Romance – Page 2 – World of Bai

Book Review: “The Seven Year Slip” By Ashley Poston

This is a book that I was on the edge of reading for awhile now. I am so sad it took me this long to read though! I had tried a book by this author before that I DNF’d so I wasn’t positive I would enjoy this and I was afraid this book was going to be overhyped but I was so wrong!

“Sometimes the people you love don’t leave you with goodbyes—they just leave.”
Ashley Poston, The Seven Year Slip

About The Book

Author: Ashley Poston

Publisher: Berkley

Published Date: June 27th, 2023

Page Count: 336 Pages

Main Genre: Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4.19

Format: Audio

“Because the things that mattered most never really left. The love stays. The love always stays, and so do we.”
Ashley Poston, The Seven Year Slip

Synopsis

Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it.

So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart safe: work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it.

And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again.

Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future.

Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed.

After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“There was something just so reassuring about books. They had beginnings and middles and ends, and if you didn’t like a part, you could skip to the next chapter. If someone died, you could stop on the last page before, and they’d live on forever. Happy endings were definite, evils defeated, and the good lasted forever.”
Ashley Poston, The Seven Year Slip

Rating

Vibes Rating

Dynamic Rating

Review

I normally don’t like to post reviews about Audio Books that I read just because my ADHD makes it really hard to pay attention to the details when I don’t have the words physically for me to read but something was really different with this one! I think the narrator was perfect, she kept me engaged and her voice was honestly kind of soothing. I say this with every Audio Book I read, the Narrator makes or breaks the book for me! I will be looking for more books that share this narrator moving forward!

I am not usually someone who likes a time travel trope as it is really easy for plot holes to appear and the logistics rarely make sense. This is exactly why this book got a 3.5 dynamic rating. Going back in the past is typically known to have negative consequences on the future but this book didn’t really seem to touch upon that “issue” at all. In fact, I think that our main male character really got the short end of the stick with this story.. He fell in love with a girl who was 7 years in the future and he knew and had to wait 7 years to do anything about it? That is a rough way to live.. Especially because he did run into her immediately after they left and in the restaurant and she didn’t even know who he was.. One wrong step could have changed their future and somehow in 7 years nothing truly changed.

However, if we don’t think too much about the logistics and just go purely off of vibes it was a 4.5 star rating. I really enjoyed this romance and if it was me I would struggle to go back to real life and just stay with the man I was falling in love with. I really liked how our main characters got to fall in love with each other twice, each one changing over the course of time whether it was 7 years or just a few months they each grew and learned more about themselves individually and one another.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book! The male lead was swoon worthy and definitely book boyfriend material, I mean who wouldn’t love a chef? Let me know if you have already read this or if you picked it up based on my recommendation!

“That was love, wasn’t it? It wasn’t just a quick drop — it was falling, over and over again, for your person. It was falling as they became new people. It was learning how to exist with every new breath. It was uncertain and it was undeniably hard, and it wasn’t something you could plan for.”
Ashley Poston, The Seven Year Slip

QOTD: Have you read a time travel book?

“I didn’t need to be fixed. I just needed…to be reminded that I was human.”
Ashley Poston, The Seven Year Slip

Book Review: Zodiac Academy: The Awakening By Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

I had no desire to start this series. I had mostly heard negative things regarding this series and if I am being honest the covers were just not pulling me in. I decided to pick this first book up only because one of my favorite book sellers in Utah, Lovebound Library, Posted that their owner picked it up and really enjoyed it. I was influenced by her recommendation and honestly, I am so glad that I was! I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would have.

“The most important thing I’d learned in life? You can’t trust people. And you especially can’t trust boys with wicked smiles and equally wicked intentions.”
Caroline Peckham, The Awakening

Other Zodiac Academy Reviews

Origins of an Academy Bully: Book 0.5

The Awakening: As Told By The Boys: Book 1.5

Ruthless Fae: Book 2

The Reckoning: Book 3

Shadow Princess: Book 4

Cursed Fates: Book 5

The Big A.S.S. Party: Book 5.5

About The Book

Author: Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

Publisher: Dark Ink

Published Date: July 13th, 2019

Page Count: 436 Pages

Main Genre: Fantasy

GoodReads Rating: 3.84

Format: E-Book

“He was dangerous in all the right ways and I knew without doubt that the fire in his eyes would burn me up if I strayed too close.”
Caroline Peckham, The Awakening

Synopsis

You have been selected to attend Zodiac Academy, where your star sign defines your destiny.

