Sorry for the bad pictures, I’m using screenshots of SuperSorrells Instagram. I was too excited to wait for better images.
It looks like we’re getting Jango Fett!! If the back of the box is any indication we’re also getting another Stormtrooper and maybe the Mandalorian! Love new Star Wars figures, even though I’m running out of space.
As soon as they’re up in the store I’ll add them to my lists.
By: Andie J. Christopher
Blurb:
An office attraction becomes something more when they’re off the clock in this delightful romantic comedy by the USA Today bestselling author of Not the Girl You Marry.
State attorney Bridget Nolan is successful in all aspects of her life–except romance. After breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, she’s been slow to reenter the dating scene. To be honest, she has more important things to do like putting bad guys behind bars. But with her brother’s wedding right around the corner, she suddenly needs a date and fast. Lucky for Bridget, the legal intern is almost done with his program.
Matt Kido is dumbstruck by Bridget–total love at first sight–but there’s one problem. She’s totally off-limits while she’s his boss. But the moment he no longer reports to her, Matt asks her on a date. An impulsive decision takes them to Las Vegas where, as the saying goes, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
Unless you put a ring on it.
Review:
The Proposal meets Newlyweds is the basic plot of this book. They’re tropes I like, so I was looking forward to Not That Kind of Guy.
Bridget was in a long term relationship that wasn’t good. Not abusive, but no spark. It was what people who aren’t keen on marriage imagine marriage to be. She cooked for him, she scheduled sex, and she was expected to put her career on the back burner. Until she realized fuck that noise. Only, instead of taking that to the logical conclusion that she was in a bad relationship, she decided to wash her hands of the whole thing.
Matt was a spoiled rich boy that hadn’t truly worked for anything in his life. He worked, but there was always that safety net under him, and there was never any question that he wouldn’t be given the best of everything. At least he recognized that and made up for it by being sweet. He was dedicated to Bridget, except when he wasn’t.
That’s where my issues with the story came into play. I make up my mind fairly quickly about certain things. Mainly because I overthink them, so when I’m ready, I’m ready. Bridget and Matt did not act that way. They were going to avoid each other. Then they weren’t. They were all in. Then they weren’t. Bridget was the one pulling back most of the time, and it was always explained away by her previous relationship, but I got a bit tired of it. I enjoyed the beginning and middle of the book, but the end was not to my liking for that reason.
This is not listed as being in a series on Goodreads, but the characters from Not the Girl You Marry are in this, and it’s about the sister of the male lead from that story. You don’t have to have read it to understand anything, but I thought I’d mention it.
3/5
The Boyfriend Project (The Boyfriend Project #1)
By: Farrah Rochon
Blurb:
Samiah Brooks never thought she would be “that” girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the painful truth: she’s been catfished by a three-timing jerk of a boyfriend. Suddenly Samiah-along with his two other “girlfriends,” London and Taylor-have gone viral online. Now the three new besties are making a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men, no dating, and no worrying about their relationship status . . .
For once Samiah is putting herself first, and that includes finally developing the app she’s always dreamed of creating. Which is the exact moment she meets the deliciously sexy, honey-eyed Daniel Collins at work. What are the chances? When it comes to love, there’s no such thing as a coincidence. But is Daniel really boyfriend material or is he maybe just a little too good to be true?
Review:
This is the second book I’ve read that involved going viral on Twitter, and I’m finding the whole idea interesting. It’s not anything I’ve ever thought about, but once I did, I could see why it would not be a good thing. Why it would cause someone a lot of stress. I’ve never wanted to become Twitter famous, and The Boyfriend Project didn’t have people going crazy, but the invasion of privacy seems awful.
Anyway, Samiah (really love her name) is a super-smart programmer. She’s worked her butt off to succeed in her career and let other things fall to the wayside. After being conned by someone clearly beneath her, she ends up making two new friends. The three women bond and push each other to resist trying to conform to society’s expectations. Their friendship was great. Even though it wasn’t the main focus of the book, it was still something I loved.
