I really enjoy reading lesbian romances that involve vacations with a twist. This is no exception. Kate has been attracted to her best friend, Mo, for years and years. What Kate does not know, is that Mo feels the same. The plot twists when Kate makes a big mistake in reserving her room, which means her & Mo have to share a room and a bed.
This is a well written book and the characters are fully fleshed out. If you enjoy lesbian vacation romances, pick this book up. You will not be disappointed.
Highly recommend.
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I read the first book in the Paradise Series “Three Reasons to Say Yes”, I noted that Julia’s sidekicks, Mo and Kate were not the usual wing-women and didn’t have much in the way of sage advice to offer anybody. Well, here they are in their own story and not much has changed. Kate has had a crush on her friend Mo for years but hasn’t had the awareness of her own sexuality or courage to do anything about it. A holiday in Mexico and a booking mishap lands them both in the same room.

Having come across these two in the first book, this is exactly how I would have expected their relationship to go, especially if they ever manage to cross the line from friendship to love. I found Mo a lot easier to understand and felt that Kate’s issues were a little too easily resolved.

It’s an easy enough romance with the tension that goes with people who aren’t sure if they want to risk a valuable friendship for desire. I enjoyed it, but not quite as much as “Three Reasons to Say Yes”.

Book received from Netgalley and Bella Books for an honest review.

I lost interest in this book because Mo and Kate were both incredibly immature, and not in an endearing kind of way. The premise of the book hooked me in with friends to lovers plot line but the characters became tedious with their complete lack of communication skills.

This is the second book in the ‘Paradise Series’ so if you’ve already read the first book ‘Three Reasons to Say Yes’ and enjoyed it as much as I did you are going to like this one just as much. But if you’d never read the first don’t worry because this one can stand on its own.
In this book Ms Jaime takes the three friends, Julia, Mo and Kate to Mexico where maybe, just maybe Mo and Kate can at last find each other. Plus we get the chance to see what has happened with Julia and Reed’s romance.
Mo Calloway grew up in a home where she was accepted when she came out to her family. She’s smart, very smart, running her own company and going through girlfriends, never seemly to find the one who keeps her attention for more than a few months. When she started university she met two young women who would become her best friends. On a trip to Hawaii her friend Julia met the one. Mo was and still is very happy for Julia but there is still a part of her that wishes the same for herself. Problem is it’s the third roommate, Kate that she has pined after from when they first met. Another big problem is the fact that Kate’s not into women.
Kate Owens grew up in a home where she never felt like she really fit. Her mother is a bigot and clearly very uncomfortable around gays. As a young girl she was constantly made to feel she was in the way as both her mother and father believed their happiness came first. That is one of the main reasons Kate decided to go to a university far from home. She identifies herself as a straight women but upon meeting Mo she’s not so sure. She would like to have a chance at having a relationship with Mo but she’s scared. Plus life keeps getting in the way. And if it doesn’t work out what becomes of their friendship.
Ms Clevenger knows how to tell a story. This book, like the others I’ve read by this author are perfectly paced keeping this book a nice fast read. So now I’m already waiting for the third installment. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long. Very, very enjoyable read.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bella Books

All the Reasons I Need is the second book in a series about three best friends who roomed together in college 16 years ago with this one focusing on Mo and Kate. Book 1 was about the third roomie, Julia, and it was a 2018 favorite of mine.

Kate is a successful charity fundraising director who comes from big Texas money and dysfunctional parents. She has feelings for Mo but has never told her. Although Kate’s a good character, I genuinely wish we had gotten Mo’s pov instead. Mo is the much more dynamic character and the story brightens every time she is on the page. She’s brilliant, gorgeous, charismatic and leads a no holds barred kind of life. Instead, we get Kate’s perspective and witness her internal struggles which are incredibly sad, especially as we learn the true origin of her turmoil.

I don’t think the story gels until the halfway point when honest communication finally comes into play and only gets narratively interesting at the 2/3 mark when the book evolves beyond the romance. At that point, it’s as if the story is freed from the confines of Kate’s “Mo loves me/Mo loves me not” mental loop and morphs into highlighting the reality of friends becoming lovers and the fears in facing demons from the past. So I do like the book and it’s worth reading, especially if you’re following the series, but it might wear on the patience of some readers in the beginning so be prepared.

I adored this book - I think this was even better than the first book! I don't think it's totally necessary to read the first book (Julia and Reed's Story) - this book follows Kate and Mo's story - but it's a great book as well so it definitely doesn't hurt. It was nice to catch up with Julia and Reed and see where their story is at.

Kate and Mo have known each other since their first day at college, and Kate has had feelings for Mo essentially since that first moment. Ever since leaving her boyfriend and coming out the year before, she's tried to keep her distance from Mo to keep her feelings at bay. But when the friends go on vacation together, old attraction bubbles to the surface, and Kate is afraid her feelings will ruin their friendship forever.

The chemistry was out of this world. The author created this insane tension between them, which combined with the love that has been simmering between them for years, this story was just absolute fire. I loved that Clevenger was able to keep their relationship fresh and move their relationship forward even though they'd known each other so long. There were still so many things to discover about each other, and I think it's very realistic when you find the person you're meant to be with for the rest of your life, there's always something new to discover and love about that person. The setting was absolutely dreamy as well. Not to mention, I love the good, old, share-a-bed trope. It never gets old. This book was pretty much perfection in my eyes and I'm going to be sure to get the paperback to enjoy over and over.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is book two of the ‘Paradise romance’ series by this author. I absolutely loved book one, ‘Three reasons to say yes‘ which was one of my favourites of 2018. Even though these are standalone romances, the reader will catch up with the story of Julia and Reed from book one, so I recommend to read them in chronological order to enjoy it fully.

Kate Owens and Mo Calloway have been friends since college and, with time, it’s been harder for Kate to hide her feelings from Mo. When a reservation mistake on a trip to Mexico leads them to share the same bed, she realises that maybe the attraction is mutual but, will they risk their friendship for a chance at love?

‘All the reasons I need’ is a slow burn romance with a good amount of self-introspection and angst. Compared to book one, there is more drama, the characters are more conflicted and have a lot of baggage. It’s written in third person from the exclusive point of view of Kate, so the reader has direct access to her insecurities and low-self esteem. Some readers might have preferred the story written in first person point of view to keep the narrative distance to a minimum but I think that the author pulls it through without problems.

Despite what the title and cover might suggest, this is not a light summer read. Both women have some serious baggage and a shared story of repressed feelings. There is a short flashback scene of sexual abuse that might upset some readers though it’s only a few paragraphs long. Kate is a very conflicted character with low self-esteem and a past that haunts her and, despite Mo has a good upbringing and a supporting family, her apparent confident exterior is just a screen that hides insecurities of her own.

There is a good amount of mutual second-guessing in their actions despite their long-running attraction which sometimes defies common sense and came close to annoy me. Despite this, it was good to catch up with the leads of book one and their children and to meet a new character who hopefully will star in a future installment of the series.

Overall, a good friends to lovers lesbian romance book with quite a bit of drama and angst. 4 stars.

ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. During the summer I enjoy a good beach romance and this story partially filled that bill with a fair part of the story taking place in Cozumel. Amongst the main characters I enjoyed sexy butch Mo (Monique), but the character of Kate ran hot and cold for me. She claimed to have issues and likely had many of them, but the on and off angst with her character grew tedious and tiring to this reader. I did enjoy the secondary characters of Julia and Reed as well as their children.

I received an ARC from Bella Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm sorry but this kind of stories with so much back and forth, in this case even by both women in the starring couple, is very stressful for my liking. It just makes me feel angry with them, makes me want to shake them, makes me want to remind them that they are going around the same things that they have strouggled about and overcome two chapters ago, then again four chapters ago and so on, all that misunderstanding and miscomunication, it is really tiring.

And this despite the fact that this story has as an incentive that it is a continuation of the previous book, All the Reasons I Need, and we can see how the couple that was created there continues, Julia and Reed and their twins.Their antics are really refreshing among all the drama between Mo and Kate.

With so much indecision and doubts, with so much remembering what could have been and was not, so low self-esteem totally absurd, something that should have been really interesting and enjoyable even with some of the drama that would obviously appear at some point, it results as a story with too much anguish and regret that spoils it a bit.