If you’re one of the Fae, elemental magic is in your blood. And apparently it’s in ours. As twins born in the month of Gemini, we’re a rare breed even in this academy of supernatural a-holes.

Changelings were outlawed hundreds of years ago but I guess our birth parents didn’t get the memo. Which means we’re totally unprepared for the ruthless world of Fae.

Air. Fire. Water. Earth.

No one has ever harnessed all four of them, until we arrived. And it hasn’t made us any friends so far.

As the rarest Elementals ever known, we’re already a threat to the four celestial heirs; the popular, vindictive bullies who happen to be some of the hottest guys we’ve ever seen. It doesn’t help that they’re the most dangerous beasts in the Academy. And probably on earth too.

Our fates are intertwined, but they want us gone. They’ve only got until the lunar eclipse to force us out and they’ll stop at nothing to succeed.

We never knew we had a birthright to live up to but now that we do, we intend to claim our throne.

We can’t expect any help from the faculty when it comes to defending ourselves. So if the dragon shifters want some target practice, the werewolves want someone to hunt or the vampires fancy a snack then we have to be ready. But we’ve been looking after each other for a long time and fighting back is in our blood.

Today’s horoscope: totally screwed.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“My deepest fear is being cast aside, my heart crushed by trusting blindly again. So I’ll never let anyone in again.”
Caroline Peckham, The Awakening

Rating

Review

In no way was this book perfect. I found many grammatical errors and I am not someone who is really great with grammar in the first place, so it was clearly pretty obvious.

The writing was fun and kept me really engaged in the story line but I wouldn’t say the writing was good. I honestly struggled having the two girls POV’s as I definitely liked one more than the other and honestly I didn’t know the different between the two girls for half the book. Especially cause they have mortal names and Fae names which got used interchangeably.

With those main concerns out of the way I would like to point out that I had a great time reading this book! I think the world is fairly easy to grasp. It would be even easier if I, myself knew more about the zodiacs and star signs but even without that I can grasp the magic system which is great! I really love how each person gets an elemental power based on their Zodiac and a specific order based on their blood lines that comes with its own power. It does seem like a lot is going on in this magic system but not overly complicated.

I think the twins, Darcy and Tory, are decent characters, but honestly I am more interested in the outside characters such as the Heirs, Orion and even their friends Sofia and Diego. I think the girls have a ton of growing to do and I would just like to see more of the outside characters POV’s so I can better grasp what’s going on around us. I guess it is a good thing that we have many more books left to go in this series haha.

With what I mentioned above, there are so many characters to keep track of. Not only are you learning everyone’s names, you also have their star signs, order forms and elemental powers all thrown at you and it feels near impossible to remember all of this information. You do get reminded about them as the story goes but man oh man is it dumping a ton of info into our brains!

I feel like I can easily predict what is going to happen next in the books which I thought would bug me but honestly it is making the book move faster as I am excited to get to the plot twists. This is especially true with the love interests. I feel like I know exactly who these two are going to end up with but it is giving slow burn vibes all while trying to throw us off of that track. I am dying to get into the romance in this book but I can tell that the slow burn is going to pay off!

I feel like this review felt negative in nature but honestly I had a blast reading this book, so much so I finished it in two days! It reads really quickly and kept me engaged. The way the book ended had me dying to pick up the second book as well which I think are all good signs! If you can get past the not so great writing I think you’ll enjoy the book!

“Tears never did anyone any favours, but sometimes they just needed to fall.”
Caroline Peckham, The Awakening

QOTD: Have you read these books?

2024 Book Superlatives

2024 started off kind of rocky. I didn’t get my first 5 star read until April which had me a bit worried! However, the year ended strong with me reading 75 books and having 17 5 Star reads total! I am so happy with how my reading year went and I can’t wait to share my thoughts with you!

Heading into 2025, I have plans to be more active in posting my book reviews. This past year I took time to just enjoy reading and took a step back from posting content so I could focus on my mental health and overall enjoyment of my hobbies. Clearly, this step back really helped me as I read 20 more books this year than the last. I am excited to see where 2025 will take me.

Reading Stats

These stats are brought to you by StoryGraph! This is my favorite way to track my reading, if you would like to follow me my username is Bai_Books.

