[Review] Talk British to Me by Robin Bielman

Talk British to Me by Robin Bielman
Format: ebook

Synopsis

As the Dating Guy on L.A.‘s top morning show, I give the single guy’s perspective on dating, love, and sex—and I give great advice. Everyone’s hooking up…well, except for me. Sure, I can get any woman I want, but I’ve got a “no relationship” clause in my contract and the only woman I want has “relationship” written all over her. Probably stamped on her ass, too. And wouldn’t I like to confirm that.

Unfortunately, she wants nothing to do with me. At all. Something about the next Ice Age might have even come up in her rebuttal. Adorable. Because she’s determined to ignore what one simple kiss proved: she wants me as badly as I want her.

Everything in me is screaming to go after her, but I’ve got a secret that I’m fairly certain will end up with her roasting my nuts over an open fire. So, job on the line? Check. Nuts on the line? Check. Can’t get her out of my head? Nail…meet coffin. But what a way to go…

My Review

I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. 

This was such a fun book! I'm a huge fan on Robin Bielman's work and never can wait to get my hands on the next! I was really excited to get a chance to read this one and it didn't disappoint! Mateo and Teague have such a fun relationship and I loved reading every word of it! It was the perfect NA; fun, flirty, and sexy. There was a lot going on in this book, with Mateo's mom and Teague's family, which I really loved. It kept the story interesting and moving along, without being distracting. I would definitely recommend reading this book, as well as everything else Bielman has written. She's written some of my favorite romances! 

[Review] A Creed in Stone Creek by Linda Lael Miller

A Creed In Stone Creek by Linda Lael Miller

Series: Montana Creeds, #5

Synopsis 

When single attorney Steven Creed becomes guardian of an orphaned five-year-old boy, he trades his big-city law firm for a ranch near his McKettrick kin in the close-knit community of Stone Creek, Arizona. Taking care of little Matt and fixing up his run-down ranch house with its old barn loosens something tightly wound inside him. But when Steven takes on the pro-bono defense of a local teen, he meets his match in the opposing counsel – beautiful, by-the-book county prosecutor Melissa O-Ballivan. It’ll take one grieving little boy, a sweet adopted dog and a woman who never expected to win any man’s heart to make this Creed in Stone Creek know he’s truly found home. 

My Review

First, I want to say that I’ve read quite a few books by Miller and I’m a fan of her work! However, I’m a bit undecided how I feel about this book. It took me a while to get through this one – though I think it had more to do with just having a baby than the book itself – but I also found myself not running to pick it up any time I had a free minute. I did enjoy the book while reading it and thought it was a cute story. I’m always a sucker for single dads – I’m not sure what it is about them, but I find them so endearing! Plus this story had the added benefit of legal issues, and since I went to law school and have my law license, it was a nice element! 

That being said, this book didn’t grab me like other stories have previously. The characters were very likable, but I wasn’t in love with them, except Matt (he’s adorable!). I think this book focused too much on the legal issues going on with some of the minor characters in the community, and not enough on Melissa and Steven’s relationship. They didn’t seem to have enough time to get to know each other and all the feels weren't really there for me. 

Even though this wasn’t my favorite book, I still enjoy Miller’s work and will continue to read it.

2017 Goals

Just about everyone makes New Year's goals in January, including me! This year was a little different for me since I was pregnant until 6 weeks ago and I couldn't work on a couple of them right away. To keep myself accountable, I wanted to share them with you!

1. Read 80 books

Last year, my goal was to read 100 books and I surpassed that by reading 111! I was super proud of myself for that. The past few years, I've always increased my book goal, but because I was pregnant and knew I'd be a momma soon, I couldn't increase it. In fact, I decreased my goal, which made me a little sad. But I know my focus is going to be more on my son than reading, and I'd rather finish my goal than fall short, so I chose something a little more realistic. I was doing great earlier this year with reading a ton, mostly on the bus to and from work. But since having M, I've been very slow to finish a book. Nevertheless, I still hope to hit 80! I'm almost a quarter of the way there and I know once I go back to work, I'll have time on the bus again, which should help. 

2. Finish my husband's Star Wars blanket

I really love to crochet and in August 2015, I started crocheting a Stormtrooper blanket for my husband since he loves Star Wars. He wanted the blanket to be big since he's 6', but it's turning out to be a little bigger than I anticipated. I'm a little over halfway done with it, but I tend to take breaks and not work on it for a few months at a time. I told him I'd have it finished by the end of the year...so hopefully I can! To be honest, I really want it done by then because it's just hanging over my head at this point and makes me feel guilty. Thankfully he's patient and doesn't mind waiting for me to find the time, especially now that we have a little one at home. 

3. Get back to pre-pre baby weight

Like most people, weight loss is one of my goals this year. But unlike most people, I needed to wait until after M was born before working on this one since I couldn't lose weight while pregnant; quite the opposite actually - I needed to gain weight! But now that M is here, I'm back at the gym and eating a much healthier diet. Let's be honest, when I was pregnant, I didn't eat the healthiest (but thankfully only gained 33 pounds, which is within the recommended 25-35, so I was happy! However, you'll notice my goal is "pre-pre baby weight." Well... I wasn't super happy with my weight and fitness level right before I got pregnant because we kind of fell off the gym bandwagon, so not only do I want to get back to my weight before baby, I want to get back an even healthier weight. 

Not only do I want to get to a better weight, I just want to lead an overall healthier lifestyle. We have M around now, and while my husband and I have always been pretty healthy and active, we want to set a good example for him. 

4. Run a 5k

I've ran 5ks before and I really like having something to work towards. Again, I wasn't able to work on this goal until after M was born, but now that he's here, I've just started running again! I'll post more on my journey with running later. My thought is that I'll complete this by September, but I'm really hoping I can do it before then. It's a slow process for me though. I know some people can jump right back into running, but I certainly can't. I need to work back up to longer distances! My dad also runs 5ks once or twice a year, so we're hoping to do it together. 

I know I'm a little late to be talking about this year's goals, but what are some of your goals this year -bookish or otherwise? 

I'm Coming Back!

I'm finally coming back to blogging! I last posted in summer of 2016 and then took a long break. I didn't intend to take such a long time away, but my husband and I got pregnant with our first child (yay!) and my focus shifted to everything baby 👶! Then I switched jobs, my brother got married, and I completely got lost in this thing we call life. We had our little boy in February this year and I really didn't know if I would ever get back into blogging because of the time and attention he needs. But then I started reading blogs about healthier lifestyles so that I can get back into shape after baby M. Once I started reading these blogs, I just remembered how much I loved writing my thoughts down, so I knew I needed to come back. I might not be able to post as much as I used to, but I couldn't give it up forever. 

That being said, I'm switching my focus a little. I still want to blog about books and everything bookish, but I also want to write about other things going on in my life. It will certainly include posts about babies - or at least things going on with M - but I also want to show some DIY projects I've done, the fitness and food journey I'm on... and other random things about my life. I hope my readers don't mind! But as my life changes, I feel like my blog should change along with me. I certainly don't have as much time to read anymore, but I'm also trying to focus on my health a little more now, especially since I have a little one to look after and teach healthy habits! The change to my blog will be very slow. I haven't quite decided if I'm keeping the name, but like I said, it's going to take my a while to do any design and content changes. 

I'd really love your input as I go about these changes!