Author: Amanda

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I was so excited to see Tessa Bailey had a golf romance! Thank you to the publisher for the ARC.⁣
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This was such a solid romcom! I know what to expect from Tessa Bailey at this point and it delivered on exactly what I wanted from her. It’s low angst, hilarious, and spicy. I can’t say it was hugely different from a lot of her other books, aside from the golf stuff, but I can’t say I really want anything different from her either.⁣
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I found myself laughing out loud often, especially at Wells’ befuddlement over his feelings for Josephine which is my favorite hallmark of Tessa’s books. He fancied himself a cold jerk with a juicy booty but he was so so so soft for his lady and I loved how he was so protective but also knew she was a badass and treated her like an equal, while also being growly and possessive. He cared in such big and small ways and it was a delight.⁣
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Josephine was a great character, and I loved the Type 1 diabetes rep. I feel like I learned some new things so that was great! She didn’t want to be only known for her T1D diagnosis and I loved how strong she was on her own. She really tamed the beast in Wells while also not letting herself get walked over. ⁣
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The two had great chemistry, it had the fan-yourself spice and dirty talk I expect from Tessa 🍑 and I just really had a great time reading it! It’s funny, it’s spicy, it’s entertaining. Definitely recommend for Tessa fans! ⁣

Ready or Not

Ready or Not is out now! Thank you to the publisher for the ARC.

Well, this was a delight. I know surprise pregnancy is a controversial trope but I actually love it and this was such a good spin on it.

Eve discovers she is pregnant after a one night stand and everything in her life begins to change (as pregnancy is wont to do). Her best friend is taking the news weird, her baby daddy is torn, and her best friend’s brother starts showing up for her when no one else is. The story carries us through her pregnancy as all these relationships start to grow and change.

Eve was an excellent heroine. She didn’t always get it right but it was admirable how she kept picking herself back up and trying. Life was not going the way she expected, she didn’t have her dream career and then to be impregnated by a bartender she hooked up really wasn’t in her plan but I loved how she just kept going. It’s told only in her POV so it’s really her story, and one I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Shep might have been the most perfect MMC I’ve ever read. I loved Shep. He is everything I don’t normally love in a MMC – blond, golden retriever, good guy. Such a good good guy. He has pined for Eve for years, so when his chance came to be there for her he took every opportunity to grow closer to her but also to be there for the baby. 

The way their relationship progressed had me downright giddy. It wasn’t all that steamy, but it was intimate and adorable. It’s a relationship of small touches and acts of service. There’s a scene where he massages her hand that made me take a sip of water because I was getting overheated. I just loved them!

I loved not just Eve and Shep but also the supporting characters. Willa is the best friend anyone would want, she would do anything for you even if it was hard for her. Ethan, the baby daddy, was struggling in such a very realistic way. He didn’t handle everything perfectly but in such a real feelings way.

I will say there were parts that felt perhaps a bit over the top about motherhood and how magical it is (one of the side characters, to summarize, said you’re self centered until you become a mother, then you become other centered and care about other people once you have children which had me blinking in confusion) but I tried not to let that bother me. 

Overall though, I loved this book. I loved it so much. It’s a top read of the year for me and I know these wonderfully flawed characters will stick with me for a long tim

Meegan

Happy Monday! How was your weekend?

Meegan releases tomorrow, thank you to the author for the ARC. 

It was so fun being back in Meegan’s world! Meegan has appeared in many of the author’s backlist books as a side character, a supportive bestie, and the romantic interest that gets left behind. 

She meets her match in Olin, the autistic tech millionaire who needs a fake girlfriend to get people off his back about dating. Olin is tall, handsome, and extremely wealthy so he practically has to beat women off with a stick but until he finds a woman who stimulates him mentally and physically, he’s not interested in dating just because. Their mutual friend Xeni introduces them, and Meegan agrees to help him out

The two grow closer as they attend a series of events, and the lines between fake and real immediately blur but Meegan’s not sure if Olin’s up for her kinky bedroom activities. Thankfully Olin loves to learn new things and throws himself into learning the dom/sub lifestyle with a little help from some friends.

This is of course spicy, filled to the brim with exploration and toys and kinks, but it’s also about finding your missing piece, the person who completes you and lets you know you’re great the way you are. I loved how accepting they both were of each other’s proclivities and how they found a home in each other.

The exploration of the BDSM/kink club world was a good one I thought, though it’s not one I know much about so I don’t really know. It was helpful to me to learn about it alongside Olin. 

The author has a really easy reading style of writing, light but touches on heavier topics with a deft hand and I always enjoy the time spent lost in the pages she writes!

