This is so simple and cute.

The basic premise centers around a quiet bookish romance reader having a very intense library meet cute with the popular sports star of her college. It’s very very tropey, but given the narrator is a romance fan there’s a lot of meta references to the tropes being used.

While I would never call it unique or surprising I do think this is a very comforting quick story. The characters are cute together and it’s a fun easy read, I got through this in a matter of an hour or two. There’s a decent amount of spice too, which was actually pretty surprising to me given how sweet the rest of it was!

Going into this book I had an expectation. From the synopsis of this book, it sounded like the spice level was turned up and was a 10 out of 5 but for me, the spice level was at a low 2. My expectations were dampened down and I did not enjoy this book like I thought I would have.

Kendall Holiday is a spicy book enthusiast who loves working the night shift at the 24-hour library on campus. She loves the quiet. One night, the captain of the basketball team, Vincent Knight appears looking for help in finding a book for his poetry class. After a one-off make-out session in the stacks, Vincent and Kendall are drawn together in ways neither expected. Will romance live up to the books that Kendall reads and can Vincent learn to let a girl in?

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the free copy of Night Shift by Annie Crown in exchange for my honest review.

This book was OK. I was looking forward to reading it because the cover was cute and it sounded like a great read. It was superspicy, insta-love developed way too quick, didn't really connect with the characters, seemed rushed and meh just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

The characters were pretty enjoyable but the plot was way too fast for my personal taste.
However, if you love high school romances, a tutor x student and a shy girl x popular guy this books is the perfect choice for you!!

I never felt the connection between the main characters was 'zippy' enough. I didn't think there was a lot of chemistry between the two. The plot seemed weak.

night shift
by Annie Crown

i needed this book. it was a pretty short book, so i felt like the relationship was well constructed in this period of time. it may seem like it’s going fast but it’s just the tempo of the book so it didn’t bother me. it was so addictive and the perfect cosy romance to read when it’s raining… and the characters >>
our mc, kendall, is so relatable. she’s an avid romance reader like us, and the way she thinks is so realistic. i hate when writers have a reader protagonist but then they’re just annoying. here, kendall is exactly me. a hopeless romantic and comparing every events of her life to books. it may seem cringe to people that aren’t like this, but for me it felt so relatable. i just loved how books were always included in the background, and how the library is an important place. i can also add that kendall always mentioning books gave reality to the novel becausei read what i thought, like if i was thinking about something, one of the character would say this exact same thing a few lines later. it was so immersive.
then our love interest, vincent… he’s so perfect and well, what we all want in a fictional character. he cared so much about kendall, and did everything right but without being 100% perfectly unrealistic. their relationship was cute and healthy. and it was built on something real. i giggled sooo much while reading, i was stupidly smiling all the time. it felt so good to feel like that while reading, i had missed it. what can i add… oh it was also reallyyyyy hoooot….. like making out against a bookshelf hot.
overall i spend the best time reading the book, like i was myself in the story.
thanks netgalley for the ARC <3
léa

4/5 stars
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When I found out that a book that I was absolutely obsessed with on Wattpad was being published I was so excited. While reading this I got the same warm and fuzzy feelings as I did years ago scrolling on my phone, but it was so much more this time around. It was so cute and fluffy and the writing was so easy I feel like I flew right through it. Kendall and Vincent have such a cute connection and I love them so much. The way that he was so sweet to her and thought about her in any and every situation was adorable, like definition of golden retriever boyfriend. I also relate to Kendall so much with the whole romanticizing everything and high expectations and all that and I love the development that her character got. The spice was super good. The side characters were amazing and I honestly really want books for her roommates now!!

Thank you so much for letting me read this arc Anniecrown
Night Shift if available on Kindle Unlimited on September 19th and will be available as a paperback November 14th!! Go read this book!

5/5⭐️ 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

“I memorized poems for you because I wanted to be able to talk to you about shit you like”

This will be released on Kindle Unlimited on the 19th and paperback November 14th! I tagged the author so you can preorder this one!

