Second Chance Romance

The Ex Hex // Book Review

- Bunny 2 Comments

About The Book
 Erin Sterling casts a delightful spell with a spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and hexes gone wrong. A small-town witch, Vivienne Jones, is forced to make magic with Rhys Penhallow the man who broke her heart when his return to Graves Glen sets a series of supernatural disasters in motion. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.
Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/3F3J31J

My Rating

If you’re looking for a cozy, witchy romance, then look no further. This is a second chance romance about a witch and a warlock that must work together to break a curse that has thrown their town into magical chaos.

In the book, we follow Vivienne, who is a college professor and witch. Vivi is the sensible type of girl, and hasn’t really given into her witchy side. I loved her relationship with her family. Her aunt and her cousin are her best friends and support system.

Rhys is Vivi ex-boyfriend and warlock that returns to town on his father orders. He’s very charming, and acts before he thinks. His personality is very go with the flow and I liked the contrast between his more easygoing demeanor and Vivi’s somewhat more methodical personality.

“Never mix vodka and witchcraft.”

I loved how Vivi’s teenage self is coming back to bite her in the book. Because, a harmless joking curse she put on Rhys after their bad breakup is the cause of all the town’s misfortune. I liked seeing Rhys and Vivi work together, and realize how much their past relationship meant to them.

Unfortunately, this was a second chance romance book, and although I liked the characters and the plot, I am not a fan of second chance romances. The fact that Vivi and Rhys were still carrying that baggage for each other, even after 9 years, is ridiculous. Neither of them were in a relationship or have even had any meaningful relationships.

Overall, the writing and storyline saved the book for me. I was completely engaged the entire time reading it, and I loved all the witchy Halloween vibes. The ending was so good, and it instantly put me in the fall mood. So, I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a good fall magical romance.

In the comments, leave me some witchy book recommendations. Don’t forget to share this post with other book lovers. And, as always, follow the blog before you go.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Finding Her Edge // Book Review

- Bunny 1 Comment

About The Book
Adriana Russo is figure skating royalty. With gold-medalist parents, and her older sister headed to the Olympics, all she wants is to live up to the family name and stand atop the ice dance podium at the Junior World Championships. That means training on the same ice as her first crush, Freddie, the partner she left when her growth spurt outpaced his. For the past two years, he’s barely acknowledged her existence, and she can’t even blame him for it.
Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/3K7mYCc

My Rating

Here’s a little fun fact about me: I love ice skating! That’s right, when I was a kid (and teenager) I thought figure skating was the coolest sport. I even took an ice skating lessons for a year. And, to this day, Ice Princess is probably still my most watched movie. So, when I heard about this YA contemporary following a figure skater, I couldn’t have been more excited for it!

Unfortunately, this book was a total letdown. Now that’s not to say I didn’t like to story, because I found the plot to be really good. And, the book is very fast paced. Honestly, it gave me those Ice Princess vibes that I was hoping for.

However, the major plot of this book was this second chance romance love triangle aspect. I was not a fan of that at all. I typically don’t like second chance romances, so it’s not a big surprise when they fall short for me. In this book, we get four tropes in one. Second chance romance, fake dating, love triangle and unrequited love. And let’s just say I didn’t like the outcome.

As for the characters, I found most of them to be immature and annoying. Although, the side characters were great. and I wish that we had gotten to know them better. I was way more interested in them then the main character, Adriana.

“There are no guarantees in figure skating.”

The book does give a good look into the intense world that is professional figure skating. It made me want to watch a whole series following figure skaters, because it’s a lot of pressure. When you’re part of a duo, you really have to trust your partner. And, I think the author did a good job relaying how competitive it is. Also, partner romances can make things messy.

Overall, I wished that I had liked it more. It wasn’t necessarily a bad book, just not one that I would necessarily recommend or think of in the future. Honestly, I was not a fan of how the love triangle ended. Let’s just say I would have preferred the author to go the unexpected route.

In the comments, tell me what sport of hobby did you find fascinating as a teenager. Don’t forget to share this post with others. And, feel free to follow my blog before you go.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Defining Life // Book Review

- Bunny 1 Comment

Please be aware that this is a novella of about 30,000 words.

Synopsis
This is the story of two teenage cancer survivors on the quest to define life, because if they don’t, they might as well fail their class project entirely.
Synopsis from Amazon

My Rating

*I want to thank the author for sending me a copy of the book for review.*

My Thoughts
This is a short, but sweet second chance romance about learning to live life to it’s fullest. The book follows Heather, who is a junior in high school and cancer survivor. She is thrown for a loop when she is paired with golden boy Aaron for a class assignment. Aaron is also a cancer survivor, and Heather’s ex-best friend. I found Heather and Aaron to be pretty bland characters. There wasn’t much depth to them, and we didn’t get to know them very well. It made me unable to form a connection with them, so I wasn’t too invested in their story.

Heather and Aaron had a bad falling out as kids, and I’m still unsure of how I feel about the whole situation. After going into remission, Aaron was forced by his mother to no longer see Heather, who was still a cancer patient at the time. Heather felt abandoned by Aaron, but he was just a child just following his parents orders.

Honestly, I felt like Aaron didn’t own up to his actions when they got to high school. Instead of making amends with Heather, he completely ignored the elephant in the room. However, my husband pointed out that there are three sides to every story. His, hers, and the truth. Sometimes, it can be hard to say sorry when so much time has passed.

“At the end of it all, life’s ending story is death.”

Still, it was clear that Heather had been deeply hurt by his actions, so I don’t understand why she never brought it up before their forced proximity. I understand that they’re just in high school, but they handled the whole situation poorly. At least they cleared the air relatively early on in the story.

The plot is very straightforward and easy to follow, with a simple writing style. The story is a quick read, too. Every chapter title is a word followed by it’s definition. I am not sure if I liked that format, but I think it fit with the story, since the book centers around defining the word life. So it does make sense why the author added that small detail.

Overall, the plot felt rushed, and the romance was predictable, but still cute. The moral of the story was that sometimes people are dealt a bad hand in live. And, we will have to face grief and loss in our lives. A lot of the time, it isn’t fair when it comes to who gets to live and who gets to die. This is why we should live each day like it’s our last, while being thankful that wake up everyday and get to live life.

I wouldn’t call the book anything special or overly memorable, but if you are looking for a simple and fast read to bump up your reading goal for the year, then give it a read! Before you go, make me smile by hitting that follow button!

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Butterfly Sisters // Book Review

- Bunny 2 Comments

Author: Jenny Hale
Published: 2022
Genre: Adult/Contemporary
Rating:Full, star, bookmark, favorite, favourite, like, rating icon - Download on IconfinderFull, star, bookmark, favorite, favourite, like, rating icon - Download on IconfinderFull, star, bookmark, favorite, favourite, like, rating icon - Download on Iconfinder

Synopsis
A heartwarming story that will have you laughing, crying, and rushing to those you hold dear.If you loved the Christmas movies based on Jenny’s books and are looking for more feel-good, small-town romance, look no further!

*Thank you Jenny Hale for giving me the opportunity to review this book and being part of it’s blog tour.*

If you are a lover of sisterhood relationships and second chance romances, then this book is for you. The story follows Leigh as she must return to her family’s cabin, and come face-to-face with not only her estranged sister, Meredith, but the boy she left behind. The book was filled with family drama that felt over-the-top at times while still managing to be relatable.

The issues between Leigh and Meredith were very understandable. In my own life, I have a strained relationship with one of my sisters. Like Leigh, my sister judges me for my choices, and doesn’t care to know me as a person. This helped me connect with the plot, and I think other readers will also find that real world connection as well.

Leigh was a bit judgmental at times, but you could tell that she only wanted the best for Meredith, which is another very real aspect of sisterhood. The book showcased the hard parts of being a family, and what family togetherness really means. No family gets along all the time, but as a family we should celebrate and lift each other up.

“When emerging from its cocoon, a butterfly needs the struggle to push the fluid from its body into its wings. So essentially, without the struggle, it never flies.”

Although, throughout the book I felt like a lot of their problems could have been solved by simply talking to one another. They all wanted to be heard, but nobody actually wanted to communicate. Still, I can understand there wouldn’t have been much of a story if they had just talked it out from the start.

As for the romance aspect, it was a cute second chance romance. It wasn’t the main focus, and it could have been more fleshed-out. In my opinion, the love interest, Colton, seemed to have carried a torch for Leigh for a little too long. Still, the book and romance gave me such ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, the movie, vibes. Honestly, I kept picturing Josh Lucas as Colton and Reese Witherspoon as Leigh. Um, movie adaptation casting idea?

The writing style was great. The book was very easy to read and follow. It wasn’t information heavy or over-dramatic. Some chapters that were slower than other, but that’s to be expected with adult contemporary. I would be curious to see if I connect personally with some of Jenny Hale other books. I could easily see this book as a GMA book club pick. So, if you are a fan of those books, you should give this one a read. Please share and like this post, because it really helps to grow my blog.

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Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny