I always enjoy a Melanie Johnson book and this was no exception. Sadie and Bo meet again after 11 years. They used to be a pair, but Bo broke it off "for her own good" Sadie had money and Bo did not. He wasn't comfortable with the balance. Now he's the stunt coordinator for her first starring role. They are quite nervous around each other and it's fun to see their relationship grow. The storyline was good and I really loved reading it. I got this book from NetGalley for an honest review

This was a delightful book and I totally loved the characters. Sophie has been acting for a long time and is beginning her first starring role. Her excitement is dampened on her first day on set. There are a lot of stunts in the movie, some of which she will do. When she is introduced to the stunt coordinator it turns out to be Bo, her childhood best friend and teenage lover. He broke up with her on prom night and they haven’t seen each other since. They need to maintain a professional appearance while filming but it’s very difficult for both of them. Can they do this colored by memories from the past?


Also reviewed on Kobo & B&N under the name IrishEyes430

Young love and two teenagers from very different worlds. It sounds romantic, but sadly it’s a love doomed to fail. Once Upon a Bad Boy tells the story of Sadie and Bo, who spend a lot of childhood summers together, and who haven’t seen each other for more then a decade. I have enjoyed reading their story.

Sadie is an actress who has scored her first leading role in a major movie. Playing a role in a soap opera and several small parts in other movies has been fun, but Sadie is ready for more. And for her role in Fair is Fair, a lot of action is required. Enter Bo, professional stunt coordinator, to help with the action moves and keeping the actors safe. Unknown to the rest of the crew, Sadie and Bo have a history. A sweet, beautiful, sad and painful history. And seeing each other again, brings back all the good and bad feelings.

Sadie is a sweetheart who knows what she wants. And that is the live her life, without taking advantage of her parents’ money. Bo was her first love, first everything, and their breakup has hurt her badly. Well, Bo broke up with her, all Sadie could do was watch him walk away. Bo had his reasons for breaking up with Sadie (his teenage self thought it was the only solution), but he knew getting over her would be hard. Now as adults Sadie and Bo are reconnecting, but they also have to talk about their past. I love this couple, but at the same time I want to shake some sense into them. Sadie for keeping her secrets to herself, Bo for making that stupid decision in the past.

Once Upon a Bad Boy is the third book in the ‘Sometimes in Love Series’, and I really like it. It’s a second-chance story about two people who were together as teenagers, and who meet again as adults. We also see the couples from the previous books and meet the leading ladies for future books to come. Bo and Sadie are a charming leading couple, you just want all their secrets out in the open so they both can heal and be together at last…

Sadie Gold is a soap-opera actress working in her first action film when she discovers the stuntman on the film is her former teen sweetheart, Bo Ibarra. Sadie is a rich young woman who stayed during the summers at her grandparent's enormous estate and Bo's family lived on the property and managed the horse stables. They grew up together as children and developed a romance in their teen years. Then abruptly, the night of the prom, Bo broke up with Sadie very coldly. As adults, they find themselves working together and develop a romance once again. They finally piece together what went wrong when they were teenagers and learn to move past it.

I have read the previous two titles in the Sometimes in Love series, which I really enjoyed. Sadly, I didn't enjoy this book for a number of reasons. The re-kindled romance seemed to come out of nowhere. Sadie felt very poorly treated during their teen breakup and seemed to be still hurting from those memories. Bo and Sadie have a date or two where they seem to reconnect as friends, when suddenly there is a steamy romance happening. It's hard to believe that Sadie would get over her hurt so easily. There were a few other issues with this book, but it's hard to discuss without giving away too much.

I really enjoyed Melonie Johnson's first two books, so I would still check out other titles by her in the future. Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Once Upon a Bad Boy book #3 in Sometimes in Love Series. I really enjoyed this second chance romance. The characters are well developed likable and realistic. The story is very well written, a great addition to this series. I was drawn right in and this book was hard to put down. It made me laugh and also brought tears to my eyes. I am really enjoying this series and can’t wait for the next installment. I highly recommend this book, and the first two books in the Sometimes in Love series as well.

Very sweet second chance story with just enough angst to keep you reading. I enjoyed this story and the writing is good. The main characters were very likeable and the secondary characters added a lot interest to the story. I would definitely read another book from this new to me author.

Sadie Gold has struggled all her adult life to prove she’s more than a spoiled little rich girl whose family and their connections get her everything she wants. After leaving her role in a soap opera to pursue a career in film, she’s landed a role that can make or break said career and is fighting hard to show the world she’s worth the opportunity she’s been given. But then her past will make an appearance when her old flame is revealed as the stunt coordinator on her upcoming film.
Bo Ibarra is struggling himself to achieve the dream he’s been pursuing for the last 10 years. This film is the opportunity to show his partner he’s ready to take over and finally own the stunt company they started together. The one challenge he needs to overcome is working with the woman who’s always owned his heart.
This is a second chance story with a lot of heart, fun and sexy banter and great relationships. It’s a story of a fairy princess turned actress and a bad boy from a different world, who are brought together by fate in what seems like a different lifetime and have to find their way to a HEA.
I liked a lot of the elements of the book by themselves, but I found it slow to progress and predictable which only made it passable as a whole in my opinion.

