Rom Com Archives - Proud Book Reviews

February 13, 2023February 14, 2023

Nobody Puts RomComs in the Corner – Kathryn Freeman

This book contains:

Reference to cheating
Suggested familial financial extortion/violence.

Sally is the romance loving, café owner with a room to let after her younger sister has moved into her boyfriend’s place. Her life is all about romance. Romance movies of all kinds, a café themed on love and creating early love experiences for other couples and wanting to find her own perfect match.

Harry on the other hand is a total love cynic. He’s a builder by trade whose parent’s marriage has been falling apart more and more since his dad retired. While he never had a loving home growing up, what he’s experiencing as their marriage deteriorates solidifies his belief that love doesn’t exist.

Thanks to Sally’s sister moving out and the debt she needs to repay, she’s forcing to let her sister’s old room out. A friend of a friend puts Harry in touch with Sally because he’s in desperate need of renting a room on a short-term basis.

As they live together, they learn more about each other, most prominently, their difference of opinion about love. One night after a few drinks, they re-create the famous lift scene from Dirty Dancing, and overnight become a Tik Tok sensation.

As the name suggests, this fun love story is basically a rom com the whole way through. While I don’t think I’ve seen EVERY movie they recreated or referenced, I’ve seen most and I loved reading about their adaptations.

I had such a fun time reading this. I think pretty much every time I picked this up, I found myself giggling and laughing at what they were up to.

And in amongst all those funny moments, Harry is beating the gender stereotypes in his industry as a builder. I won’t say how, because that might spoil the surprise, but it was so nice for this to be popped into the story in such a natural way.

Overall, a hugely fun book that is quite inclusive in such a natural way that I kinda wish more authors could do.

Continue to find out about the author.

Author Bio

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to write a book. It may have had something to do with my obsession with reading romance. Real life interfered and I headed off in a different direction – into the world of science, becoming a pharmacist before joining the pharmaceutical industry. I did end up writing, but it was about disease and medicines. Decades later, I’m finally doing what I always wanted to do.

With a husband who asks every Valentine’s Day whether he has to buy a card (yes, he does), all the romance in my life is in my head. Then again, his unstinting support of my career change proves love isn’t always about hearts and flowers – and heroes come in many disguises.

November 9, 2021November 7, 2021

Never Fall for Your Fiance – Virginia Heath

This book contains:

Bribery in action
References and descriptions of a con artist
Fake relationship.

Hugh is an Earl with a mother who’s insisting he needs to get married, except he’s not interested. He doesn’t feel like he’s suited to marriage or any long-term romantic attachments. Especially given the way his parents’ marriage progressed.

Minerva is an everyday woman working to survive and make enough money to keep her family afloat. After the way men have treated her in the past — her father, her almost fiancé and most of her customers — she’s got zero interest in becoming emotionally involved with one.

Hugh’s caught out when he gets word that his mother is on the way home and wants to meet his made-up fiancé. Only problem is, she’s expecting to come to wedding planning, and he doesn’t even have a fiancé, let alone a wedding in preparation.

Thanks to a chance encounter with Minerva, he suddenly sees a way out of his disaster. He helps her, and then hires her to pretend to be his fiancé while his mother is in town. Of course, family is involved which means there’s all sorts of drama that gets in the way in the most interesting way possible!

I had so much fun reading this. Most of the regency romance novels I read have more mystery or general drama in it. Not many of them have me laughing like I was with this one!

I mean, how much drama can happen in one book?

And the way they all interacted! Such chemistry!

The laughter had me going almost the whole way through the book with each little bit just adding to the whole thing. So when they did finally find their way together, it felt like something more was going to happen… then it didn’t.

Continue to read further down to find out about the author and any extra giveaways available.

Author Bio

When Virginia Heath was a little girl it took her ages to fall asleep, so she made up stories in her head to help pass the time while she was staring at the ceiling. As she got older, the stories became more complicated, sometimes taking weeks to get to the happy ending. Then one day, she decided to embrace the insomnia and start writing them down. Twenty-two books and two Romantic Novel of the Year Award nominations later, and it still takes her forever to fall asleep.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

October 4, 2021October 4, 2021

Fool Me Twice at Christmas – Camilla Isley

Chuck and Kate grew up in the same town with their families running their small towns major business, a chocolate factory. They were destined to marry and join the families while taking over the family business, just like their families want.

Leading into Christmas, Chuck and Kate head home to break the news to their families that they’ve broken up. Four months prior.

