🎮 BOOK REVIEW 🎮

Synopsis: Jaded-by-love Amara Hart owns a retro-style gaming arcade in the local shopping mall that is bustling full of people who’d rather play Pac-Man than have a candlelit dinner with the charming Casanova store owner next door. Despite her cynicism toward anything roses, Amara finds herself agreeing to help Valentino Rossi when his store is robbed a few days shy of Valentine’s Day—his biggest annual moneymaker.

Valentino believes in endless love and has made it his mission in life to help others express that love through romance and custom-made jewelry. Silly little love songs are what make him get out of bed in the morning, and meeting the anti-Valentine Amara has thrown him for a loop. Determined to prove love me tender is more than a retro ballad, Valentino sets out to give Amara a Valentine’s Day she’ll never forget.

As Amara feels her rough edges begin to soften, she begins to wonder what would happen if she asked the man next door to…be mine, Valentino.

Review: Why do novellas always have the longest blurbs? I really loved the premise of this story, and the originality of it, but there were some issues. Firstly, the writing. From the get go, the reader is absolutely drowned in information, making it hard to absorb it all at once and know what facts are necessary. I really struggled throughout the book to absorb the information, as so much was always on the page. I also think the authors views of the foster system and being LGBTQIA+ are questionable. Particularly where the characters suggests she will “join her friend in the lesbian web” as of being a lesbian is a choice? *cringe*. Ultimately, the characters were loveable and I was invested in the story, but the writing let me down. I would have loved for this to be explored as a full-length novel.

My sincerest thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my review.

2/5 stars ⭐️⭐️

Cute story. 3.5 review starts. Book ends at 70% on Kindle, the other 30% is an excerpt from another story

Amara runs an arcade in the mall which happens to be next door to a jewelry story. Valentino Rossi runs the jewlery store is constantly complaining about the noise coming from the arcade. One night there is a break in and Amara and Valentino end up on mall watch duty. They have a cute banter and make some challenges but all the while want to catch the thief. When they find out who the thief is will their budding friendship fall apart ?

Sadly I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped. I struggled to connect to the characters and wasn't invested in their story at any point. With this being a novella, I understand that there is a limitation on the length of the book. However, I still felt as though the story and characters lacked development and detail.
Overall, a quick and easy read but not as enjoyable as I had hoped.

Mara and Val are neighbors at the Mall, they own shops next to each other. So when Val’s shop is robbed a few days before Valentines Day, they both join forces to keep a watch at night together. Could this be a start to their friendship and possibly something more ?
This is a fast paced and cute read. It is a sweet and entertaining romance that I really enjoyed. It is a novella and left me wanting more, would have enjoyed reading about their romance more.

This was a quick read! A little too insta-love is for me but overall I enjoyed it. Definitely recommend if you're looking for a cute romance around valentines day!

A nice novella that I read quickly and enjoyed and it’s just right for Valentine’s day,liked the characters and the writing

Such a lovely book. The story and the main characters were a treat and I just can’t wait to read more from this author. I recommend it to everyone who likes a good book and a fun story

A lovely, cute book just in time for Valentine’s Day!
The premise was good, and I enjoyed the romance between the pair - however the story could of been fleshed out slightly more!

Cute lil VDay read. Check out this novella. Who doesn't like a little cornball romance around this time of year #amiright ?! Check out this story. I love it when a robbery brings people together. I think many will like Amara. and Val Perfect palate cleanser for in between hefty novels.
I gave this 3.5 stars

Sarah Robinson's new Valentines' Day romance is a funny, feel good story that will remind you that there's more to the holiday than just hearts and flowers ... or even jewelry.
A great, short read that you'll be able to find time for, even if you're planning to be busy with big plans for the most romantic day of the year.

This novella was a cute Valentine’s tale. The main two characters were likeable and interesting. Unfortunately, I found it to be a bit lacking and short in details. A little more “meat on it’s bones” would really help me to have been more invested in it.

Mostly I just really liked Amara and her arcade, and her relationship with her kids. I adore the cover and really wanted to like this novella more than I did.

