Tag: romance

5 star, adult

Review: Stuck With You by Ali Hazelwood

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The STEMinist novellas #2

Nothing like a little rivalry between scientists to take love to the next level.

Mara, Sadie, and Hannah are friends first, scientists always. Though their fields of study might take them to different corners of the world, they can all agree on this universal truth: when it comes to love and science, opposites attract and rivals make you burn…

Logically, Sadie knows that civil engineers are supposed to build bridges. However, as a woman of STEM she also understands that variables can change, and when you are stuck for hours in a tiny New York elevator with the man who broke your heart, you earn the right to burn that brawny, blond bridge to the ground. Erik can apologize all he wants, but to quote her rebel leader—she’d just as soon kiss a Wookiee.

Not even the most sophisticated of Sadie’s superstitious rituals could have predicted such a disastrous reunion. But while she refuses to acknowledge the siren call of Erik’s steely forearms or the way his voice softens when he offers her his sweater, Sadie can’t help but wonder if there might be more layers to her cold-hearted nemesis than meet the eye. Maybe, possibly, even burned bridges can still be crossed….

For the fact that this is a novella, Stuck With You packs on the chemistry and heat right from the start, once again showing that it isn’t about the length of a novel but the talent of the author to draw us into a story and the lives of its characters.

As always, I’m super invested in these women in STEM stories. Definitely would love to see more romance books featuring such smart and independent protagonists.

Sadie was a firecracker with her oddly specific superstitious rituals for good luck before interviews and her love for engineering in a workforce still dominated by men. I adored her voice, and the narrator on the audiobook did a superb job creating that excitement I vividly picture at Sadie’s passion for what she does. Which brings us to her love-hate relationship with Erik. She brings the passion so that also transfers to things (or PEOPLE) she passionately dislikes.

I liked the format of the story going back and forth between present day wherein she’s trapped in the elevator with the last person she wants to see, and the past explaining how she and Erik met. It keeps us guessing what went down between them when it seemed they really clicked initially. This made the pace go really well and never drag the story too long – if novellas can feel long.

Erik epitomized the kind of male love interests that people love. Stoic, strong, a bit brooding (or maybe because he didn’t speak all that much), and clearly misunderstood. Something clearly wasn’t adding up the more we learned of the past between Erik and Sadie.

And while it’s great to love characters individually, I will have to say that Erik and Sadie together just had sparks flying. Whew, how was that elevator not starting to move again when it could be fueled by their tension and electricity?? Their dynamic rivaled Ali Hazelwood’s debut duo from The Love Hypothesis. Perhaps it’s the grumpy-sunshine character combo but anyhow, this made the story. The angst is real, the miscommunication is probably in there somewhere and not too difficult to figure out near the end, and you just know how they make up for such communication breakdown is gonna be awesome.

And by awesome I mean chemically reactive!

If you haven’t hopped onto the Ali Hazelwood train, I would recommend you do. You can start anywhere with this novella series without ruining the other stories, but I definitely liked Sadie’s story the most so far.

Overall Recommendation:

Stuck With You is the classic forced proximity story that draws together two people with an extreme love-hate relationship. What do you get when you put 2 engineers together in an unmoving elevator late on a Friday evening? A combustive story detailing the mishaps of their initial meeting/attempts at romance and perhaps some steamy ways of making up for what happened. Sadie and Erik’s story may contain those common romance tropes but they’re what make the story so attractive. What makes the rest of it so good is the compelling storytelling all credited to Ali’s amazing writing. Definitely worth the pick up for such a short book.

2.5 star, YA

Review: Steelstriker by Marie Lu

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Explosive action and swoon-worthy suspense collide in this riveting conclusion to the Skyhunter duet from #1 New York Times–bestselling author Marie Lu

As a Striker, Talin was taught loyalty is life. Loyalty to the Shield who watches your back, to the Strikers who risk their lives on the battlefield, and most of all, to Mara, which was once the last nation free from the Karensa Federation’s tyranny.

But Mara has fallen. And its destruction has unleashed Talin’s worst nightmare.

