All the Feels by Olivia Dade {a review}

source

Olivia Dade is back with All the Feels! This is the second book in the Spoiler Alert series, and this time Alex Woodroe is having his story told. Fans of Spoiler Alert will remember Alex, as toward the end of that book he was in a bit of hot water.

All the Feels features the following tropes:

• opposites attract
• hate to love
• forced proximity
• single bed
• slow burn

The media has tapped Alex as a "bad boy". He's been acting out, and he was recently in jail after a bar fight where he was presumed to be drunk. All of this after other altercations have occurred in the past. Lauren just arrived in Spain for a little R&R after leaving her job in the ER. Her mother insisted that she meet up with her cousin Ron since his show was filming in the area. Ron figures his cousin, who recently left a stressful job, doesn't have anything to do, and (with family pressure) Lauren accepts the job as Alex's handler. Right away Alex is against this, but he'd also do just about anything to keep his job. Even if that means he has to deal with new rules and a babysitter. But once they arrive back in California, can their relationship remain business-like, or will lines start to blur? Could Alex fall for Lauren? Could Lauren believe that Alex would want her?

The premise of this book was good. The execution was a miss for me. I enjoy all of the tropes that were in this book, and it had the potential to be wonderful. Maybe it was Alex, maybe it was Lauren, maybe it was the storyline, but something fell flat. Now I will say, Alex rubbed me wrong from the get go. How he described Lauren from the first introduction, to the words that he continued to use, it was a big no for me. Yes, Lauren is a petite plus size woman, but she is so much more than that. She is also incredibly smart, excels in her profession, and knows her limitations. (Which is why she has taken a leave of absence from her job.) Did she really want to babysit a well known actor? NO! But she was trying to not start a fight in her family, so she felt she had no other option. I feel like mid-way through the book we began to see snippets of the man that Alex truly is. Yet it was a little too late for me. Honestly though Lauren wasn't much better. She was kind of a doormat. More so with her family, but I saw bits and pieces of it with Alex as well. Again, not something I was a fan of.

Now I will say that big dramatic moment for Alex and Lauren was quite dramatic, courtesy of Zach. How all of that played out was intriguing. Yet at the same time I feel that it could have been explained a bit better. I was happy that Alex had some resolution from his earlier guilt in regards to his mom's former situation. The reunion for Alex and Lauren was just okay. I'm glad that feelings were shared, and future discussed. But I wanted more. I wanted the high emotional discussions where they fight for each other. Then the passion fueled embrace/kiss.

Like I said, I had high expectations for All the Feels. Sadly it fell short. I still think it was a decent story, but I didn't feel the romantic connection between our characters. It was more of a friendship connection than anything else.

If you choose to read All the Feels, please let me know your thoughts on the book. As you know I always say that reviews and ratings are subjective to the reader. That depending on the mood, life events, or other situations, that can affect how the reader relates with the story. Now for me, I will say that none of those apply. So take that as you will.

Thank you for reading my thoughts on the book. I should also mention that there is a content warning for implied domestic violence. It isn't in regards to our main characters but a side character.

Laura

Alexander Woodroe has it all. Charm. Sex appeal. Wealth. Fame. A starring role as Cupid on TV’s biggest show, Gods of the Gates. But the showrunners have wrecked his character, he's dogged by old demons, and his post-show future remains uncertain. When all that reckless emotion explodes into a bar fight, the tabloids and public agree: his star is falling.

Enter Lauren Clegg, the former ER therapist hired to keep him in line. Compared to her previous work, watching over handsome but impulsive Alex shouldn’t be especially difficult. But the more time they spend together, the harder it gets to keep her professional remove and her heart intact, especially when she discovers the reasons behind his recklessness…not to mention his Cupid fanfiction habit.

When another scandal lands Alex in major hot water and costs Lauren her job, she’ll have to choose between protecting him and offering him what he really wants—her. But he’s determined to keep his improbably short, impossibly stubborn, and extremely endearing minder in his life any way he can. And on a road trip up the California coast together, he intends to show her exactly what a falling star will do to catch the woman he loves: anything at all. 

