Review: Dating the Enemy

Title: Dating the Enemy 
Author: Nicole Williams 
Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary 
Publisher: Self-Published 
Publication Date: September 23, 2018 
Source: Bought

Ms. Romance, Hannah Arden, writes one of the top read relationship advice columns in the nation. Mr. Reality, Brooks North, writes the top read relationship advice column.
Ms. Romance believes in true love and soul mates. Mr. Reality believes love is a term humanity has assigned to the primal instinct to procreate. She believes in fate—he in chance. She knows there’s one right person for everyone—he knows there are multiple ones. The two writers couldn’t be more polarized on relationships. They’re professional rivals, and philosophical antagonists.
For eight years, their battles have been fought with words and ink. That changes when they apply for the same position at the World Times and find themselves face-to-face for the first time. Brooks isn’t the sour-faced, antiquity of a man Hannah pictured. And Hannah isn’t exactly the middle-aged shrew with cat hair on her housedress that Brooks imagined either.
In lieu of competing for the promotion traditional ways, the two writers are presented with playing the leading roles in a social experiment unlike any before. Can a person be tricked into falling in love? Can a relationship be crafted under the right string of circumstances? Hannah knows the answer. So does Brooks.
Agreeing to the terms, the two set out on a three-month dating experiment, live-streamed for the world to watch. All Hannah has to do to win is not fall in love with the narcissistic brute. All Brooks has to do is get the starry-eyed dreamer to fall in love with him. Both are so confident in their philosophies, they expect the challenge to be easy.
With the world watching, Brooks and Hannah will be forced to confront their beliefs and conclude, once and for all, who’s right. The answer is one neither of them saw coming. 

Goodreads | Amazon 

I feel like it's only fair to warn you guys right off the bat: this is going to be more rant than review. It is also going to be loaded full of spoilers because I have some thoughts.

Okay, I thought I was going to love this book. Enemies-to-lovers is my jam and I basically read all I can of that trope. While I don't think I've ever read another one of Nicole William's books, I had high hopes for Dating the Enemy because of all the hype and the premise. However, it just . . . did not work for me. At all. 

Let's go through what I did like: the cover is awesome, it definitely caught my eye and I feel like it reflects the tension of enemies-to-lovers really well. This was also a book that, despite the problems I had with it, kept me reading. I went through it pretty quickly (though, to be fair, I skimmed a decent bit toward the end) and I didn't DNF, so that's something. 

Yeah . . . that was pretty much all I was okay within this book. I feel really bad about not having more nice things to say about it but it just wasn't my cup of tea. So, onto the things that didn't work/the rant.

Ohhhhhh my gosh, you guys, I could not stand this contrived, weird social experiment/dating situation the two MCs were thrown into. It made zero sense to me. Basically, Brooks, aka "Mr. Reality" has to make Hannah fall in love with him and Hannah, aka "Ms. Romance" has to not fall in love with him proving . . . something? I don't know what the reasoning is behind this or how Hannah would win if she didn't fall in love. Wouldn't that disprove or weaken all her points about love? Like, if Hannah was supposed to be "Ms. Romance" and Brooks is "Mr. Reality", wouldn't it make more sense for Hannah to make Brooks fall in love with her and admit love is real instead of the other way around?? Hannah already believes in love so I'm confused as to what Brooks was trying to convince her of by making her fall in love with him. And isn't he kind of an ass for manipulating her emotions and feelings and making her fall in love with him when he doesn't believe in love and doesn't plan on returning those feelings (at least at first)?

Like, Hannah's whole schtick was proving that love lives and stuff but she spent three months not falling in love with a guy who was wooing her so like . . . what's the logic here? That makes no sense to me. It seemed like the author confused the main characters. What they each preached absolutely didn't coincide with their actions throughout the book. Brooks, the supposedly love-unbeliever, was totally romantic and wanted a relationship with Hannah. But Hannah, the "hopeful romantic" was SO RESISTANT to all the romance and was so wishy-washy and unable to own up to her feelings, even behind doors when she and Brooks were "real" and away from the cameras. 