2024 Reading Goal

I planned on reading only 55 books this year, but I quickly surpassed this!

This is by far the most successful year yet!

So many pages!!! It’s wild!

I would love to read some longer books going into 2025. However, this seems like a good mix to me.

Every year I say I am going to read more non-fiction. However, This graph looks pretty similar to previous years.

Maybe 2025 will be my non-fiction era…Who knows?

I used to say that thrillers and mysteries were my favorite genre, I don’t think I can say that any longer. This makes me sad but I did read a lot of great romance books which changed my life.

I do think I had a decent mix of genres this year but I would love to see some of these other genres rise in ranks in the coming years. Mostly fantasy as I would like to dip my toe into this genre a bit further and step out of my comfort zone a bit more.

This year was the best for me format wise! I found my love for E-books this year and I foresee this section growing exponentially next year. Also, I would love to see more audiobooks next year as well, I plan on focusing on more of my hobbies in the new year so audiobooks will be great as background noise!

Jennifer Lynn Barnes really killed it this year! The Inheritance Games Series really sucked me in! She solidified herself as an all time favorite author for me!

I started to use a .25 rating system this year and I really enjoyed it! I do think I will go to a .50 system next year as my tracking sheet on google docs will only calculate .50 and not the .25 and that’s ok! I like being able to have more options than just a flat number rating as books don’t always fit into those categories for me.

Top 10 Books

As mentioned above, I read 17 5 star books but some of my first top ten will be my 4.5 Star reads. I read a lot of manga and graphic novels which made it in my 5 star reads this year so they will be getting their own category. Also I rate my books on vibes so my Top 10 books are all ones that really stuck with me!

10th Place

9th Place

8th Place

7th Place

6th Place

5th Place

4th Place

3rd Place

2nd Place

2024 Book Of The Year

Play Along

By Liz Tomforde

Full Book Review

Top 5 Manga

5th Place

4th Place

3rd Place

2nd Place

2024 Manga Book of The Year

Creepy Cat Volume 1

By Cotton Valent

Additional Awards

Best Series

This series was everything I have ever wanted! The men in this series are all god tier!

All books were 5 stars!

Best Re-Read

I re-read both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame this year and I fell in love with them all over again. I picked up on new things especially in Iron Flame that really brought my enjoyment up! I originally rated this book 4 Stars but after my re-read the rating went up to 5 Stars!

Lowest Rated Book

I didn’t have high hopes for this novella and I was right to think that. Where was the Christmas?

Most Disappointing Book

I had such high hopes for this book but I ended up DNF’ing this book along with many of my fellow book club members.

Most Surprising Book

I never wanted to read this series but I devoured this book in two days….

It doesn’t have the best writing but it kept me interested and left me wanting to know more.

2024 Book Boyfriend

Isaiah Rhodes is a King! I will marry him right here, right now!

Prettiest Cover

This is a poetry book that I absolutely adored! The cover is simple but gorgeous!

Spiciest Book

This is a Why Choose Hockey Romance… Enough said…

An Overhyped Book

This book was just not for me… Everyone on Booktok Hyped up this book saying “OMG, The candy cane scene!” Let me save you some time… The candy cane scene was all of two seconds and wasn’t that crazy…

A Book I Wished I Had Read

This is a prequel to Legends and Lattes which was one of my favorite books of 2023. I am so sad I didn’t pick this one up but I feel like it is due to me being worried it won’t be nearly as good as the first…

Favorite Quotes

“Sugar, you deserve to go out on your own terms. Just because you got dusted doesn’t mean you’re done.”
Lyla Sage, Done and Dusted

“You’ve never gotten a say in your own life, and the last thing I’m going to do is take that away from you again. Every option is yours, Kenny. Whatever you want to do, I will be your biggest supporter. But I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t allow you the space to fulfill your goals, to live up to everything you’ve worked so hard for.”
Liz Tomforde, Play Along

“If you ever decide to stop running and make a home…” His eyes are begging, pleading. “Make it with me.”
Liz Tomforde, Caught Up

“This is practically a how-to manual on how to please a woman. How are more men not reading these?”
Liz Tomforde, The Right Move

“Being vulnerable and authentic is scary, man. Terrifying. But to the people who matter to you, the ones you’ve shown your true self to, they love you unconditionally. Why not let others love you unconditionally too? At least give them a chance to.”
Liz Tomforde, Mile High

This was an amazing year for reading for me. I truly fell back in love with this hobby due to the social media and blog posting break I took. I hope to come out swinging next year and to hopefully create more content. Thank you 2024 for being a great year for me and my favorite Hobby.

