Review – Hating the Player by Rebecca Jenshak

Hating the Player; Campus Wallflower #2
(#2 within a series)

Publication Date: September 20, 2022

Genre/Tropes: New Adult/Second Chance/Sports Romance

Author: Rebecca Jenshak

Review Rating: 5 Gold Stars

Review/Synopsis:

Review:
Sweet, slow burning, second chance romance set in Jenshak’s Valley U world.

Stepping back into Valley U felt familiar and comfortable, like putting on my favorite sweatshirt. Reading Gavin and Violet’s story was very much reading a comfort story, one without a lot of conflict, but instead focused on rebuilding their relationship, first through friendship and then finally falling back in love.

What we know going into this book is that Gavin Leonard is the worst. What we don’t have is all the facts into why Violet thinks this way. This is the building storyline on why Gavin has to rebuild his reputation with Violet and why exactly he even wants to give it another try.

Instead of painting Gavin in a horrible light, this story is actually really sweet. I love that Rebecca focuses on the present and how much Gavin is into Violet, along with how much Violet is into Gavin as well, but she’s just fighting it with every ounce of willpower she has…for good reason.

This is a super slow burn romance, but it doesn’t lack chemistry or time spent together. Violet doesn’t easily forgive so their relationship changes throughout the book, but it’s fun and sweet and just so lovely. AND….the epilogue…oh, my heart….pure sweetness!!!

Synopsis:
Gavin Leonard is the worst.
He lives in the best party house off campus at Valley U, overrun by jocks galore.
I live next door, watching Jane Austen adaptations with my sketchbook in hand.
He stays on his side of the fence.
I stay on mine.
Now we’re accidentally on a camping trip together, but there’s only one tent left.

Gavin Leonard is the worst.
And he’s the last guy who broke my heart.

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Review – Devil of Dublin by B.B. Easton

Devil of Dublin
(A standalone)

Publication Date: September 22, 2022

Genre/Tropes: Anti-hero/Dark/Mafia/Fairy-Tale Romance

Author: BB Easton

Review Rating: 5 Gold Stars

Review/Synopsis:

Review:
A dark, but beautifully magical tale that had me transfixed by these two broken soulmates.

Once I opened the pages to Devil of Dublin I never once set it back down. I was transported to the Emerald Isle of mystical tales where anything is possible, especially where two souls like Kellen and Darby overcome such incredible odds. I loved every word.

It’s hard to describe the magical beauty alongside the darkness of this book, but both made this story unputdownable. Kellen and Darby meet when they are children in Ireland. Kellen lives there while Darby is only there visiting her grandfather for perhaps a week at a time. Over multiple years their meetings are brief, but life altering as Darby comes back to visit, until one year she doesn’t.

Years pass and both Kellen and Darby change and go through life altering events, but when Darby returns to the once magical land where her life held such possibilities, the adventure of her life really begins.

Devil of Dublin is full of dark moments, non-stop action, and very emotional connections, but at the heart of the story is this deep rooted connection between two soulmates. Their tale is sprinkled with Irish folklore that made the dark moments just a little bit lighter and certainly gave credit to the notion of eternal love.

My heart was filled with joy over their story and cemented the notion that no matter what they suffered, together they were the balm to help heal one another, a rock to lean on and a hand to hold.

Synopsis:
From the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of 44 Chapters About 4 Men (inspiration for the Netflix Original series Sex/Life) comes a dark mafia romance steeped in Irish folklore.

I can’t remember anymore if my grandfather’s eyes were blue or green, but I’ll never forget the way they wrinkled at the corners when he laughed at one of his own jokes. Or the way they sparkled with mischief when he told me tales about the magical creatures that dwelled in the forest behind his humble Irish sheep farm—shy fairies who liked to eat tea biscuits, cruel witches who liked to eat children, a moody lake spirit with a taste for expensive gifts.

As a child, I believed every fantastical word. But when he warned me about the mute boy who also lurked in those woods, the one the priest had declared to be the spawn of Satan himself, I refused to listen. Kellen wasn’t evil. He was kind, and beautiful, and special, and hurting. He was my friend. And with every summer I spent stolen away with him in those enchanted woods, he grew to become so much more.

But when I return to Glenshire as an adult, grieving and engaged to someone else, all those legends quickly morph into nightmares.

My grandfather had been right about everything, especially the boy.

If only I had listened.

WARNING: If you are a sensitive reader or find certain topics to be emotionally triggering, please exercise self-care and select a different book. Devil of Dublin is intended for mature audiences who enjoy dark subject matter, tortured anti-heroes, explicit adult content, graphic violence, heart-pounding suspense, fairy-tale worthy love, and gorgeous Irish scenery. If that sounds like you, then welcome to Glenshire!

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