Throughout the book, Brooks had to basically stage these dates to take Hannah on where they were filmed to a live audience and it was so cringy. I guess it was going for a like, The Bachelor vibe but it just didn't work for me. It felt weird that a newspaper would turn to TV to up its own popularity but, whatever, that's the least of my problems with this book. One of these dates he takes her on is to this dance club and when she gets there -- being filmed, keep in mind -- Brooks is dancing and flirting with another girl!! Like, what the actual hell, Brooks! What an asshole move! It's one thing to be a jerk in private but when literally hundreds of thousands of people are watching you disrespect the girl you actually asked on a date by flirting with another one . . . that's just gross. That whole situation made me so mad. Especially when Brooks was like "oh, are you jealous?! *winkwink*". Like, no, you ginormous douche, I'm pissed that you're embarrassing me and disrespecting me, especially in front of a live audience! 

It also felt like there was no gradual change in Brooks's feelings toward Hannah. Like, the first time they meet he's like "love doesn't exist!!!" and the next he's trying to take Hannah on "real dates" and wooing her and wanting a real relationship. Like, what convinced him he wanted love?? Hannah constantly rejecting him? 

Oh my gosh, I also got so tired of the constant conversations about whether love existed. I get that was a pretty significant theme in the book but it was just the same exact conversation every single chapter. It drove me insane and those conversations were where the most skimming took place. 

ALSO (sorry, I know this review is getting long but I GOTTA RANT), it felt like the author was trying to be super body positive and the MC Hannah described herself as a size 10 and not like the other super thin woman in the city but it just didn't work. Hannah made some somewhat negative comments about her own weight throughout the book (usually followed by Brooks being like "no way, you're crazy" or whatever) and she also constantly tore down women who were skinny. It was really obnoxious to read and I don't think the author achieved what she meant to do, which I'm sure was to be positive and inclusive of different body types. 

Okay, there was one last scene at the end that I have to talk about because it was so unbelievable and out of nowhere -- toward the end of the book, Brooks and Hannah are making out or whatever in her apartment and her friends just randomly show up (it's late at night BTW) wanting to watch the like, extended version of Pride and Prejudice so Hannah basically forces Brooks into her closet AND PROCEEDS TO WATCH THE FIRST DISC OF THE MOVIE WITH HER FRIENDS. WHILE BROOKS IS JUST STANDING LOCKED IN A CLOSET. 

Like, WTF??? First of all, why would her friend just show up in the middle of the night with no warning and expect to watch a several-hours-long movie? SECOND OF ALL, why didn't Hannah just tell them not tonight?! Wouldn't that make more sense than making your boyfriend stand in the closest for "a few hours"?! Who does that?? And apparently, Brooks wasn't even mad about it! He was just like "oh, now you own me *sexyeyes*". No way! If I was in that situation, I'd be fuming. She left him in a closet for a few hours while she watched a movie with her friends!! A movie they already watched hundreds of times! UGH. 

Honestly, I have several other things I could talk about that really bothered me but I'm going to cut myself off there. This book just . . . didn't make sense to me. Nothing really worked and I was left just feeling frustrates and confused about all the high ratings. That said, there are generally high ratings for this book so I'm not in the majority here. If this sounds like your cup of tea, give it a shot! I hope you like it more than I did. 

It was a circus, and Brooks and I had become the main attraction.

Two out of Five Teapots

Review: Not So Nice Guy

Title: Not So Nice Guy
Author: R.S. Grey 
Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary 
Publisher: N/A
Publication Date: August 9, 2018 
Source: Bought

"Oh my god. Who is that?"
I get asked this question a lot.
"Oh him?" I reply. "That's just Ian."
Just Ian is the biggest understatement of the century.
Just the Mona Lisa. Just the Taj Mahal. Just Ian, with his boring ol' washboard abs and dime-a-dozen dimpled smile.
Just Ian is... just my best friend.
We're extremely close, stuck so deep inside a Jim-and-Pam-style friendzone everyone at works assumes we're a couple - that is until one day, word spreads through the teacher's lounge that he's single. Fair game. Suddenly, it's open season on Ian.
He should be reveling in all the newfound attention, but to our mutual surprise, the only attention he seems to want is mine.
He's turning our formerly innocent nightly chats into x-rated phone calls. Our playful banter sports a new, dangerous edge.
I want to assume he's playing a prank on me, just pushing my buttons like always - but when Ian lifts me onto the desk in my classroom and slides his hands up my skirt, he doesn't leave a lot of room for confusion.
I'm a little scared of things going south, of losing my best friend because I can't keep my hands to myself. So, I'm just going to back away and not return this earth-shattering kiss - oh who am I kidding?!
Goodbye Ian, ol' buddy, ol' pal!
Helloooo mister not so nice guy.