I will say, I haven’t read the author’s entire backlist so some of these side characters were confusing to me. I have read Xeni and Rafe so it was great seeing those characters again but there were about a million cameos that got hard to follow. 

Overall though I loved it! 

Ashes of You

Hey! Happy Thursday. Ashes of You is out today. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

I loved this addition to the Lost & Found series! Lawson is officially my favorite Hartley (sorry Roan). I am forever a sucker for the single dad/nanny trope. The forbidden vibes are just the best, along with the close proximity and throw in an age gap and I am a goner!

Lawson is the oldest Hartley sibling, a single father with his hands full not only with his three boys but also as a small town chief of police. He finally agrees to hire a nanny to help out at home, but he didn’t expect his best candidate to be someone he helped rescue years ago. 

Hallie has a lot of trauma in her past and is trying to live her life again unafraid, and I loved her relationship with Lawson and how supportive he was, but I also really loved her relationships with his boys.  Lawson fights the good fight to ignore his attraction to his much younger nanny, but eventually the close proximity wins (though this is definitely a slow burn!) and the two can’t fight their feelings anymore.

The romance was so well developed and the suspense portion will have you thinking everyone is a suspect! I loved this book, I love this series, I love the Hartley family. I’m so sad it’s over but can’t wait to see what comes next!

Butcher & Blackbird

Well, this is a hard one to review.

I think it was so funny and wildly entertaining. Is it kind of gross? Sure, at times, but in a funny way. The trigger warning list is a mile long, and I think the shock of the triggers is part of the appeal as long as it’s safe for you to read. It is about two “good” serial killers who compete against each other to kill “bad” serial killers so there are lots of violent and murdery elements.

It’s definitely insta-love for the MMC, and I loved how all in Rowan was even when Sloane couldn’t see it. It was very much a slow burn but does get spicy by the end. I don’t think it was the absolute best developed romance (I never think insta-love is) but it was a lot of fun. Their banter was excellent and they had me laughing out loud so much. I also loved the side characters and look forward to their stories.

The audiobook experience was even better for me than the eyeball reading thanks to the duet narration. Both narrators do a great job, and while I wasn’t 100% sold on Joe Arden’s Irish accent, I loved how they played off each other. The trigger warning list alone had me laughing thanks to their narration.

So for entertainment value I’d give it 5 stars, for the actual romance more like a 3.5 but overall it was so fun and funny and outrageous. Definitely recommend it if you’re not squeamish! Especially the audio!

Through The Glen

Happy Thursday! Through the Glen released today into Kindle Unlimited. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

In Through the Glen, we return to the (unfortunately) fictional Ardnoch, the member’s only club set in a castle deep in the Scottish Highlands, where shy housekeeper Sarah asks worldly aristocratic television producer Theo to work on her screenplay with her. Struggling with writer’s block on his own, he eventually agrees and the two shut themselves away in Sarah’s cottage to work on the project together. Their close proximity does its magic and the two start to have feelings that surprise them both. 

They’re opposites in almost all ways – Sarah is extremely shy and sheltered in her small town, she has lived a quiet life but really comes into her own in this book. She’s secretly a bestselling author under a pen name, and she goes through a lot of growth to accept her success and also to accept new friendships and experiences in her life. Theo is a swaggering playboy, the son of a British Viscount, one who’s vowed never to settle down after his first relationship imploded spectacularly. 

The two find comfort and acceptance in each other and it was lovely to watch their respective walls start to fall. The sparks between them were intense and the author always brings the spice which I love.

I can’t say either MC is my favorite of the author’s, but that’s okay. They can’t all be my favorite! They loved each other and Sarah is a lot more forgiving than me, so that’s what matters.

I love being in this world and am so glad we still have more books to come! I can’t get enough.

Head Over Heels

Happy Wednesday! Head Over Heels is out today I received an eARC in exchange for review and ordered the paperback as soon as it was available because, spoiler alert, it’s my favorite read of 2024 so far!⁣
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This is book two in the Wilder Family series, between middle brother Cameron Wilder and the woman with whom he gets stuck on an elevator.⁣
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Cameron and Ivy are strangers with an immediate attraction (I was sweating a little at their interaction) but are quickly rescued from their predicament, only for her to reappear in his life as a much needed client of his family’s construction company. The two are forced to spend time together as her family’s home is remodeled and soon their initial attraction sparks right back up again.⁣
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I loved both characters separately and together. Cameron is the good guy brother, the nice one, the one who fixes all the problems.He’s just so capable and emotionally mature and GAAHHH I loved him. Ivy is much more reserved thanks to her upbringing and I love that we got a slightly icy heroine! Cold girls need love too and it was a delight to watch Cameron purposefully and masterfully melt some of those walls. Their small town boy/city girl opposites attract vibe was excellent and boy did they have a lot of chemistry! ⁣
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I loved being back with the Wilder family, whom we’ve met through both this series and another, though things have definitely taken a sad turn as their father’s health continues to decline. Anticipatory grief is a hard thing to deal with and I loved that Ivy could be there for Cameron, who’s always there for everyone else. Also I sobbed like a baby. ⁣
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This was such an excellent, sexy, emotional, heartfelt small town romance. Karla’s long been a favorite author of mine but I feel like she’s entered a new era with these past few releases and I’m so glad I get to go along for the ride! ⁣

