L-L-L-Little Reviews #58: January 2024

Here are the books I read this past month that were not part of scheduled reviews. I’ve also got two books that didn’t get reviews posted in December since I did this post earlier than usual last month.

On a Tuesday (One Week #1) by Whitney G

On a Tuesday by Whitney G.
Series: One Week #1
Narrator: Erin Mallon, Joseph Discher
Published by Audible Studios on February 6, 2018
Genres: Adult Sports Romance, NA Sports Romance
Length: 04:59
Source: Purchased
Format: Audiobook
My Rating:
Goodreads
Buy on Amazon, Buy on Barnes & Noble, Buy on Audible

We met on a Tuesday. Became best friends, then lovers, on a Tuesday. And everything fell apart on a Tuesday...
Charlotte Taylor has three automatic strikes in my book: 1) She hates me. She also claims that I'm a "domineering jerk with a huge, overbearing ego." (I do have something huge. It's not my ego, though.) 2) She takes our mandatory tutoring sessions way too seriously. 3) She's sexy as hell...And a virgin.
At least, those were her strikes before our study sessions started lasting longer than they were supposed to. Until one innocent kiss became a hundred dirty ones, and until she became the first woman I ever fell hard for.
Our future together after graduation was supposed to be set: Professional football for me. Law school for her.
But she left me at the end of the semester with no explanation, and then she completely disappeared from my life.
Until tonight.
We met on a Tuesday. Became everything, then nothing, on a Tuesday. And now it's seven years later, on a Tuesday...
**This is a full length second chance romance, inspired by Adele's "When We Were Young"**

My Review:

This was a shorter audiobook I chose to try to reach my Goodreads goal before the end of 2023. And it was so good! I am calling it both New Adult and Adult romance because over half of it is set back when they were in college. There’s so much wondering what exactly ended up going wrong because they seem to be perfect once things get going. And then when what happened comes out, so much trying to guess who caused it or kept them apart, even with suspicions I had, in the end it wasn’t what I thought exactly! But such a great book, my first by this author, but now I must read more! I think I have two freebie Kindle books, so will have to move those up on my TBR!

Star Trek: Trek the Halls by Robb Pearlman and Luke Flowers (Illustrator)

Star Trek: Trek the Halls by Robb Pearlman, Luke Flowers
on October 11, 2022
Genres: Adult Sports Romance, Childrens Picture Book, NA Sports Romance
Pages: 32
Source: the library
Format: Hardcover
My Rating:
Goodreads
Buy on Amazon, Buy on Barnes & Noble

My Review:

I needed one more book to fit in to meet my Goodreads goal for the year, and even though I thought I had another one of these short story books, like the Back to the Future or Karate Kid one, I guess I did not. So while I put that I got this at the library, I actually just read it at the bookstore, lol. I’d thought about it when I saw it before Christmas, but after reading it, I’m glad I didn’t buy it. I am just too far behind ( and probably won’t ever catch up) with all the different spin-off series for Star Trek, so I only enjoyed or understood a little. But if you are or know a big Trekkie, they would probably enjoy this!

Hooked (Ridder U Hockey #0.5) by Lynn Stevens

Hooked by Lynn Stevens
Series: Ridder U Hockey #0.5
on October 13, 2021
Genres: NA Sports Romance
Pages: 79
Source: Purchased
Format: eBook
My Rating:
Goodreads
Buy on Amazon, Buy on Barnes & Noble

She never got to tell him goodbye…
Grace Addison was forced to move after her junior year in high school, and she wasn’t given the chance to tell anyone. For the first time in four years, Grace is back in Minnesota. But it’s not really the home she once knew. All she ever wanted was to be home and with the boy she always loved.
He’s thought of her for years…
After all this time, Nolan Thomas still feels Grace’s absence. She disappeared just after they crossed that line between friendship and something more. Now a senior at Ridder U, Nolan plays for the hockey team, studies hard, and has never given up hope that Grace might wander back into his life.
Then he sees her in the library.
Will Nolan be able to reach the girl he once knew or will Grace’s dark past stop them from having a bright future?

