Member Reviews
Smitten by the Brit was a wonderful contemporary featuring a friends to lovers romance.
Bonnie Blythe always thought her life would play out like her favorite novels and now that her long-term boyfriend has proposed, her dream is coming true. But after Bonnie discovers her fiancé cheating on her, she ends their engagement and decides to take a break from relationships. When she's offered the opportunity to teach a course in England for the summer, Bonnie sees it as her chance for a fresh start. And when she runs into Theo Warton, the sexy Brit she met the previous summer on holiday, she realizes a friends-with-benefits fling is perfect thing to jump start the new chapter of her life. But life is never that simple and just as Bonnie finds herself falling for Theo, a revelation about his life has Bonnie questioning everything.
Bonnie is such a great main character and is very relatable. She's incredibly smart and very accomplished in her field. I love how positive she is and even when her personal life was falling apart, she managed to look on the bright side of things. Theo is such a charmer and he was an absolute delight. I will say Theo's secret was incredibly obvious and I figured it out within a few chapters. I'm not entirely sure why he made such a big deal about it but thankfully it doesn't take too long for Bonnie to learn it.
I've been looking forward to Bonnie and Theo's romance since reading Getting Hot with the Scot as I really enjoyed their interactions in that book. With Bonnie in a relationship at the time, nothing happened between them but now that she's single things are different. I loved their relationship from the start, they had so much fun together that it made reading about their romance super enjoyable. The steamy scenes are very well done and I really liked those. After Theo's secret comes out, their relationship does hit a few bumps but overall I was happy with how everything turned out.
The friend group in this series continues to be one of my favorite aspects of these books. Cassie, Sadie, Ana, and Delaney are all there for Bonnie and I appreciate how much these ladies are willing to do for each other. I can't wait to read Sadie's book as she's been my favorite of the group and I'm interested to see how her romance plays out.
Overall Smitten by the Brit was a great read and I'm looking forward to picking up the third book in the series, Once Upon a Bad Boy, soon.
Smitten by the Brit is a good fit for readers looking for a heartwarming and introspective journey of self-discovery and romantic exploration, set against the backdrop of classic literature and British charm.
Lovely story which has you rooting for the main character the entire time. This was a fun, entertaining and captivating read. It was sightly predictable as with some romance books but the story and writing style makes up for it.
Note: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Great romantic read with low drama. Fast paced novel with a great build world. Perfect read for an afternoon. Arc provided by Netgalley
I am a bit hit or miss with Melonie Johnson books. And this series was more miss than hit for me. Much of that has to do with the fact that these are romances but they move so slowly that they are more character studies of the main (female) lead. Technically, Bonnie falls into bed really quickly with Theo - a little too quickly but maybe having an ex cheat on you motivates rebound sex or rebound kissing - but the actual romance really kind of stalls. For most of the book.
I do appreciate that, while there are miscommunications, there really isn't a crazy break up in these books. Feels a little less contrived. Theo being a duke is a nice touch. Theo being a poor duke was a bit of a bummer. Which brings me to the other point which is that I expected more time for Bonnie in the UK in this book - seemed to happen so late in the plot that it was unnecessary - and that she figured out Theo's background in a much more dramatic reveal. So, I guess I do like some drama in my romances.
All in all, this book was an interesting read if it were touted as more of a Bonnie getting her groove back rather than a vacation romance with nobility. A that kind of gets to the heart of it for me. These books walked a line between finding love as the focus and just living life. That didn't work. Johnson needed to pick a lane. Her more recent books definitely embrace the romance genre and are also shorter. I really wanted this to be about 100 pages shorter.
I really enjoyed this book. Doesn’t everyone get Smitten by the Brit? I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley
Quick, cute read with no surprises. The characters are familiar to romance fans and fans of this series. Nothing over the top, a little angst, and indecisiveness. They are nice, if not memorable. The chemistry is okay but conventional. However, the intimate scenes are hot. It does tend to ramble, but I enjoyed the references to the classics. Predictably cute.
I received a copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program. I also happened to receive a copy through Netgalley. This is my honest review.
I started reading this book back in January but didn't get very far. I was dealing with a lot of things in my personal life and completely stopped reading. When I was ready to pick up a book again, this cover didn't draw me in like others. So it took me a little longer to read it, but once I remembered how much I enjoy reading, I was ready to dive back in.
