Celebrity Romance Archives - The Litertarian

I haven’t read many (or any?) romance novels based on the male’s point-of-view. Colton Gentry may be the first! For awhile it seemed like everywhere I turned there was another glowing review of this book until finally I was too curious to resist.

Colton Gentry's Third Act by Jeff Zentner Book Cover

Colton Gentry shot down his own country music career with a gun control speech after his best friend was killed in a music festival shooting. His audience doesn’t care (apparently). His label doesn’t care. His wife doesn’t even care. Or, maybe she did, but she was already sleeping with someone else, so if she did care, it was about the wrong things. Now Colton is alone. Broke. Grieving. And trying not to soothe the immense discomfort at the bottom of a bottle.

There’s nowhere he can go but home.

After high school Colt left Kentucky in pursuit of his musical dreams. His high school sweetheart left to pursue hers in architecture. But fate has landed them both back home. Though he broke her heart once upon a time, Luann extends a much-needed sympathetic hand to help him get back on his feet.

This book is chock full of great themes. Friendship, forgiveness, redemption, resilience, courage, sobriety, second chances, and holding firm when you know something’s right or wrong. Colton’s journey isn’t an easy one, but if you’re looking for a book that is ultimately uplifting, you’ve found it here.

Zentner is clearly a talented writer. I was quite impressed several times as I read. However, I was missing a little x-factor spark that would have pushed this book into five star territory. With a goodreads rating of over 4 stars, clearly I’m in the minority there.

Details

Title:: Colton Gentry’s Third Act
Author:: Jeff Zentner
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Grand Central Publishing
Length:: 400 pages
Audio Length:: 11h 1m
Audiobook Narrator:: Charlie Thurston
Audiobook Publisher:: Grand Central Publishing
Published:: April 30th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

Summertime Punchline | Betty Corrello
Wild Love | Elsie Silver
Funny Story | Emily Henry

The Lodge by Kayla Olson is a romantic wintertime escape. Set in a Vermont ski resort, it hits the spot for your cozy romance itch in the dark days of winter.

Alix Morgan is an entertainment writer who just landed the gig of a lifetime: ghostwriting the memoir of Sebastian Green, one of the front men of the boy band called True North. The band was once the most popular in the world, but ultimately broke up after one of the members disappeared. Needing some space from her roommate to focus on her tight deadline, the publisher (via Sebastian himself) puts Alix up at a posh Vermont resort. She’s having trouble communicating with Sebastian, and her next-door neighbor offers her ski lessons, so in between days of intense work, Alix strikes up an unlikely friendship with him. It doesn’t take long for it to turn into more, but both of them have secrets, and it’s only a matter of time before they come to light and change everything.

The best part of this book was the falling. Ooo, the sparks between Alix and Tyler (the ski instructor) were red hot and plentiful. I felt like their connection was authentic and romantic and all the things you want from a romance novel.

I struggled a little bit with the cheesiness of the plot. I think it’s inherent a lot of times in a celebrity romance. It was well crafted as far as character backstories and everything fitting together well in a puzzle sense for an impactful climax, but for me it’s hard to escape the fan fiction vibe in this genre. I think I’ve only read one celebrity romance that didn’t give me that aftertaste (When in Rome by Sarah Adams), but if celebrity romance is your thing, I think you’ll love this one.

Note:: I received this title from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Details

Title:: The Lodge
Author:: Kayla Olson
Genre:: Romance
Publisher:: Atria Books
Length:: 352 pages
Audio Length:: 9h
Audiobook Narrator:: Andi Arndt, Graham Halstead & Gilli Messer
Audiobook Publisher:: Simon & Schuster Audio
Published:: January 7th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars