Love in the Air (Romance Reads in February)

I don't normally read a lot of romance books; the genre has never been really appealing to me as a whole. The romance genre is one of the most popular genres in the publishing world at the moment; no doubt helped by the new blend with the fantasy genre, now dubbed romantasy.

Now that being said I am not against love or romance whatsoever, but for me to enjoy a book... the romance really needs to be a subplot. So, I wanted to use this post to talk about the three romance stories that I read this month and see which of these three couples won my heart and came out on top.

Starting off with a quick review of each book before I get into my rankings, so going from left to right let's talk about:

Fall for Him by Andie Burke

The story follows Dylan and Derek who begin to fall for each other after an unexpected encounter in their shared apartment building. That encounter isn't sexual or anything, they live above each other, and a hole forms in Derek's ceiling leaving dust, debris, and a very surprised Dylan on Derek's bed. After Dylan volunteers to fix it the two begin to fall for each other after a large variety of misunderstandings. This gave me classic rom-com vibes with the opposites attract and laugh out loud side characters. From Derek's best friend Olive, Dylan's little sister Felicity, and of course Gus. I am a sucker for any sort of animal companion. My only critique was the structure of the book, plot and characters were great. I did listen to the audiobook so maybe the physical book is laid out differently, but it felt like all of this character development was left until the end of the book. It just felt to leave points out until the end especially involving Derek. I had like an hour left in the audiobook and I was shocked to be getting all that character development right at the end. It felt like the development could have been folded into the other parts of the book.

Overall Rating: 4/5

All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles

This is a second chance romance wrapped up in a historical murder mystery. The story follows Zeb as he returns to his old family manor alongside a few other relatives. His estranged uncle promises his family the manor if they marry the young girl living their Jessamine. Zeb has no interest in this as he is more caught off guard by his uncle's new assistant, his ex-boyfriend Gideon. As the night goes on, the bodies start to drop, and the feelings start to return Zeb and Gideon must work together to escape into the night and hopefully start again. I don't want to give too much away in regard to the big twist, but it definitely helped with my enjoyment of the book. This was the second book I read by KJ Charles, and I can't wait to get my hands on a third.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Most Valuable Player by A.M. Woody

Our final romance of this month has cover that totally screams fall. The story follows Cam, star football quarterback who in order to keep his spot on the team needs tutoring from Mason, the team's water boy. Now this was a very cheesy book, and I think this is why I liked it so much. Classic story of opposites attracting and eventually falling for each other. I really liked how they brought out the best in each other, especially when Cam gave Mason the courage to stand up to his abusive ex Liam after his parents gave him no support whatsoever. I don't want to give away too much else so to not spoil the book entirely, but it was such a warmhearted story.

Overall Rating: 4.6/5

If I had to rank these couples, I would say Dylan and Derek, then Mason and Cam, and finally Zeb and Gideon. I think I liked the story of All of us Murderers best, but the main couple did not officially reunite which is why they are at the bottom. I definitely enjoyed these books and am looking forward to reading a few more love stories soon.

Thanks for stopping by the Nest! :) <3