Melonie Johnson has another hit on her hands. She hasn’t disappointed with the precious two, and this one is no exception. The emotion, humor, some steamy parts, and parts that will make your heart sing, this book is another 5 star read. Second chance romances are one of my faves, and this one proves that sometimes fate has other ideas. The storyline keeps you reading every word until you get to the end. The plot is one you fall in love with. An amazing book by this author.

Bo and Sadie have a history. They don’t realize that fate wants to change their history. Showing up at a movie set, their life changes. Together, they are an amazing couple that you would totally want to be friends with. Their different worlds get in the way at times, but they find a way to make the two worlds mix and find what they were looking for all along.

Second chances!

I enjoyed this second chance book by Melanie Johnson. It had a lot of steam, a lot of emotions and I enjoyed the journey to love.

I received an ARC copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely.

This was really good! The story was sweet and sexy and full of romance. I had such fun with this book. I loved Sadie and Bo. This is a great summer read. I really enjoyed it!

Once Upon a Bad Boy by Melonie Johnson is the story of Sadie Goldovitz who is an actress using the last name of Gold. She plans to reward herself with one donut after a hard week of working out for her upcoming role. She gets her friend Ana to meet her and they split two donuts so Sadie only eats one but can half each of the two she can’t make up her mind about. Sadie decides to delay her gratification a bit and gets her donuts to go. When she meets for the afternoon meeting and learns her co-star Ryan also loves donuts, she offers to share a bite. Will she and Ryan share more? What happens when she shows up on set and learns the stunt coordinator is her childhood love who dumped her on prom night? Will she be able to compete the stunts and finish the move?
I liked this book and found it a quick, interesting read. It is a pretty much typical romance story. Boy meets girl, break up, get back together, meet someone else, breakup, etc. There are some surprises along the way to a happy ending for at least two of the characters. I rate it 4 of 5 stars.
I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Yes!! I absolutely loved this contemporary romance. Sadie and Bo spent every Summer together on her grandmother's estate. As they got older hormones kicked in and they fell in love in high school. Unfortunately, prom night changed both their lives. Sadie went on working towards becoming a well known actress while Bo worked hard as a stunt coordinator. Eventually, their paths crossed. The ups, downs, normal anxieties, feelings and romance pulled on heartstrings and hoping somehow for that HEA. I received a complementary copy of this book via Net Galley and chose to write a review. I look forward to reading future books by Ms. Johnson and am hoping Luna gets a book.

This is a second chance book of a couple that meets when they were seven. So, you have a bond of friendship that is always hard to give up. So, but when you give up your virginity to this person like Sadie did it’s so much more.

The night of her prom, within, it was too much. It felt like, most likely he breaks up with her, a final break. Yet, he really breaks so much more. The hardest part is he doesn’t tell her, why. Then, when she gets back home, he was gone. He broke her heart being a coward, he broke her trust, and he abandons her too.

She adds him along with all the emotions that were too much to handle without completely falling apart. She places them in a box as she says, and she never looks back. Never returns to her grandmother’s estate where he and his family run the stables.

Bo was but a memory. She doesn’t even look him up on social media or ask him. There is no more Bo only her career in acting. She just scored her first lead in a major picture in Chicago, her second hometown. After being in a soap opera in New York for years. This is an action film. The first day of the read-through she meets the cast. When her lead goes to introduce her to the stunt coordinator he requested.

When he said it is none other than, Bo. To say there was a shock to her heart, it would be an understatement. The tension is thick for a few days. Then, she and her bestie Ana, co-start, Ryan, and Bo go apple picking afterward it’s on like Donkey Kong, between the to of them. Really?!

Okay, the guy takes your virginity then bails but most of all he had been your friend since seven breaks your trust and you let him jump your bones without talking out the past. EFF! Your boxes Really?!!! Does that not seem a little unbelievable to anyone else or just me? Yes, he was your first got it. But her best friend burned her where was her anger? The box. Right?!

Nope, anyway, this starts losing me and star. Because when asked point blank if she’s his girlfriend he says, nothing. She’s is afterthought or toy for the moment or so it seems. Check for yourself. Not the same vibe as Smitten for the Brit which I totally enjoyed. I am having a problem with a spoiled alpha male (who’s not rich) who has commitment issues and is a snob of those of wealth.

In a passive way. Sadie, I had been trying to root for since she is concurring her phobias but can’t fully since she is allowing her ex to use her as a toy. She is afraid to confront him on his past shit and what he put her through.

I give this: 3 stars. Provided by netgalley.com. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com.

I am a total sucker for a second chance love story. Nothing speaks to my inner romantic more than two people, who loved each other deeply when they were younger, finding their way back together many years later. Also, I love groveling.

But I almost quit on this one. It took me two nights to read the first 40 percent. I appreciate an author setting up a story, but it seemed this one took too long to get to the good stuff…

Sadie Gold is an up-and-coming actress about to star in her first major film. She’s happy to be in Chicago, near where she grew up and where her best friends still live. Things take a turn when she discovers the man who is in charge of coordinating stunts for the action film is the man who broke her heart when she was 18.

