Quick Reads, Quick Reviews 45

  

• The Prince and his Bedeviled Bodyguard: Book 1, Charlie Cochet
• Evergreen, Geneva Vand
• A Swants Soiree, E.J. Russell

Short, sweet, and full of snarky feline and sappy wolf. Owin began as quite grating for me with his constant arrogance and prickly nature. It went beyond normal feline prickliness and I wasn't a fan. I immediately loved Grimm's general happy, wolfy attitude that was a perfect foil for Owin's more annoying traits. But it was Owin's turnaround that seemed so genuine because of his self-reflection that had me changing my mind about him. Everything was on a truncated timeline due to the story length, but that didn't bother me one bit. For such a short story I think it was well-rounded in the character growth and development department. It had enough sweetness, passion, and humor to give me everything I really needed from the genre and promise in the premise. What really drew me in besides Grimm was the obvious story we'll be getting about the King and the Earl. That's one I'm definitely sticking around for. And to know that the next story will be about a semi-reclusive bear? Those are my favorite. So yeah, this story's ability to make me change my mind so completely about a character combined with all the good stuff that's being hinted at makes me a happy camper and an eager reader of the series.  4 stars.

Fantastical and sweet, this story was full of heart and magic set in a simplistic world.  Aside from being overly descriptive at times, there was incredible detail that brought the world to life for me.  There was a lot to be charmed by when it came to the relationship between Kym and Gabe.  They were soft, sweet, and a little awkward which made their slower-build romance quite endearing and believable despite this being a fantasy story.  Their affection was built on a whole lot more than attraction and magic and went far deeper than I expected.  When it came time to face the real world I felt both of their tentative natures worked to their detriment and was extremely glad when a solution was found.  Even better was that it was Ashley who came up with the plan to end the moping.  She went from being a stubborn patient to the problem solver and I could really see her independence and growth.  Her role wasn't merely one to bring Gabe to the presence of a dragon, but to set in motion everything necessary to keep them together.  Strong women abound in this short tale and it rounded out this wonderfully sweet story.  4 stars.

We get Brent's POV in this incredibly short, yet sweet story.  There are only hints at desired steam along with some vivid flashes of fantasy, but otherwise this is an incredibly tame tale.  With swants to bring them together, there's a very cute story to go with their meet-cute, but I definitely didn't get enough.  I didn't really find their connection to hold any weight and with Jonathan's evasions and virtually no confessions of feels, it was barely a romantic novella at all for me.  I love this author so I can really see this story going father and becoming something really awesome though, so it's something I'd be willing to hold out for in the future because the MC's really did have a ton of potential as did the cute story line.  4 stars.