"Love & Baseball" by Jaime Jo Wright & Chloe JoAnne

About this book:

  “She needed a boyfriend. AI came to her rescue. But then her fake boyfriend showed up at school.
    Brielle has never wanted a boyfriend. She's happy with her book boyfriends--purely fictional, right? Easy to maintain. She's also not a huge fan of sports, except baseball. Not playing it. No. Again, books and cozy afternoons are her thing. But Brielle can get into baseball with the best of them when it comes to watching, repeating stats, and wearing her favorite jerseys. But apparently, that's not enough in life. At least according to her four nosy aunts, who all think she needs a boyfriend, people at school who are convinced Brielle is a closet serial killer because she's happier with her books, and yeah. Valentine’s Day is on the calendar.
     There is a purpose for AI, and Brielle decides the genius thing to do is make a fake boyfriend. Complete with deepfake photos, Brielle creates the perfect boyfriend, and no one needs to know he's entirely fictional. They just need to believe she met him over summer vacation, and he lives somewhere in North Carolina. Only he doesn't. When baseball catcher, Brooks Mason shows up at high school, a lookalike to Brielle's AI boyfriend, her entire world becomes a dog-eared, bent pages book nightmare.
    Brooks is getting sick of all the girls at school wanting to date him. He wants to play ball and hang out. So, yeah. It makes sense to help Brielle out. Fake date? Why not? But once together, dating for show becomes an act that both Brielle and Brooks aren't quite prepared for, and dealing with unexpected attraction, complicated situations, and interfering aunts and bffs?”


Series: A sequel is planned to come out later this year (2026).


Spiritual Content- A Scripture is remembered; Prayers (including Brielle “whining to God” because she doesn’t think He would mind); Brielle believes that God takes a special interest in her, but thinks He might be rolling His eyes at her for lying (then says that she doesn’t think He would actually do that); Brielle felts guilt over lying about her “boyfriend” due to the Ten Commandments, but thinks that “a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do”; A couple talks about God and Him caring about us; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, a pastor, Sunday School classes, & youth group; A couple mentions of a Bible & a Bible study; A couple mentions of the Ten Commandments; A couple mentions of confessing sins; 
             *Note: A girl comments that Brielle “practically worships” Brooks; A couple mentions of luck; A mention of a teacher believing in evolution (which Brielle disagrees with); A mention of manifesting.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘geesh’, a ‘holy cow’, a ‘stinkin’’, a ‘what the what’, two ‘freaking’s, two ‘good grief’s, two forms of ‘kick butt’, two ‘shut up’s, two unfinished ‘what the—‘s, three ‘crud’s, three ‘darn’s, three ‘shoot’s, three forms of ‘ticked off’, three forms of ‘what the heck’, four ‘idiot’s, four ‘screwed’s, five forms of ‘dang’, five ‘duh’s, five ‘heck’s, six forms of ‘suck’, eight ‘gosh’s, nine ‘crap’s (including a ‘holy crap’), thirteen ‘stupid’s, sixteen forms of ‘oh my gosh’, and seventeen forms of ‘dumb’; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Brielle lies to others about her “boyfriend” (including to her parents) and feels guilt over it at times, but refers to it as a necessity (Later she realizes that she’s made herself into a liar; Brielle knows that if her parents found out she was dating and didn’t know about it or the boy, she would be in a lot of trouble and grounded (she calls this the worst-case scenario unless they learned about her deception; *Spoilers* When her dad finds out she kept the secret of having a boyfriend, he removes her bedroom’s doorknob; When he finds out about the AI story, he thinks that Brielle is a victim of social media fiction and she doesn’t tell him that she was the one who used AI; Towards the end, Brielle’s parents finds out that she’s been lying to them about dating Brooks and says she will have to earn their trust back, but is not grounded *End of Spoilers*); Brooks believes his parents are one step away from splitting up and argue about him (which he tries not think is his fault, but still feels like it is at times); To avoid a reporter, Brielle’s brother makes her and Brooks play hooky and skip school for part of a day (Brooks’ father fibs to the school that Brooks had a dentist appointment); Later, Brielle skips school again (when her emotions are distraught); Pain, Injuries, & Blood/Bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of throwing up/puking; Mentions of a possible divorce & Brooks’ parents having problems (including his mother leaving for a couple weeks to her parents); Mentions of lies, lying, liars, & deception (including to parents); Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of eavesdropping; A couple mentions of terrorists & felons; A couple mentions of curses/bad words; A mention of wars; A mention of not smoking, drinking, or doing drugs; 
             *Note: Brielle used AI to create deepfake photos of her dream guy and tells others that he is her boyfriend (to get her aunts and friends to leave her alone about not having a boyfriend; She calls this a “necessity”); In an interview, there is a reference to teens developing romantic relationships with AI and then doing “awful things”; Brielle harshly tells her mom to leave her room when stressed, but tries to soften her words when she sees it hurt her mother (noting that while her mom is cool, she’s her mom and “all moms get in the way at times”); Brooks feels like he is a disappointment to his dad (due to not having anything in common); Mentions of celebrities & musicians (Tom Cruise, One Direction, NSYNC, Justin Timberlake, Backstreet Boys, & Niall Horan); Mentions of sports teams & athletes (Babe Ruth & Christian Yelich); Mentions of social media platforms & websites (Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, & Amazon); Mention of brand names & items (Pantone, Converse shoes, Uno, Euchre, Fruit Loops, Hershey’s chocolate, Barbie, Nerf, & Mountain Dew); Mentions of books, authors, & fictional characters (‘Anne of Green Gables’, ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘The Hunger Games’, ‘Twilight’, ‘The Princess Bride’, ‘Pride and Prejudice’, ‘The Inheritance Games’, ‘Green Eggs and Ham’, ‘The Odyssey’, ‘Ivanhoe’, ‘Alice in Wonderland’, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’, ‘Powerless’ by Lauren Roberts, Pepper Basham, Jane Austen, Dr. Seuss, Batman, Romeo and Juliet, & Disney Princesses); A few mention of movies & fictional characters (Tangled & John Wick); A couple mentions of National Geographic; A couple mentions of a therapist and medication for anxiety; A mention of zombies; A mention of R-rated movies.
 
