It’s been a much better reading week for me this week. And lots more kisses were read.

I started One Wedding Two Brides by Heidi Betts, it had a cute blurb and I’m a sucker for a fake marriage. It quickly fell apart for me when the heroine was super drunk but the hero still thought it was okay to get married to her. The heroine also referred to another woman as a bitch and floozy. Hard pass. DNF

A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole. I really did not care for this heroine when she was introduced in the first book. but after seeing some tweets from some trusted reviewers who liked her I thought I’d give her a chance. I really really liked Portia. I really liked her discovery of herself and working through her ADHD. She really worked hard to become a better person and better friend and better sibling. She goes to Scotland to be an apprentice for sword maker and of course, he’s handsome. This is a slow-burn romance and the building sexual tension was great. part of the way and they discover that Tav, the hero, is also a Duke. I could have done without that storyline.

The main external conflict centers around a man named David who gives Portia a lot of problems. A lot of the conflict is displayed on page at the resolution is handled off page. That did not work for me. Davis is super gross and causes Portia both emotional and physical harm. There was some resolution after a thing happens. But then later another thing happens, that I HATED, and there is off page resolution for that too. This happened in A Princess Theory, Cole creates these magnificent heroines that are smart and capable and then creates an on page conflict for them and lets it get resolved off page. I didn’t like it in book one and I didn’t like it here.

There was a lot early on in the book that I really enjoyed it was fast-paced the story was moving well for me and had a grumpy hero. But with the introduction of David and that external conflict and how it was handled and how was portrayed it really soured the story for me.

Grade – C

Free Fall by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner. The most recent book in the series features a heroine and a hero who meet at a party they have sex and two months later she finds out she’s pregnant. It’s in the 60s so her parents find the hero and “force” him to marry her. Dean and Vivy’s story is just lovely and wonderful and I loved every moment of it.

The time period for this book is 1965 it’s centered around the space program. Vivie and Dean have to work at building a true marriage once they’ve actually married. Neither of them has ever been in a serious relationship before and so now they’re navigating the ways of being together and having a baby on the horizon. While this is happening there are also some concerns because Vivy’s Dad is the contractor of a spacesuit that Dean is going to be wearing for a spacewalk and they are concerned as to whether or not the suit is safe. Dean and Vivy have to learn how to trust each other how to talk to each other and how to be together and it’s lovely. The story is sweet and sexy and emotional and funny and I really did love everything about it. I recommend this whole series.

Grade A