I was already somewhat familiar with the characters from reading Getting Hot with the Scot, and it was nice getting to see the continuation of that relationship through Bonnie and Theo. But the real fire in the story was obviously between the main characters.
I felt like Bonnie's constant literary references were a bit cliche. I understand that she's a literature professor so she knows these works backwards and forwards, but I was getting a little annoyed with the comparisons. But I felt giddy every time Theo used her love of books to impress her.
The issues plaguing Bonnie and Theo's relationship were reasonable and were actually problems that wouldn't just be solved by talking. They might not have been as severe if they'd been more up front with each other, but it wouldn't have completely solved them. I actually appreciated that. The story was also not as predictable as I typically find romances, so another plus.
Overall I give this book 3.4 stars out of 5.
I love that the core characters are smaller this time making it an even more enjoyable read. Honestly this story is by far one of the best I've ever read. Melonie is one of my favorite authors who have emerged in the last few years.
Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was an enjoyable book.
This book was on a Kindle device that I no longer have access to. I had tried finding in my cloud but was not able to locate to read and review. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for chance to read and review.
This romance title will be enjoyed by those who like a long story with protagonists to root for. English professor Bonnie’s relationship ends but that is not the end of her story. What happens when she becomes “Smitten by the Brit?” Read this fun, engaging and romantic story to find out. Enjoy the characters, the settings and the literary allusions.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Nothing gets me out of a book hangover like a good romantic comedy and this one was wonderful! The chemistry Bonnie and Theo have in this story is amazing. Their story absolutely pulled me and and kept me reading page after page, I just couldn't put the book down! It was funny, it was steamy, it was everything I needed to cure my book hangover! I wish I had realized it was part of series, I will definitely have to go back and read the first book!
I liked Bonnie and Theo in the the previous book so reading their story was a treat for me. I liked Bonnie and I enjoyed getting to know her better. I enjoyed her development as the story progressed and I especially enjoyed seeing her allowing herself the chance to explore what was developing between her and Theo. I think Theo complemented Bonnie in a lot of ways, but I especially loved that he allowed her to be herself and take her time. I appreciated the fact that the author made an effort to establish the connection between Bonnie and Theo in a way that was easy for me to become invested in the romance. I enjoyed their candid moments as well as their bickering and later on their flirty banter. Bonnie and Theo's attraction had been simmering since the previous book, so of course there were plenty of steamy moments where their chemistry jumped off the page and I enjoyed those too.
This is the 2nd book in the Sometimes in Love series and although it can be read as a stand alone, I can't help but think that the reader would benefit from reading the previous book in the series if only to gain a deeper knowledge of the characters and their relationships.
All in all, a great addition to the series and an enjoyable read.
This book was so entertaining. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and was involved until the end. The characters were complex and interesting. I found the story to be well paced and engrossing throughout the whole book. I was invested in the couple throughout the book and felt all the emotions through both the highs and lows of the story.The side characters were such an integral part of this story as well. This is the love story i needed to read at this time. If you want an entertaining and well written book this is it for you
A charming, feel good story that you can help but love! An enjoyable second installment by a fairly new-to-me author. Definitely recommend! Melonie Johnson bring the same charm from Hot for the Scot in this sweet story.
After reading Cassie and Logan’s story, I was really looking forward to reading Bonnie’s. You could tell from the first book that there was something simmering between Theo and Bonnie and I just couldn’t wait to see how Bonnie was going to let go of her inhibitions and find her way into Theo’s arms.
Theo is a modern day Prince Charming and he’s a real life duke to boot. I don’t believe that there isn’t a single regency romance fan or romance fan for that matter, who isn’t going to be swept off her feet by the notion of finding a handsome duke in front of her! So I was of course expecting a lot of heat with that kind of chemistry! I love the premise of this series and I believe that the characters, story and dialogue are all great. But there’s just something lacking when it comes to the love scenes. This kind of chemistry deserves more and I have been a little disappointed with this on the first two books of the series.
I really hope that the next book will pack some more heat and give us the passion that we want to see.
Bonnie and Theo are extremely likable leads that are even better when they are together. I found the book filled with banter, heart and a whole lot of sweet.
This was my first book by this author and I will absolutely be looking for more of her.
A cute read! Bonnie & Theo were just absolutely adorable! A great addition to this series!
I voluntarily reviewed this book.
Need to DNF this as I've restarted a few times but still couldn't make it past 20%. Shame because I really liked book 1 and 3, but for some reason this book is not working for me.