Bo Ibarra loved Sadie, but broke up with her “for her own good.” (Ugh...I despise this reasoning to begin with, and I don’t feel like the situation that lead him to that conclusion was explained adequately, but never mind that…moving on!) Now he’s going to be working closely with her for the next couple months, and can’t help but feel fate has intervened to give them a second chance.

With very little effort, they find themselves back in love. But then something from the past - something Sadie meant to tell Bo about, but kept putting off - makes a forced appearance, and breaks them apart, again.

Despite a S-L-O-W start, this book had a lot going for it. The last half of the book, the pacing picked up as Sadie and Bo got to know each other again. I liked how the hero and heroine (kinda) took things slow, but things were still pretty steamy. Once they decided they wanted to be together, they didn’t dwell on the past. Which is good, what’s done is done and you can’t go back. However, maybe if they had spent more time talking about what went down between them when they were young, Sadie’s hand wouldn’t have been forced into telling Bo about the choices she made after he pushed her away.

But then, you know…there’s not much drama to the book. And that would be a shame. Because even though I could see where things were going (and easily figured out what Sadie’s secret was), and feel like there could have been more discussion about choices and consequences and how they felt, this book had the right amount of drama and angst.

Once Upon a Bad Boy is why I’ve kept reading so many books this year that didn’t immediately pull me in. Because every once in a while, there’s that one book that gets really good, and you can’t put it down all afternoon. It makes the not-so-exciting chapters worth it!

* thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I don’t know! I have read the other books in this series and totally felt them, related to the characters and rooted for them. I wish I had felt the same about Sadie’s book, but unfortunately, for me, it didn’t have the same punch that the others had. I did not relate to Sadie and Bo the way I wish I could have. I am looking forward to Ana’s book and i hope I feel more emotion than this story g

Melonie Johnson has created realistic, likeable characters in Once Upon a Bad Boy. Sadie is a good study in stereotypes. Everyone thinks growing up rich equates to have a great life but once again we're reminded that money is not the source of all happiness. Absentee parents never made her life easy. Having her career success attributed to her family's wealth stings in the worst way. She's determined to prove to the world her worth as an actress and pours her heart into the amazing role she's landed.

Bo's the one that got away and it broke Sadie's heart. She's never gotten over her first love but life goes on and some hurts are too deep to overcome. She's shocked to find he's working on the same movie and not too happy that he still makes her heart yearn.

Bo's been guilty of stereotyping Sadie too and though he regrets losing her he knows he did what was right. Or did he?

The two find quickly that what they had so many years ago still burns inside both of them. On on-set affair will do neither of their relationships any good but they're soon spending time together rekindling their love.

There some intrigue, lots of missed cues and misunderstandings. There's also a sweet love, great friends amazing family members and plenty else to keep the reader turning pages.

I enjoyed this book and think you will too.

reviewed by Jem

I loved this emotional and steamy second-chance romance with wonderful characters and a smartly written story that kept me totally involved in all that was happening from the beginning and I really didn't want the book to end. I loved the undeniable chemistry between Sadie Gold, an actress who is ready to take her career to the next level with the lead role in a new action movie, and good-looking and irresistible Bo Ibarra who is the stunt coordinator. This is the third book in the Sometimes in Love series by gifted author, Melonie Johnson, and I can hardly wait to read what she has for us next. I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

Life is made up of choices. Good, bad, ugly - it doesn't really matter. The past is filled with choices. They say hindsight is 20/20 but it still doesn't change anything.

Once Upon a Bad Boy is a second chance...the one who got away story. A bright future and a murky past collide and create a hazy present. Only these two can figure out what is to come.

This is my favorite book of the series!! Melonie Johnson did an excellent job of balancing light and funny with serious and a bit heartbreaking.

I loved the chemistry between Bo and Sadie. I feel like they handled their history and issues in a mature and realistic manner and I adored seeing them get their HEA.

*I received an ARC for voluntary review

Yay I was dying to know what Sadie was thinking in Bonnie’s book! It was killing me and now all is right in the world lol
“Barely five months ago, Bonnie had still been engaged to Gabe, her long-term boyfriend. Sadie had always hoped the pair would make it. Partly because she wanted her friend to have her happily ever after, but also, selfishly, it would be nice to know that childhood sweethearts could last. That it could happen.”
This quote hit me straight in the feels💖 “She’d wanted to accomplish so much before that milestone, but had wasted too many years stuck in neutral.” Sadie is doing a great job! She is too hard on herself.
“I didn’t think I was unhappy before, exactly, but . . .” “A piece of you was missing.” Nana nodded. “I know what that feels like, to be without the other part of yourself.” This one also spoke to my soul.
“Men are like cake,” Ana explained. “And I love cake. But I’m not in love. Not yet.” Ana drizzled chocolate syrup on the inside of a martini glass. “I have yet to find the perfect recipe. The right blend of richness, sweetness, and texture. The right balance of cake to frosting.” Those four quotes I could not get out of my head. I love books that stick with you long after you read it. It dealt with some heavy topics but their support team was out of this world. Sometimes second chances are worth it.