I have not read a romance book I’ve loved this much in a long time. If you thought Icebreaker was good this book is 100% for you. I loved Icebreaker but I felt like it was dragged out and there was no story. This is the opposite. Night Shift has a great story, the characters are so lovable,are fully developed and it is the perfect length.

What makes it even better is it’s a love story with the main character being a book lover!! She compares her romance to book tropes she loves and hates which is awesome because they are tropes most of us hate for example she talks about how much she hates the surprise pregnancy trope which makes the ending exciting because we know there won’t be any of that coming up!

There’s no third act breakup which is a plus, they do have a little confusion happen between them with some miscommunication but it’s fixed quickly enough that it doesn’t impact the story.

I recommend this book if you love romance books, college romances, strong male characters that turn out to be sweet, popular x not so popular, or if you’re just looking for a quick enjoyable read!

I͜͡ w͜͡a͜͡s͜͡ g͜͡r͜͡a͜͡c͜͡i͜͡o͜͡u͜͡s͜͡l͜͡y͜͡ g͜͡i͜͡v͜͡e͜͡n͜͡ t͜͡h͜͡i͜͡s͜͡ b͜͡o͜͡o͜͡k͜͡ a͜͡s͜͡ a͜͡n͜͡ A͜͡R͜͡C͜͡

This book gave me icebreaker vibes, Kendall is your introvert spicy book lover and Vincent is the captin of the football team. One night in the library changes thier lives and When Vincent needs help in poetry Kendall is the girl.

What I didn’t like is the miscommunication between the two of them, but their similarities are by far cute. It was quick read

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

Night shift releases on KU 9/16

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad for giving me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars for me!

This Night Shift is a very cute story. It follows Kendall and Vincent who are both in college. Kendall works in the library and Vincent goes to her for a poetry lesson. They ended up having chemistry right off the bat. You get to see how their relationship develops from there. Vincent seems to only have a soft spot for Kendall. He even started to read romance stories for her.

While I enjoyed this story, there was a couple things I didn't like. There is a miscommunication trope involved, and that's my least favorite trope of all. Also, the characters seem to fall in love with each other almost immediately. I would've liked there to be a little more slow burn before that happened. Other than those two things, this story is enjoyable. It has short chapters which makes it one that you can read through pretty quickly. If you're looking for a light read where you don't have to dig in, I would recommend this!

2.5 ⭐️

"Night Shift" is a na college romance written by Annie Crown.

I loved the cover and the premises of this book, but the development unfortunately did not convince me. I don't know, I found everything highly superficial and rushed, so much so that I was indifferent to the story and the characters.

The pace of the book is the element that I appreciated most! Fast and smooth, it allowed me to finish it quickly, without boredom or heaviness. Unfortunately, the writing did not convey any emotion to me, so much so that I didn't laugh or smile even once, even though I was aware that in theory certain scenes should have made me laugh or smile.

The plot is what is in the description. The problem, in my opinion, is that it is limited to just that. In the sense that there is no deepening. Not of the setting, not of the secondary characters, and certainly not of the main characters. The story essentially is a constant repetition of misunderstandings between Kendall and Vincent, followed by clarifications and then new misunderstandings, in a cycle that repeats itself over and over again. In short, for me, an absolute vacuum!

Kendall, protagonist with her first person pov, left me completely indifferent. A pity, because on paper she had the potential to like me. Kendall is a shy, introverted girl who loves books and particularly romance. This is all I understood about her character, more because she repeats it over and over again, not because it is efficiently shown. Otherwise, nothingness reigns supreme. Her past? Her family? Anything else? Non-existent. In my opinion she is an extremely shallow, poorly explored character with whom I was unable to bond.

Vincent, in turn, follows the same fate as Kendall. In fact, he's actually even worse, since his pov is not there. I'm sorry because he could have been a very interesting character, but nothing.