Book Review: “Done and Dusted” By Lyla Sage

Lyla Sage is a local Slat Lake City Author and I was lucky enough to go to her book release party for her third book “Lost and Lassoed” at the beginning of November. Because I had tickets to this event I knew I had to read her first book, even luckier, my book club picked this book for our November book club pick and honestly we all had an amazing time reading it!

Join my Book Club Bai’s Reading Corner! We read one book a month and have chapter discussions Via Fable, Weekly Reading sprints and a Live Discussion on Instagram! You can join the Instagram Here or our Fable Book Club Here. Hope to see you!

“Wes?” I called. “Yeah?” “You didn’t ask me why I came home.” “I don’t care why you’re here, only that you are.”
Lyla Sage, Done and Dusted

About The Book

Author: Lyla Sage

Publisher: Dial Press

Published Date: June 6th, 2023

Page Count: 346 Pages

Main Genres: Romance

GoodReads Rating: 3.87

Format: Physical and Audio

“Sugar, you deserve to go out on your own terms. Just because you got dusted doesn’t mean you’re done.”
Lyla Sage, Done and Dusted

Synopsis

For the first time in her life, Clementine “Emmy” Ryder has no idea what she’s doing. She’s accomplished everything on her to-do list. She left her small hometown of Meadowlark, Wyoming; went to college; and made a career for herself by doing her favorite thing: riding horses. But after an accident makes it impossible for her to get back into the saddle, she has no choice but to return to the hometown she always wanted to escape.

Luke Brooks is Meadowlark’s most notorious bad boy, bar owner, and bachelor. He’s also the unofficial fifth member of the Ryder family. As Emmy’s older brother’s best friend, Luke spent most of his childhood antagonizing her. It’s been years since he’s seen her, but when she walks into his bar and back into his life, he can’t take his eyes off her. Despite his better judgment, he wants to do a whole lot more than just look at her.

Emmy’s got too much on her mind to think about romance. And Luke knows he should stay away from his best friend’s younger sister. But what if Luke is just what Emmy needs to get her spark back? Or will they both go up in flames?

“Sometimes, it was just easier for me to live under the piles rather than face what might be in them. It wasn’t logical, but my brain didn’t really work normally.”
Lyla Sage, Done and Dusted

Rating

“I couldn’t believe the universe was so big, and I got placed on this random floating rock at the same time as Clementine Ryder.”
Lyla Sage, Done and Dusted

Review

I read Done and Dusted twice over the span of a month. The first time was via physical book where I marked all my favorite quotes directly and then the second time was via Audio book where I followed along in the physical copy and took notes to prepare for my Live discussion for my Book Club.

I loved the book just as much the second time around and I am so glad I gave the audio a listen because the narrators were so good!

I want to remind everyone that I rate books on the vibe I feel after I have finished them. So me giving this book a five star rating in no way means this was a perfect book, it was just a perfect book for me at the time of reading it.

This book was a really fast paced read for me, in fact I read it in only a few sittings my first time around while the audio I finished in a few hours. What made this book such a quick read was the character dynamics. I really loved each character and how they connected to each other. You didn’t need their full background to understand the relationships between any of the characters in the book.

The friendship Emmy and Teddy had was seamless and so well done! She knew Emmy inside out and could anticipate Emmy’s needs before she could even voice them. When Emmy needed her the most she was right by her side no questions asked. I firmly believe that we all could use a friend like Teddy.

The Sibling Relationships between Emmy, Wes and Gus just made sense, she’s their baby sister so of course they are fiercely over protective of her. Their family is all just so close that no one batted an eye when she came home and just helped her get settled in. Sure, Gus may have had a few questions but what Older brother wouldn’t?

The spice in this book was top tier for me. It may have not been the spiciest book I have ever read but it sure made me feel some sort of way! I could feel their chemistry straight out of the gate but throw in some spice and their relationship was on fire!

I love Luke Brooks with all my heart. He has made it to my top five Book Boyfriends which is a true accomplishment with the amount of romance I have been reading lately. Luke never doubted Emmy and helped her find trust in herself again. He wasn’t nearly as over protective as her brothers but damn that bar scene… A little protectiveness never hurt no one!

