractive and, I think the narrator did an okay job on the audiobook. I didn't have very many issues with this book but, even though I liked it, it's not my favorite romance. I would recommend this book to a friend though. 

[SPOILERS BELOW]

The issue I had with the book was with the miscommunication trope at the end. The two separated for a while before finally getting back together and that was a bit frustrating to me, though I understand they both wanted to work on their separate lives and issues for a bit. 

I loved the spicy scenes! There's even a pegging scene in here and that was enjoyable. I like that the couple used condoms until they had been together for a while. I'm giving the spicy scenes three point five chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies

Overall this romance was sickeningly cute. I'm giving this 4 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5  Stars

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]

Review: Radio Silence by Alyssa Cole

💬: “You can try to fight it with all your might, but unless you're some all-powerful being and forgot to tell us, you can't stop every bad thing from happening. You're doing your best, and everyone loves you for it. That's all you can ask yourself for."

Cole, Alyssa. Radio Silence (Off the Grid Book 1) (p. ?). Carina Press. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres:  romance, contemporary romance, interracial romance, dystopian, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic 

📚Page Count: 308

🎧Audiobook Length: 07h 34min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5 

----

Radio Silence by Alyssa Cole is a dystopian romance and it was surprisingly good. For some reason I didn't think dystopian and romance genres went together (I guess I wasn't paying attention while reading The Hunger Games.) I thought this was cute and some what action packed, the story kept my attention for the duration of the book. 

Arden, a Black woman, and John, a Korean man, were roommates in college when suddenly all the power went out, technology stopped working, and water stopped running (no one seems to know why). John comes up with the idea to walk the 100 miles from the college to his family's home with Arden, but on the way they come upon some trouble. It's John's brother, Gabriel, who helps Arden and John out of a dangerous situation. Now Arden, John, Gabriel, and Maggie (John and Gabe's teen sister) are tasked with surviving the apocalypse. Gabriel is stubborn, mean, and treats Arden like she doesn't know anything. How long can they last going at each other's throats? Or will they eventually notice each other's softer side? 

I think some of the decisions the character's made were really not well thought out. One example is at the beginning of the book, John and Arden make some questionable decisions and that ends up with them being in danger. Later on in the story, Maggie makes a really silly decision and that ends up putting the entire family at risk to being harmed in the apocalypse. In dystopian and apocalyptic stories, I expect the characters to try harder to live. 

The spicy scenes were enjoyable and I liked that condoms were used, because that's what makes sense in an apocalypse. I'm giving the spicy scenes three point five chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies

Overall this dystopian romance was cute. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5 

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]

Review: Rafe by Rebekah Weatherspoon

 

💬: “She had to wonder when she would be able to look at his well-toned form and his sprawling tattoos, and not want to start drooling."

Weatherspoon, Rebekah. RAFE: A Buff Male Nanny (Loose Ends Book 1) (p. 212). Rebekah Weatherspoon Presents. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: erotica, romance, contemporary romance, interracial romance

📚Page Count: 258

🎧Audiobook Length: 06h 16min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 - 3.75/5 

----

Rafe: A Buff Male Nanny by Rebekah Weatherspoon is the first book in the "Loose Ends" series. This book is about Dr. Sloan Copeland, M.D who is a single mother to two twin daughters, Avery and Addison. Dr. Copeland needs to find a new babysitter and she gets a recommendation about a male Nanny named Rafe. Well, his references are good and he has the experience so he might be the right person for the job, it also helps that he's very handsome and fit. Will Dr. Copeland and Rafe keep things strictly professional, or will they pursue each other due to mutual attraction? 

This romance/erotica felt cozy and wholesome for the most part, it's advertised as low angst and I definitely agree with that assertion. Although the story was cute, it wasn't one of my favorite romance stories but I'm glad I read it, though this isn't a book I could see myself reading again. I did however like the little surprise in the epilogue. I'm a 30 year old non-binary women who is child free by choice, so it's possible that's the reason this story didn't resonate with me. 

The spicy scenes were nice, I appreciate that the couple used condoms until they got further into their relationship. I'm giving the spicy scenes three chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies

Overall this romance/erotica was cute. I'm giving this 3.75 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 - 3.75/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]

Review: Breathing Underwater - Alex Flinn

💬:“I’ve been trying to breathe underwater too long. It’s time to get some fresh air into my lungs."

Flinn, Alex. Breathing Underwater (p. 189). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: fiction, teens, young adult, abuse, romance

📚Page Count: 229

🎧Audiobook Length: 5hrs 09mins

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5

--------

Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn is a young adult novel about an abusive relationship that two high schoolers are in, this book is from the perspective of the abuser. This book was first published in 2001, I read this in 2002 at the age of 12. I don't think 12 years old is old enough for this book, I definitely think this book is for older teens/young adults. I will say that I did learn a lot from this book as a pre-teen, I learned what an abusive relationship could possibly look like and that helped me in the long run. 

This book would be really helpful for young males in particular, because this story is from the point of view of a young male teen. Some of the readers might see themselves in the main character Nick, or even in his girlfriend Caitlin. It's possible that they might see themselves in Nick's best friend, Tom. There are so many possibilities for how this story could connect to older teens/adult readers.

