Cathy Yardley

Review: Love, Comment, Subscribe by Cathy Yardley

02:30

Title: Love, Comment, Subscribe 
(Ponto Beach Reunion #1)
Author: Cathy Yardley
Genre: Contemporary romance, Youtubers 
Release date: 01 Oct 2021

Author Links: Website / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram



Blurb 

Back in high school, Lily Wang wanted to be popular, but she considered herself lucky to be part of a tight group of oddballs and honors students called the Nerd Herd. Now, at twenty-eight, she feels like she’s finally on the cusp of succeeding as a beauty influencer—if she can hit five million subscribers, brands will take notice and she could get her own makeup line.

Fellow Nerd Herd alum Tobin Bui has had a lot of success as a YouTube gamer. But the road to online stardom has been rocky. First, he disappointed his parents by dropping out of college, and now, after years of pranks, skits, and playthroughs, he’s struggling to come up with new content to satisfy his ever-growing fan base. His agents say he needs cross-audience appeal, a new twist.

When Nerd Herd frenemy Lily approaches Tobin about teaming up to do a video to bolster her brand and reinvigorate his, he agrees. But when their first collab video goes viral, their relationship heats up too. With the whole internet watching, will these two former misfits finally realize they’re perfect together?


Review 

This is a super fun, enjoyable read. The story flows easily and while it is a bit stereotypical at times, overall this is a cute, feel good romance.

I liked the set up - high school friends/enemies meet 10 years after graduation when their agents suggest they do a collaboration for their youtube channels. I don't really follow any youtubers and I found the behind-the-scenes very interesting.

I liked both Lily and Tobin and I found I could relate to their struggles regardless how different they were. They were opposites in many ways but had more similarities than appeared on the surface. I really liked how they brought the best in each other.

For a light-hearted romance this story had unexpected depths - undiagnosed ADHD and how it affects every aspect of one's life, family expectations and pressure, demands on content creators to produce new, imaginative, fun/clever content all the time. As a long-time blogger I felt some of their struggles very close to me. It's just a hobby for me, they make their living via Youtube but the pressure they were under felt very real to me.

I liked their diverse group of friends (enemies), both MCs are half-Asian and there are a bunch of queer characters as well. It read very natural too me, nothing felt force or out of place.

The greatest strength of the story for me was the idea of finding a balance in your life and making a relationship work despite the odds. Both Lily and Tobin need to put in the work to overcome their personal issues. Being together was no miracle cure though it did put things in perspective for both of them.

I admit to liking him a tiny bit more than her, she came off more closed off. His whole storyline was richer, more developed than hers imo. I appreciate the way his creative block was presented and his struggles to admit it and finally deal with it. He prioritized his mental health over work/fame/success and that is a such a powerful message to me.

my only complaint is that the ending was too neat, all issues were resolved in more or less fairytale manner. There are also some stereotypical representations in the story that could have been avoided. Still, overall I enjoyed this book a lot and can highly recommend it.

CW: undiagnosed ADHD, burnout

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BDSM

Review: Seducing the Sorcerer by Lee Welch

02:30

Title: Seducing the Sorcerer
Author: Lee Welch
Genre / Themes: Fantasy romance / m/m romance 

Release date: 23 Sept 2021

Author's links: Website / Twitter / Facebook

My rating: 4 Stars


Blurb

Homeless and jobless, Fenn Todd has nearly run out of hope. All he has left is his longing for horses and the strength of his own two hands. But when he’s cheated into accepting a very ugly sackcloth horse, he’s catapulted into a world of magic, politics and desire.

Fenn’s invited to stay at the black tower, home of the most terrifying man in the realm: Morgrim, the court sorcerer. Morgrim has a reputation as a scheming villain, but he seems surprisingly charming—and sexy—and Fenn falls hard for him.

However, nothing is as it seems and everyone at the tower is lying about something. Beset by evil hexes, violent political intrigue and a horse that eats eiderdowns, Fenn must make the hardest choices of his life.

Can a plain man like Fenn ever find true love with a scheming sorcerer?


Review

This is a new-to-me author and I am happy a took a chance on her. This book turned out to be exactly what I needed at the moment - fantasy romance with older MCs, very real despite the magic.

I liked the fantasy setting and found it to be engaging without being too complicated or overwhelming which is sometimes the case for me in fantasy/paranormal romances.

The story is told from Fenn's POV and I loved his voice. A common man in his early forties, he has been trough some hard times, he is a bit rough around the edges but he is not jaded or cynical. There is inherent kindness and empathy in him that loved. His passion for horses is a thing of beauty, it's contagious and reminded me how great it can feel to be this passionate about something, the utter joy it can bring. I also appreciate how ordinary Fenn was, he was no soldier/courtier or hero, he just loved Morgrim and wanted him to be safe and well.

I was fully sold on the romance, despite not liking Morgrim, the sorcerer, nearly as much as Fenn. I could see how he was all lonely and vulnerable behind the mask of the great court sorcerer, but somehow he read/sounded more juvenile than a man in his 40s. I might be harsh in my judgement but him keeping all these secrets all the time, playing his political games with Fenn even after they got together, didn't help his case.

The romance itself was lovely - light BDSM elements and role play coupled with deep feels and explicit consent was a winning combination. What was an interesting twist in the romantic relationship was the potential for their magic to influence their feelings for one another. It added further tension to the romance which kept recurring in different forms till the end. Sometimes it worked better for me, other times it felt forced and out of place. Overall, I quite enjoyed their romantic journey

A fairytale ending that fitted the fairytale vibe of the whole book - love conquers all, the good guys won and the bad guys got what they deserved.

This has been a great escapist fun - a bit magical, a bit real - very charming and a pleasure to read.

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