Thursday, 23 January 2025

Offside Rule by Maeve Hazel | Book Review

[ad/gifted - I received an eBook copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

Author & Title: Offside Rule by Maeve Hazel
Genre: Romance 
My rating: 4/5
Publication date: 16th January 2025

Blurb: 
With rules strictly prohibiting referee/player relationships, Arianna and Xavier face an impossible choice.

Fiery and focused.

Arianna Esposito is a single mother under pressure. As a European football referee, she loves her job—but she struggles with an old injury and the guilt over moments she's missing with her young daughter. The last thing she expects is for a charming young football player to make her believe in love again. Arianna finds herself torn between the world she's carefully built and the risky promise of something more.

Dedicated and passionate.

Xavier Kavalle is a rising star in European football, doing his best to shoulder the weight of his team’s success. As he prepares his teammates for their shot at the championship, he finds inspiration in an unexpected place—the referee he can’t keep his eyes off of. She’s talented, fiercely independent, and everything he never knew he needed. Under mounting pressure, can Xavier step up to be everything his team—and Arianna—needs?

As the championship approaches, will they play it safe or defy the rules to pursue the kind of love they long for?

Review:
This is the cutest novella! I love a sports romance anyway so I knew this would be right up my street.

Nineteen-year-old Xavier Kavalle plays for a European football team. He is good enough to be captain but that role has gone to his cousin (who isn't the best player on the team) just because his dad is the team's coach. Despite this, he stays positive and confident in his team's ability.

Arianna Esposito is a twenty-five-year-old widow and mum to four-year-old Giulia. She is also a football referee who takes her job very seriously. The two cross paths one evening after she makes a football comment to Xavier whilst he's watching replays, then he realises she actually knows her stuff when he discovers she is refereeing his next match. 

There is an instant spark between the two of them but with their age gap, the fact that a ref cannot get involved with a player and the fact that Arianna has a child, could their relationship work?

The character of Xavier was so lovely for someone so young and I really enjoyed the scenes between Xavier and Giulia. Arianna's feelings regarding being torn between her career and her family were written very well and you could feel her turmoil. I love novellas because I can just fly through the story but at the same time I feel sad when I am loving them because I just want to read about these characters forever.

This is a sweet, short read that any romance lover will enjoy! 


Thursday, 9 January 2025

Powerless by Elsie Silver | Book Review

[This post contains affiliate links.]

Genre: Romance
My rating: 4/5
Publisher: Piatkus
Publication date: 6th April 2023


Blurb:
Two childhood best friends. Two broken hearts. One impromptu road trip to get away from everything.

I've been living in the friend zone for years now.

To Jasper Gervais's fans, he's just the hockey heartthrob on TV. But to me, he's still the lost boy with sad eyes and a heart of gold. The man I've loved in secret for years.

So when my life falls apart on my wedding day, it only makes sense that he's the one to swoop in and save me. And when his world comes crashing down around him, I'm there to return the favour.

But the more time alone we spend together, the more I start to realise that Jasper isn't looking at me like a friend anymore. And he isn't touching me like one, either.

He acts like he wants me.

But after years of turning me away, he's going to need to prove it...

Review: 
I loved both Flawless and Heartless so ended up speeding my way through the series. Usually I wouldn't be a big series reader, but I have just loved all these characters so much and never want to say goodbye! 

Powerless follows the story of Jasper, a childhood friend of the Eaton boys. He is an NHL player and we learn about how he came to live with Harvey and his family following Jasper's troubles with his own parents. Sloane is a prima ballerina and is a cousin of the Eaton's so Jasper has known her since she was ten-years-old.

From what we have seen of Jasper in the previous two books, we know he is very quiet and reserved so I was excited to see a bit more of him. In Heartless, we learned that Sloane had recently gotten engaged but didn't seem happy about it so I was eager to learn more about that.

Sloane's father is a businessman and her engagement to Sterling was essentially a business transaction. She has been in love with Jasper since she first laid eyes on him at ten years of age but she was under the impression that Jasper didn't feel the same way.

I don't usually like a childhood friends to lovers trope but this was beautiful. It was so wonderful to get into Jasper's mind and for both he and Sloane to overcome things together. I thought no one could beat Cade but Jasper Gervais is up there!


Tuesday, 7 January 2025

The Christmas Swap by Talia Samuels | Book Review

[This post contains affiliate links.]

Genre: LGBTQIA+ romance
My rating: 4/5
Publisher: Penguin Michael Joseph 
Publication date: 21st September 2023

Blurb:
It's the perfect Christmas love story.

Margot Murray is a newly single, high-flying businesswoman with no interest in a cutesy seasonal romance.

Ben Gibson is an unlucky-in-love sweetheart in need of a woman to bring home for the holidays.

Together, they make a pact: Margot gets a blissful week away from London in a picture-perfect manor, in exchange for posing as Ben's girlfriend.

The story can only go one way. Margot is sure to fall in love for real.

And she does.

With Ben's sister, Ellie.

What could possibly go wrong?

Review:
I am loving festive romances at the minute and I'm sure we have all read our fair share of the fake dating trope where they go to one of their families homes for Christmas and end up falling in love for real.