I had two issues with this book and lets not really call them issues.

Small Spoilers Ahead

1. I would have liked more background info into Emmy from before she came back to Meadowlark. We know she had a riding accident which shook her confidence with her career. We also know that her Ex was a bit of a walking read flag, I mean who orders their girlfriend a steak knowing she doesn’t eat red meat and just tells her to try it… no! But I would have liked to know more about her ex and ultimately what made her break up with him via post it. It may have not been too important to the plot but I kept waiting for more trauma to come out about this I guess.

2. This is a cowboy romance and I felt like by the time we got to the end of the book she was back to racing like a pro but we hardly got any horse riding.. We had way more riding of another sort which I loved don’t get me wrong… But I would have liked to see more of her progression towards being able to get past her mental block and beat her own record. I know these books don’t have to be realistic but it just didn’t feel too believable to me.

Ok, the last thing I want to Highlight is the ADHD rep! Finding out Lyla Sage has ADHD made so much sense because she nailed what it felt like to be ADHD with sensory issues. I am not sure i have read another book with ADHD representation before this and if I have I clearly didn’t relate to it nearly as much as I did with this book. I am so grateful to see this done so well in a book I love so dearly. So, Thank you, Lyla Sage for putting Emmy out into the world.

“I know being diagnosed with ADHD looks different for all of us, but if you’ve ever had a hard time explaining why you leave literally everything until the last minute, why you feel out of control, why your tongue feels like it doesn’t belong in in your mouth when the music is too loud, or any of the countless other things we feel that are apart of ADHD, you might see yourself in Done and Dusted.”
Lyla Sage, Done and Dusted

QOTD: Lyla said at her release party for Lost and Lassoed that their was originally 5 books planned for this series, we are only getting four. Who do you think the 5th book was going to be about?

My Thoughts: I feel like it was going to be Amos Ryder, Emmy’s Dad. I get not writing this book as I feel like Amos is so in love with his wife even though she passed so long ago, that all he needs is his kids and the ranch.

Book Review: “Play Along” By Liz Tomforde

This is the fourth book in the “Windy City” Series by Liz Tomforde. This book is the most recent one to come out with only one book left in the series that will release April 2025. I honestly have no clue how I am going to wait till April to read the next book, how unfair?!

“Mmm,” he hums. “I should warn you, Ken, I like it when you’re mean. It does something to me.”
Liz Tomforde, Play Along

My “Windy City” Series Reviews

Mile High – By Liz Tomforde

The Right Move – By Liz Tomforde

Caught Up – By Liz Tomforde

About The Book

Author: Liz Tomforde

Publisher: Golden Boy Publishing

Published Date: July 11th, 2024

Page Count: 384 Pages

Main Genres: Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4.51

Format: E-books

“You’re allowed to be mad at me. It won’t change how I feel about you.”
Liz Tomforde, Play Along

Synopsis

Kennedy

I’m the only woman on staff for the Windy City Warriors, and after years of putting up with a sexist lead doctor, I’m desperate to land my dream job with a new team next year. All I have to do is maintain my professional reputation for my final season in Chicago.

But a Las Vegas run-in with the team’s shortstop threatens it all, leaving me with a fuzzy memory and a ring on my left hand.

Now, not only am I legally bound to the most persistent man I’ve ever met, but thanks to Isaiah’s scheme to save my job, I have to pretend the whole thing was a planned elopement and not a drunken mistake.

Isaiah Rhodes is reckless, impulsive, and frustratingly charming. He’s also my brand-new husband.

They got the saying wrong. What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas… sometimes it follows you right back home.

Isaiah

As the shortstop for Chicago’s professional baseball team, I’ve had my fair share of fun. But that all ended the day Kennedy Kay became a single woman.

I’ve crushed on the team’s athletic trainer for years. I’ve flirted to no avail, so imagine my surprise when I woke up in Sin City with a ring on my finger and my favorite redhead in my bed.

We agree to stay married for one baseball season, just long enough to keep her job safe, but in my mind, I’m using our time together to prove to her I’m husband material.

Kennedy might be reluctant to join in on our game, but it’s one I refuse to lose.

So come on, wife… play along.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“C’mon wife. Play along.”
Liz Tomforde, Play Along

Rating

“You’ve never gotten a say in your own life, and the last thing I’m going to do is take that away from you again. Every option is yours, Kenny. Whatever you want to do, I will be your biggest supporter. But I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t allow you the space to fulfill your goals, to live up to everything you’ve worked so hard for.”

Liz Tomforde, Play Along

Review

Possible Spoilers Ahead

This book is also a baseball romance like the third one that I reviewed. The third book made me realize that I actually might like any sports romance you give me even if I am not a huge fan of the sport in general. However, I did not have nearly as high of hopes for this book because the snippets you get of Isaiah before this book really show off an arrogant immature man which was not appealing to me at all but once I got into his book and could hear his own personal narrative my tune turned real quick! This is probably my favorite book to date hehe.

We learned a bit about Isaiah and Kennedy’s relationship in Kai’s book (book 3) but it was very surface level but still very important to the narrative of this book. Isaiah crushing on Kennedy for years might have seemed pathetic to some in Kai’s book but as soon as Isaiah finds out she is no longer engaged he becomes the man he was destined to be and that’s when I knew I was done for! Well, that and the fact that they fake date… We all know how i feel about fake dating!

When they went to get married in Vegas and Isaiah kept asking if she was sure this was what she wanted my heart literally melted! We love a respectful king!

I do think Kennedy treated him so unfairly at the beginning of this book even if it was due to the pressures of her own family life. However, I do think this made way for an interesting plot point. Isaiah may not have known Kennedy all that well before he fell for her but he believed in fate and just knew she was the one, so he was ready to dive head first into anything she threw at him. I have no clue how he could “fake Date” his own wife who he was madly in love with only to make her ex fiancé jealous… That is just pure torture.

I really like the fact that they were married yet still trying to become each others friend. They were given the perfect opportunity to really get to know one another and grow into love which I felt was a really interesting plot point. Most Fake Dating books I read have this in some level but this book really pulled it off as they were already married so what does it hurt to get to know one another’s deeper secrets and even explore a bit with their intimacy.

Kennedy had a rough childhood, as did Isaiah but different in their own ways. This was a great way for them to connect. Especially because Kennedy was never taken care of directly by a parental figure whereas Isaiah had his older brother Kai who took on that role. Kennedy didn’t need anyone to take care of her but it was nice for her to finally have someone who she knew she could count on to take care of her when she need it and Isaiah was able to provide that for her because of the love he received from his brother.

These characters are probably my favorite so far in this series, which I have probably said before but I can’t help it, they are just so good together! However, the next and final book coming out in April 2025 is about Rio finally getting his chance at love and I don’t know how any of these other love stories could hold a flame to Rio’s.

I will see you in 2025 with my final review for this series! Goodbye, for now, Windy City.

“Grief seems like a privilege, in a way,” she says. “To have loved someone so much that you can’t imagine life without them.”
Liz Tomforde, Play Along

QOTD: What series do you wish never ended?

Book Review: “Caught Up” By Liz Tomforde

This is my Review for the third book in the “Windy City” Series by Liz Tomforde. This series has quickly became one of my favorites. The characters are so well written that they have me falling for each and every one of them!

I read this book about a month ago so I figured today, the one year anniversary of its publishing, would be the perfect day to release this review!

“You said it was my choice if I wanted to live up to expectations, and I do. But now, the only expectations I’m going to worry about are the ones I set for myself. And the only expectations I have for myself are to be happy and to chase the things I want.”
Liz Tomforde, Caught Up

My “Windy City” Series Reviews

Mile High – By Liz Tomforde

The Right Move – By Liz Tomforde

Play Along – Liz Tomforde

About The Book

Author: Liz Tomforde

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Published Date: October 10th, 2023

Page count: 408 Pages

Main Genres: Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4.44

Format: E-Book

“How the hell am I supposed to forget what her laugh sounds like? What her lips taste like? I want her. Fuck, do I want her.”
Liz Tomforde, Caught Up

Synopsis

Kai

I’m a single dad and starting pitcher for Chicago’s MLB team.
I’m stretched too thin, but I don’t want help raising my son.

Each of his previous nannies only lasted a few weeks before I let them go.
Now, my coach is putting his foot down by hiring the one person I can’t fire—his daughter.

Miller Montgomery is the last woman I should fall for. Too wild, too young, and too unattached.