 
Sexual Content- Two head/forehead kisses, two almost kisses (up to semi-detailed), and a semi-detailed kiss; Remembering almost kisses (barely-above-not-detailed); Staring at lips (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth, Tingles, Flutters, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Remembering touches, embraces, & nearness (up to semi-detailed); Blushes, Winks, & Flirting; Noticing & Staring (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Brooks and Brielle go into a janitor’s closet to talk (twice) and know it could raise questions if someone saw them (in one of the times: they almost kiss, but are interrupted by an adult); Brielle’s father tells Brooks that they aren’t allowed to be in her room or watch a movie alone downstairs (but, *Spoilers* both of these happen without her dad’s knowledge and though nothing happens between them, they both know her dad wouldn’t been happy about it *End of Spoiler*); Towards the end, *Major Spoilers* the truth comes out about Brielle and Brooks fake dating; Brielle’s father is disappointed in both of them, but also others for pushing Brielle into thinking she needed a boyfriend; Brielle and Brooks both want to date for real and get together at the very end with her parents having “some pretty strict guidelines in place” but they are both okay with it *End of Spoilers*; Brielle notes that she’s not going to do anything that her “future husband might be jealous of”; Others think that Brooks is “longing” for Brielle when seeing him interact with her; Two ‘babe’s and six ‘hot’s; All about & many mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, dating, fake dating, break-ups, & crushes; Mentions of kisses, first kisses, kissing, & making out (including one of Brielle’s aunts asking if her boyfriend has kissed her yet); Mentions of romance books, book boyfriends, Brielle and her best friend swooning over fictional guys, & Brielle’s father saying that romance books give girls “unrealistic perceptions of how relationships work”; Mentions of crushes, flirting, & girls turning into “goo” when around a boy they like; A few mentions of players; A couple mentions of spicy romance books (which neither Brielle or her best friend read); A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of a married couple kissing; A mention of boy-crazy girls; Love, falling in love, & the emotions.
 
-Brielle Walters, age 16
-Brooks Mason
                                1^st person P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        210 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’ve seen a lot of buzz about this book since it released and because I love both YA Contemporary books and baseball, it’s been one I’ve been very curious about. 

 

I believe this book has been marketed more as a Clean Fiction YA book, but because there were elements of Christianity and co-authored by a popular Christian Fiction author, I thought I would do this review on BFCG. 

 

I will say that this book felt a little too fangirl/wattpad in the writing style and the Gen Z slang felt a little cringy to me (I lost count of the amount of times the characters went “bruh”), but hey, I’m getting old so that’s probably why. If I had read this book at around age 12/13, I probably would have enjoyed it more. 😂 Now at over double that age, I just wanted to “big sister” Brielle and Brooks and try to get them to see their worth wasn’t based on relationships or interests. 

