How are we already in February? I know it’s only the second month of the year but it still feels weird. How was your January? Were you able to read a lot or no? Last month I actually read a mix of YA and NA, which doesn’t happen as often as it used to. Partly because most of today’s Young Adult labeled novels actually cross the border into New Adult, but I digress. As usual, most or all of the books I list today can be found on Kindle Unlimited. No I’m not a partner with KU, I just know it’s worth the monthly fee because I would spend WAY more than twelve dollars on just one of these books. So Kindle Unlimited for the win!
Sweet Heartbreak by Alexandra Moody
Popular. Powerful. Filthy Rich.
Noah Hastings is everything I’m not. Our worlds never should have collided, but when my long-lost father reappears my life is flipped upside down. It turns out, he’s ridiculously wealthy, and without warning he plucks me from my simple life and throws me into a world of excess.
He’s sending me to the most elite school in the country, where money and status mean everything. He gives me one rule while I’m there––stay away from Noah Hastings. It should be a simple request. I don’t fit in Noah’s world, and he could never be a part of mine. There’s more to this boy than I expected though, and he seems drawn to me just as much as I am to him. But it’s not only our differences that stand between us––it’s the secrets we keep.
Sweet Heartbreak kept popping up in my suggestions and on Instagram. I had read the synopsis and found it interesting enough to at least put it in the my interested folder. It sat there for awhile, though, but I finally took a chance on it. While predictable, Sweet Heartbreak was enjoyable and able to keep my attention. I say that because I had doubts whether it would be able to or not.
There appears to be a lot of miscommunication, or just a plain lack of communication, throughout the story. While the secrets Isobel keeps can be explained away, sometimes it seems that they’re kept simply for a dramatic plot point later on. In keeping some of these secrets, Isobel almost comes across as hypocritical, at least to me she does. The only secret I understand her keeping is the one about her father, and that’s only because she’s still coming to terms with who he is and his role in her life.
I don’t hesitate in labeling Sweet Heartbreak as a YA novel, something I have a hard time doing these days. There is some language, but overall it is a clean and light novel. Like I said, it kept my attention, but it wasn’t overly-complicated.
Sweet Temptation by Alexandra Moody
Secrets. Lies. Betrayal.
I’ve only been at my exclusive new boarding school a few weeks, but I’ve already encountered my fair share of each. The truth about my upbringing is out, I’m starting to learn more about my family’s past, and I finally know why my long-lost father warned me to stay away from Noah Hastings.
It’s clear now that Noah Hastings and I can never be together. But my heart doesn’t seem to care. The boy is everywhere I look. Taunting me. Toying with me. Tempting me––and he’s not the only one. Surviving my senior year at Weybridge Academy is going to be even harder than I thought.
What I liked the most about Sweet Temptation wasn’t the romance plot but the developing relationship between Isobel and her father. I like how her and her father are able to begin building their relationship. Family has always been an important part of Isobel’s character so it’s nice to see that boundary grow to include Matthew.
In my opinion, the romantic plot line in Sweet Temptation gets so messed up. Which I guess, sometimes that’s life. You make decisions you know you shouldn’t and hope it doesn’t blow up in your face, right?
Moody tries to add a little mystery into the plot line, but I don’t think it’s hard to figure out what’s going on even before the revelations in the Epilogue. If anything, it just shows how much of a bad idea her sub-romance plot is. But that’s just my opinion. There were some random tidbits in the story I wish had been explored more, pointedly Sawyer’s artistic skills, but were pretty much brushed over.
Sweet Temptations almost has the feel of a filler episode, if you know what I mean? It provides certain stepping stones for the next installment, and some those stones are important, but overall it seems like the characters go in circles.
Sweet Ruin by Alexandra Moody
Noah Hastings has taken our families’ feud too far, and the divide between us is now so firmly cemented there’s no going back.
I’m trying to move on, but it seems Noah has only just begun toying with me and my heart. He still has more secrets, and he’s not the only person hiding something from me. But as I dig deeper and the truth is revealed, I’m torn between the boy I thought was in my past and the one I believed was in my future. I’m facing heartbreak once again, but there’s an even bigger threat on the horizon that I could never see coming––one that could ruin us all.
