Juliann Guerra: kirsty moseley

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

STAND-IN SATURDAY (#2 LOVE FOR DAYS SERIES) | Book Review

Title: Stand-In Saturday

Series: Love for Days

Author: Kirsty Moseley

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Release Date: September 28, 2020

Two broken hearts. One fake dating agreement. What could go wrong?

Lucie thought she had it all—a loving fiancé, a nice apartment, and a job she was great at. But that all changed the day she walked in on her perfect fiancé screwing his personal trainer on her newly purchased dream sofa. Three months later, she’s bunking with her best friend and scrambling to make sense of her life sans cheating ex.

Theo is about to jet off for a long weekend in picturesque Scotland to be the best man at his brother’s wedding. With stunning views and nothing but free food and drinking ahead, he should be more excited than he is. If only he didn’t have feelings for the damn bride.

When fate throws Lucie and Theo together under unlikely circumstances, they bond over doughnuts and their mutually disastrous love lives … and it seems like they might be able to help each other out. As long as they both stick to the rules, there’s nothing that can go wrong.

Contract in place? Check.

Hot, fake dates? Check.

Sexual chemistry steamy enough to scorch sheets? Double ch—

Wait, what?

That wasn’t in the agreement …

A standalone romcom. Book 2 in the Love For Days series. Please note: Although this book can be read as a standalone, it is set after Man Crush Monday (Book 1 in the series) so will contain spoilers.

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My Review (There are spoilers):

And I thought Amy and Jared were a match made in heaven... I fully believe Lucie and Theo were fated to meet. I mean what are the chances that they get stuck in an elevator together? This novel had quite a bit of self-realization for the main characters, which I really enjoyed.

We learned in Man Crush Monday that Theo is lighthearted and go with the flow, but Lucie takes a big step out of her comfort zone to agree to go to his twin brother's wedding in exchange for bringing him to her parent's house in order to make her ex jealous. An ex she had known for her entire life and whom she just broke off an engagement with, no less.

Lucie wasn't a surprise to the wedding because everyone knew Theo was bringing a last-minute date, which I liked. I was happy Theo didn't try to pull off the "we've been dating for a while" shtick. Plus, it wouldn't have worked since he's with Amy and Jared all the time. The wedding proved their immediate chemistry for one another and how well Lucie fit in with Theo's family. The Fancy Dress fiasco was extra funny to me because I had never heard a costume party called that before, so a mistake like that never would have happened to me, but I am wicked happy it happened to them. And they just rolled with it, which made it even better! It could have been because Lucie was in a room of strangers she never expected to see again but I think it had more to do with the fact that Theo truly let Lucie relax and be herself, even if she was embarrassed.

All it took was a weekend for Theo to fall hard, and Lucie definitely had strong feelings for him too, but she convinced herself they were just helping each other out. She was also under the impression that Theo was still in love with Amy. However, Theo realized that he didn't want Amy, but his own version of her. He loved seeing her and his brother happy together and wanted that for himself.

The dinner party is where we finally get to meet Lucas, the ex. Throughout the novel, you learn that he cheated on Lucie, but she can't imagine a life without him. However, this isn't the romantic version, but rather the 'he's super controlling and has Lucie brainwashed into believing that she can't be anything without him" type. It's something that the readers and Lucie's friend, and even Theo a little bit, picked up on, but the party is where it comes to a head and Lucie finally figures out what she deserves. There's even a nice fight between Theo and Lucas when Lucas puts his hands on Lucie - I loved every second of it.

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Praise for Stand-In Saturday:

Ann (Literary Lust) - "OH. MY. GOODNESS. This is one story that you honestly must not miss!!"

Goodreads Review - "Moseley does it again. Yet another fantastic story."

A Book Lover's Emporium Book Blog - "I absolutely adored this book. My face was aching because I smiled and laughed so much, plus I shed some very happy tears too."

If she had to sum herself up in one word, it would probably be 'daydreamer' - but unlike most of her school teachers, she doesn't necessarily view that as a bad thing. After all, she read somewhere once that books are like waking dreams...

She lives in Norfolk, England with her husband and son.

