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REVIEW: The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

Rating: 2.5/5

Synopsis

Catalina Martin desperately needs a date to her sister's wedding. Especially since her little white lie about her American boyfriend has spiraled out of control. Now everyone she knows - including her ex and his fiancee - will be there and eager to meet him.

She has only four weeks to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic and aid in her deception. New York to Spain is no short flight and her raucous family won't be easy to fool.

Enter Aaron Blackford - her tall, handsome, condescending colleague - who surprisingly offers to step in. She's rather refuse; never has there been a more aggravating, blood-boiling, insufferable man.

But Catalina is desperate, and as the wedding draws near, Aaron looks like her best option. And she begins to realize he might not be as terrible in the real world as he is at the office.

"Five tacos - Aaron had gotten me five not four, like I had told him."

Review

This book is another one of those Book Tok and Bookstagram "absolutely must read." I heard a lot about this Adam Blackford character and seemed genuinely interested and went to buy the book for myself. When I found out this book is revolved around Catalina and Spanish culture, I thought I would actually enjoy it hoping that this American man is going to learn more about Spain.

This book is very similar to The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, taking place in an office setting and a fake dating trope. It started incredibly slow for at least 2/3 of the book and the last 1/3 actually being in Spain which I found very disappointing. A majority of the first half of the book definitely could be 100 pages shorter just to get to the plot of the book that actually made us pick it up in the first place - fake dating in Spain.

"How is it possible that it feels like you are breaking my heart, and I haven't even had you yet?"

The sexual tension between Aaron and Catalina came very quickly for the short few chapters that they were in Spain. Don't get me wrong, I love me a good one bed trope and the spice was... well SPICY. The character that Aaron was revealed to be once they touched down in Spain was astonishing - almost like he was a completely different person entirely. My biggest turn away from their relationship is their lack of enemies-to-lovers outside of the office, almost like their rivalry was simply for show.

Conclusion

This story lacked a huge part of their rivalry in and out of the office, resulting in the lack of an enemies-to-lovers trope that the book was meant to be centered around. If I were to choose between rereading this book and The Hating Game, I'd choose The Hating Game without a second thought. Secondly, this book was meant to be a fake dating at a wedding in Spain, which unfortunately did not last as long as I hoped it would and seemed pretty rushed just to get to the point of "they're actually lovers, here's your super sexy spice." This book could've been a whole lot shorter and skipped many of the insignificant details while in New York and expanded upon their time in Spain.

"'I'll give you the world,' he said against my mouth. 'The moon. The fucking stars. Anything you ask, it's yours. I'm yours."

All in all, if you'd like to experience this book for yourself then by all means go for it! However, this is not an enemies-to-lovers fake dating novel I would recommend to someone.

#authors #book blog #book review #bookish #books #booktok #reading #the spanish love deception #enemies to lovers #close proximity #one bed trope #fake dating

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REVIEW: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships--but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor--and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding... six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Review

I am not the smartest person when it comes to biological science, so a lot of whatever the hell hey were talking about really went over my head while reading this book. Aside from that, this story really did capture my heart despite it being from the infamous Book Tok. Though, this book wasn't exactly as it was marketed to be from readers. When many talked about spice, it sounded like this entire story was meant to be erotica. The reality is that there was really only one sex chapter, which given the traits of our beloved heroin, Olive, it makes sense.

The prologue drew me in immediately. I'm a sucker for a good laugh especially if it's relatable. I've learned my lesson from wearing expired contacts myself! Immediately after reading the prologue, I knew we had our hero. Then suddenly two years and eleven months later we find Olive kissing some guy who is none other than our hero himself, Adam Carlson.

One thing that irks me about the beginning of the book is the first chapter where it is described that Olive had kissed Adam without his consent. At the beginning of the story, the two of them are the perfect strangers who stand at very different levels in their careers - Adam is a professor, Olive is a student which isn't exactly the power dynamic I usually go for in contemporary romance novels. While I love a good plot in STEM, specifically women in STEM, I find that the relationship could've been represented better with a more preferable age gap that does not make it seem too inappropriate. However, they do end up making it work as they start becoming more comfortable with each other, so I guess that works.

"I'm starting to wonder if this is what being in love us. Being okay with ripping yourself into shreds, so the other person can stay whole."

Both Adam and Olive have admirable goals in their careers; Olive's pancreatic cancer project and Adam's fight for his research fund while under suspicion that he may be moving to another university. This story is very much character driven with not much character development. But, if you're looking for that grumpy x sunshine fake dating trope, well then this book is perfect for you. I noticed that this story did not focus much on the flaws of the characters which added to the lack of character development, aside from them being more comfortable with each other as the story progressed. The more we got introduced to new characters, the more I started to realize that each character lacked diversity. It seemed that they each had either the same or a similar personality. Which while entertaining for certain character interactions, it all seemed repetitive in the end.

"Olive had felt that he was on her side. Over and over, and in ways that could never have been anticipated, he had made her feel unjudged. Less alone."

Conclusion

All in all, I feel that while the relationship was cute and had great development, the story could've used more personal character development for the individual characters. One thing that I did enjoy that I tend to joke about quite a bit is the fact that even though they had no "one bed trope," they ended up making their own anyways and I thought that was funny. The best takeaway from this book is that it surrounds the difficulties of women in STEM and the fact that Adam became her biggest protector in the end made my heart flip. Nothing is sexier than a man who will do anything for his woman even if it means pinning a man against the wall and threatening to kill him. Hopefully you find this book enjoyable as much a I did despite it's many flaws and it's redeeming qualities that balanced it out.

"If you say another word about the woman I love, if you look at her, if you even think about her - I'm going to fucking kill you."