For all the issues in the previous book, Sweet Ruin brings the Weybridge Academy trilogy to a nice and pretty ending. At least for Isobel’s story. I wouldn’t be surprised if Moody started a new series centering on two certain friends who are definitely dancing around each other.
One of the things I can applaud Moody for is staying in the YA lane. I know that may sound weird, but a lot of times authors will begin with a YA novel and somewhere in the series it turns into what I’d consider New Adult. Throughout the series, there wasn’t an excess of language or indecency. I think that’s an art that is becoming lost in the YA series. Too many authors are labeling their books YA when it should be NA. Moody doesn’t do that and it’s a small thing I really appreciate. Basically, I got what I asked for.
That being said, I feel like there was growth brought in Moody’s plotting from the previous two books. There is no mistaking that the reader is in the third act of this trilogy with Sweet Ruin. This is the book where all the pressure truly builds and releases. There is definitely more drama in this installment than the others. I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised by some of the developments that occurred. While the ending as a whole wasn’t surprising, the journey was far more captivating. The groveling was also a nice touch.
If you’d like a light, mostly clean, YA read, the Weybridge Academy trilogy is one to check out.
Between Love and Loathing by Shain Rose
Dominic Hardy might be an award-winning architectural engineer with fancy degrees and considerable accolades, but he doesn’t know a thing about baking.
He doesn’t even like sugar. So when my late stepfather’s will states that Dominic Hardy is set to inherit the Pacific Coast Resort he’d painstakingly designed, as long as my bakery can be plopped in the middle of it, it’s no surprise he balks. And my jaw drops when another stipulation requires us to mutually approve plans for my bakery’s design. His stuffy taste will never mix with my whimsical vibe.
But then Dominic comes to me with a proposal I can’t refuse. He’ll give me everything I want in my bakery as long as I agree to one thing: Fake date him for five months. Keep his ex away by pretending we’re in love. Smile and stare into his piercing green eyes at a gala or two. Maybe share a kiss. Nothing extreme. Five months of acting in love when I really loathe him and his filthy mouth.
This should be a cakewalk. Except there’s a fine line between love and loathing, and I think I’ve made the colossal mistake of blurring it.
This is not my first novel by Shain Rose, and once again I was not disappointed! Between Love and Loathing is the second novel in the Hardy Billionaire Brothers series, but it can be read as a stand alone. Which is great for me because I have not read them in order.
Oh my goodness. I loved Dom and Clara’s story!! I wouldn’t really say it’s enemies-to-lovers, more like antagonists-to-lovers. They antagonize each other, but even in that they want the best for each other.
I’ll admit, Dominic is a jerk that got under my skin, but underneath it was like I could hear the words, “Fight back. Stand up for what you want. Show that backbone you hide.” That’s a very important feature in the fictional male: To not only support and defend the one they love but to also teach them to stand up for themselves.
For her part, Clara is the definition of quiet strength. She’s been abused by her family, her self-esteem and dreams are consistently being beaten down, and she’s fighting medical issues. Instead of bowing down to any of these issues or being in a constant pity party, she puts it all aside and keeps going forward on her path.
Both characters have their flaws and it’s not about getting rid of those flaws, but how they intwine and come together to compliment each other.
Between Love and Loathing is often as funny as it is frustrating at times, so basically a great addition to the fake dating trope we all love.
The Deal by Elle Kennedy
Hanna Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she’s carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush’s attention, she’ll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice…even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date.
All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he’s worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he’s all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn’t take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn’t going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.
You guys know how much I love a good friendship-based love story. Okay, so Hannah and Garrett don’t start out friends, but they get there. That’s one thing I like about Kenendy’s writing, she’s an author who takes time to build a foundation that can actually be built on. Something else I like, she doesn’t shy away from the importance of mental health in both women and men.
In case you’re wondering, yes I picked this book up because of how much I enjoyed The Graham Effect. However, knowing how the story ended (as if we had any doubt) didn’t detract reading The Deal or any of the other consecutive books.
