Danielle Paschka

It was a good month for books! Did lots of reading so I was very pleased! This is where I post every book I read & rate it from 1-5 stars. 1 being not great & 5 being amazing! I loved so many books I read this month & there are so many good books coming out the next couple months! Makes reading so fun & exciting!

Let’s get into it!

1. The Dare by Elle Kennedy (Briar U #4) -Omgggg you guys! Don’t sleep on this series! I know everyone is all about the Off Campus series but this Briar U series is seriously chefs kiss! Conor who is basically Dean 2.0 is literally the best. I freaking loved him. Love how he stuck up and stuck around for Taylor. I love when a guy in books totally changed their ways because of a girl! Taylor is a curvy girl which I LOVE.. she reminded me so much of myself & my self conscious weight issues that I related so much to her & her story in this book. I honestly think that’s why I fell in love with this book so much! I’m an Elle Kennedy STAN & she does no wrong in my eyes. 5 stars.
2. Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto – I read “Forget Me Not” by Julie Soto a few months ago & totally LOVED it! I was so excited to read this one! We briefly meet the MMC Xander in Forget Me Not so I was excited to read what he was all about in this book. FMC Gwen had a rough life growing up without a lot of support— my heart broke for her a lot. Xander too. Both of their childhoods were rough city which I feel always effects your adult relationships. The tension between Xander (Alex) can be cut with a knife.. SO THICK. I loved the buildup of it all.. how hard they both swooned for each other. Their chemistry was just so good! I loved all the musical aspects to this story as well— was interesting to hear about it all. Made me want to go to Carnegie Hall immediately. A must read sure. The details & depth of this book is so good. Thanks @netgalley for the early reading & honest review! 5 stars.
3. Blind Side by Kandi Steiner (Red Zone Rivals #2) – Book 2 of the series! I FLEW through this one. My heart stopped a couple times & broke but then was put back together! I loved Clay & Giana! I love how quirky & different Giana is.. it was so fun to see their friendship & relationship blossom! I wanted to kill Clay at one point in the book but he redeemed himself! I loved hearing about both of their pasts & how that swayed a lot of what happened in this book. Giana is a smut book girly & Clay freaking is a king for reading her books for sexy scenes— I loved that part so much! Those scenes were extra spicy! 4 stars.
4. Quarterback Sneak by Kandi Steiner (Red Zone Rivals #3) – Book #3 of the series! I LOVED Holden & Julep. Holden is the captain & quarterback of the team. Julep is the coach’s daughter & an athletic trainer who helps the players. Coach from the get go says Julep is off limits to the team or else… which I love a coach’s daughter/forbidden romance kind of trope. Holden had eyes only for Julep from the get go. They both have traumatic pasts/childhoods. My heart literally broke for Holden.. I can’t imagine his pain & it made me fall in love with him so much more as a character since the other 2 books I wasn’t that excited for his book! The text messages he sent at the end & then her responding to them eventually had me kicking my feet.. I absolutely loved this story & the characters Kandi brought to life! 4 stars.
5. So This Is War by Meghan Quinn (The Vancouver Agitators #5) – I wrote a whole blog post about this here… https://daniellepaschka.com/2024/06/18/so-this-is-war-arc-review/ INFINITY STARS.
6. Hail Mary by Kandi Steiner (Red Zone Rivals #4)– Oh my god. Leo & Mary! Hot damn! I loved this book so much. My heart broke several times in this book but it had me swooning by the end again! This is book #4 of the series following Leo (class clown vibes around his friends) & Mary (curvy, tattoo artist) — we see Mary hating Leo’s guts in the last book & we don’t really know why. We find out in their book & let me tell you my heart broke. They have a lot to overcome but goes is it so worth it! Such a great enemies to lovers, he falls first, etc. One of my favorite things about reading a series is still getting to see the other characters from the other books be back— I’m so obsessed with not only the boy group but the girl group too! ALSO BRAVO for Kandi making it acceptable for men to cry in these books! MY HEART. Next is Kyle’s book & I can’t wait! We saw a softer side of him in this book & it made him redeem himself some from the previous books! 5 stars.
7. False Start by Kandi Steiner (Red Zone Rivals #5)– Kyle & Mads! I fell in love with Kyle in this book! The way he was just a smitten kitten for Mads was everything. I loved seeing the true Kyle after hating him pretty much the first 3 books! We started seeing his sweet side in Hail Mary so I knew I’d eventually be his fan! Kyle & Mads were high school friends turn lovers & their time together abruptly ended (which you find out why & it seriously crushed me!) but they are just now seeing each other for the first time in years & whew all the tension buildup got me swooning! Loved seeing their relationship build & Kyle be the best to Mads & her son! Can’t wait til the next book in this series! 4 stars.
8. The Dixon Rule by Elle Kennedy (Campus Diaries #2) -Omggggg ELLE freaking KENNEDY! I honestly didn’t think I could be more in love with another book by Elle after The Graham Effect but here we are.. I honesty can’t even handle how good The Dixon Rule was! We met Shane & Diana in The Graham Effect— They are Ryder’s & Gigi’s best friends & also enemies! Shane & Diana were the worst enemies to lover trope! The book starts off right where we left off in the Graham Effect & summer is starting & Diana + Shane are now going to next door neighbors— things can’t go wrong right?! Shane & Diana both need big favors to help each other out so the banter, the tension, the character development, the relationship development is so FREAKING good. I literally couldn’t handle how good this was. There is also a scene in there that will literally live rent free in my brain forever & ever. WHEW! The entire story was just so good. No third act breakup which BLESS when that happens! I can’t recommend Elle’s hockey series enough! She is just queen! Start with the The Deal & all the off-campus series then move into the Briar U series then The Graham Effect then The Dixon Rule! Just to get all the feels in the stories and people in the books. I can’t wait for The Charlie Method next! Infinity stars.

9. Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez (Part of Your World #3)– Oh my goodness! Okay so at this point I’ve read all of Abby’s books & I honestly love them all. They grab me from the get go & suck me in. Every.Single.One. All of the stories are really enjoyable & just break your heart but always put them back together. There was a character in here that reminded me so much of a family member that it was really easy to relate & immerse myself into the book! This is the 3rd book of the series but you can for sure read as a stand alone but I feel you love the books more when you know some of the other books details that are intertwined into the books! Read the trigger warnings too if you are sensitive to certain topics. 5 stars.

So many 5 stars & a good amount of books! It was a great month of reading! As always you can find what I’m reading on my GoodReads or IG! See ya back here for next months reviews!

Xo,Dani