Except, with surprise after surprise, they can’t catch a break and keep delaying telling them. But with a family that keeps digging the hole deeper and deeper, it’s harder getting harder and harder to tell them the truth.

I had an absolute blast reading this. I love the Christmas season so that was always going to make me happy. Then add onto that a romance where the couple clearly wants to be together, yet with so many other competing forces, can’t be together.

As they muddled their way through the whole Christmas season, we saw them work through things no one was expecting and eventually figure out what they really wanted. It stirred up a lot of feelings, mostly because the emotions they were working through are ones almost all of us can relate to at one point in time or another.

Being able to experience them growing, changing, challenging their beliefs and being better as individuals and a couple felt magical. Definitely worth reading for that Christmas and romance magic.

Continue to read further down to find out about the author and any extra giveaways available.

Author Bio

Camilla is an engineer turned writer after she quit her job to follow her husband on an adventure abroad.

She’s a cat lover, coffee addict, and shoe hoarder. Besides writing, she loves reading–duh!–cooking, watching bad TV, and going to the movies–popcorn, please. She’s a bit of a foodie, nothing too serious. A keen traveler, Camilla knows mosquitoes play a role in the ecosystem, and she doesn’t want to starve all those frog princes out there, but she could really live without them.

Giveaway – Win 3x e-copies of A Christmas Caroline by Camilla Isley (open internationally)

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November 16, 2020February 1, 2021

It’s Raining Men – Rich Amooi

Welcome back everyone, sorry for the break between reviews. I got a bit behind on my reading so had to take a quick break to make sure I could bring the books on tour to you!

Every book I read of Rich’s I’m surprised at his insight and ability to get into the female psyche. He also has a talent for creating a love story that’s different in each and every book. How many authors can say they’re able to create realistic and amazing stories across such a variety of situations and industries?

This time we’re met with a widow whose friends are pushing her to get out and date again. Along with a whole bunch of guys all vying to go out with her now she’s back on the market!

Experiencing Faith get out and about for the first time since her husband died was interesting. Including the types of men she seemed to attract, and why they weren’t good enough for her. Meanwhile, Noah is quietly keeping an eye on Faith and trying to help her however he can.

We know who the winner will be but the journey to get there was amazing. The little things that are exposed as we go are so sweet and caring that it’s impossible to not fall in love with him. He’s not doing it to get the girl, he’s doing it to make her life that little bit better, easier, lighter and happier.

That’s what makes this so amazing. It wasn’t the richest, flashiest and typically most amazing guy that wins the girl. It’s the guy that knows the girl and all the little details which I know personally is what I love.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review, next week I’ll be reviewing Unwrapping the Best Man by Rachael Stewart. Continue to read further down to find out about the author and any extra giveaways available.

Author Bio

Rich Amooi is the Amazon #1 Bestselling author of 15 romantic comedies, including It’s Not PMS, It’s You, Dying to Meet You, There’s Something About a Cowboy, and Madam Love, Actually.

A former radio personality and wedding DJ, Rich now writes romantic comedies full-time in San Diego, California, and is happily married to a kiss monster imported from Spain. Rich believes in public displays of affection, silliness, infinite possibilities, donuts, gratitude, laughter, and happily ever after.

May 25, 2020February 1, 2021

A Good Demon is Hard to Find – Kate Moseman

Welcome back everyone, selling a book as being for fans of Lucifer and The Good Place sets some high standards for me since I’m a fan of both shows.

The key thing I felt walking away from this book is that it could have been longer. In places it felt rushed, like the author only had a high-level story to tell with no details fleshed out. Those details are what draws a reader in and keeps them hooked.

I could see both Michael (from The Good Place) and Lucifer (from Lucifer) in Andy although it took me until I finished the book and was thinking about it to realise that. Since I wasn’t actively looking for that kind of similarity between the book and those shows I almost missed it. It wasn’t until I was reflecting on the book wondering how it could be likened to those shows for me to see the connection.

I had fun reading the book the whole time. I couldn’t help but laugh, it was light-hearted and humorous in so many ways. The banter, the brainstorming, the character-arcs, and the unexpected moments between characters. It all made it so enjoyable.

At the same time, those unexpected moments were where I felt it needed fleshing out. Things like a witch popping up out of nowhere. The context behind a witch appearing and how she fit into the story felt off. If there had been some sort of set up that witches might even be included in the world, it may not have felt so weird.