I Wish You Were Mine

Happy Thursday! I Wish You Were Mine by Jessica Peterson is out today 🎉  I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

This is book two in the Harbour Village series but can easily be read as a standalone.

I loved this! It’s got all my favorite things including:

*single dad/nanny

*age gap

*surprise pregnancy

*close proximity 

*small town

*all the spice

Maren is hired to be nanny to Tuck’s young daughter, and the two are immediately attracted to each other. I loved how their relationship progressed. Tuck tried not to be a creeper to his much younger nanny but the lust eventually won out. It wasn’t an easy path to HEA for them but I’m always glad when a book discusses mental health issues and therapy. 

It was sweet, it was spicy, it was charming, it had a cute kid, and all my favorite tropes! I really enjoyed it.

Shots and Barbs

Shots and Barbs is out today! I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is book two in the Deep Earth Dating series – you could possibly read it as a standalone if you don’t care about how humans and monsters came to be living side by side on Earth. The history is all explained in book one, Berries and Greed, but that doesn’t really affect the plot of this one at all.

I’ve got to be honest, after reading Berries and Greed (which I loved) I wasn’t so sure about getting Nuni’s story. He’s a peacocking frat/gym bro who wasn’t necessarily very nice to his little bro (the MMC of Berries and Greed)  historically. He meets his match in Anita, the competent workaholic event planner in charge of his firm’s anniversary party. 

They seem very different at first – he’s chatty and boastful while she’s quieter and more reserved, but they bring out the softer side of each other, along with their competitive sides. And their horny sides. The competitive nature of their relationship results in the best banter, I was genuinely laughing out loud throughout the whole thing. 

Like I said, I wasn’t so sure about Nuni at the beginning but he absolutely won me over by the end. If Thatcher Kelly is your favorite Max Monroe character but you wish he was a 7 ft tall monster you’ll love Nuni. 

It’s pretty low angst, just two type-A hotties hooking up a lot while pretending it’s just sex but obviously falling for each other. There’s also a forbidden romance edge to it since Anita shouldn’t be dating her client per her workplace’s rules.

It did feel a little long in parts but I still enjoyed it and thought it was a lot of fun!

In A Jam

I love this book. I loved it last year when it was my first read of 2023, and I loved it this year as my first read of 2024. I did it on audio this time around and it was so so so good (Jason Clarke 🥵)⁣
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It’s easily become an all time favorite for me. It has literally everything I love in a romance – small town, marriage of convenience, a grumpy MMC who falls first and hard, pining (my GOD, the PINING). It had me laughing and swooning in equal parts. Even the tagline makes me swoon – “She was the one who got away. She just didn’t know it.”⁣
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My review from last year still holds true – ⁣
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Noah, Daddy Bread Baker for those in the know, is a serious dreamboat. He’s pined for his former neighbor/high school crush for years, so when she shows up back in town to claim an inheritance, he immediately throws out a marriage proposal to help her out – despite the fact that he’s very grumpy she left him behind in the first place. ⁣
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He’s raising his niece all on his own and doesn’t really have time for a marriage, what with single handedly saving his family’s farm, helping out everyone in town, and perfecting his jam recipes but he just can’t help himself. His niece was an absolute hoot- I want to be Gennie when I grow up. Even though he’s grown up physically since high school, he can’t help but blush and panic when Shay gets close, which of course makes him even grumpier.⁣
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Shay is a bit lost, her seemingly perfect life has come crashing down around her and she doesn’t know who she is or what she wants anymore. She was an interesting if not a bit frustrating at times character, but I think I actually understood her more the second time around. It’s so obvious Noah is gone for her, but she just got out of a really long and toxic relationship so immediately jumping into something new can’t be easy.⁣
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The sparks between Shay and Noah were immediate, and though it was a slow burn, when things got physical oh boy did dirty talking Noah have me blushing. I loved how these two balanced each other out.⁣
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I love this book. ⁣