Author
Dream Team, Book #4
Heat Factor: They didn’t have on-page sex until after 60%… Is this even a Kristen Ashley novel?
Character Chemistry: Eh
Plot: It wasn’t what I was expecting it to be, that’s for sure.
Overall: How very dare
To cap off our week of Donut romances (reviews here, here, and here), we put together a list of coffeeshop romances!
Coffeeshops are magical places where people from all different walks of life come together to build community. What better place to set a romance novel, amirite?
Elizabeth and Sidney meet in Elizabeth’s chocolate shop when he holds meetings with his criminally-minded lieutenants there. What better place to take care of business than a place where you can eat delightful bonbons, right? Elizabeth and Sidney are really kind and gentle with each other, and while Sidney has some baggage to deal with, this low-stress romance hits the spot.
Is an ice cream shop a coffee shop? In this case, I would argue yes, because Drew only orders coffee when he brings his niece to Ginger Scoops—because he hates ice cream. When he falls for Chloe, the owner, both hilarity and heartfelt moments of connection ensue. Bonus points for an excellent grumpy-sunshine dynamic that involves rainbows, unicorns, and, of course, ice cream.
It begins and ends at the coffee shop. Owen has had a totally cute crush on his physiotherapist since they met, but he’s too shy to do anything about it except for continuing to work out at the gym so he can keep seeing Toma. Toma gets just the push he needs to ask Owen out when an April Fool’s prank gets out of hand.
After watching Evie try and fail for a spilled coffee meet cute in their coffee shop, Ben isn’t entirely sure he wants himself or his daughter around this mess of a woman. Evie uses the coffee shop as a safe space as she tries and fails to get her life on track, and makes friends along the way. Bonus points for being a real rom-com.
The coffee bar in Indy’s used bookshop is the center of action in not only Rock Chick, nor the whole of the Rock Chick series, but in many other books Ashley’s set in Denver. Instead of cozy coffee house vibes, you’ll get quirky characters and a ton of bonkers goings on. Content notes: Lots of alphaholes and violence, among other things. I recommend looking up CWs.
Instead of being set in a coffee house, Bossy centers on Bryson opening up a Singaporean kopi shop when he returns home to Australia instead of joining the family business. After falling in love with the Singaporean coffee shops while living overseas, Bryson is excited to open the shop and achieve success on his own, and Michael supports him 100%.
We want snow and steam, yeah baby.
Well, the setting is rural Alaska at Christmastime, so there’s plenty of snow, certainly. But this one gives readers the warm fuzzies because Reed and Erika have a relationship on fire, but it’s a vacation fling. They have to decide what’s more important – the lives they were so invested in before, or a new one they could build together.
This erotic holiday novella about two librarians getting snowed in at the library is super hot. And Ben and Poppy spend a lot of time talking about what they find sexy (read: dirty talk, but also communicating about boundaries and consent and desire), which makes everything hotter and adds emotional depth to what would otherwise be a simple sexy rumpus.
Think Hallmark Christmas Special, except with sex and profanity. Seriously. There’s a hot chocolate festival, for goodness sake. However, it’s not all tropey hijinks (though there is a lot of that), but also a thoughtful story of two deeply sad and lonely people finding love and joy in their lives.
How about some danger banging…in a shack in the middle of Antarctica. It’s so cold in most of this book that it’s literally too dangerous for Ford to remove his penis from his pants lest he risk some serious frostbite, but don’t worry: the sexual tension is off the charts. Plus: there’s only one sleeping bag!
Things start off on the wrong foot, but when Nina and Max end up stuck in Max’s house for several days after Nina’s caught in a snowstorm in the small town Colorado mountains, they both end up turning their lives inside out so Nina’s vacation romance can be something more. Fair warning: Max is a bit of an alpha-hole and this book is really long, but if you like that, check it out.
What could be colder than an ENTIRE PLANET OF ICE??!? How about an entire planet of ice that is ALSO TRYING TO MURDER YOU?!?!? (Now that’s cold.) Luckily, Vektal is here with his big, blue, sexy, protectory energy, and once he takes care of the nurturing, all he wants to do is eat Georgie out. Bonus: it’s the first book in a very long series.
Dream Team, Book #3
Heat Factor: There is some explicit sexy sex, but for a KA novel, it’s surprisingly tame
Character Chemistry: One thing I enjoy about this series is that the relationship hangups are resolved pretty early on, and sometimes instead of huge relationship angst it’s nice to think about those early days of playing house and enjoying little things like your new lover cooking dinner for you or bringing you coffee in the morning.
Plot: The Super Bad Guys are messing with everybody (so, real talk, this one doesn’t really come through as a stand alone)
Overall: My feelings are mixed.
Heat Factor: There is so much sex that even people who prefer high heat books might think there’s a lot of sex
Character Chemistry: It’s that sort of mellow, adult clicking together that might involve struggle but not much drama
Plot: Wealthy woman in her 40s winds up romantically involved with a more working-class hero in small town Maine, which irks the obnoxious wealthy man who can’t deal gracefully with not getting the girl
Overall: For readers who enjoy stories with older protagonists, lotsa sex, and a relaxed, meandering story
Continue reading “Review: Magdalene Series by Kristen Ashley (2014)”
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