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Stand-In Saturday (#2 Love for Days Series) | Cover Reveal

Title: Stand-In Saturday

Series: Love for Days

Author: Kirsty Moseley

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Release Date: September 28, 2020

Cover Design: Outlined With Love Designs

Two broken hearts. One fake dating agreement. What could go wrong?

Contract in place? Check.

Hot, fake dates? Check.

Sexual chemistry steamy enough to scorch sheets? Double che—

Wait, what?

That wasn’t in the agreement …

A standalone rom-com. Book 2 in the Love For Days series. Please note: Although this book can be read as a standalone, it is set after Man Crush Monday (Book 1 in the series) so will contain spoilers.

Preorder HERE:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | KOBO | iTunes | Goodreads

ALSO AVAILABLE:

Buy HERE:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | KOBO | iTunes | Google Play

Kirsty Moseley has always been a passionate reader since she was a little girl, devouring books overnight, barely sleeping and paying for it at school the next day. Writing has come similarly to her and once she discovered Wattpad, she finally plucked up the courage to post one of her stories. Seven million reads later, she self-published her debut novel The Boy Who Sneaks in my Bedroom Window which later became one of 10 Finalists for the 2012 Goodreads' Choice Awards, Best YA Fiction. Shocked and overwhelmed by the response, she published her second novel Always You a few months later and hasn’t looked back.

If she had to sum herself up in one word, it would probably be 'daydreamer' - but unlike most of her school teachers, she doesn't necessarily view that as a bad thing. After all, she read somewhere once that books are like waking dreams...

She lives in Norfolk, England with her husband and son.

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Books I Read in January & February

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren
Second chances are tricky. I personally believe in giving people second chances, but I also understand that sometimes those chances have to be conditional. Sam and Tate meet in a movie-style fashion: On vacation. Very Lizzie McGuire. And just like Paolo, Sam ends up being not great. He sells a secret Tate trusts him with to the media and then disappears from her life. She's heartbroken, but over time she's able to use the leaked information to help further her career as an actress. Years later, she has to work with Sam and confront her past. However, when he reveals that even though he knew what he did was wrong, he had a good reason for doing it, Tate decides to give him a second chance.

My favorite part about this is that, in my opinion, what usually happens in books like this is the girl gets betrayed by a boy and then years later finally decides to trust a different boy. The fact that Tate decides to give the same boy a second chance was huge for me. Of course, some factors allowed her to do that. For one, she agreed with his reasoning for selling her out. And two, she was able to build her career off of the event. If one of those two things weren't the case I don't think she would have ever spoken to Sam again. However, when Tate becomes headline news again, she doesn't know whether or not Sam was the one to sell her out.

This novel tackles questions about who to trust, based on actions, reasons, and consequences. And of course, it always seems to be conditional, but you are capable of trusting someone who did you wrong in the past and great things can come out of it. This novel also reminds us that the people were supposed to be able to trust (in this case, family) aren't always the most reliable. Tate finds herself in a few conflicting situations, but she is constantly learning from her past to make the best decisions.

Love According to Science by Claire Kingsley*
This book is the sequel to Faking Ms. Right. Check out the review for this novel HERE. Spoiler: I loved it :)

Man Crush Monday by Kirsty Moseley*
Check out the review for this novel HERE. Spoiler: It was another good one :)

His to Keep by S.S. Richards*
This is the sequel to At His Mercy, which I reviewed in January. At the end of that novel, Elena comes back to Maksim and resolves to take down her uncle with him. In this novel, she is quickly taken captive by her uncle and is held in a secret place where he keeps all of the slaves he is training for sex trafficking. Meanwhile, Maksim is doing everything he can to find her. Although separated, the two of them use the love they have for each other as motivation to get through it. Secrets are revealed about Elena from both her and Maksim's point of view, which made it really interesting to see how they react.

