028: still reading some of them, huh?

Good evening, everyone! Here we are with almost midnight entry that I kept on putting off since a while ago because of several chores that I have to finish doing first. But like I kept on saying, better late than never. Or as I'd like to state, there's still time and I have the energy to catch up as long as I know that it won't be draining for my mind and my body.

So there you go! 😂😁

Okay. I did say that I'm going to step away from reading erotic romance for a bit. I don't think that's happening any time soon, especially when I realized that I have quite a few more novellas and short stories like that in my digital library. Yes, just that length as I didn't want to read long erotic romance. My head felt like it would burst when I read long novels with that theme, for some reason.

By the way, I just noticed that the novellas and short stories I read today have something similar. Second chances and love kept hidden for a long time due to circumstances and various other reasons. It's weird. Not that intended to read them like that as I chose these novellas rather blindly. No reading of blurbs or anything. At least, I do so as much as possible.

1. "Secret Santa" by Kati Wilde - ⭐⭐⭐; Okay, here we are with a grumpy-ish ML (though also has a caring side) and a cautious (?) FL who just wants to make ends meet without causing trouble. Who would've thought that they've met each other before? Then again, the way of being a Secret Santa this way was not exactly something that sits right with me, even if it was just a story. I love the way the ML handled the FL's internal issues, though, that seemed to stem from something deeper and rooted itself over the years.
2. "Dear Jo: The story of losing Leah... and searching for hope" by Christina Kilbourne - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐; This is a middle grade read, I know. But the real reason why I decided to read this was because of the diary/journal entries format of storytelling. This is what truly won me over. And even though it wasn't a light-hearted story or even a romance, I still read it because of the plot of navigating grief right from where it all started ㅡ whether the tragic truth has set it face to face or not. Not to mention, the emotions came from a starting teen. Kids would usually have it harder than adults. At least, I was aware of the feeling. This is one reason why I resorted to getting back to journaling after ten years of a gap that I haven't written in a journal since my high school days. And then there's the never ending issue when it comes to the dangers of internet when unsupervised. Trust me, I've seen a lot in news and even neighbors from back then that ended up going through something similar. I just don't have a full grasp of actually going through the grief and depression related to that. I don't think I'll ever have. This book, in a way, provided some insight that might be helpful for me and someone else in the future, in more ways than one.
3. "The Unexpected Proposal" by Susan Hetler - ⭐⭐⭐⭐; I finally got to continue reading another short story from the "Treasured Dreams" series and yes, it's continuing the story of Dave and Holly. One thing I can say about Holly on this one, though, she does tend to jump to conclusions easily. But proper communication sure goes a long way when the intention is sincere and proper. I love the couple that these two had become, even though there was still 3 more short stories in the series that I know I still have to read.
4. "Bombshell" by Jen Frederick - ⭐⭐⭐; A second chance romance because of amnesia. Yes, even I don't want to believe it when I saw it. But heart surely knows how to make a person restless, don't it? But at least, he wasn't the jerk of a guy who just decided to leave her just because he wants to. Her anger to him was understandable, of course.
5. "Wanderlust" by Kitty French - ⭐⭐⭐⭐; Should I call this a second chance romance or a hidden love (and sexual attraction) type of story? Oh, yeah. And there was also friends-to-lover. Gosh! But I guess no amount of globe-trotting would be enough to make you forget something (or in this case, someone) that one's heart had already deemed too important to truly let go of.
6. "Dear Diary" by Cassie Mint - ⭐⭐⭐; Oohh... Age gap (I think), teacher-student (former), and just a brooding couple they were before ending up together. Oh, yeah. And there was a diary involved, as well. Never been a fan of age gap or teacher-student relationships. But I guess there are those that still works out in some way.
7. "Take Me Now" by Carly Phillips - ⭐⭐⭐⭐; Another hidden love between friends and neighbors. And yes, one finally decided to take a chance before completely losing the other for good. At first, it didn't happen because of someone who cared for her. And people would judge when it comes to jobs and what can someone provide for the person they love. That promise he made was the reason intense affection and attraction remained hidden all this time. In all fairness to him, he did keep his word. But when the woman you love is involved in something, sometimes a promise from  a long time ago didn't seem to matter anymore.

I didn't think I'd be able to write reviews/comments like this again. Yes, they were shorter than the usual ones I would write. But this is better than nothing. Sometimes, ratings isn't enough to tell if a story is good or not.

Anyway, I guess that's it for me for today. See you tomorrow! Happy book reading. 😊✌️💕📚📖