Jeannine Colette

I would have placed a substantial amount of cash on the bet that the writer of this book had never even been to NYC, but her bio says she lives here. I am going to assume Staten Island, since SI people often never cross the river. In the first paragraphs the FMC (a native New Yorker) talks about how her hip young co-worker picks up men at music festivals on Roosevelt Island. As it happens, I spend a good deal of my life on Roosevelt Island, and I guarantee you that unless you want to get show more funky with the Roosevelt Island Chanber Orchestra there are no music festivals. RI has the city's best views, but it is filled with families, UN and low-level embassy employees from countries across the globe, tennis courts, pools and play parks. It is as close as you get to Mayberry in the five boroughs, and the biggest event of the last 6 months or so was an artificial flower show in Four Freedoms Park. Then, also in the first chapter I believe, the MMC (a native New Yorker likethe FMC) mentions he has Yankees tickets and is dreading the crowds in Penn Station where he is apparently getting on the subway. But as he says this he is on Park Avenue in the 70's which means he is going 60 blocks in the other direction to get a train that would have to connect to the 4 when there is a 4 train stop about 6 blocks or so from where he is. It is maddening. Also, throughout the book the couple's (and again, they are supposed to be very wealthy people born and raised in the city) exciting adventures were a list of things to do on your visit to NYC from a boring travel guide published in 1991. They go the Plaza, the Loeb Boathouse, the River Cafe, and the Bethesda Fountain. These are all inarguably lovely places, truly worthy institutions, but I have to say that in the 21st century I don't know anyone who has gone to any of those places (other than the Bethesda Fountain) for anything besides weddings and bar mitzvahs. They are no more cool than a trip to Branson MO. So that was weird.

Additionally, the author created these two completely inauthentic characters in the FMCs mother and sister-in-law, both of whom are supposed to be wonderful but are HORRID. The mother throws a birthday party for the FMC and invites all their friends from their club who have single sons to match up their divorced daughter. (Clearly the author watches Gilmore Girls. I love Emily Gilmore, but the Rory mating party was not her best choice even though that is a really good episode.) One of the men in the room "summers in Boca." Who summers in Boca by choice? It is 100 degrees in the shade Also these are supposed to be UES society folks, and they don't do anything in Boca. They go to Fisher Island or Palm Beach or at least Parkland. The sister talks about nothing but designer shoes (she has a shoe blog and at one point buys Stuart Weitzman shoes for newborn) and shopping and fills her Mcmansion in the suburbs with pictures of her family in matching clothes. And the FMC talks about how she wants her life to be exactly like this sister in law. Ew. And I have to mention that the entire book hinges on the failure to communicate trope, which I hate.

All that said, there were a lot of portions of this book I liked. Why? I can't say. There was some fun banter between the leads, they really take care of one another, and their relationship is based on long friendship, which I always like. That is all I have got. Even though this fell down in a number of ways, I would probably try at least one more book from the author. Maybe by the next NYC set book she will visit an establishment that has opened in the last 40 years and write about that. show less

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

Leah wants to prove she's more than the girl who didn't go on to college and stayed in her hometown forever, she wants to go from bartender to bar owner. McConaughey's is her dream, but when a poor decision threatens her dream and her reputation, she bargains with all she has. Adam, the cop that ruins everyone's fun, allows her to work community service building homes alongside him. 100 hours should've been easy, but Leah isn't prepared for the show more memories and feelings that come back to life after being pushed away years prior. The fun bartender and the strict cop are mixing their lives together, it's a cocktail you'd never want to order, but it just might bring out the best in both of them.

"Like two ends of a magnet, our souls are being drawn toward one another. I am the negative, and he is the positive."

I won't deny it, I picked up Wrecked up for the cover and the blurb that I thought gave away a lot of information. I still think it does (and that it's a little long), but it doesn't give away it all. The blurb doesn't tell you that Jeannine Colette's writing in Wrecked is incredible, that you'll both laugh and try to hold onto some tears, that the plot has so much more to it than first meets the eye. Wrecked reads like a rom-com with a bit more of a punch to it. Main characters Adam and Leah are in a fight against their emotions and their past, one that holds so much more weight to it as the story unfolds. Told in first-person from Leah's POV, readers follow a story that is so relatable; the characters question their self worth, learn how to heal from tragedy, and accept love into their hearts.

"Funny thing about trying to distance yourself from someone when you're in a tight space is, the further you move away from each other, the closer you become."

I tend to read similar story lines over and over, I have a thing for bad boys and good girls, Wrecked definitely doesn't follow the cliche. There's no alpha, jerk male and Leah is not a meek heroine. There's so much more to both Adam and Leah, their love story is one that grows while they each overcome and grow as well. Wrecked has the perfect character development, each situation moving the story forward and making the characters a bit more complex. Driven mostly by dialogue, Leah and Adam revisit their past, right their wrongs, and fix a broken-connection that should never have been severed in the first place. I laughed often, fell in love with tough-but-sweet Adam, and cheered for Leah as she overcame her insecurities.

"If he's being wrecked by me, then I've been shattered, damaged, destroyed by him."

Wrecked is my first book from Jeannine Colette, thanks to Lauren Runow's suggestion, and it definitely won't be my last. It's a feel good story, but written in such a way that you won't want to put it down. Readers will find themselves invested in Leah's story, feeling all the same emotions as she faces life head on with a few Matthew McConaughey quotes to cheer her on. show less

4.5 stars

The moment I read this blurb, I was hooked. How could I not be? It combined my favorite things, Indie romance, a jade heart, and book boyfriends. After getting my degree in Literature, the first thing I went back to was romance books, instead of the required canon of literature. This surprises my friends because I am the most jaded person when it comes to love in real-life. However, give me a book with swoon-worthy epic love stories and I will be the happiest girl. I think that is show more why I loved Lacey so much. She felt authentic. I understood her. Parts of her felt like She could be me or I could be her.

Then there is Jake, I felt a connection with him too. I, too, work in a florist shop, which again felt like kismet. I found myself believing in love as I experienced life through his eyes. That is pretty impressive that I could connect and feel like I could relate to both of these characters that were so vastly different. That is a huge compliment to this writing duo that works seamlessly together.

I found myself stepping into Lacey's shoes and getting swept up in this love that Jake wanted her to experience. It was bittersweet because even though my heart is jaded after a couple of ugly soul-wrenching divorces, it also longed to experience what Lacey did and also to want a real-life Jake to show me in the real world that men like him did not just exist as book-boyfriends.

If you want a swoon-worthy romance with beautiful poignant moments then this is definitely the book for you. I highly recommend it. show less

4.5 stars

I could kiss this author duo for coming up with this new series based on guys who are a certain astrological sign. I am a huge astrological buff so getting to see how these two incorporate attributes of those signs into the story without it feeling forced and instead making it natural is a delight.

I have never been a die-hard fan of the whole Christmas romance movies but if they were scripted as cute as this story then I might be apt to change my mind. Even though I knew how this show more story was going to go it still was cute to follow the progression of the story. I enjoyed watching the hero in this one make his feelings known, especially after discovering that this was not something done on a whim. I enjoyed Katie as she realized that not all fairy tales are the same. I found myself getting lost in the rimance and love story of watching these two fall in love.

Perfect book for the upcoming holiday season. I look forward to whatever sign is next. show less