Maybe you'll enjoy better than me, I really hope so, for me it was pretty exhausting.

I did not read the first book of the series with the leads being Reed and Julia, who make guest appearances here, with Mo and Kate becoming the leads, so I looked at the book as a stand alone. It is, but Julia seems great- Reed is more in the background as the story does focus on the friendship dynamics of Mo, Kate, and Julia, who were all roommates in collage. This feels like a friends to lovers type of book, but with the twist that Mo and Kate pretty much fell for each other when they first met. I thought it was an interesting take on both tropes, with each character having to find herself before they could really be with the other.

That said, wow, Kate is definitely holding a lot of stuff, here, and she takes the cake for being one of the most emotionally damaged person I have read in a lesfic novel. I could see where a lot of her motivations were and some of her fears that were mirrored by Mo, but there was a point where her emotional issues felt more like plot points than organically triggered breakdowns, especially near the end of the book. Too often it felt more like as an excuse to ratchet up the drama than something that was triggered within Kate's environment. And that bugged me, especially since Mo's insecurities didn't get addressed. Then again, Kate has a lot of things she needed to work through, and while Kate and Mo do get together, it is with the promise that they will work together to be as healthy as possible as a couple.

It's a great, high tension romance, fueled by mutual pining, a great setting, and some wonderful supportive side characters. There are a couple hiccups along the way, but overall, I enjoyed this. Fans of the first book with these characters will love this one.

I will admit that I had a bit of trouble with All the Reasons I Need by Jamie Clevenger, mainly during the first half of the book. I had difficulty connecting with Kate, one of the two main characters. I kept reading, though, because despite my problem with that character, I could tell this is a well-written story with an interesting premise, and I wanted to give it every chance. I’m really glad I did, because the more I read, the more hooked I became.

This is a friends-to-lovers tale. Kate and Mo have been best friends since their college days, and both secretly have been in love with the other almost as long. Both, however, were afraid that if they shared their feelings with the other, it could end up destroying their friendship, a common theme in this type of story. Added to this, however, are Kate’s secrets that she has never revealed to any of her friends, especially Mo. These secrets drive her actions with Mo for most of the story. They are also the root cause of most of the angst that runs through this novel.
Ms. Clevenger has created a beautiful romance with complicated and intriguing characters. The story is charming with a heartwarming and satisfying conclusion.

I realized after part way through the tale that I was reading a sequel to the book Three Reasons to Say Yes which has Kate and Mo as secondary characters. This could be one of the reasons that I had trouble getting into this book at the beginning. It is quite possible I missed something from the first book that I needed to connect with Kate in this one. This means that I am going to suggest you read both books in order. I know I ended up very happy I read this novel, and I will be looking to read the first as well.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bella Books for an honest review.

Rainbow Reflections:
https://rainbowreflections.home.blog/

This is the first book by this author that I have read. I have always wanted to read something by her and until now didn't get a chance.

This is book 2 of a series. I didn't realise that at first but it wouldn't be me if I didn't start in the middle of a series.

Mo, Kate & Julia have been friends since meeting up in college and have remained friends ever since. The book takes place 16 years later and is the story of Kate & Mo.

I loved the story line. I was hooked to this from beginning til end. I loved Mo from the beginning but Kate grated on my nerves for the first half of the book. I felt like knocking her head against a wall or giving her a good shake. The secondary characters were a great bunch. My favourite would be Terri, whom, I Hope, the author will write her story in the future. The pacing was just right for me.

I would highly recommend giving this book a read.

I received an ARC copy of the book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this one, having recently read Three Reasons to Say Yes and enjoyed it. This isn’t quite as good as that one though.

So, this features the two BFFs from Three Reasons, Kate and Mo. In the first book we’re told that they both love each other, but haven’t gotten around to admitting it because they’re best friends and also Kate has ISSUES. The issues are hinted at in book one and the reveal of the issues drags on for too long here.

I also have to say that I think this book would have been better if it had begun right after where the first book left off, rather than having a gap, because there was really no reason for these two to wait a whole nother year to admit their feelings, frankly their lack of ability to come out and admit what they wanted from each other was annoying in book one and that did not improve here.