My Review:

This was a freebie on Amazon last year that I got before I went to last year’s Flirty in Kansas City convention. The author is there again this year, so I decided to try to get this short novella read before I went. It was a quick and easy read. Not a lot too it, kind of predictable, pretty simple. It wasn’t bad in any way really, just okay I’d say. Not sure if I’ll be making sure to meet the author this time, but at least it wasn’t a bad read.

Baking and Babies (Chocoholics #3) by Tara Sivec

Baking and Babies by Tara Sivec
Series: Chocoholics #3
Narrator: Amy McFadden
Published by Audible Studios on October 30, 2015
Genres: NA Romantic Comedy
Length: 08:13
Source: Purchased
Format: Audiobook
My Rating:
Goodreads
Buy on Amazon, Buy on Barnes & Noble, Buy on Audible

"I’m pregnant."
Molly Gilmore had a good life before she uttered those two stupid words. While preparing to graduate from culinary school and building up the courage to make a move on her hot, sugar-cookie-smelling pastry instructor Marco, she can't wait to finally have the GREAT life she’s always dreamed about, instead of just the good one she’s been living.
Always known as the quiet ninja, she fully intends to stay hidden in the shadows with her nut-job family, so they have no chance to embarrass her around the man she's crushed on for two years. Unfortunately, her family has other plans. When they yank her straight out of her comfort zone, she finds herself starring in the craziest train wreck she's ever witnessed.
Molly ultimately gets a more exciting life that doesn't revolve around school, but she's pretty sure the man of her dreams won't be sticking around long after her family gets ahold of him. There aren't too many guys who can handle smelling like pee, having the whole world know how he masturbates, and being forced to eat an entire bag of dicks.
Join the Chocolate Lovers and Chocoholics gang for one final story about love, baked goods, making poor life choices, and remembering how important family is—even if they drive you insane.
Mostly because it's illegal to kill them.

My Review:

Okay, again, I was laughing so hard at times in my car that I had tears running down my face. Or I was covering my mouth from gasping at the craziness. Yes, Tara Sivec’s books are raunchy AF, but if you can handle that, OMG you will be dying laughing. I’m sure people in the cars around me at stoplights thought I was crazy. Listening to anything by Sivec is the perfect way to drive to a job that stresses me out in the morning, not to mention to help me wind down after a day at that job on the drive home. When I listen to other books there will be days when I’m going home that I have to just put on music because my brain is too much in overdrive and overthink mode, but not with these books. I can just let go and laugh and forget everything else. I wonder so many things because I know that the author has said some scenes are taken from moments in her life. I wonder if any of the crazy antics or things the little kids say are from her own kids. Honestly if I could some day meet Tara Sivec and just hang out with her for a while, I think I would be good and not worry about meeting other authors. She’s got to be the most fun person in the world to hang out with. So much hilariousness in this book. “Marco—Polo!” “Dammit Tom Brady!”

Five Minutes Late by Rich Amooi

Five Minutes Late by Rich Amooi
on August 22, 2014
Genres: Adult Contemporary Romance, Adult Romantic Comedy
Pages: 344
Source: Purchased
Format: eBook
My Rating:
Goodreads
Buy on Amazon, Buy on Barnes & Noble, Buy on Audible

Can an always-tardy garlic mogul and a punctual Silicon Valley librarian fall in love?
The world needs garlic and somebody’s got to sell that garlic. Cedric Johnson is that man. But even though he’s got just about everything he can wish for, Cedric is still missing one thing in his life: someone special. Fate may be on his side, but he encounters a few distractions along the way—like almost being killed by a UPS truck. Oh, and a little case of blackmail.
Ellie Fontaine is a walking Wikipedia with clear professional goals, but when it comes to landing Mr. Right, she doesn’t know jack squat. She even gives online dating a shot and ends up with an unappetizing buffet of unibrows and losers. What’s a girl to do?
After Ellie saves Cedric’s life, serendipity takes over as they continue to run into each other. Their connection grows stronger with each meeting, even though he embodies her number one pet peeve: he’s always late. But even if they can get past their issues and misunderstandings, Ellie’s ex-boyfriend, an unscrupulous cop, will do anything to keep them apart.

