Ashley Jade – 🥔 The Book Potato 🥔

He was the talented bad boy everyone wanted.
I was the irrelevant geek everyone hated.

He was the sun…drawing all of us in.
I was a black hole…taking up space.

He was destined to be a star.
I was destined to remain an insignificant no one.

Until he made me believe I was special…

And then he destroyed me.

I never thought I’d see Phoenix Walker again after he broke my heart, but fate had other plans.

One tour. Eight weeks. Forty shows.

Countless opportunities to make him pay.

The world thought he was a God…
But I knew the truth.

Book: The Words by Ashley Jade
Published: January 18, 2022
Pages: 676
Genres: Romance, Musician, Curvy Heroine, New Adult, Tattoos-piercings
Format: Kindle
Date Read: March 11-12, 2023
Rating: 5 Potatoes 🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book because the summary threw me off a bit and I was trying to figure out just how our heroine would end up on tour with our hero. But, I knew that either way this book was going to be worth the read.

“Mistakes don’t define who someone is, Phoenix. It’s what you do after that does.”

And oh boy did our Phoenix make a lot of mistakes! He is very flawed, he’s not perfect by any means, but he truly loves Lennon inside and out.

“Don’t let your insecurities overpower that which makes your soul come alive. Otherwise, you’ll walk this earth never feeling whole…and that’s no way to live.”

Lennon and Phoenix both had a lot of baggage throughout the book but I love how much they loved each other, despite the others imperfections, and were willing to give the other up so they didn’t hold them back. They truly loved the other more than anything.

Phoenix was hurt in the past and didn’t deal with it in a positive way at all until he decided that Lennon was worth more than anything else and that he wanted a real relationship with her. And I was so for it! He didn’t change overnight, he changed a little bit at a time and then he was all in – he didn’t care about anything except making things right with Lennon and just being with her. I can definitely get behind that!

Lennon was hurt very badly by Phoenix and it took a long time for him to earn her trust back and I absolutely loved that about her. She didn’t give in and let him walk all over her, she was strong and held her head high. she is also a very independent character, which always makes my heart happy. I cannot stand a heroine who has no back bone and relies on the hero for everything and Ashley Jade’s heroines are nothing like that!

I absolutely love Ashley Jade’s writing and will continue to buy more of her books in the future. If you are on the fence about buying an Ashley Jade book, ANY Ashley Jade book, just do it!

Welcome to their kingdom…

Cole Covington is the most popular heartbreaker at school.
Every guy wants to be him and every girl wants to screw him.
Except me.
His devastatingly good looks, golden arm, and flirty smiles don’t do it for me anymore…because I know what’s lurking underneath the star quarterback’s gorgeous armor.

At least I thought I did.
Sometimes the most beautiful people…hide the ugliest truths.
And sometimes the only way to save someone…
is to walk beside them through hell.

Sawyer Church is the bible-thumping nerd of Royal Hearts Academy.
Girls pick on her and guys don’t notice her.
Except me.
Sweet, curvy, and sarcastic, she’s impossible to ignore.
No matter how much I try.
Everyone at school has her pegged as the chubby, Jesus loving geek, but unlike them—Sawyer’s real and never pretends to be someone she’s not.

Until I ask her to be my fake girlfriend.

Sometimes the most beautiful souls…hide the greatest pain.
And sometimes the only way to save someone…
is to fight for them.

Book: Ruthless Knight (Royal Hearts Academy #2) by Ashley Jade
Published: January 20, 2020
Pages: 608
Genres: Romance, Athlete, Curvy Heroine, High School, New Adult
Format: Kindle
Date Read: March 10-11, 2023
Rating: 5 Potatoes 🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔

Where do I even begin with this book?

This is the first book I have ever read of Ashley Jade’s but I am officially a fan! I have had the first book in this series in my to-buy pile for a while but never got around to it and then saw the reviews for this one and decided to jump right into the middle of this series. I’m so glad I did!

I want to know what it’s like to feel like I’m enough.

Sawyer Church as not had it easy – she has been bullied all her life and always made to feel like she wasn’t beautiful simply because she is overweight. She is a size 14 though to me I would consider that thick or curvy but that’s just me. She has had a crush on Cole since she came to California and always wants to believe in the good in him, even when he is acting like a jerk.

“You ended with a positive. You can tell a lot about how someone feels about a person by the way they end a statement, especially when they’re feeling conflicted about them.”

Cole Covington has had a thing for Sawyer for a while but due to having a reputation to uphold wont admit it to anyone, least of all her and treats her horribly in public.

“You think love is perfect? Like one of those fairytales?” He shakes his head. “Hell no. Love is hard…difficult. It’s dealing with someone’s shit day in and day out but never giving up on them because your heart won’t let you. It’s having a million reasons to leave them…but always having one good reason to stay.”

Sawyer and Cole’s journey was definitely not an easy one and had a lot of ups and downs but what I loved the most about them was that they truly loved each other and saw who they were as a person underneath it all. Cole was not always the easiest person to love but Sawyer loved him anyway and wasn’t afraid to call him on his crap. And Sawyer got what she needed most from Cole – someone who loved her for her, despite what her body did or didn’t look like.

I loved how much the characters grew as the book progressed. The Sawyer and Cole at the end of the book were so much more sure of themselves and were actually happy! It was so amazing to watch Cole grow as a human and be so in love with Sawyer that he didn’t care about anything else except making her happy and being with her. I loved his character so much, even when he was being a complete jerk.

The author does such a great job of developing these complex characters with real fears and issues. I can’t wait to read more of her work! I highly recommend this book!