Goodreads | Amazon 

This was my first R.S. Grey book in a while. I've always been hit or miss with her writing and the last books I read of her's -- Anything You Can Do -- annoyed me so much that I pretty much swore off reading her stuff. However, when I heard the summary and the hype for Not So Nice Guy, I decided to throw caution to the wind and give her another shot. And man, am I happy I did! Not So Nice Guy was a happy surprise of a read and one that has reignited my interest in R.S. Grey's other books!

My two favorite romance tropes are enemies-to-lovers and friends-to-lovers -- I love the tension and the conflict these two scenarios create so I was so excited when I heard the summary of this one. We were sort of thrown into Sam and Ian's (the main characters) friendship from the start which can sometimes lead to some reader whiplash or make me feel like I'm missing something but that absolutely wasn't the case with this book! I felt so comfortable reading about Sam and Ian as friends -- I loved their routine and the humor they shared and their fun traditions. It all felt really natural and it was easy to fall into. Plus, it made it all the better so see their friendship heat up. Their relationship -- both friendship-wise and romantic-wise -- was so rewarding and it made me want to read more and more about them!

One thing I wasn't super thrilled about was the direction and the pacing of the plot. Once things got rolling . . . holy cow, did they roll fast! I sort of felt like I was a little cartoon character hanging onto the bumper of a car racing down the freeway. Things happened really quickly and it made me sort of . . . sad. Like, it felt like we were supposed to believe all these really big decisions they were making were the right decisions just because they knew each other as friends. And, I mean, they did, but it just felt a little fake. Like they were rushing because they didn't want to slow down and consider their options or talk things through. I don't know, I just wished we'd been able to see more development of their romantic relationship at a more reasonable pace. 

Even though things did move rather quickly, I still enjoyed reading Not So Nice Guy. It had some great funny moments, a swoon-worthy friends-to-lovers story, and a super sweet romance. This book had definitely won me over and I plan to read more by R.S. Grey soon! 

“One second, he’s my best friend, and the next he’s the not so nice guy, the man who handles me like he’s barely resisting the urge to devour me whole.” 

Four out of Five Teapots

Review: My American Duchess

Title: My American Duchess 
Author: Eloisa James 
Genre: Adult, Historical Romance
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: January 26, 2016 
Source: Bought

The arrogant Duke of Trent intends to marry a well-bred Englishwoman. The last woman he would ever consider marrying is the adventuresome Merry Pelford - an American heiress who has infamously jilted two fiancés.
But after one provocative encounter with the captivating Merry, Trent desires her more than any woman he has ever met. He is determined to have her as his wife, no matter what it takes. And Trent is a man who always gets what he wants.
The problem is, Merry is already betrothed, and the former runaway bride has vowed to make it all the way to the altar. As honor clashes with irresistible passion, Trent realizes the stakes are higher than anyone could have imagined. In his battle to save Merry and win her heart, one thing becomes clear: All is fair in love and war.

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I've been really feeling historical romances lately! Normally, I'm not a huge fan because I feel like they all tend to be very similar (or, at least, more similar in my view that contemporary romances are to each other) but the past few weeks . . . I don't know, they have just had the perfect mix of what I've wanted in my romance books! I especially love reading them when they feature strong female characters and My American Duchess has just that!

Merry was probably my favorite part of this book. I loved her, even if she did sometimes frustrate me. She was very level-headed and strong -- it was refreshing to see her holding her ground and staying true to what she wanted. I also really appreciated that, despite the societal backlash, she wasn't afraid of embracing her American-ness (though I wish it wasn't mentioned as often as it was -- it was a bit overboard) and always stayed true to who she was. In general, she was an amazing lead and I loved reading about her journey toward fully embracing herself as well as her journey with Trent! 

Trent was lovely. He was definitely the typical arrogant Duke so often found in historical romances but he held a certain charm that endeared me to him. I liked how respectful he was and how he also fully accepted Merry, despite what his peers thought or said about her. They had a lot of really sweet and cute moments that, while not necessarily crucial to the plot, made me root for them and want to keep reading. They made a nice couple and I enjoyed seeing them slowly grow from acquaintances, to friends, to more.   