Kate’s issues, while serious, were also weird, in that they weren’t anything that you wouldn’t share with people who have loved and supported you for 16 years, and I honest to god could not figure out why she’d kept it from her friends (and Julia still doesn’t know by the end!) for so long. But whatever. There’s also a lot of repetition from book 1 around Mo’s relationship issues and her bi-phobia, and I got sick of that very quickly. I’ve read a few reviews where the reviewers said they didn’t like Kate, but Mo was the main issue for me (Kate was annoying towards the end with her ‘not worthy’ stuff but Mo annoyed me for most of the book). The whole ‘forced to share a bed while on holiday’ thing was also a trope I could have lived without.

On the flip side I loved catching up with Julia/Reed and the twins, and hot Dr Terri, who featured briefly in book 1 was also a highlight, I loved her and actually wished she and Kate had gotten together instead. I assume she’ll get her own book (which will no doubt feature some sort of group trip). I also liked that Clevenger includes characters who don’t always have huge amounts of sexual experience and that this series includes multiple POC characters.

This was an ok sequel but didn’t quite live up to Three Reasons, I’m looking forward to Terri’s book though. I guess I’d give this around 3.5, rounded up.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

I didn't know this was part 2 of a first book definitely getting the first one.

Kate is trying her best to keep her feelings for her bestfriend Mo under wraps but it's getting harder not to act on them especially since she had them sixteen years ago when they became roommates in college.

Kate knows Mo loves her but doesn't know if she in love with her. Mo in love with Kate but doesn't want to act on it because Kate is already keeping her at arm length and she doesn't know why.

As they go on vacation to Mexico things come to ahead as Mo is patient with Kate she let her take the lead as we see them become the couple they were ment to be. There were a lot of angst and dealt with some dark issues as Kate deals with issues that cost her to doubt herself she remind me of me but she was frustrating when it came to Mo sometimes. Even though I didn't read about Julie and Reed and the twins it was nice to see them in this book.

They introduce a new character Terri I hope we get her story.

I didn't realize this was a Part 2. I know that Three Reasons to Say Yes just won a Goldie for Contemporary Romance and I've read about how everyone loves it. I went into this one thinking it was a standalone, and it works perfectly well. But now that I know it's a sequel I'll definitely go back and pick up the first one.

What I enjoyed about this is that it's not a fluffy, lighthearted romance. There are lots of issues going on here, and they are all handled very skillfully. I can't remember rooting for a couple to get together as much as I did for Mo and Kate.

I'm hoping there will be a book 3, but in the meantime I'm headed off to buy Three Reasons to Say Yes.

First things first: I love the friendship between Kate, Mo and Julia. I love how Mo and Kate were there all the way for Julia in Three Reasons to Say Yes and how Julia’s there for them both in this one.

Having recently come out as bisexual, Kate is doing her best not to let what she sees as a crush on her best friend Mo ruin their friendship. The thing is, it’s not a crush, she’s been attracted to Mo from day one, when they became roomates at college sixteen years ago, but wasn’t ready to act on it for the longest time. She knows Mo loves her but she’s not sure it goes deeper than friendship, and even if it did, she doesn’t want to foist her issues on her.

The issues Kate was mentioned as having in book 1 are at the center of All the Reasons I Need. She’s facing them in the bravest way, and it made me feel so proud of her (I know she’s a fictional character, so what). Sure, she can be annoying, not being able to make up her mind, but she’s got reasons, which can’t be said for all lesfic characters acting the same way.

This book is much darker than the previous one, which was more about romance and families (remember the twins? they’re baaaaack). This is about trust, and faith in a way. Trusting the one you love to still love you once they know all your secrets, trusting yourself with that love, having faith in what you can achieve and what you deserve.

It’s not a light read but Clevenger manages to still keep it sweet, and sexy. Once again, the characters she creates have depth and layers, and the angst they go through – and make the reader go through – is coherent and justified.

This can probably be read as a standalone but I would recommend reading Three Reasons to Say Yes first, as much for Julia and Reed’s story as for the substantial glimpses into Mo and Kate’s relationship so far.

I received a free copy from the publisher for an honest review.