Chicago is just a quick stop for her. I thought I’d be counting down the days until she left, but summer feels too short when I start thinking about forever.

Miller

As a high-end pastry chef who recently won the most prestigious award in my industry, I’m desperate to prove I deserve it. But with a new title comes new pressure, and I can’t create a fresh and inspiring dessert to save my life.

With only two months to get back on track, I should be focusing in the kitchen, but instead, I let my dad talk me into using my time off to nanny for his star player’s kid.

Kai Rhodes forgot how to have fun, and I’m eager to jog his memory. But when he and his son start to feel like home, I have to remind us both that my time in Chicago ends with the summer.

Besides, I’ve always been a runner, and the last thing I want is to get caught.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“Know what’s better than being the best at something you don’t love?
Being mediocre at something you do.”
Liz Tomforde, Caught Up

Rating

“He’ll be on his hands and knees most of the time.” “As all men should be.”
Liz Tomforde, Caught Up

Review

Possible Small Spoilers Ahead
No surprises here, I of course rated this book Five Stars!

The surprise is that I actually enjoyed a book about Baseball. I am not a huge baseball fan, nine innings is just a tad too much for me. I just don’t find it the most entreating to watch. However, I would much rather go to a baseball game over a football game!

This book is the single dad trope, if I am being honest with you, I have only ever read one other book with this trope and I did enjoy it but this book handled this trope so well! I will be taking recs for any and all single dad tropes from here on out!

Kai only wants what’s best for his son and if that means leaving baseball behind then that’s just what he will do! But of course his team doesn’t want this so they have been very accommodating of his situation, But Kai can not find a nanny he trusts enough with his son. That is until Monty, the head coach, hires his daughter Miller as the nanny and Kai doesn’t have a choice but to let her stay.

Kai can be a bit of a grump but that is exactly why I love him! He might be kind of rough edged on the outside but on the inside he is a true sweetheart! He is everything I want from a male lead! This man is like a walking teddy bear that makes my heart melt. He truly cares so much about every person in his life but because of his past it is really hard to let new people in which made it so much fun to see him let down his guard and see him fall in love with his hot nanny!

Miller was not my favorite character at the start. She is pretty stand off ish so I guess that makes sense haha. She struggles being in one place for too long which we learn from the start so I knew that we would have a rough third act “Breakup” and if you know anything about me its that I hate a third act breakup. Luckily the way it was written I didn’t mind this one. I think the third act break up was more along the lines of this famous proverb , “If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it’s yours. If not, it was never meant to be.”

Both of our main characters are highly successful adults who are truly independent people. Kai does have his found family to support him but he makes it clear that he is strong enough to handle his own problems but having someone like Miller by his side really brought out the best in him and ultimately brought some much needed joy to him and his sons lives.

This book really focuses on these characters goals and passions in life but what I love most is that it shows that even if you are passionate about your career you may not be happy with that life style. Miller is constantly trying to prove herself to people but most importantly herself. She sets unreasonable goals and expectations for her career because she is great at what she does but being the best at what you do isn’t nearly as rewarding as stepping back and finding joy in the basics again. Sometimes our expectations for ourselves can ruin our true happiness and you got to remove yourself from those situations and find where your true passion began and let go of some of your unrealistic goals to find yourself again.

“Pressure is a privilege, Miller. Expectations are high because you’re successful. If you were average, no one would be waiting on bated breath for you. I think about that every night I take the mound. You just have to decide if your dreams and goals are worth the pressure. If you want to live up to the expectations set for you.”
Liz Tomforde, Caught Up

With every new book I pick up by this author the more and more I fall in love with her writing and character building. I leave each book with a deep love for her characters to the point where I get so sad when I finish her books. I really love that this world is interconnected so I can see everyone’s relationships grow and flourish. I hope you come back for my fourth review for this series “Play Along”, this will be my last review for this author until the fifth and final book comes out in April 2025, so stay tuned!

“I’m not telling you what you should or shouldn’t do with your life. I just don’t want you to be so afraid to fail at something new that it keeps you from finding your happiness when you’re the reason I found mine.”
Liz Tomforde, Caught Up

QOTD: If you had to choose between Football and Baseball, Which do you like more?

“If you ever decide to stop running and make a home…” His eyes are begging, pleading. “Make it with me.”
Liz Tomforde, Caught Up