Pretending I Love Lucy by Julie Christianson

 

Synopsis:

The first rule of being a winner? Never lose your heart …

People think it’s easy being Felix Dodd III. And sure the fortune, legacy, and inheritance aren’t exactly terrible. But the name comes with so many strings, my hands feel permanently tied.

Like I’m stuck following in my father’s footsteps. Like I can’t trust people’s intentions. Like my grandmother wants me settled down before my thirtieth birthday.

I’ve got less than zero interest in marriage, ever since my one attempt at love crashed and burned. But Grams won’t let me access my trust until I’m engaged. Which means I need a fiancée.

Someone who’s looking for quick cash and a quicker getaway.

Someone like Lucy Devlin.

She’s got less than zero interest in me. But if I can get her to play along—just long enough to fool my grandmother—Lucy will be a whole lot richer, Grams will be none the wiser, and I’ll stay heartbreak free.

Just as long as I remember the new rule: Don’t love Lucy for real.

My Review: 5 Stars

Y'all. I have been dying to get my hands on this book for months! For five very long months! That's 13,046,400 seconds! And boy was it worth the wait! 😍

The moment I picked up this book, I was transported back to Apple Valley where I sat with Grams and immersed myself in all things Lucy and Fix. 

There's no pretending about it... I loved Lucy! She has got the kindest heart and is always putting others needs before her own. She has the hardest time telling anyone no and feels it's her responsibility to make sure her loved ones dreams come true. Even if that means keeping her dreams on the backburner. 

Fix was just as great as Lucy. He noticed right away how Lucy would do anything and everything for the people she loves. She was constantly taking care of them. But who was taking care of her? Y'all. This man is freaking amazing! He's what heroes are made of! 

I absolutely loved watching the relationship between Lucy and Fix develop from friends into something more. I'm not going to lie, it was painful at times and I wanted to shake some sense into both of them, but it was beautiful! I'm not afraid to admit that I cried some big, fat, happy tears! 

I seriously adore this series! It's definitely one of my favorites and one I'll be reading over and over again. If you guys haven't given this one a try yet, I highly recommend that you do! It's full of love and happiness with the perfect side of swooniness. 😍

There's a reason why Ms. Christianson is one of my favorite authors and this book is a perfect example. I can always count on her to make me laugh out loud, get teary-eyed, and let out little dreamy sighs while read her books. I'm in awe of her talent and I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us next! 

As for my casting... *dreamy sigh* I love these two! What do you think?!

Hidden Gems

Welcome to Hidden Gems hosted by KJ's Book Nook! Once a month I'll feature a new to me author that I've discovered and fell in love with their books. I'll share the author's bio, one of my favorite books of theirs and a review.

For this month's Hidden Gems I am going to choose...

Julie Christianson

Born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, Julie Christianson loves her hilarious family, three crazy rescue dogs, and laughing at her own jokes.

She dreamed of being an author the first time she held a crayon, and she became a published novelist back in 2016. Last summer, after the library where she worked closed, Julie decided to shift her writing focus to sweet romantic comedies. The world had pretty much shut down by then, and she figured everyone could use more reasons to smile.

Julie is a former English teacher and lapsed marathon runner, the mother of two great kids, and the wife of one very funny man. Her goal is to write books that make you laugh out loud, fall in love, and live happily ever after.

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Y'all. I have never been able to say this before and I'm kind of excited to say it now. 

Fun fact. Julie Christianson lives near me! I have never lived near an author I adore before but it's kind of fun. I love seeing names of businesses in our area show up in her books. The Bread Basket in My Own Best Enemy? It's the name of a delicious bakery right down the street from me. Y'all she had me craving their Zebra cookies for weeks! Haha. 

I know what you're probably thinking. I discovered her because she's in my area, right? Wrong. I actually discovered her while I was searching for clean small town romance books. I had been scrolling through books for about 5 minutes before The Mostly Real McCoy jumped out at me saying... pssst... pick me! I read two words in the synopsis (single dad), downloaded the book and started reading. Y'all. She had me at the food fight! 😂 You'll have to check out the book to see what I'm talking about... 😉

Single-dad Mac needs a temporary nanny for his daughter, Daisy. I need a second job until my promotion kicks in. Since our arrangement is only for one month, I am positive I won’t get attached. Medium positive. Okay, I’m negative.

This is a terrible idea.

Because I can’t give Mac and Daisy what they need, and I won’t risk breaking their hearts, but his green eyes and her crooked pigtails have me dreaming about forever. And who can resist a dad buying pink ballerina tights after a day spent in a hard hat?

The thing is Mac is a fixer, and I need to repair my own life. Better yet, I don’t want to feel broken. So it’s a good thing the worst has already happened to me. Nothing will hurt more now. Water can’t get wetter. That’s what I keep telling myself.

Too bad I’m all wrong...

You can check out my review here.

Happy reading my fellow Book Dragons!

My Own Best Enemy by Julie Christianson

 

Synopsis:

This isn’t a wedding. This is war …

I get it. We were in elementary school. Just a couple of kids on the playground. But after Nash Hendrix called me Enemy instead of Emily, his stupid nickname ruined my life.

Now our best friends are getting married, and they expect me to stand across the aisle from Nash the Ruiner without killing him?

Whatever. I can survive being maid of honor. It’s only for one weekend.

Until it’s not.

When I get roped into wedding planning at the same places Nash is fundraising, I’m ready to blow up our temporary truce.

All I wanted was to start over. New job. New permanently-single status.

But the more time we spend together, the more I feel like … not murdering him.

Is it possible Nash and I don't hate each other?

No way. He’s still my enemy.

