Always Will by Melanie Jacobson

Always Will by Melanie Jacobson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This has been nominated for a 2015 Swoony Award, you can vote for it here.

I really enjoying this one.

Hannah has been in love with her brothers best friend for over ten years. As she's gotten older she's able to set aside her crush, but when her brother gets married and Will ends up living down the hall from her, her old feelings resurface and she realizes her feelings have never changed. She panics when Will decides he wants to settle down as well, and wants her help navigating the online dating world.

While I love a good friends-to-lovers storyline, it rarely gets pulled off to my satisfaction, which it did in this case. Usually, I'm just frustrated that a girl has been in love with a guy for years and years and is living her life on the sidelines while he dates others and never sees her as more than a friend. It seems in these books the girl is always the one doing the pursing and trying to make the guy see her as more. That always rubs me the wrong way. So, I was relieved when this story didn't follow that same path. Hannah realizes her rut and takes measures to take control of her life. Hannah is a likable character, easy to root for. There were a couple times I wanted to jump in and shake some sense into her, but she does a pretty good job of doing that herself. I liked Will, but again, wanted to shake some sense into him as well. I normally like the guy to do the pursuing, but I thought things were handled pretty well here.

Overall, this was very well written, I was sucked in and didn't want to put it down. The characters were all likable (Jay needs his own book!) and while I was reading I kept thinking of friends that I would want to share it with. Fun read!

Content
Romance: Clean
Language: None
Violence: None
Religious: None


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The Boardwalk Antique Shop by Julie Wright, Melanie Jacobson & Heather Moore

Tangerine Street is a must-see tourist stop with a colorful mix of one-of-a-kind boutiques, unique restaurants, eclectic museums, quaint bookstores, and renowned bed-and-breakfasts. The Boardwalk Antiques Shop is an exclusive shop where every antique has a story, and each story possesses the gift to match true love. The customer who buys an antique also buys its story and soon discovers that its story unites the past with the present, creating an unexpected romantic future… “Where Every Antique has a Story”

I love this new Tangerine Street series. The first book, The Fortune Café was really cute and I was looking forward to reading this book and I can’t wait to read more about some of the other shops along Tangerine Street. I wish it was a real place to visit.

Message in a Bottle This was a fun story. I know next to nothing about antiques, but I do love walking through antique shops and watching TV shows about them on occasion. I had an easy time picturing the Boardwalk Antique shop and would love to visit a shop where each item had a story. Jennifer inherited the shop from her aunt, an aunt she had grown estranged from over the years. It was sad that they had grown apart; if they had accepted each other they could have had a beautiful relationship. Anyway, I liked that Jennifer was really able to open her mind and take the time to figure out what she wanted out of life. The romance was sweet, a tiny love-triangle and I’m glad Jennifer made the right choice! I’m anti-pining away on unrequited love. Cute story and a great start to the anthology.

Solving for X For the most part I really liked this one. It was a cute story about two opposites finding each other. While I liked Abbie, she also drove me a little batty. For someone that is all about people being themselves she was really judgmental and immediately set about trying to change Holden. She acted like her way of living was the only real way to live. The thing is, her way of living would drive me nuts, but I have no problem with people that view life that way and live that way. She was endearing, fun, kind and a great person. However, for someone that was so guarded against people trying to change her she was pretty judgmental about everyone else. Part of being open-minded is truly accepting that people can be happy living life differently than you. She may not be happy in a corporate environment, but some people are. In this case Holden had maybe gotten in some bad habits and Abbie was able to help him loosen up, but that’s because he wanted to. That kind of change has to be natural for it to stick. I think if Abbie accepts Holden for who he is and doesn’t try and change him and vice versa, then they could have a great HEA. Maybe they’d be a good balance for each other. Overall, a cute story.

A Stitch in Time This was my favorite of the three. I love the relationship and tension between Henry and Cate. I think this would make a fun full-length novel, but it was a fun short story as well. Cate hurries home when she learns her favorite grandmother has passed away. The only thing she wants is an old sewing machine that her grandmother had promised her. Henry got there first though and bought it up as a gift for his mother. I thought they had a fun relationship and it was fun reading their story.