I think it’s a credit to Kennedy’s writing skill that it’s easy to tell the difference between the way Graham and Hannah antagonize each other, and between how Cassidy and Garrett’s dad antagonizes them. One is a clear basis for friendship, and the other is completely toxic.
In case anyone asks, Princess Bride is definitely a verb.
The Mistake by Elle Kennedy
College junior John Logan can get any girl he wants. For this hockey star, life is a parade of parties and hook-ups, but behind his killer grins and easy going charm, he hides growing despair about the dead-end road he’ll be forced to walk after graduation. A sexy encounter with freshman Grace Ivers is just the distraction he needs, but when a thoughtless mistake pushes her away, Logan plans to spend his final year proving to her that he’s worth a second chance.
After a less than stellar freshman year, Grace is back at Briar University, older, wiser, and so over the arrogant hockey player she nearly handed her V-card to. She’s not a charity case, and she’s not the quiet butterfly she was when they first hooked up. If Logan expects her to roll over and beg like all his other puck bunnies, he can think again. He wants her back? He’ll have to work for it. This time around, she’ll be the one in the driver’s seat…and she plans on driving him wild.
It all starts with a mistake. Logan mistakes Grace’s dorm room for a buddy of his. It all spins out from there.
If The Deal is about overcoming trauma, The Mistake is about Logan and Grace discovering who they are and what they want.
I love Grace’s character. She’s strong, but she’s also awkward. No one is one way all the time. In the same vein, Logan is just as cocky as Graham about his hockey skills, but beneath it all he’s weighted down by the pressure of a future he doesn’t want. Logan is also a gamer geek and while some people might roll their eyes and think it a typical boy move, I absolutely love it. It makes me laugh. Remember, even book characters should be multi-dimensional. One size (or trope) doesn’t fit all.
Maybe that’s what makes Kennedy’s writing and books so enjoyable. She develops her characters into real people. People who have flaws, who are cocky or confident but not one-hundred percent of the time. They all have layers and life experiences that help define and direct who they are.
Yes, The Mistake has groveling, spice, and the HEA endings we crave, but it also has relatable people. As a reader, I’d say that’s pretty important.
Also, guys and girls can be just friends. Ask Grace and Morris.
The Score by Elle Kennedy
Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn’t have the first clue about what she’s going to do after college. To make matters worse, she’s nursing a broken heart thanks to the end of her longtime relationship. Wild rebound sex is definitely not the solution to her problems, but gorgeous hockey star Dean Di Laurentis is impossible to resist. Just once, though, because even if her future is uncertain, it sure as heck won’t include the king of one-night stands.
Dean always gets what he wants. Girls, grades, girls, recognition, girls…he’s a ladies man, all right, and he’s yet to meet a woman who’s immune to his charms. Until Allie. For one night, the feisty blonde rocked his entire world––and now she wants to be friends? Nope. It’s not over until he says it’s over. Dean is in full-on pursuit, but when life-rocking changes strike, he starts to wonder if maybe it’s time to stop focusing on scoring…and shoot for love.
While I do see a pattern between the books (trauma, toxic side relationships, solid foundation building, etc.) I don’t feel like I’m reading the same book over and over. The Score deals in the secret relationship trope and the outing of said relationship is probably my favorite part of the whole book. It’s subtle yet impactful.
Okay, so I’m just gonna say that The Score is the saddest book in this series that I’ve read so far. It’s also the one that comes to my mind first between these three books. A big point in The Score is that people grieve differently, that also applies to what they grieve over. We often associate grief with death, but grief comes about in some form in any loss of relationship. I don’t know if Kennedy fully planned on it, but she highlights not only the differences in grief but the circumstances throughout this book.
I have to applaud Kennedy’s subtle dealings with the difficult topics she inserts into her books. They’re important to address and she does it artfully.
As for the story itself, this is one where the side antagonists really got under my skin. While one has already been taken care of, I hope there’s retribution coming for the other one. Their toxic power plays ticked me off so much, and while Allie and Dean were able to overcome them personally and let the situations go, I still think there needs to be a reckoning for those toxic idiots.
What book did you enjoy reading the most in January?
Let me know in the comments below! I’m always looking for a new book recommendation!
Above My Waves 
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