One of the problems with this book (and so many other historical romances) is the insta-love. Like, I get couples back then didn't get to know each other as intimately as we do now but I'm not a fan of how Trent had one conversation with Merry and then knew that he *had to* marry her. At that point, I just didn't feel the connection between them and it seemed a bit far-fetched that he could feel so passionately after about five minutes. But I get this is kind of a staple in historical romances (at least the ones I've read) so I tried not to let it bother me too much!

This was my first Eloisa James novel and I enjoyed it a lot. I plan to read more of her books soon and more historical romances in general! This book definitely left a smile on my face so if you have any recommendations for other books to read by Eloisa James, let me know in the comments!

“She was everything he'd ever wanted in a woman, and nothing he'd ever thought to find in a lady.”

DNF Review: The Peer and the Pupper

Title: The Peer and the Puppet 
Series: When Rivals Play #1 
Author: B.B. Reid 
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Bebe's Reads LLC
Publication Date: July 22, 2018 
Source: Bought 

THE PUPPET
Borrow the bike. Win the race. Collect the cash. It should've been an easy job. Ran out of town with a broken leg and a lawsuit, my mother's latest flame swoops in like a knight in gilded armor. Blackwood Keep is a place I don't belong, and I'm not the only one who knows. To the boy across the hall, my savior's only son, I'm a stray looking for a bone.
He's lord of the manor.
King of the academy.
And number one on my shit list.
THE PEER
I have no intentions of becoming a happy family with the social climber and her wild daughter. A bottle of Jameson and a cracked skull gets my problem shipped to reform school, but I didn't bank on her returning.
Four's out to get even, and she almost had the perfect plan: expose the privileged kid moonlighting as a gangbanger. She's smart, but she'll have to be smarter. Sending her away won't be good enough this time. I'm going to have to tame the little troublemaker. To the girl across the hall, the one without a name, I'm nothing without my silver spoon.
She's lady of the trailer park.
Queen of the swamps.
And my new favorite pastime.

Goodreads | Amazon 

Well, this book was a mess. 

Honestly, I wanted so badly to love this one. It sounded right up my alley -- enemies to lovers, a strong female protagonist, and the two main characters are thrown together! I mean, that's a recipe for an entertaining read. Unfortunately, this one turned from entertaining to infuriating pretty soon after I started it. There was just so much going on that it annoyed me. It felt like the author couldn't quite balance all the different plot lines and it left me feeling confused and irritated while I was reading. I ended up DNFing it at 77%. 

Okay, so I straight up couldn't stand the main characters. First of all, their names. The girl was named Four, the boy named Ever. 

Four. Ever. 

. . . Yeah. 

They were also just both very annoying. I didn't get what was Ever's problem?? Like, I get that the author was going for the irresistible, bad-boy, jerk hero we so often see in books like this but it absolutely didn't work. Ever had the personality of a saltine cracker and all the "dangerous" things about him made me think he was just dumb. I really do hate feeling this way but I just couldn't find it in me to root for him or even like him. I didn't enjoy reading about him and it just made me sad for Four, honestly. I hated that she even gave him the time of day. He didn't treat her well at all, even in the moments when he was supposed to be like a "nice guy" but Four fell for it and it just . . . ugh. It was so frustrating. She really didn't turn out to be the strong female character I thought she would be which was sad. 

Like I previously said, the plot was really disjointed and all over the place.  It was going in too many different directions and it made it hard to follow and feel connected to the characters. What made it even harder was the fact that the author just didn't explain anything. Like, I get not wanting to spoon-feed your readers information but it got to the point that the author was keeping things so vague that I was left feeling stupid, like I was missing something I should have got but the information just wasn't there. 

I could honestly keep going on but I don't want to. In all, this book just wasn't for me. None of the elements in it sparked my interest (like I said, many of them ignited my annoyance). If you've been a fan of this author's previous work, you may have more luck with this one than I did. 

“You are the karma I deserve.” 