Because it wasn’t set up, I was left reeling and thrown for a few moments. That wasn’t the only time it happened too. They were often small things that all together gave it a sense of needing to be fleshed out, explained and planned.

For a light, fun, laugh out loud read this is something you can knock out in a couple of hours since its less than 250 pages long.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review; on Friday I’ll be reviewing Song of the Soul by Lisa Kessler. Continue to read further down to find out about the author.

Author Bio

Kate Moseman is a writer, photographer, and recipe developer who lives in Florida with her family and enjoys going to theme parks as frequently as possible.

Check out Kate’s social media and Pinterest profiles.

May 9, 2020February 1, 2021

Just Another Silly Love Song – Rich Amooi

Welcome back everyone, Rich is one of the few male authors who I believe can truly write from a woman’s point of view without making us sound like idiots.

So of course, I had to sign up for the tour of his latest book!

I remember there was something I wasn’t a fan of early on, but I honestly can’t remember what that was as I sit down to write this review. Does that tell you how minor it was? It really wasn’t much!

What really threw me when I started (coz silly me didn’t read the name at the start of the chapter) was that the fist chapter is from Ben’s point of view, NOT Lori’s like I was expecting. Usually when I read dual point of view romances the first chapter (excluding prologues) is from the woman’s point of view.

That meant the brashness, the brutal honesty just didn’t make sense to me. I’m one of few women who is like this and I’m frequently criticised for how upfront and “masculine” I am in the workplace. I was so confused when I thought Lori was meant to be soft and feminine.

It took one talk show with Ben for me to like him. And I fell in love with him in the second talk show. He was so honest, so straight forward, so to the point and was bang on with every person that it made for great reading. I think I loved his approach in the talk shows more than anything else!

O I remember something that annoyed me! The hiring practices! I can’t say too much coz it’ll ruin the ending. But. SERIOUSLY?! If that situation is coming, the company would’ve known for a few months. Hiring would’ve been impacted and so that situation would NEVER have happened! Just doesn’t make sense to me.

Yet, even in the face of that, Ben managed to use Lori’s grandma against her in so many ways throughout the book that I found myself laughing. Grandma Joyce was a great wingwoman/wingman and so perfect!

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review, next week I will be reviewing Dance of the Heart by Lisa Kessler. Continue to read further down to find out about the author and any extra giveaways available.

Author Bio

Rich Amooi is the Amazon #1 Bestselling author of 15 romantic comedies, including It’s Not PMS, It’s You, Dying to Meet You, There’s Something About a Cowboy, and Madam Love, Actually.

February 19, 2020February 2, 2021

Erotic Fiction? – Hannah Lynn

Welcome back everyone, are you getting tired of all the tours yet. No? Great! Coz I have another one for you today.

I know this sounds like an erotic romance kinda style book based on the title. But it’s not. It’s really not. It’s more of a relationship development and comedy book.

Sarah and Andrew have been married for long enough to have a 5 yr old, 3 yr old and another one on the way. And let’s just say life hasn’t been all that kind to them financially. And this is the story of how they find their way back together and through their financial issues.

The main message I felt throughout this story was that of open communication and trust. It’s not like Sarah and Andrew don’t have honest conversations. It just felt like there was room for improvement in their communication overall.

Little things like how they felt about their house, how to try and make more money etc just didn’t quite line up between the two of them. Those are kind of important to get right in relationships. Those kinds of breakdown in communication can cause so many issues.

We even see this play out a little bit. Amongst other funny anecdotes. The post office one (you’ll know if when you read it) had me going “How is that the policy?!” I mean, I’ve gotta assume the whole “12 hours” thing was totally made up coz working people would never be able to meet that timeline.

For a quick, easy read that’s got some moments to laugh at this is a great book. I didn’t feel like there was a lot of depth or need to concentrate too much so it’s great for a break from life.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review, tomorrow I’m reviewing the final instalment of the Lisa Miller trilogy, Fateful Coincidence by Lasairiona E. McMaster. Continue to read further down to find out about the author and any extra giveaways available.

Author Bio

Hannah Lynn is an award-winning novelist. Publishing her first book, Amendments – a dark, dystopian speculative fiction novel, in 2015, she has since gone on to write the multi award winning The Afterlife of Walter Augustus – a contemporary fiction novel with a supernatural twist, Fiona and the Whale – a thought provoking romantic comedy and the delightfully funny and poignant Peas and Carrots series.

While she freely moves between genres, her novels are recognisable for their character driven stories and wonderfully vivid description.