All the Feels is available at Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, and Google Play, as well as The Ripped Bodice and Love’s Sweet Arrow!

Add to your Goodreads TBR!

Meet

Olivia Dade grew up an undeniable nerd, prone to ignoring the world around her as she read any book she could find. Her favorites, though, were always, always romances. As an adult, she earned an M.A. in American history and worked in a variety of jobs that required the donning of actual pants: Colonial Williamsburg interpreter, high school teacher, academic tutor, and (of course) librarian. Now, however, she has finally achieved her lifelong goal of wearing pajamas all day as a hermit-like writer and enthusiastic hag. She currently lives outside Stockholm with her patient Swedish husband, their whip-smart daughter, and the family’s ever-burgeoning collection of books.

Connect with Olivia

Website | Newsletter | Twitter | Goodreads | BookBub

Thank you to Olivia Dade, and Avon Books, for providing me with a review copy of All the Feels.

Weekly Wrap Up

The first full week of 2021 is officially in the books, and what a week it was! I think my eyes were glued to Twitter for more hours than I'd care to admit. (and we all know I'm, unfortunately, not talking about books.)

As for my reading this week, well this is where my illness messed with my reading time. Like I said last week, I was dealing with exhaustion and body aches. So I was passed out for the first few days of the week. It is what it is, and thankfully whatever bug I had did not affect anyone else in my family. From January 3 through January 9, I managed to read 4 books. 

So what did I read? One new release, one book from my local library, one 2020 release that was provided to me by the author, and the fourth was an ARC for one of my anticipated January reads. (the ARC was also author supplied.)

Let's start talking books!

My first read of the week was High Risk Rookie by Odette Stone. Now if you're in her Facebook group, you already know that this book has been HIGHLY anticipated. Odette would be asked multiple times daily when High Risk Rookie was coming out. On January 2 the Vancouver Wolves fandom gasped, and then ran to Amazon to purchase the much anticipated book.

Now if you're a hockey romance fan, and you've read the first three books in the Vancouver Wolves series, then go read this book! Well technically you don't have to read the first three books, but it gives you backstory on some of the other characters. Plus if you've read those books, then you know who Krista is. Krista is given a mission to fly to Mexico, find Levi Ziegler, and bring him back to Vancouver. Scouts say he is an amazing hockey player, but off the ice he has issues. Trouble seems to just follow him It doesn't really matter though because the Wolves are interested. Can Krista convince Levi to go back to Vancouver with her? If so, can she keep this rookie in line? Could he sign a contract with the Wolves, and become a professional hockey player? Can what happened in Mexico, stay in Mexico? 

You are probably waiting for me to say that I loved this book, and I totally did. I was all in, and could not get enough. Plus there is a bit of a mystery to be solved as you read. Who is messing with Levi's career? There are a handful of options, that's for darn sure. Oh, and Krista's family is the worst. 

Next, I decided to go with what I thought would be a cute, geeky romance novel. I was expecting something along the lines of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, or even Geekerella by Ashley Poston. Believe me, those two books were ah-maz-ing. I fully embrace my geeky tendencies, and love my fandoms, so needless to say, I had pretty high expectations for Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade. I mean, how could I not? Spoiler Alert if fandom based, it mentions fanfiction, and it's a romance. It's three of my favorite things!

All that being said, something was a miss for me with this book. I loved that April is a professional, yet geeky, plus sized woman who is confident in who she is. She owns who she is, and the interests that she has. As for Marcus, he is an actor on a popular TV show, but struggles with his identity. Plus imagine being an actor who is writing fanfiction for his own show? LOVE IT.  Plus both these characters are closer to my age, and so that is relatable. I also loved the relationship that April and Marcus had online, and in person. 