One out of Five Teapots

Review: Red Seas Under Red Skies

Title: Red Seas Under Red Skies 

Series: Gentleman Bastard #2 

Author: Scott Lynch 

Genre: Adult, Fantasy

Publisher: Del Rey 

Publication Date: July 31, 2007

Source: Bought

After a brutal battle with the underworld that nearly destroyed him, Locke Lamora and his trusted sidekick, Jean, fled the island city of their birth and landed on the exotic shores of Tal Verrar to nurse their wounds. But even at this westernmost edge of civilization, they can't rest for long---and they are soon back doing what they do best: stealing from the undeserving rich and pocketing the proceeds for themselves.
This time, however, they have targeted the grandest prize of all: the Sinspire, the most exclusive and heavily guarded gambling house in the world. Its nine floors attract the wealthiest clientele - and to rise to the top, one must impress with good credit, amusing behavior...and excruciatingly impeccable play. For there is one cardinal rule, enforced by Requin, the house's cold-blooded master: it is death to cheat at any game at the Sinspire.Brazenly undeterred, Locke and Jean have orchestrated an elaborate plan to lie, trick, and swindle their way up the nine floors...straight to Requin's teeming vault. Under the cloak of false identities, they meticulously make their climb - until they are closer to the spoils than ever.
But someone in Tal Verrar has uncovered the duo's secret. Someone from their past who has every intention of making the impudent criminals pay for their sins. Now it will take every ounce of cunning to save their mercenary souls. And even that may not be enough.

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I'm so in love with this series. I can't get enough of it. I've always been fairly hit or miss with adult fantasy but these books check all of my boxes and make me just want more and more. The Gentleman Bastard series is such a great mix of adventure, danger, humor, and amazing found family. I can't get enough of Locke and Jean and I'm already eager to continue on reading the third book!

This book is so massive and full of so many twists and turns, it's honestly a little hard to know what to talk about first. So, I'll just start with my absolute favorite part of this series: Locke and Jean. I love these two so much! Their entire history and relationship is so complex and layered and complicated and it's a pleasure to learn more about them throughout each book. I also loved that they stood by each other even when they absolutely wanted to rip each other's heads off. Jean and Locke definitely do not have the easiest relationship but they love each other fiercely and it just absolutely made the book for me. 

The world that Scott Lynch created is so vivid and expansive -- as a writer myself, I know how difficult it can be to world build and he has gone above and beyond. I can totally see the setting and I understand the customs. It's detailed and explained without being overwhelming or shoved in the reader's face. Honestly, I was taking notes on how to improve my own worldbuilding while reading because his is amazing. It was initially really exciting in this second book to see more of the world but so much of Red Seas Under Red Skies takes place on a boat in the middle of the ocean and I found myself missing the land and especially missing Camorr. 

On the boat, it began to feel a bit repetitive. I mean, don't get me wrong, a lot of really big and exciting things happen but, the thing is, it's such a long book that bit and exciting things can only take up so much of it. And so when they were stuck on a little boat, there just wasn't as many potential outside conflicts that could come in and spice things up. So a lot of the middle bit of the book was Jean and Locke getting used to sea life and doing chores on the boat. It was interesting at first but after a while, I just wanted back on dry land (much like Locke and Jean). 

But this was my only complaint about this book and it's a little one. For the most part, I absolutely enjoyed this. I loved jumping back into this world with Locke and Jean. It left me desperate for more and I've already started reading the third book (which is the last one currently published. PLEASE PUT OUT MORE!) 

“Difficult" and "impossible" are cousins often mistaken for one another, with very little in common.” 

        Four out of Five Teapots       

Review: The Kiss Quotient

Title: The Kiss Quotient
Series: The Kiss Quotient #1 
Author: Helen Hoang 
Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary 
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: June 5, 2018
Source: Bought 

A heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves one thing: there's not enough data in the world to predict what will make your heart tick.
Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases--a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.
It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice--with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan--from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...
Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he's making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

SO GOOD. 

That was my first thought after finishing this book! It was one of those reads that made me let out a big, happy sigh when I turned the last page. It's not often I find a book that genuinely brings a smile to my face but The Kiss Quotient did just that. I love the characters, the plot, and sizzling chemistry between the leads, and the fact that it was an ownvoices novel!

Okay, I absolutely freaking love Stella. She was such a badass and an all-around great character to read about! I loved how sweet she was and how passionate she was about her interests and the people she loved. Honestly, she's been a huge motivation and an inspiration to me since reading the book. I loved how strong she was and how willing she was to put the time and the effort into the things she wanted. Easily one of the strongest characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. While The Kiss Quotient is part of a series, I don't think the second book follows these characters and I'm so sad we won't see more of Stella in the next story. 

I also loved Michael (surprise surprise). He was such a sweet guy and put all of his efforts into making those around him happy. While this was very nice of him, it also lead to some frustration on my end. Like, I loved how caring and protective he was but I just wanted him to be selfish sometimes and put himself and his happiness first sometimes! A lot of the conflict in the novel sort of grew from that aspect of his personality. 

Even though I did have some issues with Michael, I still found his connection with Stella absolutely amazing. Holy cow, did these two have some insane chemistry! I really wasn't expecting this novel to be as hot as it was but . . . I mean, make sure you have a fan and an iced drink near when you read it!

Overall, this was an absolutely fantastic read. If you haven't picked it up yet, I really urge you to do so. It's full of so much heart and so many sweet moments. I'm so looking forward to read more books by Helen Hoang and already have the second book in the series -- The Bride Test -- listed on my TBR! 

“All the things that make you different make you perfect.” 

Four out of Five Teapots

Audiobook Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Title: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 
Series: Harry Potter #4
Author: J.K. Rowling
Narrator: Jim Dale 
Publisher: Pottermore from J.K. Rowling
Publication Date: November 20, 2015 (first published July 8, 2000
Source: Audible Credit

"'There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways...their magical prowess - their daring - their powers of deduction - and, of course, their ability to cope with danger.'"
The Triwizard Tournament is to be held at Hogwarts. Only wizards who are over seventeen are allowed to enter - but that doesn't stop Harry dreaming that he will win the competition. Then at Hallowe'en, when the Goblet of Fire makes its selection, Harry is amazed to find his name is one of those that the magical cup picks out. He will face death-defying tasks, dragons and Dark wizards, but with the help of his best friends, Ron and Hermione, he might just make it through - alive!
Listening Length: 21 hours and 12 minutes

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This was my first experience listening to an audiobook and I'm really surprised by how much I enjoyed it! I was worried going in that I wouldn't enjoy having someone else tell the story or that I would have trouble staying focused enough to listen to it. Luckily, I had no reason to worry -- this audiobook kept my attention. Having experienced this world in so many different ways (the original books, the illustrated editions, the movies, plays, etc), it was neat to have one more way to experience it. 

The story was, of course, still the same as it has been in all the other editions of the book. And, like always, it pulled me quickly into the world and the lives of these characters. I really love this book in the series -- this is the one that truly starts delving into the history of Voldemort and we see Harry face him for the first time since he was baby alone -- away from Hogwarts and without Ron and Hermione by his side. It's a pretty pivotal point in the series and as terrible as the events of the book are (lots and lots of murder), I love reading it and watching Harry grow and fight against Voldemort. 

Jim Dale did a great job with the narration -- I appreciate the effort he put into creating unique voices for all the characters. These different voices made it much easier to follow the story without the physical book in front of me. I also thought the overall pace he set was a good one. I was tempted to speed it up at first but ultimately decided to just stick with the normal speed. 

My only complaint as far as the narration goes were the sometimes strange pronunciation and emphasis of certain words. For one, he pronounced Voldemort without the "t" sound at the end. Maybe this is how you're supposed to say it but I've always pronounced the "t" and I'm fairly certain the movies did, too. So that was a little hard to get used to. He also occasionally pronounced "okay" strangely -- he was say it like "OOoo . . . kay". Like, it was just too long and strangely said for the situation it was being said in. It created a weird emphasis. 

Overall, this was a great first experience with audiobooks! I enjoyed listening to it while I was walking my dog or working out. I'm looking forward to listening to the other audiobooks in this series and trying others!

“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” 

Four* out of Five Teapots 

*The actual story will always be a solid five stars from me -- the four stars is specifically for this edition and the narration.

Review: Jock Row

Title: Jock Row 
Series: Jock Row #1 
Author: Sara Ney 
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary 
Publisher: Self-published 
Publication Date: May 3, 2018 
Source: Bought

Scarlett is always the sensible one: The sober driver. The planner. The one holding your hair back while you're worshiping the porcelain gods.
Week-after-week, she visits Jock Row with her friends—the university's hottest party scene and breeding ground for student athletes. And if keeping her friends out of trouble, and guys out of their pants, was a sport, she'd be the star athlete.
Being a well known jock-blocker gets her noticed for all the wrong reasons; just like that, she's banned from Jock Row. NO GUY WANTS A GIRL AROUND WHO KEEPS THEIR JOCK FRIENDS FROM GETTING LAID.
"Rowdy" Wade is the hot shot short-stop for the university's baseball team—and the unlucky bastard who drew the short straw: keep little Miss Goody Two-Shoes out of the Baseball House.
But week-after-week Scarlett returns, determined to get inside.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Talk about a refreshing read! Jock Row was exactly what I needed. I had been in a bit of a reading slump when I picked it up and I was instantly sucked into this story (much to my relief)! Honestly, reading this book felt like a breath of fresh air. I'm so used to unnecessary and often-times frustrating drama and angst in contemporary reads but this one had none of that! It was a sweet, fun, and relaxing book to sit down with and made me excited to see what else I can read by this author!

