“What even is a post title if not an added stress?” –a soliloquy

Hello, everyone!

I can't believe October is almost over and we're approaching the second last month of 2017. I'm so ready for 2018 because 2018 releases!!! I'm going to make a list of my 2018-anticipated books sometime soon. 

Reading update: I'm behind on my October ARCs and I'm a bit stressed out. I feel like my reading momentum this month is not as high as I wanted it to be, and some days I feel like reading is such a chore... Time for a reset. 

Anyway, I managed to finish and review a couple of books which I'll be sharing in this post. Now, onwards!

Necessary Roughness (Love and Football #7) by Julie Brannagh [★★★]

Necessary Roughness is my first Julie Brannagh book. It’s love at first sight for me; I’m a sucker for pretty covers, and this one is a winner for me especially since it has a dog on it. The story is light and entertaining. I have a soft spot for grumpy heroes and heroines who know just how to handle them. The whole relationship development between Tanner and Jordan had me hooked. I love that it evolved from reluctant-professional relationship to friends to lovers. 

The only thing that would have made me give this a higher rating is if there was some sort of plot to it. I love that it’s character driven but at the same time I wish there were more going on with the story.

It was a bit sad finishing this because I really wanted Tanner’s best friend Harrison to have his own book, and we won’t be getting that. On the bright side, I have Julie’s entire backlist to go through. I’m currently reading Intercepting Daisy (book #6), which is about a writer who wrote a bestselling fanfic / erotic novella starring a famous football player. Plot twist: she starts dating him for real and finds herself in a dilemma about coming clean re: the novella. It’s really great so far.

E-ARC is received thanks to the publisher via Edelweiss.

Bountiful (True North#4) by Sarina Bowen  [★★★★]

Oh my god, this book! I actually planned to do a readathon of this series since I haven’t read any of the books, but then I got too impatient and skipped everything to start this one. #noragrets

Bountiful is the fourth book in the series but it reads just fine as a standalone. The story is divided into two parts; Part I tells us about how Zara and Dave met and hooked up, and how that one-night stand turned into a month-long affair before Dave left Vermont, while Part II is set two years after Part I, where Dave returned to Vermont and found Zara again, and learned that they had a child together.   

I really love Zara and Dave as individual characters. Zara is such a strong, feisty woman, and I truly love her spirit. Dave is a dreamboat, enough said. I fell in love with him the moment he showed up. I didn't notice him at all in Brooklyn Bruisers and I felt kind of bad for that, LOL (he didn't have much screentime in the series anyway). There were so many great moments between these two, and I ship them so damn hard. I love their easy chemistry and the way they teamed up to care for Nicole. I also love that there wasn’t much drama in this book, and that everyone communicated with each other like adults. The side characters, Zara's brothers and Dave's sister are also my favourites. I need Ben and Alec to have their own books, please! Also, Brooklyn Bruisers cameos! 

What else? How do you even review a book that you really love, dime?

E-ARC is received thanks to the author.

In case you missed it: 

• I reviewed Jennifer Dawson's Taken (Undone #4) yesterday. This series ended on a high!
• I reviewed a sweet NA romance by Clarisse David called Making it Complicated. It took me back to simpler days...
• I reviewed Ainslie Paton's The Love Experiment, another book that made my month.  

What have you been reading this week? 

Any 5 star reads? Let me know in the comments!