Fiona RileyCritiques

This is my first Riley book. I've heard her name for years and even picked this book up as an ARC last year but kept passing it by on my ereader in favor of something else that piqued my interest a bit more. I've been on a romance kick lately and Beginner's Bet finally grabbed me.

I was pretty sure this was going to be a 4 - 5 star review for me but as I got to the last quarter or so, a few things got in the way. The sheer perfectness of Ellison got to be too much. I mean, really, she's perfect: gorgeous, super rich, charming, generous, devoted, and a knight in shining armor for Katie. Katie is pretty awesome, too. I won't go into spoilers but Katie stopped being pretty awesome in order to create the drama in the story. Suddenly and without much thought, it seems. And the resolution was just too easy.

This is a longish book for romance and there was a lot of time given to family issues, work stuff, reflecting on just how rich Ellison is, and how poor - and plagued by bad luck - Katie is. What there wasn't much of was discussion between the protagonists about the future. Which struck me as very odd since one of them was actively trying to have a baby. You know, a pretty huge thing. The very thing that broke up her marriage.

I don't know... Maybe I'm being too hard on the way these things were handled. I really loved the beginning of the book so I was extra disappointed when it all seemed to unravel for me.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

i listened to this as an audiobook and really enjoyed it overall. i liked emerson a lot and the relationship was nicely built up and sweet. i did feel like the end was a little... idk, resolved a bit quickly/oddly? but not necessarily in a terrible or totally unbelievable way. a nice wlw romance if you're looking for one

I went back and forth with this novel.

It's about Trina and Kendall. They're rival realtors in Boston.

Kendall has only been in Boston for about a year, running from her family (which is a doozy of a family) and trying to make her way in the real estate biz herself, seperate from her family name.

Trina has always done it with her team, and has been a Boston Realtor for longer. She is at the top of her game. Then she loses Realtor of the Year in Boston to Kendall. And, her boss Ellison makes a bet with Kendall's boss that Trina can out sell Kendall when it comes to a new Seaport Condo place.

Of course, while they start as rivals/enemies, they slowly become more. But, then Kendall's familmy comes back into the picture, and everyething goes all to hell for the burgeoning couple.

I went back and forth because a lot of the rival stuff was so antagonistic, but, then that would completely disappear at the drop of a hat at other times and it threw me off.

On the other hand, the characters were amazing. From Linday to Jax to even the 'bad guys'. It was a fun read.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books

Celebrity-Commoner is a favourite fantasy. But it is a fairly difficult theme to make believable, simply because the celebrity of the star eclipses everything else. Author Fiona Riley takes this difficult coupling and creates a lovely romance out of it.

Read full review @https://www.bestlesficreviews.com/2019/01/media-darling-by-fiona-riley.html

3.5 stars

Following Miss Match, this book is about a computer nerd/prodigy, Shelly White and up-and-coming PR whiz kid, Claire Moseley. Samantha Monteiro, owner of a matchmaking agency Perfect Match is presented as something of a genius in being able to get the right people together. Shelly is her client. Samantha’s partner, Lucinda Moss is Claire’s boss.

Read the full review @https://www.bestlesficreviews.com/2019/01/unlikely-match-by-fiona-riley.html

Samantha Monteiro is the owner of a successful matchmaking business in Boston. She has a failed relationship to hide. One that can potentially bring down her business.

Lucinda Moss is a big shot in a marketing firm, an ex-professional dancer and runs a dancing school.

The two run into each other at a wedding of a couple who Samantha brought together. They hit it off from word go. Samantha reaches out to Lucinda for a favour with a client…teaching dancing as a means to help the client overcome her debilitating shyness and that sets stage for continuous meetings.

Read full review @https://www.bestlesficreviews.com/2019/01/miss-match-by-fiona-riley.html

Emerson Sterling had been a child actor and had paid her dues. Now she stands at the pinnacle of her profession and an ex, Rachel Blanche, is threatening to expose personal information that could destroy Emerson’s career. Hayley Carpenter is a tabloid journalist with dreams of being a top-tier screenwriter. When Hayley is given the assignment of attending an awards gala, she’s less than happy. However, when she meets Emerson, she changes her mind. There is an irresistible attraction between the two that leads Emerson to give Hayley the chance to tell Emerson’s side of a feud between her and Rachel that is being fueled by Rachel in the tabloids. The more Emerson and Rachel see of each other, the more the attraction deepens. When Emerson finally tells Hayley what the secret is that Rachel is about to tell the world, Hayley doesn’t handle it or the ensuing publicity very well.

This story started out strong and will suck the reader into the lives of the two main characters. Riley carefully crafts their stories while building the tension of when Rachel will expose Emerson to the world. There are flashes of humor throughout the book that will have readers smiling. The run in between Emerson and Stan the moose should have readers laughing out loud.

Somewhere around halfway through the book, however, Riley begins to lose her way by trying to maintain the feud between the stars overly long. The story of Rachel’s perfidy is stretched to the breaking point. It is with a sigh of relief when Riley tells us that the deadline for the article Hayley is writing is only a couple of days off. Unfortunately, for Riley and her readers, the deadline becomes a moving target. There isn’t enough to sustain the tension and the story simply limps along until Emerson tells Hayley her secret and says she can use it in the article she’s writing. There is a false note toward the end of the book that simply doesn’t ring true involving Hayley’s reaction to Rachel's exposé – it seems out of character with how Riley has portrayed Hayley from the beginning of the book.

The writing is generally very good (with the exception of the flagging tension), the characters are likable, funny, intelligent, and pretty self-aware. The minor characters are well-drawn, too. Even Stan the Moose has his merits despite his wooden personality.

I wanted the story to maintain the pace to the conclusion every reader knows is coming, but instead, the air is let out of the balloon and rather being a race, we have a ramble. In spite of that disappointment, though, this is a good read and any lover of LesFic should enjoy it.

Lucinda is the Director at a PR and Crisis Management firm. Samantha is the co-owner/runner of Perfect Match, a matchmaker company. Both have drama in their lives, not to mention pasts that they're both trying to get over. But, when they meet each other they slowly come to realize that perhaps this relationship between them could be something that deviates from the pain in their past.

The romance plot part of the story wasn't super surprising. But I really did like the characters. Especially Andrew, Samantha's partner. As well as some of Lucinda's friends and family-ish characters.

What was my very, very favorite part of the whole novel though, was just how perfectly the Boston MA stuff was done. From the restaurant, to the streets, neighborhoods, all of it just felt right and real. And that doesn't always happen, whether or not the author's from the area.

It was a fun read and once I got into it quite an engrossing one too (and now I really am jonesing to go to the Aquarium and see if I can see Myrtle!)

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.