mssarahbn's review
4.0
I received this as an arc from the author and I’m voluntarily leaving my honest review.
This was a good romantic comedy. I really enjoyed the return to Kinloch, this time the focus was very much different from the first two stories but it worked well. Charlie and Valentina had a strong connection and I enjoyed the development of their relationship. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
This was a good romantic comedy. I really enjoyed the return to Kinloch, this time the focus was very much different from the first two stories but it worked well. Charlie and Valentina had a strong connection and I enjoyed the development of their relationship. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
emmaweibel's review against another edition
4.0
TYSM for my ARC of The Kissing Games. I haven't read the rest of the series, but this book is very good as a standalone!
The Kissing Games was so cute. I loved Charlie and Valentine and am obsessed with how supportive they are of each other. I also enjoyed reading the many different layers that made up each of the characters. I recommend this book for people who like easy-to-read romances with characters you can fall in love with.
The Kissing Games was so cute. I loved Charlie and Valentine and am obsessed with how supportive they are of each other. I also enjoyed reading the many different layers that made up each of the characters. I recommend this book for people who like easy-to-read romances with characters you can fall in love with.
alohabooksandbujos's review against another edition
4.0
Ready, set, action: forced proximity meets a sexy cinnamon roll and fiercely determined heroine in an Insta-attraction spicy contemporary.
Charlie and Valentina are complete opposites and somehow manage to rock that dynamic through the journey of actress and bodyguard. A quick and fun read that pairs spice with personal growth, this can be read as a stand-alone but is a part of a series. Yet another fun and spicy read to finish up the month.
Charlie and Valentina are complete opposites and somehow manage to rock that dynamic through the journey of actress and bodyguard. A quick and fun read that pairs spice with personal growth, this can be read as a stand-alone but is a part of a series. Yet another fun and spicy read to finish up the month.
shankl's review against another edition
3.0
Simply put, I never read a series in order. So in keeping with tradition, this is the first book I have read in the Kinloch Series. I get the impression I don’t need to read in order to enjoy the stories.
In this love story, there’s Charlie who is basically a tattooed adonis who has women falling at his feet. But it in his line of work, it is a job hazard as his clients wives and daughters throw themselves at him and then he gets fired.
As a body guard, he lands the job as security for a movie featuring a superstar named Valentina. Needless to say neither was looking for love, but they find it with each other. Charlie gets bonus points as he is basically the dog whisperer with his canine companion.
I’d take a job on this movie set as they are filming at a castle in the Scottish Highlands. Kissing Games is a quick, fun romance. Thank you Kate Rock Booktours & the author for the e-book.
In this love story, there’s Charlie who is basically a tattooed adonis who has women falling at his feet. But it in his line of work, it is a job hazard as his clients wives and daughters throw themselves at him and then he gets fired.
As a body guard, he lands the job as security for a movie featuring a superstar named Valentina. Needless to say neither was looking for love, but they find it with each other. Charlie gets bonus points as he is basically the dog whisperer with his canine companion.
I’d take a job on this movie set as they are filming at a castle in the Scottish Highlands. Kissing Games is a quick, fun romance. Thank you Kate Rock Booktours & the author for the e-book.
mrsj_readsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Kissing Games is the 3rd book in the Kinloch series. While it does mention characters and scenes from the previous books, it can be read as a standalone.
Evie has given her MC Valentina and Charles so much depth and conflicted backstories you can’t help but root for them. I want to hang out with everyone (except Vlad) in the pub. Kissing Games contains all the trademark humor and spice that has made Evie famous. You will simultaneously laugh out loud and cry while reading this book. Charles is a big softie and Valentina is a strong woman. Together they can tackle anything thrown their way.
I did miss Rory, Zoe and Basil, but we have Dave and Bandit to fill the void. Every time I read a new book in this series I want to go to Scotland. Thank you Evie for my mini vacation !
I loved the ending and cannot wait to read the next book which will highlight Jamie and Sam.
Thank you to Evie for my arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Evie has given her MC Valentina and Charles so much depth and conflicted backstories you can’t help but root for them. I want to hang out with everyone (except Vlad) in the pub. Kissing Games contains all the trademark humor and spice that has made Evie famous. You will simultaneously laugh out loud and cry while reading this book. Charles is a big softie and Valentina is a strong woman. Together they can tackle anything thrown their way.
I did miss Rory, Zoe and Basil, but we have Dave and Bandit to fill the void. Every time I read a new book in this series I want to go to Scotland. Thank you Evie for my mini vacation !
I loved the ending and cannot wait to read the next book which will highlight Jamie and Sam.
Thank you to Evie for my arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
danielle_marie's review against another edition
4.0
I love this series of books. They are fun, a bit raunchy, full of heart, and DOGS.