The characters in this were both so sweet and so caring and so mature. It was a lovely change to have two characters who weren't constantly causing problems with each other because they didn't communicate well or they jumped to conclusions. Both Scarlett and Rowdy were very honest with each other and clearly devoted to staying with each other once they had moved from being just friends to being more. Seeing a couple who actually had a healthy relationship was amazing. 

Scarlett and Rowdy also had a sloooooow burn romance. And I loved it. Their relationship took its time developing from strangers to friends to more. It was lovely to witness and gave me all sorts of fluttery, happy feels. Everything felt so much more gratifying once they got together. 

Jock Row was an amazing, refreshing read. This is one of the best romances I've read this year -- I loved the lack of unnecessary drama and the maturity and openness of the two leads. While I haven't read anything else by Sara Ney, I definitely plan to check out her other works!

“What the hell could he possibly want?

And why is he so damn handsome?” 

Five out of Five Teapots

Review: The Lies of Locke Lamora

Title: The Lies of Locke Lamora 
Series: Gentleman Bastard #1 
Author: Scott Lynch 
Genre: Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Del Rey 
Publication Date: June 26, 2003 (First published June 27, 2006)
Source: Bought

The Thorn of Camorr is said to be an unbeatable swordsman, a master thief, a ghost that walks through walls. Half the city believes him to be a legendary champion of the poor. The other half believe him to be a foolish myth. Nobody has it quite right.
Slightly built, unlucky in love, and barely competent with a sword, Locke Lamora is, much to his annoyance, the fabled Thorn. He certainly didn't invite the rumors that swirl around his exploits, which are actually confidence games of the most intricate sort. And while Locke does indeed steal from the rich (who else, pray tell, would be worth stealing from?), the poor never see a penny of it. All of Locke's gains are strictly for himself and his tight-knit band of thieves, the Gentlemen Bastards.
Locke and company are con artists in an age where con artistry, as we understand it, is a new and unknown style of crime. The less attention anyone pays to them, the better! But a deadly mystery has begun to haunt the ancient city of Camorr, and a clandestine war is threatening to tear the city's underworld, the only home the Gentlemen Bastards have ever known, to bloody shreds. Caught up in a murderous game, Locke and his friends will find both their loyalty and their ingenuity tested to the breaking point as they struggle to stay alive...

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I genuinely don't even know where to start this review. I can't express how much I absolutely love it. Going into it, I had almost no expectations -- I picked it up because one of my good friends and my favorite buddy reader wanted to read it! She definitely reads more adult fantasy books than I do so, while I trust her reading tastes, I expected not to like it as much as I would have liked a YA fantasy. 

BUT. 

I was totally wrong. I freaking fell in love with this book so hard. From the very first page, I was completely wrapped up in the world Scott Lynch created and was enamored with his characters. Locke Lamora certainly is an excellent thief because he 100% stole my heart (ba dum pss). But honestly, learning about Locke's history and seeing the way he grew throughout the book was amazing. He felt like a little puzzle I was desperate to figure out. Plus, he was just such a unique main character. I'm so used to reading about main characters who are strong and amazing at fighting but that wasn't Locke. His strengths lay in his smarts and his wit. I loved that about him. He was so funny and so clever -- I found myself consistently surprised and shocked while reading -- Locke was an unpredictable character which added so much excitement to my reading experience. 

Honestly, Scott Lynch, in general, did an amazing job of keeping me on my toes as I read. Several times throughout the novel, I found myself with my jaw on the ground because I'd just been absolutely turned around by the twists in it. Lynch definitely does not coddle his characters and he does not go easy on them. I felt the numerous threats looming over them throughout the story and loved being kept on my toes like that. 

I have so much I want to talk about in this review -- the other characters, like Jean, Calo, Galdo, Bug, and Chains. What an awesome cast of unique and three-dimensional characters. Even those who weren't in the book as frequently as Locke and Jean were written in a way that made me feel as though I had spent all 500+ pages with them. Each one made a place for themselves in my heart. 

