Ten First Dates is a cute anthology of love, romance and it has a little bit of everything for everyone whether you like enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, young geniuses trying to discover what feelings are, second chance romances, fake love etc.
Warning: This anthology is for a limited time in ebook format. I do not know if the books are available separately, but feel free to look them up. All opinions are my own.
I am going to be honest out of the ten books, I only DNFed one and that was the one with the young genius who is experimenting on how emotions and feelings are part of relationships. Imperfect Chemistry by Mary Frame is not a bad story, it is just not a trope I can get behind regardless of who writes it or what it is about. Young geniuses who are robots are just not my thing, but if it is yours I would recommend looking it up.
Books I loved:
On the Rox by Kat Addams is adorable. It is not what I consider a rom-com because the only thing I found hilarious was this Aussie being terrified of a squirrel (yes, Jay, I am looking at you). And Rox is dealing with past domestic abuse from the men in her life that she had dated for things to be taken as funny. Do not worry the author does have a trigger warning at the beginning of her book. Honestly, it was more romantic than comedy, which is okay. I loved how the girls stuck together and the moment when jay gave himself permission it was *chef's kiss* 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Love, Lacey Donovan by Jill Brashear is too adorable. Bookish Lacey Donovan is convinced that nothing beats book boyfriends (I mean she isn't wrong) until she sees Beckett and that is when the fun begins because she is trying to not get her heart broken. Can she succeed?
It is adorable the banter between her and Beckett. I did not see some of the twists coming although one of them was an "oh hey wouldn't it be funny if..." moment. Beckett can be my book boyfriend any day. As per Lacey's review he would be a five book boyfriend bowtie. I am not sure what the fire hydrants imply so I won't attempt that. I cannot express enough how freaking adorable this book is and I would highly recommend reading this book if you are into bookish love. 5 out of 5 stars.
Loved You Once by Claudia Burgoa is an adorable second chance romance sort of. To be honest, I kind of wished the book was longer or had started sooner because we are left with so many questions at the end. I love second chance romances, but this one it started out with Hayes being all let me make amends to you and then suddenly they were a couple again. I wanted a little more grovelling or something especially with how he had ended things which he knows as he chastised himself over it repeatedly. The entire premise of the story is follow the will, save the town, but it ends before you even know if the town is saved. I'm hoping this is more than one book, so I am reserving judgment. 4 out of 5 stars.
Love Under Construction by M.C. Cerny is too fricking adorable. Hunter Hart works construction and he is trying to help renovate an old house for his friend Taylor Jane Bryant so she can do interior design and win a contest. He is dead set against it, but somehow found himself saying yes. Oh the friend to lovers romance was *chef's kiss* and I love how Hunter tries so hard to help Taylor especially with the whole owl episode and him needing to prove that he is a man. I won't say much because honestly this book is pure gold when it comes to comedy. I still giggle thinking about certain scenes. 5 out of 5 stars.
What I'm Looking For by Karen Grey is an adorable rom-com from the late eighties. Kate Bishop is trying to get a promotion from the investment firm that she works in while Will Talbot is a starving actor who reluctantly takes Kate's advice to go into commercials and tv shows. Of course, with that it means a tighter schedule for his beloved theatre and he might flip out because change is happening. Also, he might have had family issues with money as a child.
I love how they are so different and yet the love they have for each other had me hugging my kindle. I love how the author used her own experiences in the movie industry during that time period in the book because it gave authenticity to the plot line. I laughed and I cried. I celebrated Kate's little victories and felt embarrassed with her during those awkward moments of stage fright and anxiety. I commiserated with Will when he thought he was going to be doing the entire project by himself and I also wanted to throttle both of them when they broke up because of things from their past getting in the way of their future happiness. 4.5 out of 5 stars
Mixed Signals by Mia Heintzman is cute. Julie and Nico are adorable together, but Julie already made assumptions about him based on one conversation she overheard about a net of broken hearts and is convinced she despises him which is too bad especially after she saw him in his truck during a traffic jam. And she might have had a shower fantasy about him when he stood in the rain trying to give her shirt back to her through the window. This book is so aptly named and I will not say much because it is one of those books that you need to read without any filters to appreciate what goes on in this book. 5 out of 5 stars.
Too Tempting by Bethany Lopez is a genius of a book and I did not see that twist or conflict coming. It was quite refreshing and disturbing the longer you tried to think about it so it is best not to think too much about it. Gabriel "Gabe" Lewis is a retired NFL player who has his own camp for kids to play football away from all the hustle and bustle. Zoey Zahn is an introverted writer who got the dates mixed up so she came to the camp a week early and she does not know that Gabe is that Gabe and keeps her own identity a secret. Will it tear them apart or draw them together? Honestly, I loved every word of this book and wanted to reread it as soon as I finished reading it because Gabe is such a sweetheart. Highly recommend, and the twist is not what you think it is. 5 out of 5 stars.
Some Call It Love by Sarah Peis is adorable and makes me feel like a horrible person. I am just saying if I was in Willa's shoes I would have stopped helping my drunk gambling father out of jail a long time ago. Oh Willa, the story was so much fun with your constant trying to bail your father out while trying to not get on Jameson's bad side. The back and forth between the two of them was 😍. 1000% recommend this book. It is too funny and adorable and honestly Willa and Jameson make the story. 5 out of 5 stars.
Moonshine and Magnolias by Abigail Sharpe is an adorable book that makes me wished I knew more about Gone with the Wind to get all the little Easter eggs sprinkled throughout the book (all I know is the line "frankly my dear I don't give a darn"). Wendy, I want to hug her because she has control issues and thinks everything needs to be done a certain way and trying to get her to bend is like trying to move a solid oak trunk with your bare hands. Rob is looking for a way to end the family curse that ends with nobody ever being able to have a fulfilling relationship (yikes). It is adorable how the treasure hunt brings depth to the world and I love how the peaches play an integral role in the story. It is so 😍. (5 out of 5 stars.)
Total accumulation of stars: 43 out of 45 stars. I am not including the one I DNFed as it does not have a star rating which is intentional because I want people to give it the benefit of the doubt if it is a trope they enjoy or are not sure they will enjoy.
