Prose Before Bros

de Cathy Yardley (2019) - Smartypants Romance

Résumé : Nothing about being a librarian prepared Thuy Nguyen for such a wide variety of casseroles. Or life in a small town. Or becoming a farmer.

But what can she do when her catastrophe-prone best friend begs her for help? After all, Maddy has always been there for Thuy. It’s time to return the favor.

It’s simple really, all she has to do is: learn everything about farming ASAP, save her BBF’s family business from disaster, and avoid being caught staring at Maddy’s biker brother, and his muscles, and his smile, and his soulful, sexy eyes.

Oh yeah, and she should definitely not fall in love with him.

Easy, right? . . . Right.


Je crois que c'est la romance qui m'a le moins plus du lot, je n'ai pas du tout accroché au couple de héros et leur histoire ne m'a fait ni chaud ni froid...

Thuy est une héroïne qui avait du potentiel pourtant, mais son histoire personnelle n'est pas assez abordée ou trop cachée sous plein de sous-entendus. ce qui fait que lorsqu'elle sauve la situation de fin, elle arrive un peu comme la providence et comme par hasard qui elle est résout tout d'un coup -_- j'ai un peu roulé des yeux...

Ensuite Drill/Teddy est pas hyper engageant, certes c'est pas la sexitude incarnée mais le profil skinhead c'est pas forcément ce qui me fait tripper. Et puis pour un gars de 32 ans, homme de main/tabasseur en chef des bikers, il se morfond un peu beaucoup sur son sort. On voit bien qu'il commence à se poser plein de questions sur le sens de la vie et de rester avec les bikers ou pas, mais alors il est quasiment inactif sur comment il pourrait se sortir de là... Je lui donne 5 points car il lit le livre conseillé par Thuy et il kiffe ça, mais sinon faudra m'expliquer en quoi ce perso est un héros (c'est Thuy qui fait tout de tout façon).

voilà petite déception pour ce roman.

I think it's the romance that I have liked the least of the lot, the couple didn't pick my interest and their story has left me indifferent...

Thuy is a heroine who had potential, however, her personal story is not sufficiently talk about, it is hidden under a lot of innuendo. which means that when she saves the situation at the end, she arrives like the Providence and suddenly solves everything by chance -_- I rolled my eyes a little...

Then Drill/Teddy is not hyper attractive, certainly he's not a sexy male but the skinhead profile is not necessarily what makes me found of him. And for a 32-year-old guy, a enforcer of the bikers, he is mopes a lot about his fate. We can see he is starting to question himself about the meaning of life and to stay with the bikers or not, but he is practically inactive about how he could get out of there... I give him 5 points because he reads the book advised by Thuy and he likes it, but otherwise somedoby please explain to me why this person is a hero (it's Thuy who does everything anyway).

this novel is a little disappointment for me.


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Série "Fadom Hearts" de Cathy Yardley

Level Up (tome 1 - 2016)

Résumé : Geeky introvert Tessa Rodriguez will do whatever it takes to get promoted to video game engineer– including create a fandom-based video game in just three weeks. The only problem is, she can't do it alone. Now, she needs to strong-arm, cajole, and otherwise socialize with her video game coworkers, especially her roommate, Adam, who’s always been strictly business with her. The more they work together, though, the closer they get…

Adam London has always thought of his roomie Tessa as “one of the guys” until he agreed to help her with this crazy project. Now, he’s thinking of her all the time… and certainly as something more than just a roommate! But his last girlfriend broke up with him to follow her ambitions, and he knows that Tessa is obsessed with getting ahead in the video game world.

Going from friends to something more is one hell of a challenge. Can Tessa and Adam level up their relationship to love?


Ce bouquin est tout mignon, il n'y pas de drama entre les personnages, pas de grande crise sentimentale, de quiproquo qui auraient pu tout faire basculer... Non, on a deux personnes qui se découvrent une attirance mutuelle, qui hésitent au début mais qui se donnent une chance, parce que voilà : ils se parlent, ils se disent tout de suite leurs sentiments et c'est choupiiiiii ♥

Tess et Adam vont aussi avoir chacun leur petit "challenge" à surmonter : pour Tess c'est réaliser son objectif professionnel sans que sa toute nouvelle vie sociale en pâtisse (elle est du côté introverti de la force) ; pour Adam se sera mettre un point final à une ex un peu chouinante.

J'ai beaucoup aimé la tripotée de personnages secondaires. Toutes les filles qui adopte Tess dans leur gang et les mecs qui travaillent avec Adam et Tess. Je les imaginerais bien les uns avec les autres xD. Autre détail assez sympa : le bouquin ne tombe pas dans le cliché du gamer et du geek, Cathy Yardley nous présente des personnages avec leurs petites bizarreries mais ce sont tous des gens normaux ^^.

Oh et puis, je ne pouvais qu'aimer ce livre puisqu'il y a plein de références à Doctor Who xD

This book is cute, there is no drama between the characters, no great sentimental crisis, or misunderstanding that could have end all things... No, we have two people who discover a mutual attraction, who are reluctant to start a relationship but who give themselves a chance, because "news flash" : they talk to each other, they tell each other their feelings and it's swooniiiiing ♥

Tess and Adam are also going to have their little "challenge" to overcome : for Tess, it is to realize her professional objective without damaging her new social life (she is on the introverted side of the force) ; for Adam, it's being liberated from an annoying ex-girlfriend.

I loved the gaggle of secondary characters. All the girls who adopt Tess in their gang and the guys who work with Adam and Tess. I would totally imagine them dating each other xD. Another nice detail : the book does not fall into the cliché of gamers and geeks, Cathy Yardley writes characters with their small quirks but they are all normal people ^^.

I could only love this book since there are referencse to Doctor Who xD


One True Pairing (tome 2 - 2017)

Résumé : Jake Reese needs a decoy girlfriend. Fast. The lead actor of the popular TV show, Mystics, is tired of losing his shirt to overeager fans. Literally. Which is why a chance meeting with gothabilly bookworm-slash-barista Hailey Frost seems almost too perfect to be true.

Hailey is not impressed with his TV fame and is desperate to save her family's bookstore. It's a match made in Hollywood, but as the two pretend to date, fan fiction becomes reality. Can this OTP become canon ?

J'ai encore plus apprécié ce tome-là que le premier surement parce qu'il concrétise le rêve de toutes les fangirls du monde : rencontrer par hasard l'acteur principal de sa série chouchou et tomber follement amoureux l'un de l'autre. Hailey va sauver Jake d'un groupe de fan hystériques prêtes à lui arracher ses vêtements. Jake va tout de suite tomber sous le charme.

Après quelques évènements fâcheux, Hailey perd l'un de ses boulot et se retrouve donc en difficulté avec le loyer de la maison/librairie qu'elle partage avec ses soeurs. Jake de son côté a de sérieux doutes sur le fait qu'il sera dans la saison 3 de Mystics, c'est sans compter sur un père qui l'empêche de gérer sa carrière comme il veut et une stalkeuse qui réapparaît...

Tout comme le livre précédent, Cathy Yardley écrit des personnages qui se parlent et qui n'hésitent à pas à se rebiffer et faire comprendre ses erreurs à l'autre, et qui donc aussi ne perdent pas de temps à s'excuser après ^^. Hailey et Jake mette en place cette histoire de fake-girlfriend afin que chacun y gagne : Jake une popularité pour être renouvelé et Hailey un coup de pub pour la librairie. Mais évidemment ces deux là se prennent à peur propre jeu et c'est mignon de voir à quel point ils essaient de résister à leur passion :)

I liked this book even more than the first one because it concretizes the dream of all the fangirls of the world : to meet by chance the main actor of her favorite TV series and fall madly in love with each other. Hailey rescue Jake from a group of hysterical fans ready to snatch his clothes. Jake will immediately fall in love.

After some unfortunate events, Hailey loses one of her jobs and finds herself in trouble with the rent of the house/bookstore she shares with her sisters. Jake has serious doubts that he will be in Mystics season 3, all of this with a father who wants to manage his career and a stalker who reappears...

Like the previous book, Cathy Yardley writes characters who talk to each other and who do not hesitate to call on bullshit and tell the other their mistakes, and who also do not waste time apologizing after ^^ . Hailey and Jake set up this fake-girlfriend story for them to win something : Jake's popularity will be renewed and Hailey will have publicity for the bookstore. But of course these two are overtaken by their own game and it's cute to see how they are trying to resist their passion :)


Game of Hearts (tome 3 - 2018)

Résumé : Kyla Summers has been offered the opportunity of a lifetime to get her cosplay business off the ground, and only one thing stands in her way. She needs someone to take over the auto shop, and there’s only one person she can think of to call…

Jericho Salomon hasn’t been back in his home town since he joined a biker gang and rode off nine years ago. When his best friend’s kid sister calls begging for help, he knows that he owes the family a debt and he intends to pay. This is easier said than done once he finds that the kid is all grown up…

She needs a pair of skillful hands. He needs to keep his hands off. When sparks begin to fly, can they keep things strictly business, or will their hearts get hopelessly tangled? No more games, it’s time to play for keeps.

J'avoue que j'ai pas trop été portée par l'univers professionnel où travaille Kyla et son frère, les trucs de garage sont pas pour moi. De même, que Jericho qui fait partie d'un groupe d'amateur de moto (attention c'est pas des bikers !), c'est pas ce qui me fait rêver.

Parcontre, j'ai beaucoup apprécié les liens entre les héros, ils se connaissent depuis longtemps et même s'ils se sont perdus de vue pendant 9 ans, quand ils se retrouvent c'est comme s'ils ne s'étaient jamais quittés. Ils reprennent aussi leur bonne vieilles habitudes de titiller le frère de Kyla en faisant semblant de flirter un max entre eux xD ça donne quelques petites scènes assez drôles.

Un peu dommage qu'il n'y ai pas eu assez de place pour la réunion de Jericho avec sa famille. J'ai plus apprécié la résolution de ses problèmes avec sa mère que tout ce qui se passe avec les motards. C'est un peu lourd et on voit venir le truc dès le premier chapitre.

Mention spéciale pour le concours de cosplay à la fin avec un hommage à Game of Thrones, j'ai bien couiné à ce moment-là ♥

I admit that I was not found of the professional world where Kyla and his brother work, the auto-repair shop stuff is not for me. Also, Jericho being part of a group of motorcycle aficionados (they're not bikers!) is not what makes me dream.

On the other hand, I really appreciated the friendship between the heroes, they have known each other for a long time and even if they lost sight of each other for 9 years, when they meet again, it is as if they had never left each other. They also pick up on their good old habits of teasing Kyla's brother by pretending to flirt. *it gives some pretty funny scenes.

A pity that there was not enough room for Jericho's meeting with his family. I enjoyed him solving his problems with his mother more than what happens with the "bikers". It's a little clumsy and we see the thing coming from the first chapter.

Special mention for the cosplay contest at the end with a tribute to Game of Thrones, I loved that part ♥


***ARC received for a honest review***