The relationship between Kendall and Vincent conveyed nothing to me, except a certain perplexity. It is basically an instalove of the very insta kind, developed in a very bad way. However, I admit that I liked the spicy a lot. Unfortunately, this is not enough to make the romance interesting.

All in all, it is a romance with good premises that unfortunately didn't convince me in the development!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Wattpad for the eARC of this book!

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve read anything off of Wattpad, but I must say that I was rather impressed with this story! Gotta love books with good plots AND good spice. I love how the main character is a romance reader and that she is fully aware of all the “cliches” found in romance novels. Kendall is so relatable, and her interactions with Vincent are adorable. It was a very cute read that I would recommend to a friend.

✨ARC Review✨

Before I get into it, I just want to say I ATE THIS UP 🫠

The moment I started this book, I knew I was going to love it. Right off the bat, we’re hit with a relatable FMC, Kendall, with references to romances novels galore. If that doesn’t sell you, we then meet the handsome and charming basketball star, Vincent. As if THAT CAN’T GET ANY BETTER, we get the most fun and sexy banter a person could want. I mean…I was LOVING IT. The instant chemistry we feel between these two characters is everything and more.

I found myself smiling, feeling giddy, and laughing out loud. The whole time. Did we get cheese? For sure. Did we love it? For freaking sure.

Kendall is a straight up relatable character, for me at least. How she felt about herself and the world of romance just hit home. She’s insecure but wants this hopeless romantic love story. I get it, I really do. I really love how we get so many references to book tropes (there are a lot, btw) and what you’re typical bookstagram reader is thinking. It just felt so accurate and relatable. It was fun and it was cute.

Vincent is like…perfect? Honestly. I was really swooning hard for him. Not only does this man communicate and ask what Kendall constantly wants and feels, but he has a way with his words that’ll make you ~feel~. As far as book boyfriends go, he’s heading to the top. Can more men like him exist please???

This book was straight up a good time. I was loving the plot, and loving the characters. I loved the ~drama~ because let’s be real, we need drama! I loved the spicy scenes and how they were written. There’s one scene in particular that was very…lovely 😉 I loved the end and the epilogue. We get this full circle feeling and it was everything.

Like I said before, there were cheesy moments for sure but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I absolutely loved the dynamics between Vincent and Kendall and loved their playfulness. There were moments when I was rolling my eyes because I knew someone was going to pull the typical book tropes and do something they shouldn’t and it was glorious. Just the right amount of someone jumping to conclusions.

We had great side characters…Nina was the goat of friends. Some of the basketball guys…you’ll know who, also played a great role that had me feeling hopeful.

I loved the college feel to this. It felt super authentic and threw me right back to the good ole college days of mass chaos.

I loved the poetry thing we had going on. It’s different for sure but it fit well and served a great purpose.

I honestly can’t say enough good things about this. If you’re looking for some super deep read, you’ve come to the wrong place. If you’re looking for a super cute, fun, page turning, easy, cheesy, spicy read…ding ding ding!!!

I couldn’t put this down and I was hooked from the beginning 👏🏼 Round of applause for this book having the NERVE of being so good.

Thank you Annie Crown for the ARC copy! 💕

🏀 TROPES & THEMES 🏀
✔️ college aged romance
✔️ strangers to lovers
✔️ basketball team captain + introverted book girlie
✔️ laugh out loud moments
✔️ miscommunication tropes - but they are funny TRUST ME OK
✔️ totally bingeable
✔️ insta-love
✔️ top tier smut
✔️ stand-alone HEA

Sports contemporary romance, who is she?! I applied for an arc of this on NetGalley bc the cartoon cover was adorable and the synopsis sounded fun. I desperately needed a palate cleanser book, and this one understood the assignment!

Kendall works night shifts at her college library where she meets Vincent officially, captain of the baseball team and adorable. Kendall is a lover of smut, and the author was so funny writing in bits about tropes, smut, bodice rippers, etc. I honestly felt like she was talking to us, the readers as we went and it made the book so fun to read! Vincent is struggling with his English class, and Kendall helps him select a couple of Brit lit poem books and the read some aloud as she explains. Chemistry here, it’s off the charts. And is for basically the whole book.

One part the characters actually mention how they hate the miscommunication trope, then realize they did it themselves and I was laughing out loud bc it was just so light hearted and silly.

The banter between our two characters is top shelf banter. Had me giggling and kickin my feet. The smut was top shelf to honey child. 🤌🏽

This book was a really fun one, and I did binge it in two sittings bc mom life. But it can be done in one. My first watt pad story too I completed. 🤣 all in all, the vibes were excellent and if you’re in the market for a steamy contemporary with enough drama to keep you invested and stand-alone with an HEA - look no further!!

I didn’t feel particularly gripped, and I found myself annoyed by some of the disparaging commentary surrounding romances. I stopped after chapter 2 (6%). I see this as a solid three stars with audiences, four for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Sorry but this book was just not for me. I had high hopes for this book, given the beautiful cover art. However, as I started actually reading the story, several issues became apparent. The characters lacked depth and development. It was difficult to root for them when they felt like mere cardboard cutouts. Also, the dialogue felt really unnatural. Hence, the 2 stars.

2.5⭐️

A couple of pages into this and I realized this was an insta-love and I just never like those. They don't seem real to me if that makes sense

I wish we got more details about the characters and had them slowly get together to draw out that tension. Which is what the FMC is always talking about because she loves smutty books and it just makes me laugh that her love story just happens

This had the potential to be a cute college sports romance but it fell short for me
Thank you to netgalley for giving me an advance copy for an honest review

This was such a fun spicy college sports romance. I loved the meet cute first interaction that Kendall and Vincent had at the library. I also enjoyed how the book tropes were discussed throughout the book. There was a bit of miscommunication but I liked how it was addressed and worked through.

I want to start by saying I was fairly shocked that this was a debut novel, it’s well read and articulated in such a way that I wouldn’t have guessed.

What I loved: ❤️
〰️The ability to reason through a lot of the romance genres weak point in a comedic way.
〰️The trope call outs that added humor.
〰️The main females back story and lack of connection, finding herself in college and her self happiness when finding a person.
〰️The apology from the best friend was well worded when often those parts stumble.
〰️The MMCs honest nature
〰️The smut writing was 👌🏽


What I didn’t love:🚫
〰️The lack of full character development, there’s still more to understanding who they are and why they do what they do.
〰️The instalove didn’t both me, but the ability for the FMC to go so far so fast wasn’t quite believable for me, maybe if she’d had the prior desire to find someone for good times I would have felt like it clicked more

All and all I am really excited to read the next thing from Annie Crown and she definitely has me as a fan!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC 4.5 ⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Night Shift by Annie Crown was a fun romance about Kendall, a romance bookworm, who lives her life buried in books and working the night shift on Friday nights at the campus library. One Friday night, the popular captain of the basketball team, Vincent Knight shows up for some help finding poetry for class. Within 10 mins, Kendall and Vincent find themselves making out in the upstairs of the library. After their chance encounter, Kendall doesn't hear from him again for weeks when he asks for a tutor in poetry. Kendall and Vincent meet and continue to get closer. Kendall can't figure out Vincent's intentions and pushes him away as much as she gets closer to him.

I loved this book. The book itself is was an ode to romance readers and favorite/least favorite romance tropes. I enjoyed the meta feeling of the book where the main character, Kendall, would talk about the type of trope that is happening based on the situation. The story was very amusing and relatable for anyone who overthinks every aspect and motivation in their romantic life. It also took least favorite tropes such as miscommunication and turned it on it's head as the side characters would call out Kendall on falling into the trap.

Overall, I found the book very enjoyable. Kendall and Vincent's relationship was so sweet and relatable. There were so many times where you wanted to throttle Kendall for overthinking something while also thinking that you relate to that same way of thinking. It is also a tribute to book lovers and those who look for romance in their books, but find that romance outside of it as well. I am very much looking forward to seeing more from this author as I would love to read more of their work!