Overall, this was a fun anthology. Each story was fun and unique and I like how they are all brought together through the love of antiques. Cute!

Content: Clean

Source: Amazon Kindle

This has been nominated for a 2015 Swoony Award, you can vote for it here.

Twitterpated by Melanie Jacobson

 

GoodReads Synopsis: Jessie Taylor is furious when her roommate secretly posts her picture on the dating website LDS Lookup -- furious, that is, until she spends all night instant messaging Ben Bratton, a man whose wit and warmth just might make Jessie forget the train wreck of her last romantic relationship. Their first date is a smashing success (literally), but Ben's overall awesomeness can't save Jessie from having to deal with Craig, her competitive coworker whose baiting behavior sets new standards for obnoxiousness. Determined to beat Craig at his own game, Jessie spends long office hours finishing projects and putting out fires, but while her performance wows her boss, it only makes Ben skittish -- after a failed engagement to an up-and-coming lawyer, he's not about to pair up with someone who's married to her job. Will Jessie figure out how to be true to herself and take her big chance at love before it's gone with a click of the mouse?

My Review:I admit, when I first saw this book pop up I thought it was about Twitter. Since I’ve never used Twitter I wasn’t that interested. Then I noticed it was by Melanie Jacobsen and since I enjoyed her first two books I thought I’d give this a try. Luckily, it wasn’t at all about Twitter.

If you’ve read and enjoyed Melanie’s first two books then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one as well. I thought it was a fun lighthearted read; it was a nice break from all the Regencies I’ve been reading lately. I thought our main character Jessie was pretty likable. She has some relationship baggage that she hasn’t wanted to let go of. She’s a big workaholic. But, she’s fun, loyal and easy to like. Ben was also very likable. With all the Regencies I’ve been reading I guess I’ve gotten used to the “brooding hero” and Ben was a nice lighthearted change from all that. I thought they had good chemistry and it was fun to see them together. Jessie’s roommate Sandy was also a fun addition to the story. Maybe they’ll be a future book about her so she can have her HEA too. At times I thought Jessie, Ben and Sandy’s personalities were a bit to similar, or it was more that their voices at times sounded too much the same. Some of the conversations could be interchangeable and you wouldn’t really notice any difference, if that makes sense. I also thought the end all wrapped up a little quickly and considering the book takes place over a three-ish week period, I thought it was all a little too fast. Overall, I really enjoyed it, it’s a nice break. I look forward to reading more of Jacobson’s books.

Content: Clean.

The List by Melanie Jacobson

GoodReads Synopsis: Ashley Barrett doesn’t want to get married. At least, not anytime soon. She doesn’t care how many of her friends and family members and fellow churchgoers had weddings before they finished college — the last thing she needs in her fun-loving twenties is the dead-weight of some guy. And that’s why she created The List. By the time she completes all twenty-five goals — from learning a language to skydiving to perfecting the art of making sushi — she’ll be more ready to settle down. Maybe.


Kathy’s Review: This was a really fun read. It reminded me a little of the movies Lucky Seven and You’ve Got Mail. Ashley really grew on my as the story progressed. I liked her witty personality and thought she grew quite a bit. I admit at first there were times where at first I thought she was a little cold, she had built up quite a wall around her. She had kind of a naive and negative view on marriage in my opinion. Luckily Matt comes along and really brings out a softer side and he was just great. The book has A LOT of dialog in it, which at times really had me laughing. The story pretty much revolves around Ashley and Matt’s relationship, there is a bit of a love-triangle, and it’s just fun to see how Matt goes about “courting” Ashley. It’s a fun “romantic comedy” and one I would recommend to anyone who enjoys that genre.

Genre: Chick-Lit Romance
Publication Date: March 2011
One Word Review: Charming
Author Website: www.melaniejacobson.net
Bookworm Rating: 4, G