Author: Sally Thorne

Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne | Book Review

Posted February 24, 2024 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 0 Comments

Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne | Book ReviewRosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne
Series: The Improbable Meet-Cute #3
Also in this series: Drop, Cover, and Hold On, With Any Luck, The Exception to the Rule
Narrator: Bailey Carr
Published by Amazon Original Stories on January 23, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy
Pages: 44
Length: 1 hour and 14 mins
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible
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For a hopeful and hopeless romantic, it’s love at first sight—with a little twist.

Rosie Whittaker and her sister are up for some Galentine’s pampering at a day spa. Getting locked inside a flotation tank is so Rosie. Enter a firefighter hero determined to pry this luckless pearl out of her high-tech shell. All Rosie has to go on is a dreamy voice and a flirty sense of humor. Remain calm, Rosie. This could be what you’ve been waiting for. Is this the man she’s waited for her whole life?

 

I really thought Sally Thorne was going to be a one-hit wonder for me. I loved The Hating Game, and have DNFed the other two books of hers I’ve tried since. But Rosie and Dreamboat was really fun! It’s a little wacky and pretty unbelievable, but that’s why I enjoyed it. I was in mood to be entertained with a story that wouldn’t take much out of me and wasn’t a huge time investment, and this fit the bill.

One thing I didn’t really consider before jumping into this series (they’re all standalones, so don’t worry about reading them in order), is that the story focuses solely on the meet-cute. That’s it. There’s no watching a romance play out, you’re strictly reading the meeting between the two love interests and the story ends with a happy for now. As such, I found myself a little disappointed that things kept ending right as things were about to get good. But if you can come to terms with that, there are some real gems in this series! Rosie and Dreamboat follows Rosie and her sister, who go to a wellness spa for some pampering. Rosie isn’t at all interested in the flotation tank, which is basically like crawling naked into a dark cave and then being locked in. She decides to be a good sport about it, but when her time is up the tank won’t open. The fire department shows up to help, but the spa says they are not allowed to damage the tank in any way to get her out. And thus begins Rosie’s meet-cute with the adorkably charming cinnamon roll hero, Leo. He’s incredibly sweet and silly, and I really loved him. I loved that they spent hours talking through the wall of the tank while trying to figure out how to get her out, really getting to know one another without the initial physical attraction being the driving force behind their interest in one another. Their conversation was meaningful and I hope they really do live happily ever after!

For being a super short novella that’s essentially cut off mid-story, Rosie and Dreamboat was really well done! The characters were developed enough that I cared about them, and the storyline was unique and kept me listening to find out how Rosie gets out of that tank. lol. I listened the the audiobook version, and thought Bailer Carr did a great job. The production itself was crystal clear, and I felt like a fly on the wall listening to this entire story unfold. I swooned a few times at how wonderful Leo is, and you know how I love the swoons! If you’re looking for something quick and playful, this is a good choice!

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne | Book Review

Posted November 9, 2017 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 5 Comments

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne | Book ReviewThe Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Published by William Morrow on August 9, 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 384
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
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Nemesis (n.)
1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome;
2) A person’s undoing;
3) Joshua Templeman.

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.

Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

You. Guys. I didn’t think I’d like The Hating Game, and I actually had it on my “possibly” shelf on Goodreads for a long time because I didn’t believe anyone when they said it was amazing. I finally bit the bullet and read it and then wanted to go yell at everyone for not working harder to talk me into reading it because IT’S PERFECTION. I don’t even know how to talk about it because I loved everything. There is not one thing I don’t love about the book except for the fact that it ended. And that it’s not a movie. And that I’ve already read it because I wish I could read it for the first time again. Should I stop my review right here? Probably. But I won’t. As always, my main points are bolded.

1. The banter. I love the flirty back and forth between Lucy and Joshua so much that I want to go get a job in an office with a desk next to a swoony guy so I can recreate it myself. It’s so inappropriate for an office setting, but that made it so much better.

2. Hate to love is my favorite. The hate these two share for one another is practically a character in this book. So. Much. Hate. But, like they say, there’s a fine line between love and hate. And oh my GOSH do these two dance around that line. They cross it, run far away from it, and press their noses up against it.

3. The chemistry. You guys, THE CHEMISTRY. Everything was bubbling and fizzing and threatening to boil over at a moment’s notice and I was on. board.

4. I can’t even with Josh. He’s mysterious and quirky and swoony and perfect. He’s intense and broody and I’m melting all over again just trying to describe him. You can’t even describe him. It’s like Sally Thorne pulled him from the dream space in my head where guys that don’t actually exist live.

5. One word: Elevator. If you’ve read this, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t read this, do it. You want to know what I’m talking about.

6. Lucy gets sick and Josh is THERE. Seriously, this was my favorite part of the book. So much talking and learning and bonding and I swooned so many times that I thought maybe I had caught Lucy’s bug.

7. I need a few drops of Lucy added to my personality. She takes no crap. And she has so much self-confidence.

8. Were there other characters in this book? I think so… but I seriously don’t even care about them.

9. Sally is a genius.

10. I’ve never finished a book before and then immediately wanted to flip to page 1 and start over again. AHHHHHH. I refrained, but I’ll probably read this at least once a year for the rest of forever.

So… Have I convinced you to read this yet? If not, you’re kind of a lost cause, I think. I LOVE this book, and I hope Sally writes a million more like it.