I also want to talk briefly about the world -- we only saw such a small slice of this in this first book of the series but wow, what we did see was so vivid in detail. I can't wait to see where else the next books will take us!

This review is such a gushing mess and I've only expressed a fraction of the love I feel for this book. If you have any interest at all in fantasy books, I'd highly recommend reading this book. It's easily my favorite fantasy novel. Everything about it completely won me over -- the writing style, the world building, the surprising twists, the humor, and, of course, the characters.

“What kind of knife is this?” Locke held a rounded buttering utensil up for Chains’ inspection. “It’s all wrong. You couldn’t kill anyone with this.” 

Five out of Five Teapots

Mini Reviews: Dirty Duet Series

Title: Dirty Filthy Rich Men 
Series: Dirty Duet #1 
Author: Laurelin Paige 
Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary 
Publisher: Everafter Romance 
Publication Date: March 27, 2017 
Source: Bought

When I met Donovan Kincaid, I knew he was rich. I didn’t know he was filthy. Truth be told, I was only trying to get his best friend to notice me.
I knew poor scholarship girls like me didn't stand a chance against guys like Weston King and Donovan Kincaid, but I was in love with his world, their world, of parties and sex and power. I knew what I wanted—I knew who I wanted—until one night, their world tried to bite me back and Donovan saved me. He saved me, and then Weston finally noticed me, and I finally learned what it was to be in their world.
And then what it was like to lose it.
Ten years later, I’ve found my way back. Back to their world. Back to him.
This time, I’m ready. I've been down this road before, and I know all the dirty, filthy ways Donovan will try and wreck me.
But it’s hard to resist. Especially when I know how much I’ll like it.
From NYT Bestselling author Laurelin Paige, discover a whole new world filled with sex, love, power, romance and dirty, filthy rich men.

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I'm mad at myself for waiting so long to read this book. Honestly, I don't know what stopped me -- possibly my aversion to second-chance romances. Luckily, I took the plunge and decided to get this book and man, am I happy I did. Donovan and Sabrina were so right for each other, even though their relationship was a little dark and a little rough around the edges. I couldn't get enough of their interactions. 

I loved Sabrina -- she was an extremely smart and strong woman. I loved her drive and her work ethic and I appreciated the perseverance she had when it came to getting what she wanted. My only little complaint about her is that Donovan would do something to (rightfully) upset her and she would be mad but then she would just forget all about it as soon as Donovan interacted with her again. I wanted her to put her foot down and get an apology or something!

This book was also blazing hot. Holy cow, the chemistry between these two is definitely there.

“Good tension. Bad tension. I wasn't sure if there was a difference when it came to Donovan.” 

Four out of Five Teapots

Title: Dirty Filthy Rich Love 

Series: Dirty Duet #2 

Author: Laurelin Paige

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary 

Publisher: Paige Press LLC 

Source: Bought

I’ve discovered Donovan Kincaid’s secret.
It’s dirty and filthy and rich – as dirty and filthy and rich as he is – and it haunts me as much as he ever did.
Even after knowing what I know now, I still want to talk to him, to touch him. But there’s an ocean between us, and I’m not sure it can be crossed with something as easy as a phone call or a plane ride.
Yet I’m willing to try.
He doesn’t know this yet, but this time I’m the one with the power. And maybe – just maybe – if the air were cleared and all our secrets bared, there could still be a chance for us.
And this dirty, filthy thing between us might end up being love after all.

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Another solid read from Laurelin Paige! I think she may become one of my favorite romance authors. While the first book focused a lot on the two leads reconnecting after ten years apart, this one really delved into their relationship with each other now and their individual histories. I loved learning more about Donovon this book -- he's definitely not your typical male lead and he's hiding some fairly dark things about himself. But seeing him open up to Sabrina and be vulnerable was amazing. They really complement each other a lot. 

Since this is a sequel, I don't have a whole lot of new things to talk about. The plot and pace of this book were great for the most part. My only little complaint is the epilogue -- I wish we could have seen a little bit more of their future. But overall, this was an incredible series. I'm definitely planning on picking up more of Laurelin Paige's books! 

“You hold the cards right now, Sabrina,” he said, his nose almost touching mine. “But don’t begin to think I’ve forgotten who’s in charge.” 

Four out of Five Teapots