The chemistry between Amara Valentino is just kinda okay. Nobody in this book felt like a real person, they're all very much two-dimensional cardboard cutouts. Valentino has a stick up his butt for most of the book but occasionally there are attempts at making a playful side come out, but it just felt awkward. Maybe it suffered from just not being long enough to give the characters time to really come to life. Everything felt kind of rushed, especially with their enemies to lovers romance and solving a burglary all happening in less than 100 pages. Then again, maybe not - the entire story is very much telling rather than showing.

Still, it's a fun concept, and there are some fun classic rom-com moments that made me smile.

I received an invitation from Netgalley and the publisher read a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a fast-paced insta-love novella.
Enjoyable, cheezy in a good way, and of course a HEA. With the surname Hart for the Female character and first name - Valantino for the Male, it's a match made in fictional heaven.

I loved that Amara ran a Gaming Arcade - which is often considered a Male-dominated area, she was a bit like a Den mom to her clients so she was an easy character to get to know and love.
Her arcade is in the shopping mall Next door to Valentino's Jewelry store.
He wants to promote a romantic ambiance for his clients, but he's mostly hearing the Arcade store that is full of teenagers who’d rather play Pac-Man than spend money on jewelry so the only contact Amara has had with him was to complain about the noise.

When the jewelry Store is burgled, Amara finds herself agreeing to help Valentino as a Mall Neighbourhood watch team and throughout the night they get to know each other and the sparks start to fly.

Valentino was a bit of a contradiction, he seemed gruff and full of himself but as we got to know him we find out that he believes in endless love and is determined to make his parent's dream successful... Not saying why as that would spoil it for readers.

As with the Quickness of the story - being a novella things have to get moving pretty fast due to the length, there is just enough background to round out the characters to get emotionally attached to them and enjoy their romance.

Thank you to the Author and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. As someone who is having trouble reading right now, this is definitely a great novella for the valentine's season. The guy is a jewelry store owner/maker (who knew that would be a unique career) plus the girl is an arcade owner!!! (Even better) The mystery and ending was a tad predictable but otherwise this was a great story. Because of these points, I have to give it a 4 out of 5 stars

This was such a cute and quick read. The banter between the characters was fun and genuine. Although I am not one to like the insta-love trope (but keep in mind this is a novella) I really enjoyed how the grumpy/sunshine and forced proximity tropes were used in this story. This is the perfect valentines day read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Mall you need is love is a short novella about Amara, who runs her own little arcade store in the mall. One night the neighboring jewelry story gets robbed and she and the owner of the store, a known Casanova, have to team up to find the mall thieve.

This was a sweet little romance. I had a good time reading it, even though it's insta-lovey. It was a good novella, but it didn't blow my mind. Nevertheless, it kept me entertained, and I wouldn't mind checking out the other works by this author.

DNF

I got through a couple chapters of the book, and not a fan of this book, the couple doesn't vibe for me. I could tell I am not going to enjoy this book. I do appreciate getting approved for the arc.

Initially, the title put me off this story, but the cover and book description reeled me back in. An old-school arcade? 🕹 A jewelry heist and mystery? 💍 The promise of a love connection? 💞Why wouldn’t I be interested?

This short but sweet story is about an eclectic arcade owner Amara (Mara), and the more traditional jewelry store owner, Valentino (Val). Both were skeptical about dating, love, and each other up until the robbery of Val’s jewelry store brought them together. I liked that their night watch allowed them to get a glimpse of each other’s big hearts to realize they were much more than pink hair and a bunch of rumors.

Thank you, NetGalley, Author Collective 20, and Sarah Robinson, for the advanced copy of Mall You Need is Love in exchange for an honest review.

Mall You Need is Love is a quick paced novella. It centers around a woman that runs an arcade and a man who owns the jewelry store next door. There isn't really any development to the story and the characters quickly fall for one another. This was another insta love miss for me.

QOTD: What's your favorite store in your local mall (other than B&N 😜)?
My A: Old Navy!! They have THE BEST leggings!
.
At only 96 pages I was able to breeze through this while my nanny kiddos played at the children's museum. Quick paced and fun, this is the perfect book to squeeze in a busy schedule. Being a novella, it was an insta-love type of thing which is t my favorite, but is to be expected with only 90 something pages to work with! I think there were a few moments that felt a little forced and unpolished just because the story was so rushed. All in all, a cute Valentine's story!