I read the first book. this one though I was kinda board and did not connect to the characters. It's well written for sure but not mine

This book was given to me as an ARC in exchange for an honest review from Bella Books and NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this book, an immense amount. So the basic premise is that two women Monique (Mo) and Katelyn (Kate), they have been best friends for sixteen years and each of them have been in love with each other since they met in college. There is another book that discusses how their third roommate Julia met her girlfriend Reed, but you honestly do not need to read that book to read this one,

This book had so many amazing things going on in it. I loved both characters, but especially loved that the author was able to write a person of color without fetishizing her for describing her skin color in relation to food. I thought Mo was really likable, she was finny and sort and had such a good sense of humor. Best of all she was patient with Kate she waited sixteen years and let Kate take the lead without having any hangups about it. Kate was a deeply flawed character, but mostly in her won mind. I just felt so sad for her. I have known people who were molested and I have had close friends and family who have dealt with Anorexia and Bulimia. I felt like the author did a really good job of dealing with these issues without making them feel forced. She just did an excellent job explaining. why Kate had problems in a way that we could all relate to.

This book was excellent I highly recommend it and now that I have read it I will definitely go back and read the first one. This was such a good romance and a really slow burn but all of the love scenes (of which there was only one I think) was nice. I like romances though an overabundance of sex, it just felt like a really good book.

I usually don’t like a story where the characters can’t make up their mind about each other-whether or not to commit to a romantic relationship. And I especially never liked a story where this happens for most of the story. But there are always exceptions, and All the Reasons I Need was that exception.

Kate and Mo were best friends since college and each longed for something more but were afraid of destroying their friendship if they crossed that line. Both were reluctant and scared to take the next step and their hesitation seemed at times overbearingly so. I just wanted them to commit and move on. But the parts that made this story work so well were the reasons behind those hesitations. Kate was hiding a piece of herself that even her closest friends were not privy to. Mo didn’t want to jeopardize a 16 year friendship with Kate who previously only dated men. Several serious issues were also at the heart of the matter, and these scenes were emotional and dramatic. It was well written.

The author did a great job in allowing the characters’ conflicting thoughts take center stage with a dialogue that was quite witty and emotional. But this dialogue also extended to the secondary characters. When the tone turned serious, there were well placed antics of 5 year old twins to lighten the mood. This was what made the story engaging even when some of the characters pushed that noncommittal level to the limit.

As for all the reasons you need to read this book…is actually just one…it’s very highly entertaining.

I could not wait for this follow-up to 'Three Reasons To Say Yes.'

When you love a book so much, there is always the fear that your high expectations will not be met with future installments. No worries with this one.

Mo and Kate were tiptoeing around each other in book one. So it makes sense that this story would center around them and provide resolution to those outstanding questions we had. What are Kate's issues that she would not even voice to her best friends? And what is the long history between Mo and Kate that has kept them from dating?

The author continues with high quality writing, believable dialogue, and hurt-your-heart-so-good moments. There is just something about how Clevenger tells a story that sucks you in.

Another book, another vacation destination. The group of friends have swapped waterfalls in Hawaii for snorkeling and beaches in Mexico. I enjoyed the activities more in this one than the last. Ping pong, salsa dancing, and rides around the island vs. hotel pools and drives to waterfalls.

The last book dealt with Julia's sexual issues, Reed's commitment issues, and a serious illness. In this one, all of the issues have to do with Kate. This was the ONLY small problem I had. I felt like it could have been a tad stronger if the issues were balanced between multiple characters like before. Because I got a BIT annoyed with Kate. Her insecurities seemed repetitive and sometimes contrived to keep Kate and Mo apart.

But who really cares about that?! It was so good that it didn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. This made me laugh, kept my heart working overtime, and caused me to cry a few times. Mo and Kate are so cute together. You could really tell that they were so comfortable together after 16 years of friendship. So it was unique in that way of only being awkward because of potentially crossing over to something more. Anyhow, I loved it.

If there is a book three, I propose a Julia and Reed wedding in Lake Tahoe as the setting.

I recommend this to everyone who loved 'Three Reasons To Say Yes' And if you didn't read that, then I recommend you read it. Then read this. You won't be disappointed.

<i>I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review.</i>