[SPOILERS BELOW THIS LINE]

-------

My only issue with this story is that Nick learns that HE was abusive through journaling, counseling, but mostly the murder/suicide of his friend Leo and Leo's girlfriend, Neysa (two Latine characters). I don't like how Neysa was killed off just for Nick to learn his lesson. Nick even says after he finds out that they're dead that he can't even remember what Neysa looked like, she was just a stand in for Caitlin.

"Neysa. What did she look like, even? But I see Caitlin’s face, Caitlin’s blue eyes, staring."

Flinn, Alex. Breathing Underwater (p. 177). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 

Overall, I think the story was solid in it's depiction of abusive relationships, abusive behaviors, and child abuse. I'm going to give this 3 out of 5 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I listened to this audiobook for free on [Libbyapp.com]

Review: Haven by Rebekah Weatherspoon

 

💬: “So you're just a quiet, cranky, brooding mountain man?” 
“Something like that.”

Weatherspoon, Rebekah. HAVEN: Beards & Bondage (p. 88). Rebekah Weatherspoon Presents. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: erotica, BDSM, romance, contemporary romance, dark, thriller, interracial romance

📚Page Count: 256

🎧Audiobook Length: 07h 28min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 3.5/5 
----

Haven by Rebekah Weatherspoon is the first book in the "Beards & Bondage" trilogy. Haven is about Shep, a grumpy nature photographer who lives out in the woods in Northern California and Claudia, a fashionista from the city. Claudia takes a trip out the Northern California wilderness for a week long get away, but the trip ends in mayhem and Claudia is tasked with trying to survive the night. With no where else to run, Claudia ends up at Shep's door and she's desperate for help. Shep saves Claudia but now both of them are forever changed. To help with the healing process, Shep and Claudia begin a week long sexual relationship, one that includes BDSM session after session. Claudia learns how to be the perfect submissive, and Shep dominates her wonderfully. 

This started off really strong with a thriller element and even though the thriller element dies down towards the middle of the book, the book still kept my attention for it's duration. I do think the characters could have had a little more development, but this is an erotica so we got more spicy scenes than character development. 

I'm unsure of how to rate the spicy scenes, they were good but I didn't love them. I appreciated that they used a condom in every scene, because the two had just met. The scenes didn't move me in a way that I wanted them to. Keep in mind that all the scenes are BDSM related in some way. I'm giving it three chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies

Overall this erotica was okay, I wish there was a better balance between the romance and spicy scenes. I'm giving this 3.5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 3.5/5 Stars

I listened to this on [Chirpbooks.com]

Review: Curvy Girl Summer by Danielle Allen

 

💬: He pointed at my drink. 
"What are you drinking?"
"Malibu Sunrise, it's delicious"
'It looks good but I can't be seen drinking that."
I blinked rapidly, "Oh?" 

Allen, Danielle. Curvy Girl Summer (Chapter 6, p.?). Bramble. NetGalley Advanced Reader's Copy. 

📖Genres: romance, contemporary, contemporary romance

📚Page Count: 210

🎧Audiobook Length: 12h 23min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5 
----

Curvy Girl Summer by Danielle Allen is about Aaliyah James a plus sized 29 year old who wants to find a boyfriend for her 30th birthday celebration. Aaliyah's family members think that she's getting older and her time find a boyfriend, get married, and have children is running out. Annoyed with her family's comments, she lets them know that she does have a boyfriend and that he'll be at her 30th birthday celebration. She doesn't have a boyfriend yet but with online dating, how hard could finding one be? When the first date goes not as planned, the local bartender, at the bar where the date took place seems to be kind and funny enough to make Aaliyah feel hopeful about finding more people to date. The more she spends time with Ahmad the closer she feels to him. Will she find a boyfriend in time for her birthday and will he be from the online dating app "Tinderfish" or will he be the funny, handsome, and caring bartender?

Reading this book was such a great reading experience. This is my first slow burn romance novel and now I still why people like this trope so much. There's so much built up sexual an romantic tension and it feels as if everything will erupt during the climax of the book. I loved how Aaliyah and Ahmad teased each other relentlessly, it was so cute. It was so nice that they both loved concerts, live shows, and music in general. The miscommunication trope was in there and it was so annoying, like the situation was very obvious but the main character was just not getting it. That was annoying but the book was so good overall that I'm not going to change my rating because of that annoyance. Something the author did a really good job of including is what it feels like to be a plus size woman dating with dating apps and websites in the real world.  

The audio book narrator was really good, I enjoyed their voice for all the characters. Sometimes when an author voices several or many characters some of the voices sound off but that was NOT the case with Wesleigh Siobhan and their narration. All of the words are clear and concise and the individual voices they use for each character fits so well with the story. 

Talk about a slow burn! There are two spicy scenes and let me be honest, the spicy scenes don't start happening until well over 80% through the book. The scenes come late in the book but I honestly think it was worth it. I don't really like spicy scenes with unprotected sex with almost strangers or first time lovers, though I did like the scenes in general. I'm giving the spicy scenes four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️out of five chilies

This book was a pleasant surprise! I really enjoyed myself while listening to this audiobook. It was fantastic. I'm giving this 5 out of 5 stars. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5  Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com], Danielle Allen (the author), and Macmillan Audio (publisher) for the arc (advanced reader's copy) of the audiobook.