With her friends scattered by combat and her mother held captive by the Premier, Talin is forced to betray her fellow Strikers and her adopted homeland. She has no choice but to become the Federation’s most deadly war machine as their newest Skyhunter.

Red is no stranger to the cruelty of the Federation or the torture within its Skyhunter labs, but he knows this isn’t the end for Mara – or Talin. The link between them may be weak, but it could be Talin and Red’s only hope to salvage their past and safeguard their future.

While the fate of a broken world hangs in the balance, Talin and Red must reunite the Strikers and find their way back to each other in this smoldering sequel to Marie Lu’s Skyhunter.

That’s the thing about evil. You don’t need to be it to do it. It doesn’t have to consume all of you. It can be small. All you have to do is let it exist.

The grand conclusion to this latest duology by Marie Lu, back in dystopian fiction which was the genre that propelled her to fame, I kind of expected more from Steelstriker. Obviously the ending of book 1 left a lot hanging in the air. Yet it doesn’t move forward at a very fast pace, a characteristic I noticed even in Skyhunter.

We’ve been introduced to the Big Bad of the story, Premier Constantine, previously. Now we’re up close and personal with him as Talin has to deal with his every whim. He’s evil, let’s be clear on that, but I do love how Marie doesn’t make him so black and white for a villain. He’s covered in shades of grey for we start understanding his fears and mind more while unearthing the past that perhaps made him into the ruthless dictator he is.

Yet the plot moves so slowly. While Talin spends most of the book figuring out how to escape the Premier so she can thwart his plans for one United federation, Red and the other Strikers are on the run, making small attempts where they can to stop Constantine. It’s lots of planning, minor action, and minimal world building.

Yes, I felt there was a missed chance to have explored more about the different countries that were once independent and now forced into the federation. Talin and friends are no longer stuck in their own country because now it’s been claimed by this regime and they’ve been forced to go to the capital. But I still have no idea what these other places are or even the relevance of half these countries listed on the map since they’re hardly or never mentioned at all.

I also didn’t feel much for the romance. This is probably my fault for having read book 1 so long ago. It was such a slow burn romance where all the chemistry and tension were set up there, leaving only the aftermath and response in book 2. Since I barely remember those moments, it’s kind of hard to feel the same sense of elation at actual romance budding between Red and Talin now. I mean, they didn’t even kiss in the first book so this should be a win in my books but I felt almost nothing. Ah, I wish I could push out feelings with a button but alas that wouldn’t be very organic.

Not wanting to end off with so much negativity, I did really appreciate one thing: found family matters, especially in a world torn up by war. With so many families broken apart and even witnessing fellow comrade deaths, the ties that bring those who remain together are even more important. I loved the Strikers from day 1, this band of elite fighters who were brave and disciplined when it came to protecting those they loved against the monsters from the federation. I’m so glad some of my favorite secondary characters were back and being their lovable, courageous selves.

Marie writes this at least very well, and sums it up even better in her own words.

Goodness is friends who stick by you, even when they fear you’re lost. It’s mothers who fight for their daughters. It’s believing in something better – and taking action to make it reality. It’s love, untainted and pure.

Goodness is a garden that provides life to thousands of blooms. It does not rule. It gives.

Overall Recommendation:

Steelstriker fell a little flat when it came to pacing for what I had hoped would be an epic conclusion. Now facing the evil ruler of the federation that had destroyed their home country, Talin and her friends are separated and still trying to fight the good fight against the greatest odds stacked against them. I had hoped for more action and less internal thinking/planning so it was hard not to put it down a lot. While there were certain memorable moments, I can’t say this is among the best dystopian books I’ve read.

4.5 star, adult

Review: The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Is it ever too late to leave the friend-zone?

Hi, my name is Bree Camden, and I’m hopelessly in love with my best friend and star quarterback Nathan Donelson (so is half of America, judging by the tabloids and how much the guy dates). The first step is admitting, right? Except, I can never admit it to him because he clearly doesn’t see me that way, and the last thing I want is for things to get weird between us.