I had read the previous two books, and was surprised that the third would be set at the same time as the second book. It made reading it more interesting to see some of the same events of the second book but from a different perspective. Similarly, I would think back to the second book and some of the foreshadowing of the third book in it. It was well plotted out, I think, by the author, and then knowing there is a fourth book coming that may also be set in the same or overlapping timeline? Well done, I say!
I really liked the characters of Charlie and Valentina. They felt like whole people in that they are smart, kind, generous, grumpy, insecure, sad, etc. They felt their feelings and they weren't perfect people, which is what made them feel believable to me. I liked how they challenged each other, but also ended up being each other's best support, helping each other to grow. The backdrop against which their relationship is set - film set at a castle in Scotland for possibly the most ridiculous movie to ever be (fictionally) made - was so much fun.
I loved the abuelas - I want a book with them as the main characters! I love delightful side characters and the abuelas definitely brought it. I think it was a smart move to introduce some other side characters than those we had met in the previous two books, instead of keeping it to an insular group of people.
I'm also a sucker for animals in books, so to have Bandit featuring so prominently, then also a happy ending for Dave, was just a delight.
I hope we get to see more of these characters in future books - perhaps at the movie premiere???
I received an eARC for free from BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I had read the previous two books, and was surprised that the third would be set at the same time as the second book. It made reading it more interesting to see some of the same events of the second book but from a different perspective. Similarly, I would think back to the second book and some of the foreshadowing of the third book in it. It was well plotted out, I think, by the author, and then knowing there is a fourth book coming that may also be set in the same or overlapping timeline? Well done, I say!
I really liked the characters of Charlie and Valentina. They felt like whole people in that they are smart, kind, generous, grumpy, insecure, sad, etc. They felt their feelings and they weren't perfect people, which is what made them feel believable to me. I liked how they challenged each other, but also ended up being each other's best support, helping each other to grow. The backdrop against which their relationship is set - film set at a castle in Scotland for possibly the most ridiculous movie to ever be (fictionally) made - was so much fun.
I loved the abuelas - I want a book with them as the main characters! I love delightful side characters and the abuelas definitely brought it. I think it was a smart move to introduce some other side characters than those we had met in the previous two books, instead of keeping it to an insular group of people.
I'm also a sucker for animals in books, so to have Bandit featuring so prominently, then also a happy ending for Dave, was just a delight.
I hope we get to see more of these characters in future books - perhaps at the movie premiere???
I received an eARC for free from BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
lisaluvsliterature's review
5.0
I was excited for these two characters’ stories. And I was hooked from the start! Both had their own issues. Where in some ways it seemed like they didn’t necessarily affect the other one, the author made them perfectly woven into the plot so that it all made sense. The connection between these two was perfection as well. You could tell from their banter, the way they reacted to each other, as well as how they behaved. Both of them did the thing where they tried to pretend it was just a fling. But you could tell both were also thinking of how things could be afterward.
One fun aspect of this is that it took place during the same time period as the last book, Hollywood Games, so it was neat to see those those events from different points of view, with different amounts of importance based on the characters who were the stars of this story. Of course I also adored getting to spend time with Rory and Zoe again, and in a similar way, seeing the two of them from other characters’ perspectives.
Charlie was one I couldn’t help but fall in love with, and I hated that at first Valentina didn’t see he wasn’t a playboy just because he was such a handsome charming guy. I also hated how she got upset about something that played out for a tiny bit in the story with his ex. And while I am nowhere near a prude, from what the film she was getting ready to do that was an “art film” was described as, yeah, not sure that was really going to do anything for her career or changing how people saw her. I loved the way the author made things that happen turn into the catalyst for making her career change and grow in a way that was healthy and perfect for her.
Since we got an epilogue for this one, and the next book is supposed to be another couple, I look forward to seeing both of the couples from the books so far and how they play into the next couple’s story.
Review first posted on Lisa Loves Literature.
One fun aspect of this is that it took place during the same time period as the last book, Hollywood Games, so it was neat to see those those events from different points of view, with different amounts of importance based on the characters who were the stars of this story. Of course I also adored getting to spend time with Rory and Zoe again, and in a similar way, seeing the two of them from other characters’ perspectives.
Charlie was one I couldn’t help but fall in love with, and I hated that at first Valentina didn’t see he wasn’t a playboy just because he was such a handsome charming guy. I also hated how she got upset about something that played out for a tiny bit in the story with his ex. And while I am nowhere near a prude, from what the film she was getting ready to do that was an “art film” was described as, yeah, not sure that was really going to do anything for her career or changing how people saw her. I loved the way the author made things that happen turn into the catalyst for making her career change and grow in a way that was healthy and perfect for her.
Since we got an epilogue for this one, and the next book is supposed to be another couple, I look forward to seeing both of the couples from the books so far and how they play into the next couple’s story.
Review first posted on Lisa Loves Literature.