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Review: Love Song

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Review: Love SongLove Song (Stage Dive, #4.7) by Kylie Scott
Series: Stage Dive 4.7
Published by Dark Nights on October 20, 2020
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 79
Goodreads
three-half-stars

FINAL DECISION: Enjoyable story, but it lacks the depth of other books in the series because we don’t get a real reason why these two broke up and now can be together.

THE STORY: Adam Dillon is the new hot rock star who has been singing rage songs about his ex. Then his ex, Jill, comes back into his life, intending to give him a piece of her mind and return the large check he sent her. The two discover that perhaps they never got over one another and more love was involved in their relationship than they thought.

OPINION: The story was nice, but if this weren’t a Stage Dive story with appearances from characters from the series, I probably would forget it as soon as I read it. Adam and Jill are sweet together, but for a couple that broke up, there wasn’t enough drama or working through their issues for me to believe that they had a great happy ending in store. That being said, I really liked Adam and Jill. It seemed like the two just didn’t communicate with one another or share their feelings until things fell apart. I liked the characters and thought that they seemed young and working things out. The book suffered from the length. I needed more from their story. With the addition of the Stage Dive crew, however, I really enjoyed the story.

WORTH MENTIONING: Loved seeing the Stage Dive band and their wives!

CONNECTED BOOKS: LOVE SONG is book 4.7 in the Stage Dive series. Characters from the series make appearances here, but the couple is new so a new reader won’t miss anything.

STAR RATING: I give this book 3.5 stars.

three-half-stars

Review: More Than Possess You

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Review: More Than Possess YouMore Than Possess You: A More Than Words Novella by Shayla Black
Series: Reed Family Reckoning #6.75
Published by Dark Nights on September 28, 2021
Genres: Contemporary
Goodreads
four-stars

FINAL DECISION: This was a thoroughly enjoyable novella. It was quick and dirty, but I liked the characters, and the situation of falling for one’s best friend is a great trope.

THE STORY: Hayes Elliott has been best friends with Echo Hope since second grade. Now graduating from college, she has decided to lose her v-card. Since she doesn’t have someone in mind, she turns to their mutual friend.  Hayes is having none of it. He’s not going to let her get hurt and tells her that he will do the job himself. On a trip to Maui, Hayes begins to realize that Echo is a beautiful woman. Although he doesn’t intend to follow through on having sex with Echo, Hayes finds that he is having trouble resisting the woman, who is also his best friend.

OPINION: I enjoyed this novella. The story is short, but I got a real sense of these characters and their relationship. The setup worked really well, and the long-time relationship between these two was evident thus, I really believed that they could turn into a quick love story — because they always loved one another. The novella did as advertised. It is in the world of the series but isn’t involved in all the complex relationships; thus, it operates as its own story. There is a twist towards the end that I particularly enjoyed because it fits so well with the characters.

This was a really good friends-to-lovers story because it nails the most important moment in that trope to me — the “my friend is desirable to me” recognition.

My only complaint was that I didn’t need the epilogue and, in this case, might have liked the story better without it.

WORTH MENTIONING: Xavian Costa, the hero of MORE THAN DESIRE YOU (Book #8), is the buddy who offers to “take care” of Eden’s virginity “problem”.

CONNECTED BOOKS: MORE THAN POSSESS YOU is book 6.75 in the Reed Family Reckoning/More Than Words series. This book is a standalone as the main couple is not related to the family, but the family members make a significant appearance in this novella.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

four-stars

Review: More Than Protect You

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Review: More Than Protect YouMore Than Protect You (More Than Words, #6.5) by Shayla Black
Series: More Than Words #6.5
Published by Dark Nights on October 6, 2020
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 152
Goodreads
four-stars

FINAL DECISION: For such a short story, this packs a lot of character and relationship building in. I enjoyed this very much as Tanner and Mandy have an instant attraction, but takes time for them to get to know one another. Much of the story is told in a quick fashion, but I liked these two together.

THE STORY: Readers of the series know about Barclay Reed, the father of several main characters in the series. Barclay Reed managed to father various illegitimate children by taking advantage of women in his employ. Amanda Lund is the daughter of one of Barclay’s friend and is also the father of her one-year-old son. Even though Barclay is dead, his legacy lives on as someone is threatening Mandy. Enter Tanner Kirk, who agrees to be her bodyguard.

OPINION: I enjoyed this story, perhaps because it feels like a landing spot for the series meaning that we get to see all the couples and get updates. I enjoyed the relationship between Tanner and Mandy. The whole situation between them is not really complicated even though Amanda has a difficult past. Everything seems clear and straightforward so I am happy to just get to concentrate on all the character relationships.

I just really liked Tanner and Amanda who both are people who have made mistakes and are interested in moving forward together. I liked their conversations which seemed mature and designed to really understand one another.  I thought their romance was nicely paced, giving them time to get to know one another. Then the story gets hot!

The story is an easy read and because the length is short, it was a particularly enjoyable short read.

WORTH MENTIONING: This is a novella-length story with a nice bunch of updates about the couples so far in the series.

CONNECTED BOOKS: MORE THAN PROTECT YOU is book 6.5 in the More Than Words series. The romance here is self-contained and this can certainly be read as a standalone. However, characters from the series make appearances, and reading in order gives a fuller understanding of the whole storyline.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

 

four-stars