Up until this point, I was fully invested in the story, but I had a few issues with Maksim after he finds Elena. He wants them to go back to the love and intimacy they found with each other by the end of the first book, but I hated how he went about it. There are a few times he grabs Elena and turns her to face him, which I did not like at all. She literally just got out of a sex trafficking prison where she was beaten and drugged. I felt like Maksim should have been more sensitive to that and been more cautious with Elena. To me, she was really struggling, and he didn't want to help her. And it wasn't even like he was trying different things and failing, he just didn't want to acknowledge what she went through. He was trying to force her back into normalcy. He does give her space at one point and finds the one person who can really help Elena, which I liked, but after that, the book quickly comes to an end. Within five minutes, Elena talks to this person and then turns to Maksim and they're immediately okay again. It felt rushed to me. I needed one or two more chapters of Elena and Maksim finding their rhythm again.

Faking Ms. Right by Claire Kingsley
I stayed up until about 2am to read this in one go. I really enjoyed it. I read the sequel first because I didn't know that this book existed, but I don't think it gave too much away. I mean, I knew Everly and Shepherd would end up together, but I kind of knew that anyway. This novel shows great family and friend dynamics, that although probably aren't totally relatable, aren't super far fetched either.

When Everly gets a phone call from her boss to meet him at a black-tie event she doesn't ask many questions. Once she arrives and discovers that he needs her to play the part of his girlfriend because his dad is dating his ex-girlfriend, Everly does so flawlessly, enjoying making make-believe for one night. However, she quickly finds herself playing the part for more than one night and even moving in with her boss to keep the charade going. However, when the line between pretend and real blurs (because how could it not?) things get complicated. Throw in a secret motive Everly had for half a second when she agreed to the whole thing and an out of state job offer, and Everly and Shepherd find themselves with big decisions to make.

I thought this book was really funny, which I always appreciate. Everly is a friendly girl who has enough dating horror stories to make her tough enough to handle anything. Pair that with quiet, private Shepherd who really hates seeing his ex-girlfriend with his dad. One of my favorite scenes is when Shepherd asks Everly out to dinner and she recommends a questionable food truck. She already has other plans but wants to mess with him Shepherd a little bit before declining. She knows he'd never want to eat there, but it's cute that he seems to about to give in because she picked it. They definitely have the opposite attract vibes going for them, but at the same time, Everly is the person who allows Shepherd to open up. And he not only opens up to her but also to his family by inviting him to see his band play. And Everly, as friendly and open as she is, proves she's trustworthy with secrets, which Shepherd clearly appreciates.

Normal People by Sally Rooney
I genuinely don't know how I felt about this novel. Part of me found it very interesting. The idea that there are "couples" out there, who aren't really in a relationship, but always seem to gravitate towards each other when they're in close proximity. I liked that. I thought there was some truth to that. I also found it interesting that Connell and Marianne have a role reversal once they leave their hometown for Uni. I also think that can happen. The person who has it all in high school realizes they're really not that cool and the misunderstood person finally finds a sense of belonging.

However, I also didn't really like either of their characters. They always came back to each other but seemed more of a familiarity/convenience thing rather than a they actually care about each other thing, which I struggled to get behind. Connell finds himself in a bad state and thankfully gets the help he needs from the school therapist, but I feel like being with Marianne doesn't help him move forward in his life. Marianne definitely could have benefitted from therapy herself. Her family was some of the worst people ever and she grew up thinking that she deserved to be treated poorly. She actually gets her feelings hurt when Connell refuses to hit her, which was just really sad to read.

At the end of the book, I craved an epilogue telling what happened after Connell gets his MFA. Do they continue this weird relationship they're in? Do they finally grow up and are able to love each other in a more mature way? Do they both finally move on from one another? I was curious, but we don't get an answer.

Odriel's Heirs by Hayley Reese Chow*
I don't naturally gravitate towards fantasy novels unless there is a ton of hype behind them. However, when the author of this novel reached out and asked me for a review, I read the synopsis and decided to give it a go. And I was not disappointed. As this is a new novel, I'm going to try to not give away any spoilers, but it might be tricky

This novel follows Kaia, a Dragon Heir (which means she can create and direct fire), as she tries to protect her home from an evil man who is trying to bring darkness to the land through his army of the undead. But she's not alone. She's with Klaus, the Shadow Heir (He can turn invisible), whom she's known forever, but has never really gotten along with - If you're like me and read a lot of love stories you know where this is going. And they're a man who has been cursed to be a cat guiding their way. As they travel throughout their land to destroy the undead, they're faced with tough decisions and sacrifices.