 

The plot might have been a little far-fetched, but it was clean and overall pretty cute—though I read most of the book through my fingers because the second-hand embarrassment scale was super high with these two ninny-maries and their lack of talking. I felt bad for Brielle that she let everyone’s comments about her needing a boyfriend get to her and wished she could have felt like she was enough despite what others may think because of her value in God’s eyes, not a boy. Obviously, this book is a romance book, though, so that’s the main point—the couple getting together. I enjoyed the baseball parts (despite Brielle’s negative comments about my Cubs!) and found myself interested to see what would happen next. There were a few typos that caught my attention while reading, but I think it was overall a cute YA romance book.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"Phooey Kerflooey vs The Fancy, Fancy Teacup" by Kristen Joy Wilks

About this book:

  “Phooey Kerflooey wants to stay on the farm with Jessie. But when Jessie chooses a different puppy, Phooey is thrust into the arms of another family. A family with all boys. Boys who make traps, write lists of dangers, and shout Shakespearean insults at rodents. A family that likes scary things like shiny kitchen floors, wheelchair races, and battling attacking squirrels. A family that doesn’t know she cannot drink unless it is from a fancy, fancy teacup! Can Phooey find the china teacup she needs and teach her boys how to become the family of her dreams?
    Theme: Philippians 2:4—“Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” NLT”


Series: Book #1 in the “Phooey Tales: Spring” series. Parts from this book and the next one in the series are also covered in the book “Phooey Kerflooey” for slightly older readers. 


Spiritual Content- Philippians 2:4 at the beginning and end; A few Scriptures are read, mentioned, & remembered; Phooey hears a girl read Scriptures and tries to pay attention to the “long and fancy” words, but thinks that the girl is referring to her fancy teacup that will help her find her perfect family (rather than the Scripture about taking an interest in others); *Spoiler* At the very end, Phooey realizes the meaning of the Scripture, that her fancy teacup won’t help her find a family, and how she’s picked her fancy teacup instead of the boys who picked her *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of God, a Bible, & Scripture; 
             *Note: A mention of being lucky; A mention of aliens.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: Phooey is bitten by a squirrel & also has pain and other injuries (up to semi-detailed); Phooey escapes/runs after something, but is returned home; Mentions of pain, injuries, & possibly being cut on something sharp; A few mentions of Phooey’s nightmares about other scary animals like lizards, frogs, and other dangerous creatures that could eat her; A mention of poop; 
             *Note: Phooey is disappointed when she isn’t picked to stay on the farm and feels hurt later when comparing herself to the puppy that was picked; Conner says Shakespearean insults (a referee at a paintball game tells Conner that “fancy insults are still insults” and reminds him that his parents said he can only say those to “yell at mean dogs, attacking squirrels, and spiders”).
 
 
Sexual Content- N/A.
 
-Phooey Kerflooey
                                P.O.V. of Phooey 
                                                        76 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This book covers some of the events from “Phooey Kerflooey”, but this time told from the cute puppy, Phooey Kerflooey’s, perspective and for younger readers! Since I read that book last year, I already knew about some of the events, but it was good to see what Phooey was getting into while the boys were chasing the squirrel. I’m not usually one for books told in an animal’s voice, but I thought Phooey was very cute, so I enjoyed reading her thoughts in this short book. She has an important lesson to learn in this book that while I wish could have been a little more obvious to get the point across, I think young readers will enjoy this story. :)

 

 

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.

"Of Might and Mettle” by Michelle Emmanuelli

About this book:

  “A tin ballerina. A brass soldier. A porcelain princess.
   What does it matter who you are, if people only look at what you’re made of?
    Twenty-four-year-old Lorelle Jimenez thrives under the spotlight. She’s trained all her life to be a principal ballerina, and now, with a performance before the princess of Monte Rico, her dream is within reach . . . only if she can keep her secret: her tin arm. The stage is the only place she’s called her home, but with the spotlight comes scrutiny and a jealous rival that will stop at nothing to expose her—and even end her life.
    For Capitán Antonio Fuentes, failure isn’t an option . . . again. Even though he’s recovered from the accident that took his leg two years ago, he won’t show weakness. When rumors of an upcoming attempt on the prince’s life reach Antonio, he won’t fail to protect his kingdom. Not this time.
    When Antonio sees a young ballerina in danger, he saves her life. Now, swept far from home, they must work together to get back to the castle. She can’t lose her only chance at her dream, and he’s the only one with the coveted information that will save the prince. But danger nips at their heels, testing their strength and resolve . . . When put to the fire, will they melt under the heat? Or come out as gold?”


Series: Book #1 in “The Toymaker’s Chronicles”.


Spiritual Content- 2 Corinthians 12:9 at the beginning; Scriptures are remembered, mentioned, discussed, & quoted; Prayers & Thanking God and Jesus; Talks about God, Jesus, Scriptures, God using us, & trusting Him; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God and Jesus; Lorelle has a strong faith and relies on God for her strength; Antonio hasn’t opened his Bible since before his accident and feels like God would be disappointed in him, but Lorelle speaks the truth from Scriptures about himself; Mentions of God, Jesus, & trusting Him; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; A couple mentions of Bibles; A couple mentions of miracles; A mention of a blessing; 
             *Note: A few mentions of “ghosts” (Antonio having nightmares of “ghosts” from a past event; a figure of speech).
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘shut up’ and two ‘stupid’s; A bit of eye rolling & sarcasm; Being held at gun- and sword-point, Being tied-up, Fighting, Being trapped in a fire, Nearly drowning (x2), Saving someone from drowning, Injuries, Pain (including chronic pain that Teresa has), Blood/Bleeding, & Passing out (up to semi-detailed); Lorelle faces a couple mean girls’ sneers, negative comments, and is pushed by them (due to their jealousy); Both Lorelle and Antonio receive negative comments about their missing limbs from others (including someone calling Lorelle a “cripple”); Many mentions of treason/terrorist attacks that caused the deaths of many, fighting, weapons, fires, & threats; Mentions of deaths (including through illnesses and attacks), grief, & feeling abandoned by family members; Mentions of drownings & others planning to drown their enemies; Mentions of injuries & pain; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of nightmares; A few mentions of arrests; A couple mentions of thieves; A couple mentions of animals being smuggled; A couple mentions of an animal possibly being abandoned or injured by something; A couple mentions of a fermented drink & someone drowning his sorrows in drinks; A mention of wine; A mention of a man thinking about kicking an animal; 
             *Note: Antonio has signs of PTSD from being involved in an attack/battle and having to heal from a major injury (such as being taken back to that day when hearing a gun go off); Lorelle feels like her aunt and uncle didn’t want to raise her after her parents’ death and sent her away (*Spoilers* When she suddenly meets them again, she tells them her feelings and slams the bedroom door; Antonio finds out that her aunt and uncle sacrificed to send her to a dancing academy and love her; Towards the end, Lorelle finds this out as well and that they were trying to reach her dream *End of Spoilers*).
 
 
Sexual Content- A cheek kiss; A few touches, embraces, flutters, nearness, & blushes (barely-above-not-detailed); A bit of noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Lorelle and Antonio are questioned about staying in inns during their journey, but sleep in separate rooms; Very light love, falling in love, & the emotions.
 
-Lorelle Jimenez, age 24
-Antonio Fuentes
                                P.O.V. switches between them & Teresa
                                                        233 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This was really neat! The topical, Spanish-Caribbean influence added in a unique element to the story that I haven’t seen much in books. I also really liked our main characters and their personalities—they were all characters that I wanted to hug! Each one of our main characters, Lorelle, Antonio, and Teresa—and the wolf pup, , too—were good characters that have strengths and weaknesses. I’ve read a couple retellings of “The Brave Tin Soldier” before and liked those, but I would say this is my favorite so far because of the world building, faith content, and main characters.

 

I did have to read a few parts a couple of times to understand the political/world significance of different reveals and other happenings, but I was instantly interested in this setting. A map of the world would have been a great addition to the book as I was curious about the general area of the places and countries/kingdoms that are featured and mentioned throughout the story.

 

The romance was light and towards the end, but super sweet and clean. I particularly loved Lorelle’s heart, faith, and how both of those parts of her affect how she views difficulties in life and others. Both Lorelle and Antonio had their struggles, but were a great match in more ways than one. 

 

While most everything is wrapped-up in this book, you can tell it’s the first book of series because it ends with more lingering out there for some of our characters. I look forward to reading the second book when it releases in February!

 

 

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.

"A Mismatch Made in London" by Melanie Dickerson

About this book:

  “When Amelia Moore is invited to London for the social season, she hopes for a chance at love--but certainly not with Jeremy Beaumont, the season's most sought-after bachelor. Upon making the acquaintance of his sister Juliet at her first ball, Amelia becomes fast friends with her, but Jeremy's protective nature leads him to question her motives and wrongly accuse Amelia of using his sister to capture his attention and fortune. Outraged at his arrogance, Amelia vows never to speak to him again, which proves a more difficult feat than she anticipated.
    As Amelia attracts the attention of other wealthy gentlemen, Jeremy becomes concerned for her welfare and feels compelled to warn her away from certain suitors. When unexpected circumstances heighten the friction between them, Amelia and Jeremy are forced to confront their undeniable attraction--and discover whether their battle of wills has actually been a dance toward love.”


Series: Seems to be a stand-alone novel.


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are mentioned, remembered, & quoted; Prayers & Thanking God; A few talks about God & praying; 'H’s are not capital when referring to God or Jesus; Mentions of God, Jesus, God’s will, God’s vengeance on a man for his actions, & forgiveness; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of churches, church going, rectors/clergymen, & sermons; A few mentions of those & events in the Bible; A couple mentions of salvation; A couple mentions of Christians; A mention of the Bible; A mention of a possible missionary who was killed by a pagan tribe; A mention of a cross necklace; A mention of being blessed; A mention of wishing someone godspeed; 
             *Note: Religious phrases: a ‘for heaven’s sake’ and a ‘heavens’; Mentions of evil men and their evil intentions (towards women); A mention of a good omen.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘shut up’; Some eye rolling & sarcasm; Punching & Threatening someone (physically and with a duel, up to semi-detailed); Pain, Injuries, & Blood/Bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Viewing a “shrunken head” in a museum (barely-above-not-detailed); Drinking ale (Jeremy, once); Many mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of deaths & grief (including for parents and spouses); Mentions of duels, possible deaths/killings, & the guilt of having someone’s blood/death on his hands; Mentions of wanting to physically harm someone who hurt a woman (Jeremy and other men want to punch or kill a man for his actions against a woman); Mentions of injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of threats & blackmail; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, & drunks; Mentions of gambling; Mentions of hunting; A few mentions of wars; A few mentions of thieves, stealing, & stolen items; A few mentions of throwing up & vomit; A few mentions of hatred; A mention of divorce; 
             *Note: A mention of a woman having several stillbirths; A mention of a boy being called a “gypsy” due to his Spanish heritage.
 
 
Sexual Content- Two hand kisses, three semi-detailed kisses, and a border-line semi-detailed // detailed kiss; Wanting to kiss/being kissed & embraced (often in the last half of the book, up to semi-detailed); Thinking about kissing & Talking about kissing/kisses (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Hand holding, Warmth, Tingles/Flutters, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Blushes & Flirting; Noticing & Staring (up to semi-detailed); *Major Spoilers* Past halfway through, Amelia and Jeremy kiss at a party when alone and are caught by a group of others, so he proposes to her; Amelia isn’t sure about marrying him, but does enjoy kissing him and thinks of it often; Jeremy wasn’t sure he loved Amelia until they kissed and now wants to marry her; Jeremy vows to himself to not kiss her (for a third time) while she’s deciding on marrying him; While she thinks about their kisses often and wants to kiss again, she tells him not to kiss her until they’ve decided or not to get married because he “scrambles [her] thoughts” when he kisses her; Later when alone in a carriage with him, Amelia tells Jeremy that they shouldn’t kiss (which he agrees) and she has a war inside herself about it, calling herself “prudish” and remembering how good it was to kiss him and that there was “no harm” in kissing him (regardless, they do not kiss in the carriage this time, but are implied to have kissed a lot in the carriage ride after getting married and are pregnant shortly after getting married) *End of Spoilers*; A side character comments that it doesn’t “seem fair” that she can’t have “a little kiss” without people saying she did something terrible (and thus ruin her reputation); A side character (a young woman) goes off with a man for some time and it causes damage to her reputation (At first she says nothing happened, but *Spoilers, but about sexual assault* later reveals that the man threatened her to marry him, kissed her, grabbed her chest, and when she tried to stop him, he slapped her (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed of the girl telling Amelia about it); The friend feels ashamed and to blamed, but Amelia tell her not to be because it wasn’t her fault and God will get revenge on the evil man for what he did to her; When Jeremy finds out later, he physically threatens a friend of the man’s for spreading rumors about his sister and plans a duel with the evil man for molested her; The man later spreads rumors about the girl being with child and/or was with him all night, so Jeremy goes and plans a duel again, but another man makes the assualter sign a paper to admit to spreading the rumors *End of Spoilers*; Amelia goes into a room at a ball and sees a couple kissing “quite passionately” (she quickly leaves; up to semi-detailed); Amelia and Jeremy get involved in a maid’s life when she is said to be pregnant out of wedlock by a previous male guest (*Spoilers* The father of the child has disregarded the woman, but Jeremy makes him take responsibility and provide for the woman and the child *End of Spoilers*); Many mentions of kisses, kissing, & being in love; Many mentions of chaperones, reputations, women not being alone with a man, & women being ruined due to rumors of being alone with a man; Mentions of men taking advantage of women & possibly getting them pregnant; Mentions of men keeping mistresses/paramours; Mentions of men’s “immoral behaviors” that involve affairs/mistresses, getting young women pregnant out of wedlock, & having to pay the women or marry her; Mentions of a woman throwing herself at Jeremy and trying to kiss him; Mentions of flirts, flirting, & attraction; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of a law being repealed about punishing a woman who bears a child out of wedlock (which Amelia and her friend are glad it is repealed as a woman “might become pregnant through no fault of her own—someone forcing himself upon her”); Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Amelia’s mother suggests to her about marrying her cousin and when Amelia protests at the thought, her mother says there’s nothing wrong with it.
 
-Amelia Moore, age 22
-Jeremy Beaumont
                 P.O.V. switches between them (Amelia in 1^st person, Jeremy in 3^rd person) 
                                         Set in 1811
                                                        304 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the plot and characters a bit more than the author’s previous book, “The Good Fortune of Miss Robbins”, but there are some content concerns about this story for teen readers that ultimately affected my rating and the ages I would suggest it to. I would say my thoughts and comments about this book is very comparable to that previous book, but there were mentions of a sexual assault and a lot about kisses/kissing that brought down my ratings.

 

As a note, as far as I could tell, this book isn’t connecting to the “The Good Fortune of Miss Robbins” and I do not recognize any of the names mentioned on the back cover of the next regency book that is coming out by this author. It seems like they are all stand-alone books and not affiliated with each other despite releasing in a close time-frame and having similar pretty covers.

 

I really liked all of Amelia’s siblings and seeing them interact together as she is the oldest girl of twelve children. Seeing all of the big family elements in a regency setting was definitely my favorite part of this book—even if it was only at the very beginning and very end. 

 

As far as our main characters, I liked Amelia well enough, though I wished she would have been described in other ways besides “good” and “lovely” which she was called multiple times. She rambles and cries a lot, but has a good heart. Jeremy is kind of a jerk at first, so when his change towards her happens, it felt a little out of left-field. Similar to how I felt about the not-connecting previous book, because of the Female Main Character’s chapters being written in first person, it seemed like a diary at times with her thoughts being added into the story. Some of them just felt silly and worded in an odd way, which distracted me while reading. 

 

They seemed to be a good couple by the end, but I do want to give a caution about this book for teen readers due to the fact that their feelings become known to themselves after sharing a kiss. Once this kiss happens, they often think about kissing and wanting to kiss the other. While there were hints to them possibly tolerating each other better by that point (as they didn’t like each other at all at first), I think their emotions were heightened after sharing a kiss and it affected their reasoning and proper senses. Amelia admits this at one point (which I was glad to see), but continues wanting to kiss him despite not knowing what the future would be for them. I don’t think that is the best example for teen girls. Prior to this, Amelia thought herself in love with a couple other men (two separate times; after quickly falling for them after a few meetings) and was pretty devastated and sobbing when it didn’t work out. I didn’t care for much of the romance content of this book, particularly because of all the longing to kiss/be kissed and the emotions it brought up.

 

Along with all these parts of wanting to kiss the other, there’s quite a bit about men forcing themselves on women and a sexual assault that happens to a side character. An important side character is assaulted and feels ashamed by what happened, which became a bigger part of the book than I was expecting. 

 

There was a bit more faith content than I had expected, mainly on Amelia’s end. I would have liked to see more and Jeremy’s faith because there wasn’t much in that regard. I would have enjoyed seeing them discuss their faiths before considering the other as a potential lifelong spouse.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.