Nothing but good old-fashioned, no-touching-the-sexiest-man-alive, platonic friendship for us! Everything is exactly how I like it! Yes. Good. (I’m not crying, I’m just peeling an onion.)

Our friendship is going swimmingly until I accidentally spill my beans to a reporter over too much tequila, and now the world seems to think me and Nathan belong together. Oh, and did I mention we have to date publicly for three weeks until after the Super Bowl because we signed a contract with…oops, forgot I can’t tell anyone about that!

Bottom line is, now my best friend is smudging all the lines and acting very un-platonic, and I’m just trying to keep my body from bursting into flames every time he touches me.

How am I going to make it through three weeks of fake dating Nathan without anything changing between us? Especially when it almost-sort-a-kinda seems like he’s fighting for a completely different outcome?

Send help.
XO Bree

If any of you know me, just one fact about me, it’s that I absolutely adore the best friends to lovers trope. It’s such a niche romance trope that I’ve hardly come across it. But I LOVE all the angst that comes with such a hard transition from platonic relationship to something different. More often than not, this is accompanied by the excruciating angst that comes with unrequited feelings. Does this make me a masochist that I particularly enjoy such angst? Yes? Maybe?

The Cheat Sheet does this trope very well. It’s pretty much 300+ pages of unrequited feelings from Bree. And from Nathan. Did I mention this book is all about lack of communication between the love interests?

Bree was an amazing protagonist to follow. She’s confident in her standing in Nathan’s life even when the women he dated got jealous of her closeness to him, regardless that nothing romantic ever occurred between them. She’s kind and super empathetic when it came to teaching ballet to youth who may not be able to afford such lessons normally. She didn’t let life take away her ambitions when a tragic accident made her change her life’s trajectory. She was never insecure when it came to Nathan’s feelings for her, or what she thought they were. Hey, if I had a bestie who loved everybody but me, I may not handle such constant rejection as well as Bree did.

Nathan, meanwhile, wasn’t too bad of a catch himself. I normally don’t love sports stories. I’m not very much into any particular sport myself so this world just doesn’t fascinate me. Regardless that Nathan was a well-known football player and that this book contains perhaps 65% football-related storylines, I felt this element helped frame more of Nathan’s character which in turn helped me understand him more. He was adorable with the way he freaked out over Bree’s lack of romantic interest in him. If there ever was a need for the comedy in the romantic-comedy, it can definitely be found among some big football players trying to map out a PG-13 plan to get the girl to fall for her best friend.

The story flowed well, although I was taken aback by the dual POVs. Don’t let the synopsis fool you into thinking it’s only Bree’s feelings to concern yourselves with. Also deceiving is how far along the book gets before the fake dating trope enters the picture. It’s not right at the beginning but I felt this made more sense because it allowed us to understand Bree and Nathan’s history and dynamic before throwing them into the deep end of unknown relationship territory.

The one half-star docked off comes from the sheer length. The book isn’t long, but nearer to the end, I do feel the miscommunication about their reciprocated(!!) feelings was getting a little tiring. Just tell each other you like one another, I wanted to shout at them both. I mean, this may be the angst getting to me at this point. Maybe this is a good sign if that’s what the author intended? All I can say is, I was totally invested in seeing them figure things out. The end may be a little rushed for some, but I think it worked for their particular story.

Do I think this story will be for everyone? I guess that depends on how much you like this kind of romantic angst with its tensions but lots of communication issues. This is weirdly my favorite trope so if you’re like me (a niche weirdo), then you’re in luck because Bree and Nathan have got a story to tell.

Overall Recommendation:

The Cheat Sheet is a charming story about unrequited love between best friends – or rather, miscommunicated and very much requited love between our leads. It’s a cute and fairly digestible contemporary that’s perfect for a lazy afternoon to put you in the feels as we root for the leads to finally get their communication fixed. I certainly read it in one sitting like this! The best friends to lovers trope may not be as common or popular but this TikTok sensation blew up for a reason and I can confidently say it was well earned.