I (obviously, because I'm me) loved the relationship between Kaia and Klaus. They're rivals the way athletes are rivals. They both want to be the best, but they still have respect for each other. They also understand that they're fighting for the same thing so the most important thing is that they're both the best they can be. They also know that they need each other in order to be victorious in the battle...and maybe more... Their competitiveness with each other allows for some humor and pranks between the two that also reminds readers that although they're heirs, they're also seventeen-year-olds.

I also liked that there wasn't one big fight in this novel, but also a few smaller ones. The two are constantly being mentally and physically challenged. They get hurt whenever they have run-ins with the enemy and are weakened the more they are forced to use their powers. They also have to make very hard decisions very quickly and later think through their decisions. They're trying to protect their home from a dangerous being and the novel never allows the reader to forget the stakes and challenges.

Then the novel ends and things are different but okay. They just fought in a huge battle and a lot of people died. There's a new normal that has to come over the world, but it seems like it will adapt. And then there's an epilogue that makes you realize the ending has a false sense of security. This novel just doesn't stop. Now I can't wait for the sequel.

*This book was gifted to me, but the opinions are my own

Man Crush Monday by Kirsty Moseley | Book Review*

Title: Man Crush Monday

Author: Kirsty Moseley

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Release Date: February 3, 2020

Praise for the Novel:

"Adorably sweet, incredibly funny and totally astounding!" - Little Steamy Reads

"An opposites attract, seemingly unlikely romance that’s a fun read with some unexpected drama. I felt the love and the angst. A great read!" - Keri Loves Books

"Man Crush Monday is hands down the best contemporary romance with rom-com vibes, I've recently read." - Bookmarks by Jasmina Blog

My review:

Okay, I have to try and do this without giving away any spoilers, but there is a plot twist that is a huge turning point in the book. For that, I will say this: I liked the twist and I guessed it the first time Amy went to Jared's apartment. (I don't think that gives too much away)

What I loved about this book is that Amy is forced to confront herself. She has to reconsider a lot of her past assumptions and choices, which forces her to realize whether or not she trusts herself. It was honestly a little heartbreaking to follow along her journey because she is so confused and truly doesn't have answers to questions people are asking her. She feels guilty for the mistake, and then when she finally makes a decision she feels guilty for how she figures it out as well. And I couldn't help but think that if it was me, I would be reacting the act same way she does. This novel reminds us that sometimes we love our revelations, but don't necessarily love how we get to them.

This novel is considered a Romantic Comedy, which it definitely is. Amy is simply one of those people who others say, "That could only happen to you." Throughout her daily life, she encounters funny, minorly awkward situations that she's able to roll with. And then there is an "opposites attract" theme that causes humor as well because it's naturally funny to watch people who seem so different from one another find common ground.

It comes down to this: I loved this story. The love story was funny, but not perfect, which led to some conflicting thoughts for Amy and me, as a reader. I also found Amy's character very relatable. I would definitely recommend this novel.

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*This book was gifted to me, but the opinions are my own

Preorder Man Crush Monday by Kirsty Moseley

Title: Man Crush Monday

Author: Kirsty Moseley

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Release Date: February 3, 2020
Cover Design: Outlined With Love Designs

Perma-single Amy Clarke prides herself on three things: her pink hair, her Converse collection, and her ability to drink copious amounts of margarita without puking. She isn’t looking for love. She’s perfectly content with her simultaneous love affairs with Netflix and both Ben and Jerry. The trouble is, sometimes, love finds you.

Five months ago, he climbed aboard her train, and nothing has been the same since. Fast-forward to now, she still doesn’t know his name, but she knows she wants his babies.

Her crush—this tall, dark, and handsome dork who gets on her train every other Monday—has no idea he brightens her day with his panty-wetting smile and laugh that makes her pulse quicken.

When a chance encounter outside of work forces them to have their first proper conversation, things quickly go from loving him from afar to up close and very personal. With a string of disastrous exes in her past, has Amy finally found her Mr. Perfect? Or does fate have other plans?

A new stand-alone romcom from Kirsty Moseley, best-selling author of The Boy Who Sneaks in My Bedroom Window and Nothing Left to Lose.