My big, dumb enemy.

My big, dumb, gorgeous, sweet-talking, dog-loving —

Emi, you’re doomed.

My Review: 5 Stars!

Have you ever picked up a book, started reading it, and instantly knew you were going to have the hardest time putting it down? Well, that's what happened to me with this book. Nothing else in the world existed while I was reading. From the very first page, I was transported back to Apple Valley where got a front row seat to the Emi and Nash fireworks show. Y'all. I can't tell you how much I loved these two! 

Sworn enemies since elementary school, Emi and Nash have to work together to make sure their best friends' wedding goes off without a hitch. It proves to be difficult when Emi has a deep "hatred" for Nash that she just can't seem to let go of. But you know what they say, "there's a fine line between love and hate". 😉 

I loved watching these to work through their past and their feelings. It wasn't always easy and just as they took a step forward, something happened to put them two steps back. Their love/hate relationship had the chemistry flying off the pages! All I can say is sit down, buckle up, and enjoy the rollercoaster ride you are about to embark on! I seriously could NOT get enough of these two! 

And it would be remiss of me if I didn't say... you guys... I have a couple warnings for you! Doesn't it feel like that's becoming a thing with books lately?! It does to me! 

*WARNING* Do NOT eat or drink anything while reading this book! Picture this. You're minding your own business, eating dark chocolate milano cookies and all of the sudden crumbs are flying out of your mouth because you just couldn't contain your involuntary bursts of laughter! Y'all. Thank goodness it wasn't the Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate Sensation hot chocolate I was drinking. That could've ended badly! Haha.

*WARNING* Make sure you clear your schedule before picking up this book because once you start, you are NOT going to want to stop! Lets just say that I had a meeting at work on my day off but I couldn't be bothered to get ready for it, so I called in for the meeting instead. The struggle was real y'all! 😂

I know this book is just being released but y'all! I need Lucy and Fix's story like now! Their first interaction had me squealing with delight. But I'd be lying if I say that's the only reason why I need their book ASAP. You guys... I need to know what happened to Mrs. Dodd! She is definitely one of my most favorite side characters ever! You know the mentioning of cookie crumbs flying out of my mouth above? She's one of those reasons! You guys are going to love her! 

I have to say that I am SO glad I discovered Ms. Christianson! Her books are the perfect break from reality that I need! I can always count on her kidnapping me and not letting me go until the very end! I absolutely love it when that happens! 😍

And can we just take a minute to admire these two? I think they are perfect! What do you think?

Swoon Worthy Spotlights!

Welcome to Swoon Worthy Spotlights hosted by KJ's Book Nook! 

Once a month I'll feature 1-3 of my favorite books that I have read during the month. I'll share the cover(s) and my review(s).

Yes... I know there's more than 3 but I had an amazing month for reading! 

For this month I'm going to choose... 

The Mostly Real McCoy by Julie Christianson

More Than Second Chances by Sara Jane Woodley

Rescue a Stubborn Heart by Cindy Roland Anderson

One Choice I'd Never Make by Remi Carrington

The Off Limits Rule by Sarah Adams

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What are some of your favorite reads from May? 

The Mostly Real McCoy by Julie Christianson

 

Synopsis:

Single-dad Mac needs a temporary nanny for his daughter, Daisy. I need a second job until my promotion kicks in. Since our arrangement is only for one month, I am positive I won’t get attached. Medium positive. Okay, I’m negative.

This is a terrible idea.

Because I can’t give Mac and Daisy what they need, and I won’t risk breaking their hearts, but his green eyes and her crooked pigtails have me dreaming about forever. And who can resist a dad buying pink ballerina tights after a day spent in a hard hat?

The thing is Mac is a fixer, and I need to repair my own life. Better yet, I don’t want to feel broken. So it’s a good thing the worst has already happened to me. Nothing will hurt more now. Water can’t get wetter. That’s what I keep telling myself.

Too bad I’m all wrong...

My Review: 5 Stars

Y'all. It's probably a good thing that I got everything thing done that I needed to get done for the day before I started this book. Why? Because the moment I started reading, there was no way I was putting this book down until I finished it.

I was quickly swept away to Apple Valley where I lived and breathed all things Brooke, Mac and Daisy. Oh how I adored these three! They had me busting out laughing (literally and now my neighbors think I'm even more crazy), getting teary-eyed (it's not all sunshine and rainbows), swoonying (that first kiss... yowzers), and letting out little dreamy sighs (I couldn't help it!) throughout the entire book. I loved their journey of self discovery, of healing, of strength, of family, of being their for each other even if it's sitting on the sidelines and cheering them on. Their journey was absolutely beautiful! I loved every single minute of this book.

I do have to say that little Daisy kinda stole the show for me. Watching her blossom and grow under Brooke's care was seriously the sweetest thing ever. I just can't with all her cuteness! And her names! MeeMaw and PeePaw. Y'all! I lost it! I seriously love Daisy! Haha.

I will admit that I was kinda sad when the book ended. I was not ready to say goodbye to Brooke, Mac and Daisy. Thank goodness this is a series and I'll get to catch up with them soon! I am dying to get my hands on Emi and Nash's book. Y'all. I can already tell that Emi doesn't stand a chance. Nash is a go getter and he always gets what he wants. I'm already planning on clearing my schedule when their book is released. I have a feeling I'm going to be sucked in again. Hehe.

I am SO glad that I found Ms. Christianson while searching Amazon for new authors to try. The moment I read the synopsis, I was stalking her until release day. I highly recommend grabbing this one! It is SO good!

And of course we can't forget my casting. Y'all. I'm loving these two! What do you think?!