Daniel is a man that loves his country and is doing what he can to make it a better place. While I can appreciate that, it’s not the positive it used to be. However, I tried to set that aside. Daniel was the perfect modern man. He made his interest known without being pushy. Consent was important to him, and that went to everything, not just sex. Meaning he wasn’t going around touching people’s arms or offering hugs unless he asked permission first. That may seem like too much, but considering the book was set in a tech company, I thought it was an excellent addition. It certainly set him apart from other people in the industry, even though the company in the book was more progressive than most.
I thought that Rochon did a good job mentioning the issues faced by women, especially women of color, in tech. It’s an industry I’m familiar with, even though I hadn’t worked directly in it for some years. I appreciated that the issues weren’t glossed over or ignored.
Due to the nature of Daniel’s job, his and Samiah’s relationship seems doomed, but I liked how things were worked out. There weren’t big egos that had to be worked with, so that helped. They were both confident in their abilities while still struggling with other issues. The Boyfriend Project was a fun read that I really enjoyed.
4/5
It’s been a while since Disney updated their Disney Toybox line. Considering the pandemic that might not have been the plan. Even with that I was starting to get concerned. Two days ago SuperSorrell updated his Instagram to include a preview image of two new figures. Today, when I checked, they were both showing up on the store!
Migueland Héctor from Coco are the newest editions to the Pixar lineup. This was one of my favorite movies of recent Pixar releases. The music and visuals are great and the story touching. With Halloween just around the corner this isn’t as out there of a choice as I originally thought. The movie is older after all.
There’s a lot of personality in the figures and the accessories are nice. I do wonder how well the hat stays on his head or the guitars even. There appear to be several moveable joints as well. All in all I’m happy with the newbies.
By: Martha Waters
Blurb:
Five years ago, Lady Violet Grey and Lord James Audley met, fell in love, and got married. Four years ago, they had a fight to end all fights, and have barely spoken since.
Their once-passionate love match has been reduced to one of cold, detached politeness. But when Violet receives a letter that James has been thrown from his horse and rendered unconscious at their country estate, she races to be by his side—only to discover him alive and well at a tavern, and completely unaware of her concern. She’s outraged. He’s confused. And the distance between them has never been more apparent.
Wanting to teach her estranged husband a lesson, Violet decides to feign an illness of her own. James quickly sees through it, but he decides to play along in an ever-escalating game of manipulation, featuring actors masquerading as doctors, threats of Swiss sanitariums, faux mistresses—and a lot of flirtation between a husband and wife who might not hate each other as much as they thought. Will the two be able to overcome four years of hurt or will they continue to deny the spark between them?
With charm, wit, and heart in spades, To Have and to Hoax is a fresh and eminently entertaining romantic comedy—perfect for fans of Jasmine Guillory and Julia Quinn.
Review:
Based on the blurb for To Have and to Hoax, I expected a romantic comedy. A wife wants to teach her husband a lesson; he quickly realizes and decides to play along. Instead, it was two spouses acting bitter and childish while constantly thinking about how attractive their spouse was. There wasn’t even a poor attempt at humor. The situations were silly and contrived. I was disappointed.
Violet is supposed to be smart, beautiful, and fiery. She is also incredibly stubborn, though, her husband beats her in that trait. She has spent the last four years, barely talking to her husband because of a misunderstanding he had. There didn’t even seem to be an attempt by her to try and clear things up. Oh well, he thinks this, so I’m not going to try and change his mind. It was ridiculous.
James is stubborn to the point of absolute stupidity. He feels a need to prove to his father that he’s worth something, doesn’t trust anyone, and because of his behavior ends up wasting four years of his marriage. If he had taken any time at all to think about what had happened, but no one in this book has the ability to self-reflect.
One of my least favorite tropes is lack of communication causing issues, and that was the entire conflict of this book. Violet, James, and their various friends were occasionally entertaining, but for the most part, I was annoyed.
2/5
Dynamite Review 