I think the aspect of the book that I didn't like, was all the excess. There were parts of the show written in, then add in the snippets of their fanfiction stories, and then even the message board communication between April, Marcus, and others in the community. I mean, I love all those things, but there was too much of it for me. A story every few chapters, or a message written into the chapter, that would have been better in my mind. The scenes though while Marcus is filming? Where it is like a recap of the script? That I could have done with out. That's just me though! Ultimately I did enjoy the story, but it was just okay.

My third book was a surprise read. Paula Dombrowiak had reached out to me on Instagram, and asked if I might be interested in reading her debut novel. After heading over to Amazon to read the blurb for Blood and Bone, I decided to go for it. Paula then sent the file to my kindle, and I was all set.

Now there is so much I want to say about Blood and Bone, but I also don't want to ruin the story! In these pages we learn Jack's side of how the band Mogo came to be. We follow the band's rough beginnings, their rise to fame, Jack's substance abuse issues, relationships (pregnancy, marriage, dating, infidelity), and ultimately the breakup. We also learn about the song writing that Jack has collaborated on with Mia Stone, and how personal their songs are. All of this comes out when journalist Erin Langford arrives on the scene. She came to write a story on Jack, and it ends up being so much more than that. After a situation with her boss, Erin cannot move forward with the article. She's devastated. Ultimately though she preservers, and what was once an article is now a book. Can Jack heal his relationship with his daughter, Hayley? Can they find common ground? What happens with Jack and Mia? Jack and Amber? Cash and Mia? 

This book alternates between time periods, and it just felt right. I DM'd Paula and told her that Blood and Bone was giving me major Evelyn Hugo vibes, with a little Daisy Jones mixed in. So if you are a fan of those two books, pick up Blood and Bone. Oh and good news, there is a second book coming that will follow Hayley's story! Now I just need to wait until the end of November to get my hands on that. 

My last read for this week was Connectivity 2.0 by Aven Ellis. It doesn't release until January 27, but I was fortunate enough to get my hands on an e-ARC. (thanks Aven!) When one of your favorite authors say "hey who would like an ARC for review?" you know my answer. 🤣

Connectivity 2.0 is the second book in the British Isles Billionaires series, and here we are introduced to Lauren and Oliver. Lauren has been accepted into an internship program in London where she will be working side by side with Mary Kate Cumberland! MK is someone that Lauren looks up to, and to say Lauren is excited for this adventure is a bit of an understatement. When Lauren gets on the plane she is shocked when someone wants to change seats with her! Upon arriving up in FIRST CLASS (!), Lauren sits down next to a stunningly handsome man. After a long flight filled with conversation, Lauren mentions her internship, and it is then that she learns the true identity of the man sitting next to her. He is the one and only Oliver Pratt, the famous billionaire who just sold his business to William Cumberland! There's an issue though as he initially told her that his name was something else. So it causes a fight between the two. Flash forward to the first day of work, and Lauren finds herself getting "introduced" to Oliver. Even though the two have hit it off, Lauren cannot get over the fact that he lied to her. 

Now I want to tell you more, but I also don't want to ruin the story for you. What I will tell you is that I literally laughed out loud a few times. I also swooned, and aww'd. These characters, I tell ya, they are my kind of people. 

Here's what I posted on Instagram:

From their initial meeting, to the first date that wasn't a date, to the helicopter ride, to Lauren fixing Oliver a plate (if you know, you know), and the dates that lead us up to the scene at Big Ben, I have had a gigantic smile upon my face.

The Big Ben scene could have been so romantic, but this was where the relationship issue pops up and shreds any chance of romance. Oh my heart. 

Read Connectivity 1.0 and 2.0! Fall for the characters, and then try not to hound Aven about when 3.0 will be available. I mean she teased Aoife and Jack's relationship, so we know we're getting another book in the series! (my gut tells me we're looking at 2022 for this book, if we're lucky. Oh how I hope we don't have to wait until 2023.)

What books did you read last week? Anything I might enjoy? I'm always open to book recommendations. 🙂 No matter what, I hope you enjoyed what you read, and that it has you searching out more from the author.

Happy Reading,

What Laura's Reading participates in the Amazon Affiliates Program.
Purchases made via links above may result in a small commission earned.