Hey there! Here’s some more fun! I have a few books (ok, more than a few), but I swear, I’m going to get better at this!

UP FIRST: Student Union by Julie Murphy

Rating: 4 out of 5 fake marriages

I really needed this palette cleanser, a HEA after the roller coaster of emotions I’ve been on the last week and half. Bennett Graves is a snotty Rich Kid and Clover Walsh is decidedly not. But their history is something that Clover decides to lean on when she realizes that her housing situation at college needs to be changed and quick. So she asks him to marry her for the housing perk. Thus begins the whole trope of former friends to lovers, one bed, forced proximity, etc. I did enjoy seeing the characters fully fleshed out, though sometimes they acted both older than their ages and exactly their ages. Bennett was definitely a dick for a good portion of the book, but I think he was also just trying to protect himself from more pain. Clover gave as good as she got though. They both hurt each other but Bennett needed to grow up to learn how to apologize to Clover for the pain he caused her when they were young. I did really enjoy this though. It was a quick read for me (finished in a day, few hours at most) and I will likely go ahead and read the next book in the series.

NEXT UP: Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest

Rating: 5 out of 5 ADA Compliant Colleges

As a non disabled person, I will never have to navigate the challenges of the world they way those that are will have to. I am very grateful and thankful for that. Reading this, though, made me so much more aware of all the way we let our disabled community down. I work at a university. A MAJOR university, where I know we still have plenty of work to do to make people of all backgrounds feel seen and supported and valued. This book highlighted challenges that I would have never even thought of. I want to be challenged and I want to be able to be a better ally. I never want to make someone feel the way Effie did about navigating the world. She shouldn’t have to feel that way. I loved her little community, her parents and her sister were quite possibly the best humans in the world. I loved that she fought and made up with her bestie, Harper. I did that in high school too and now I’m still friends with mine 20+ years later. And I love that she figured out (with some nudging) how to truly advocate for herself and for future students. She was amazing. Wilder was great too, that he saw her chair but didn’t see it as something negative, it was just a part of her. He never made it seem like it was a burden. He was an amazing young man. I honestly would love to see this as a sequel, her first year in college, maybe coming home for the summer and seeing her friends and family. Just so we can see her growth and her view on the world. This was a phenomenal book. 100/10 would read again and again.

NEXT: Heated Rivalry and The Long Game by Rachel Reid

Ratings: 3 out of 5 Stanley Cups (HR) and 5 out of 5 GOALS (TLG)

Heated Rivalry: Well I have to say, I definitely think the second half of the book made up for the absolute mess of the first half. I’m all for smut and smut for smut sake but this was supposed to also be them like falling in love and stuff and…we didn’t really get there? Like I loved their banger and some of the sex was super hot but really it was all lust and anger and then BOOM they love each other and I just…didn’t buy it. I wish the slow burn that happened at the end had happened in the middle. It would have given the story more substance. I’ll probably still go read their next part of the series, but this one wasn’t as strong as other hockey romances I’ve read, or even other MM romances.

The Long Game: Ok I liked this one WAY MORE than the first one. There is so much more character development and the dive into mental health and homophobia with hockey culture was so good. Ilya is a precious cinnamon roll and I will hear no slander. Also, Anya is the best puppers. I also appreciated that Shane got his mess together, because he was really starting to get on my nerves but again, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! It was all here in this one. The smut and spice was still hot but it was also so tender. I just really really liked this one so much more. I’m glad I read the first one so that I could get here to this part of Ilya and Shane’s story. I can’t believe I have to wait until June for the next one. 😩

ALMOST DONE: In Stormy Weather by Chelsea Curto

Rating: 5 out of 5 crazy storms and podcasts

OBSESSED. I love a good “guy is ultimate simp for FMC” and LORDY IF SEBASTIAN WASN’T THE BIGGEST SIMP! 😍😍😍Quincy and Sebastian’s banter with each other had me cracking up laughing and sometimes just blushing-I can’t believe it took her so long to figure it out! I knew my boy was down bad for her from the beginning! This was like the ultimate pulling on the pigtails because he likes you. There were a few times in the beginning that I was like “ugh he better not be a huge jerk that has some crazy turn around and boom we have to like him”. No. No he was just obsessed with Quincy the whole dang time. I really loved, though, how much time we get with each Quincy and Sebastian with their friends. It really fleshed out the friend and friend group too, which I loved. Yes, they are side characters, but they also had substance. I really hope we get more books with Harlow and Mia and Cooper and Nate. Above all, I’m always down for a good disaster movie or documentary and having all that sprinkled into the plot?! Sign. Me. UP! I absolutely devoured this. It’s definitely on my favorite list for summer reading. Maybe even the year so far. If only all the world loved like these two did. 💜 What a story.

FINALLY: Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

Rating: 4 out of 5 skating rinks

I almost gave this a 5, and I did really enjoy it. It was a fun, easy read. I think the big reason why it’s not a 5 is because I kind of feel like there are some plots that don’t really get resolved. Like, we get a hint of Nate’s dad and him talking out what happened but then…nothing. Same with Anastasia and Aaron. Like, there’s sort of a resolution but it wasn’t satisfying for me. There were definitely parts of the book that were a little tedious (honestly, Anastasia annoyed me sometimes) but I did appreciate the mental health inclusion and the body image/food issues that women face. Having that worked out in a healthy way was amazing. I honestly think there were some parts that seemed excessive to the story, but overall, it was a decent book.

OK – I swear, I’m not going to leave this so long again! I’m currently listening to the audiobook of Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt and I am loving it. Hope to have a review for that soon!