Book review: JUMP ON THREE, by Julia Wolf

Savage Academy #3

Ivan & Evelyn

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Super cute!  Everything you want to see in young adults attending high school!  A fantastic group of friends, a bully we all love to hate, meetings at the school cafeteria, and as a super bonus, an enchanting young woman who is in the spectrum.  Evelyn is Delilah’s twin sister, she’s autistic and she delighted me with her very deliberate manner.  From what I know of autism, she’s highly functional but she does have her meltdowns and her quirks. I found her fascinating!

Ivan is from Russia, his father is a powerful businessman who has all seven of his children under his thumb.  As in, he directs their whole life, where they study, who they marry, where they work, where they live.  At the moment, Ivan is happy with his life because he likes Savage Academy and he’s entranced with Evelyn.  He works nights at a nightclub his father co-owns and I loved when Evelyn crashes into his workspace and enchants the manager and the bouncers.

There’s not an inordinate amount of angst or spice, what I mostly read and hugely enjoyed is a guy and the girl he likes learning to deal together and her situation.  Ivan has a lot of patience and understanding and when he fell, he fell hard.  Evelyn takes a more cautious approach, deliberates every step of the way and is no less enchanting as she evolves.

I loved their texting, Evelyn’s desire to step out of her routine, the close and loving bond she has with her twin Delilah, the knitting classes she gives Rhys (Delilah’s boyfriend), the sheer kindness she shows everyone, notwithstanding the treatment she has been shown by some, and the way she awakened to love with Ivan.  It was a sweet, lovely story, and Evelyn is a delight!

Purchase links

FREE with #kindleunlimited 

Amazon: https://bit.ly/48yPruR

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/JumpOnThree

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/47u6YTG

About the author

Julia Wolf writes sexy rockers, broken bad boys, snarky heroines, and bad ass women. She's a firm believer in happily ever afters, no matter how rocky the road is to get there.

Julia lives in Maryland with her husband and three crazy, beautiful children. When she's not writing romance, she's reading it. Some of her favorite things are, in no particular order: goats, books, coffee, and Target.

 

Connect with Julia

Website: http://juliawolfwrites.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17563191.Julia_Wolf

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Julia-Wolf/author/B078VDJ3Z1

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Book review: DAMAGED GOODS, by L.J. Shen

All Saints High #4

Lev & Bailey

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When I finished this book, I had to take a moment to sort through my thoughts and feelings.  This book really affected me so much, it was heartbreaking and beautiful!

Bailey and Lev were childhood sweethearts until their goals and dreams took them apart. Bailey wanted to attend Juilliard, Lev wanted to attend the Air Force Academy. Both were bound by the love they had for their parents, and were living a reality that didn’t really fit their innermost dreams.

The story of Bailey as she suffers through her addiction was so heartbreaking and it was causing so much suffering to all her family and Lev, and most of all, herself.  I felt for her, because she knew what she was doing but she was prisoner to her cravings and her desire to be good was overcome by the addiction.  The author did an excellent job as she depicts Bailey’s struggles to overcome her addiction and her pain as she disappoints her loved ones when she fails.  It broke my heart to see Lev try to hard to help her, to see his frustration at not being successful, his yearning to have his girl back with him, the old Bailey.

The story was tumultuous and passionate, full of recriminations and guilt, and in the end redemption.  The love Bailey and Lev had for each other was so strong and forever, it was beautiful to witness.  Through all their travails, they love was front and center, even when they were at odds with each other.  

All of the Saints families are involved in this drama with various levels of involvement.  But through it all, the support of this made family is strong and present.  I loved seeing the Totholes  with their own kids, loved the little side plot of Dean and Dixie.  The author called it right and it evolved exactly as it should. Another detail I love about this author is that she includes this little moments of humorous comments that give just the perfect balance to the angst as we’re reading it.  In my case, the story was so intense that it felt like a little moment of relief amidst the angst.  Superb! I couldn’t wish for a more perfect end to this group of beloved characters!

Purchase links

FREE in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/damagedgoods

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/47NYlUe

About the author 

L.J. Shen is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of contemporary, new adult, and young adult romance. Her books have been sold in twenty different countries, and she hopes to visit all of them.

She lives in Florida with her husband, three rowdy sons, and rowdier pets and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows, and reading to her heart’s content. 

Connect with her on her website at www.authorljshen.com or on Instagram (@authorljshen), or join her Facebook group at http://goo.gl/QZJ0NC. Sign up for her newsletter at https://bit.ly/3LhsIrb, and text SHEN to 313131 to get new release alerts (United States only).

Book review: THE VARSITY DAD DILEMMA, by Lex Martin

 I enjoyed reading this book so much! Very yummy, with rowdy football players, a precious baby girl and the neighbor who hated them and all the riotous parties they held.  

Gabby and Rider used to date during freshman year, but then Rider ghosted her.  Now they’re neighbors, Gabby hates Rider,  and even Gabby’s brother Ben lives with the football players.  They call their house Stallion Station, a charming description of their party central.  

When a baby girl in a basket is left on the football porch with an ambiguous note that doesn’t make clear who is the father, the players get into a panic.  Gabby organizes paternity tests to determine which is the father, organizes a babysitting schedule, gets everyone to sign NDA’s, teaches all the guys how to make formula and change diapers, and goes with Rider to buy baby stuff. She has been invaluable helping them, in spite of being at odds with Rider and having her brother staying in the house but ignoring her.

This baby helped overcome the barriers between Rider and Gabby.  When Rider demonstrates that he’s matured and is now ready for more, they grow closer and face several issues.  However, there’s an ex hookup who won’t take no for an answer and keeps coming back to make trouble.  

I loved the characters in this book and how it evolved from a group of rowdy football players into actual characters that you like.  Once they know who is the father, the others rally around to help.  Gabby is instrumental in helping Rider manage studies, football and baby.  There’s a side story of Gabby and her brother; he was adopted by an uncle and she was left in the foster system.  Instead of growing together they’re almost like strangers.  It’s a typical young adult romance but I enjoyed Gabby and Rider with Poppy and the other football players.  They’re rowdy but they’re nice, funny, and great friends.  Gabby’s roommate Sienna is a wild child and very caring.  You couldn’t ask for a more lovely story!

Purchase links

https://amzn.to/3rsZMrw

About the author 

Lex Martin is the USA Today bestselling author of The Varsity Dad Dilemma, Texas Nights series, and the Dearest series. She writes contemporary romance novels, the steamy kind she hopes readers love but her parents avoid. A former high school English teacher and freelance journalist who’s lived all over the country, she currently resides in her hometown of San Antonio with her husband, twin daughters, and a bunny named Dandelion. 

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