Five Minutes Late
is a hilarious fast-paced romantic comedy, full of snappy dialogue and fun, quirky characters, guaranteed to warm your heart.

My Review:

So I guess maybe this was the author’s first book? I’ve read some of his later ones and really liked them, and when I realized I had this as a freebie, I decided to read it on my phone, and for a TBR challenge. It was a pretty basic romance, what you’d expect for the most part. But it was sweet for sure, and had great banter both between the love interests, as well as between friends and family characters. I felt there were a few things that in these days could be considered offensive to the LGBT community. For example she had a thought that if she couldn’t find a man to meet her list of criteria maybe she would become gay, and that she’d ask her gay male friend for how to do that. First of all, why would women necessarily meet the criteria she was using, such as not being even five minutes late? Secondly why would a gay male know about being a lesbian? Anyway, those are some things that hopefully would be fixed in a book today. Because they weren’t part of the story in a way to be offensive, I just know that would come across that way to some. And it took me a bit to understand her 5 minute rule, until she finally explained it herself. Not to mention there were a few times that one or the other didn’t answer texts/calls for really no reason, causing drama, and when she kicked him out of the library for the same reason she had done at an earlier event even when she’d apologized for that time and realized it wasn’t his fault. So not a little review I guess, lol. But I will read more by this author in the future!

The Natural History Novellas (Natural History #4) by Erin Mallon

The Natural History Novellas by Erin Mallon
Series: Natural History #4
on March 28, 2023
Genres: Adult Romantic Comedy
Pages: 188
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
My Rating:
Goodreads
Buy on Amazon, Buy on Barnes & Noble, Buy on Audible

It’s two years later…
The couples from The Natural History Series are back and they’re all over the map!
In Flirtin’ – Calliope is now a full-time dino romance author. She is wildly in love with her narrator/astronomer boyfriend and hoping to win big at her first Las Vegas book signing. But when Ralph is the one to hit the jackpot instead of her, their own happily-ever-after needs a rewrite.
In Buggin’ – Mabel and Wally head to The Netherlands with two goals only: to celebrate redheads and sell some honey. They never anticipate that a mysterious man stirring up trouble will be just what they need to make life taste even sweeter.
In Baitin’ – Louise and James are living it up in Hawaii and counting down the days ‘til their new baby arrives. The perfect time to host a beach wedding for their friends and family, right? When unexpected guests appear and their birth plan goes out the window, they learn once and for all to take their cues from the ocean and go with the flow.

My Review:

It’s been a while since I’ve read the original books, even though Flirtasaurus will always be one of my all time favorite rom-coms and now I want to read it again. These novellas give us a fun epilogue/look back into the lives of the three couples from the first three books which include Flirtasaurus, Lovebug, and Sharkbait. First we have Ralph and Calliope. And just like with their meet-cute that had a hilarious bit about how could a guy named Ralph be sexy, their thoughts on names continue in this novella. Like Pat the Pilot. And Ralph’s narrator pseudonym. There’s a bit at a book convention and I wonder about who the big author is supposed to be. Then we get Mabel and Wally’s story second. Mabel is still the crazy awkward weirdo I loved in the first book. And her and Wally’s relationship is just as crazy as in the book too. Finally was Louise and James. Louise’s pregnancy led to some more out there ridiculous humor. Louise is also Ralph’s sister, so that made for fun interactions as James, Ralph, and Wally were all friends now with each other. Because of the friendships all of the characters made appearances in all of the stories, leading up to the events of the last one when they all visit Louise and James in Hawaii for a wedding. As ridiculous as Erin Mallon’s stories are, they make me laugh out loud and I loved this one as much as the others! I guess once again this isn’t a little review, lol.