The Christmas Swap is a slight twist on that. Ben is one of Margot's clients and she plays the role of doting girlfriend at Ben's family's country estate over Christmas. Ben doesn't want to be dealing with the questions about why he is still single in his mid-30s and Margot was due to go on holiday with her girlfriend but they have since broken up.

When they arrive at Ben's family home, his sister Ellie instantly thinks Margot is lying. She's heard hushed conversations and thinks that Margot may be a gold digger, not that they aren't really in a relationship. A romance does blossom between the two women and the whole story is just so interesting to read. Ellie's sleuthing and misunderstanding was brilliant to follow because you could absolutely see how it all made sense to her but was totally off the mark.

There is so much depth to both Ellie and Margot, and Margot's emotionally abusive past relationship was tackled really well. This is a really refreshing take on the fake dating trope!

Sunday, 29 December 2024

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister | Book Review

[ad/gifted - I received an advanced reader copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.]

Genre: Thriller
My rating: 5/5
Publisher: Penguin Michael Joseph
Publication date: 30th January 2025

Blurb:
It’s Camilla’s first day back at work, her daughter’s first day at nursery.
But husband Luke is nowhere to be seen. The only trace of him is an unfinished note. Camilla tries to put it out of her mind; there must be a rational explanation.
At work, there are welcomes back, and too many distractions.

Then it starts.

Breaking news: there's a hostage situation developing in London.
The police arrive: Luke is caught up in it.

But he isn't a hostage. Luke - doting father, successful writer, enthusiastic runner and eternal optimist - is the gunman.

What Camilla does next is crucial. Because only she knows what the note he left behind says, and the clues it might hold...

Review: 
Gillian McAllister is that author that I will autobuy without even knowing the plot of the book because I know it will be fantastic. Famous Last Words is no different.

Cam, a literary agent, is due to go back to work after maternity leave but that first day is thrown into turmoil when she discovers that her husband Luke, a ghostwriter, is caught up in a hostage situation. But he is the one controlling the siege.

Cam, Luke and baby Polly lived a normal life. How can their lives have upturned like this? 

The novel is told in dual POV from Cam and also Niall, the hostage negotiator (hooray for a Northern Irish character) and over a few timelines too. The present when the siege is taking place, seven years following the siege then another which I won't talk about too much as you just need to read to find out what happens.

The characterisation is fantastic and I really enjoyed Niall's background too as it gave us a chance to understand him and why he was the way that he was.

What I loved about this is that I could not guess where it was going. All McAllister's novels are intricately plotted so I expected that, but when the realisation of what was happening hit me, my jaw literally dropped and my husband asked if I was okay.

This is an absolutely fantastic new book from Gillian McAllister, joining her already incredible backlist. Wonderful and thrilling.



Tuesday, 24 December 2024

Snowed In by Catherine Walsh | Book Review

[This post contains affiliate links.]

My rating: 4/5
Publisher: Bookouture 
Publication date: 1st November 2023

Blurb:
Megan is dreading going home for the holidays. She’s the village pariah, the she-devil who left local golden boy Isaac at the altar four years ago and ran away to the big city. She could really do without the drama. Particularly as he’s engaged again, and she’s just been dumped for the fourth time this year.

Christian’s fed up of being on his own every Christmas. He doesn’t mind being alone, but he hates his family’s sad eyes and soft tones as they sit around coupled up. Because he’s actually, totally, fine.

So when Megan literally bumps into Christian in a Dublin pub, they come up with a pact to see them through the holiday season. They’re going to be the very best fake dates for each other, ever.

Rules are drawn up, a contract is signed on a wine-stained napkin. They will sit through each other’s family gatherings and be outrageously in love until freed from their annual obligations. After all, it’s only for a few weeks.

But with everyone home for the holidays, two big families to deal with alongside old friends, old flames and old feelings, things are bound to get messy. And when a snowed-in cabin and a little Christmas magic are added to the mix, anything could happen…

Review:
As soon as I finished Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh, I instantly started Snowed In, the second in the Fitzpatrick Christmas series. This is Christian's story, Andrew's brother who we met briefly in the previous book.

Megan jilts her would-be husband Isaac on their wedding day, bumping into former schoolmate Christian outside the venue who promises to keep her abscondence secret.

Five years later, the two meet again in a pub in Dublin where they are both now living, and reconnect. Megan is going back home for the holidays for the first time since she walked out on her wedding and is nervous about being back in her hometown and potentially bumping into her ex-fiance. It doesn't help that she thinks everyone hates her for what she did to Isaac with no explanation. Christian is also not looking forward to Christmas with his family as the only single sibling and dreads the onslaught of relationship questions.

Christian proposes a fake relationship deal and Megan is absolutely not on board but eventually she is won round. What can go wrong?

I love how Catherine Walsh writes. Not only do we have a cute, Irish Christmas setting with humour and romance but serious topics such as controlling relationships and family dynamics are tackled too.

I read this in basically one sitting because I just didn't want to put it down. I now feel like I have read Catherine Walsh's entire back catalogue. Loved it!