Showing posts with label Cindi Madsen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cindi Madsen. Show all posts

Friday, November 13, 2020

The Mistletoe Trap by Cindi Madsen

I love a friends-to-lovers story. It is my catnip. And this one starts off really, really well. You've got socially awkward pathologist Julie O'Neill who is definitely not in love with her bestie-for-life QB Gavin Frost. Even if their parents try to throw them together. Every. Single. Time. the two are back in Crytsal Springs for Christmas. Well, Gavin has been sent home by his boss (must read the boss's book, The Wedding Deal) because said boss is a believer in taking time off and resting. Even for a football star. Now Julie and Gavin will be thrown together in every conceivable way by their mothers. And it seems like this is the year that they might start noticing each other.
I liked most of this book. A lot. But the meddling. Oh my gosh. I like a meddling family but one with more of a deft touch. They see proof that Julie and Gavin are in a relationship and jump right into marriage. Who wouldn't that freak out? To be fair, having the family, rather than a protagonist, cause the last Big Misunderstanding is pretty unique. And I did like that the make up scene wasn't a spectacle but fit in with the story.

Three stars
Follows The Wedding Deal
This book comes out November 16th
ARC kindly provided by Entangled Publishing LLC and NetGalley
Opinions are my own



Friday, May 22, 2020

Always a Bridesmaid by Cindi Madsen

Always a Bridesmaid by Cindi Madsen7 times Violet Abrams has been in somebody else's wedding. Too bad her own blew up before she even walked down the aisle. Licking her wounds, she heads to the small town where her half-sister lives. Too bad her father and his wife also live there. The man who fathered her out of wedlock, that is. The town where she would go growing up but was never completely accepted. Violet just wants to help her sister fix up her bakery and then get out of town. Hopefully, doing so will help her get the mojo back that she lost (being a wedding photographer doesn't feel so good when you've just been dumped.) Yes, she's trying to burn her wedding book behind the bakery but she doesn't mean to set her pity cupcakes on fire.
Ford Maguire is on the fire crew (also trains search and rescue dogs and is an EMT.) When he responds to a fire at the bakery, he doesn't expect to find a woman that he's attracted to. And definitely not one that fits into his life so perfectly, enjoying and understanding his jobs as well as being able to hang out with all of his friends. But this can't be a relationship, can it?
It helps to have read the first book in this series but it's not necessary. Violet was a little too much of the stereotypical rom com heroine but this was still a fast and fun read.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out May 26th
Follows Just One of the Groomsmen
ARC kindly provided by Entangled Publishing, LLC and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Monday, May 27, 2019

Just One of the Groomsmen by Cindi Madsen

Just One of the Groomsmen by Cindi MadsenGrowing up together, Addison "Addie" "Murph" Murphy and Tucker Crawford were just two of a large group of friends. Addison was the only girl in the group but the feeling among the friends was more sibling than romantic. Now one of their group, Shep, is getting married so that means Tucker is home for the first time in two years. And that means that Addie is going to have to wear a dress. Since her normal wear is either yoga pants and a T-shirt or jeans and a sweatshirt, that is going to be a pretty big deal. The next time Tucker sees Addie, she is under a car and he only sees her legs -- that's when he starts to realize that his best buddy might be female. And Addison isn't immune herself. But the move from friendship to relationship is one that is going to be fraught. Especially when both Addie and Tucker are also trying to figure out some other pretty big decisions related to the rest of their lives. 
This was a pretty good book. There is a "big production" to get Addie back at the end after Tucker realizes that he messed up and I'm not a huge fan of those. However, the characters were well built, the romance was solid, and there were some nice openings left for more books in the series.

Three and a half stars
This book come out May 28th
Followed by Always a Bridesmaid
ARC kindly provided by Entangled Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own