#authors #the love hypothesis #ali hazelwood #books #bookish #book blog #book review #booklr #booktok

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REVIEW: A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Scarlett St. Clair takes a modern spin on the forbidden love between Persephone and Hades. Persephone, the powerless Goddess of Spring, is a college journalist in New Athens looking for answers about the god as she masquerades as a mortal. Hades, the powerful God of the Dead, gambles with the lives of mortals with rumored impossible bets.

Persephone finds herself in a chance encounter with the God of the Dead and soon is stuck in a contract with him - create life in the Underworld or lose her freedom forever. While this bet seems nearly impossible for her as it exposes her failure as the Goddess of Spring, her love for Hades grows.

Review

I hadn't even realized I picked up another Hades X Persephone book until I read the first page and that alone just drew me in even more than the gorgeous book cover. This is one of the books I had found off of "Book Tok" a while back and decided to finally give it a try. Let's just say Hades X Persephone has become my favorite read - forbidden love, modern world, yet still fantastical.

In this world, the gods and goddesses owned businesses that attract mortals. Zeus owns a marketing and creative agency, Apollo is a rockstar, and Hades owns Nevernight, a club that is near impossible to get into with a long waiting list. Persephone's roommate and friend Lexa gets them in and Persephone is met with the eyes of a dark and mysterious figure from the balcony of the club that is only accessible with a password.

What I love about this book is the attention to detail about the setting, what people do, who people are, and the distinction between gods and mortals. The story was engaging in every aspect and made me feel like I was actually in their world.

Let's talk about Hades. The dark, gloomy, incredibly sexy, misunderstood God of Death. I love the way he was introduced into the story; this mysterious man seeming innocent enough to want to teach Persephone how to play poker. The two play through rounds, Persephone answering this mysterious man's questions each time he won. Persephone then begins pressing questions about Hades - why do people play him? Why do they sell their soul to him? Does he get angry when he loses? That was when Hades finally reveals himself. This by far has to be one of my favorite character reveals I have ever read in a book. Despite the person other gods and mortals have made him out to be, he is truly a deeply caring person.

He smirked, and she could feel it deep in her gut. "Darling, I win either way."

Now, Persephone. In a way she kind of annoyed me with her indifference to Minthe that seemed a bit melodramatic. I get it, you hate her, you don't like her being close to Hades, you're jealous. But dial it back just a smidge. Persephone is a dedicated, intelligent, curious, and can be a bit of a brat, but it all makes for a pretty good relationship between her and Hades. She also seems to be quite the mistrusting person, which I can respect given what she has been through.

"You want to f*ck me with this crown; I want to f*ck a god."

Conclusion

In the end, this book has to be my top favorite modern retelling of Hades and Persephone. It is fun, steamy, and an all around adventure getting to know each and every one of the characters. St. Clair does a great job with introducing each character and their personalities. This is definitely a book I would pick up again and I cannot wait to read the next two books that continue this story, and I look forward to giving you all a review on those as well.

[jayy-day-library]

REVIEW: Neon Gods by Katee Robert

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Neon Gods is a modern rendition of the Greek Gods that follows Persephone as she flees from her engagement to Zeus in the upper city of Olympus. Persephone crosses the River Styx which prohibits Zeus from catching her without a war breaking out between the upper and lower cities. Persephone is left with no choice, but to make a bargain with the myth himself, Hades, whom she had never known existed.

Hades spent all his years in the darkness ruling the lower city. After meeting Persephone and hearing her pleas to escape Zeus, he agrees to help her while in turn getting his revenge on the god that had taken everything from him.

After countless hot and steamy nights entwined with Persephone, Hades finds himself going to great lengths to keep Persephone close.

I'm going to have you, little siren. In every position, in every way.

Review

I don't know what else I was expecting when I found this book off of "Book Tok." I definitely lives up to the hype of being incredibly spicy and "unspeakbly hot" as Entertainment Weekly put it. Half way through the book I would describe it almost as Fifty Shades meets the Greek Gods; yeah, it was THAT spicy. I had never read a book of the Greek Gods in a modern setting, and for my first book it happened to work incredibly well.

If you are not one to enjoy kinky smut, then this book is not for you as it does take up the majority of the story and doesn't exactly leave room for plot other than it being revenge against Zeus.

Let's talk about Hades and Persephone's characters. Hades is portrayed as dark, broody, gloomy - as he should being he is the God of the Dead. Under all of his doom and gloom he has a sense of care,. protection, and order not only for Persephone, but for his people and friends - as much as he wouldn't want to admit it. Persephone, on the other hand, is incredibly an incredibly spunky social butterfly that followed her mother's, Demeter, every demand, with an exception of course. Persephone's attitude remained consistent throughout the story as she brought out something new in Hades.

You've ruined me, Persephone. Forgive the f*ck out of me if I want to return the favor.

Like in many of Katee Robert's books, she includes queer representation including mentions of pan/bisexual characters and an asexual character.

This novel, in my opinion, was incredibly repetitive in back to back spicy chapters, with little room for an intriguing plot development; however, the end of the novel did had me in for a shock for the lengths Hades was willing to go to protect Persephone, and that is something you are just going to have to read to find out!

Conclusion

All in all, if you are all about total erotica and forbidden romance then this book may just be for you. I believe Robert could have added a little bit more to the plot and reeled in the erotica just a smidge. Rather than back to back spice, I would have loved to see a little more development in the story itself. Though, I will say this book is as sinful as it is sweet and with this in mind I look forward to seeing what the next books in her Dark Olympus series has to offer.

Only you could manage to run away and fall into bed with a sexy man determined to do anything to protect you. You're truly gods-blessed, Persephone.

#authors #reading #neongods #katee robert #booktok #bookish #book blog #book review #books #hades x persephone