She is currently working on a YA Vampire series and a reimaging of a classic Greek myth.

Born in 1984, Hannah grew up in the Cotswolds, UK. After graduating from university, she has spent twelve years as a teacher of physics, first in the UK and then around Asia and Europe. It was during this time, inspired by the imaginations of the young people she taught, she began writing short stories for children, and later adult fiction. Now as a teacher, writer, wife and mother, she is currently living in the Jordan.

November 22, 2019February 2, 2021

It’s Not PMS, It’s You – Rich Amooi

Welcome back everyone, it’s been a busy week and I’m ending it with a book that I believe has some great points. Although I’m not sure how I feel about getting so analytical about a book…

I grew up with a mum who works in a male dominated industry. I spent time in her office, hearing how the men talked to each other, and the women in the office. Rich has done a great job of accurately writing how awful these kinds of workplaces can be. While I’m not happy about these workplaces existing, and men still being Neanderthals when it comes to women being better than them.

Any woman that can work in that environment, day in and day out, is a champion. But I also hope they don’t suffer silently like Ruth does. The only reason I’m ok with Rich openly talking about this type of work is to highlight how wrong it is.

Not only do we see how high-strung Ruth is, the impact it’s having to her physical and mental health and her relationships, both with herself and others. We also get to experience her life changing realisation and her journey of change with Dee and Nick.

The whole way through the book I felt like I was on the dates with Ruth, with her as she broke through the walls she’d built up and began to let those emotions through again. I’m surprised a male author could achieve that given there’s no way they can truly understand what women go through in male dominated workplaces. But he did good!

My only problem with how well he’s executed this is that I don’t think many men read romance, which means our ability to change this behaviour is limited. Unless men learn about these impacts they don’t know to change. They don’t know the impact it has to the woman they work and live with. Without getting men involved in these conversations nothing will change.

Yet somehow, I don’t think women are the only one to suffer these effects of suck toxic workplaces.

Other than the political, sexist etc crap in this story, I loved reading about how Ruth let herself go, found relaxation and had that shift of priorities that many people struggle to have when they are workaholics.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review, next week I will be reviewing A Forgiven Friend by Sue Featherstone. Continue to read further down to find out about the author and any extra giveaways available.

Author Bio

Rich Amooi is a former radio personality and DJ who now writes romantic comedies full-time in San Diego, California. He is happily married to a kiss monster imported from Spain. Rich believes in public displays of affection, silliness, infinite possibilities, donuts, gratitude, laughter, and happily ever after.

November 21, 2019February 2, 2021

Christmas Kisses on Hollywell Hill – Jackie Ladbury

Welcome back everyone, even though the last week’s read wasn’t solely based around Christmas, it had some Christmas moments. To make up for that we’re back to a Christmas book! Yay!

Kirsty and Jake are one of those cute couples that meet by running into each other in the supermarket. I mean, how does that even happen?!

I don’t even know how to talk about this book because one of the issues in the books, the cheating of Jake’s ex-wife, hit home to me while I was reading this. Until reading this book I’d never met anyone who’d been cheated on so the “I can’t believe someone would do that to someone else” was all hypothetical.

The emotional impact of discovering that the person you love with all your heart, who you thought loved you back, is cheating on you is incomprehensible. The lasting impact of this is what Jake is going through — the mistrust, the need to drown your sorrows and the feeling that you’re not good enough for the one you love — and we see this in how he interacts with Kirsty.

I didn’t have much left of the book when I found out about cheating and it put a whole new spin on how I perceived Jake’s actions. I went from thinking he was overreacting and being a bit of a dick, to wondering how he’d stayed so calm and could handle starting a new business and starting a new business.

Writing this review has me thinking about what I found out and I can’t help but feel horrible about that situation. I can truly say I loved this book. Yet at the same time it’s going to be tainted with that memory forever because of the emotional impact it’s had on me.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review, next week I will be reviewing It’s Not PMS, It’s You by Rich Amooi. Continue to read further down to find out about the author.

Author Bio

Jackie Ladbury writes heart-warming contemporary and historical women’s fiction that is always guaranteed a happy ever after. From spending many years as an air-stewardess and seeing that it really is love that makes the world go around, she determined to put the same sparkle and emotion into her stories. Her life is no longer as exotic (or chaotic) as it was in those heady days of flying as she now lives a quiet life in Hertfordshire with her family and two cats, spending her days making up stories and finding excuses not to go to the gym.

To find out more about Jackie Ladbury, check out her socials: