Neutral Zone

Here’s a little #MessyMonday stack of the Carolina Comets by Teagan Hunter

I love this series! It’s just exactly what I want in sports romance. The friendships and joking between teammates, hot romances, excellent banter, and just a little bit of the actual sport.

Neutral Zone is book seven in the series, between Fitz and Rosie. They know each other in real life, but unbeknownst to Rosie, she also talks to Fitz online where he follows her cam girl account. 

I love that Fitz was kind of a shy, awkward character. Normally professional athletes tend to be shown as more confident but I loved that he didn’t think he was good enough for the girl who serves him his coffee. Rosie was the bolder character, recently discovering her sexy side after being put down for her curves previously.

Together they were adorable, but also yowza this one was sizzling hot. To be fair, every book in this series is spicy, but this one was a little kinkier than the rest so felt extra spicy. 

If you are looking for a funny and sexy sports romance series, I can’t recommend the Carolina Comets enough, out now in KU. It’s probably complete (for now), but a spin off series is coming soon!

20 Travel Romance Recommendations

I love a romance set in a great travel destination, especially when one or both of the characters are there on vacation. It’s the perfect getaway when you can’t actually get away, no passport required. I have read and enjoyed all twenty of these!

  1. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. Destination: Maui
  2. One Hot Italian Summer by Karina Halle. Destination: Tuscany, Italy
  3. The Simple Wild by KA Tucker. Destination: Alaska
  4. The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth O’Roark. Destination: Hawaii
  5. Frenched by Melanie Harlow. Destination: Paris
  6. Wild Highway by Devney Perry. Destination: Montana
  7. My Life in Shambles by Karina Halle. Destination: Ireland
  8. Truth or Dare by Danielle Allen. Destination: Punta Cana
  9. The Romantic Pact by Meghan Quinn. Destination: Germany
  10. Broken French by Tasha Boyd. Destination: French Riviera
  11. The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morganthaler. Destination: Alaska
  12. Shipped by Angie Hockman. Destination: Galapagos Islands
  13. Where Sea Meets Sky by Karina Halle. Destination: New Zealand
  14. Love Lessons by Sarina Bowen. Destination: Lake Como, Italy
  15. Perfect Strangers by JT Geissinger. Destination: Paris
  16. Starting Back by Stephanie Rose. Destination: Florida Keys
  17. Much Ado About You by Samantha Young. Destination: England
  18. A Place In the Sun by RS Grey. Destination: Cinque Terre
  19. My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey. Destination: Cape Cod
  20. Bright Midnight by Karina Halle. Destination: Norway

Tempting the Neighbor

Tempting The Neighbor is book two in the Mount Macon series by Ashley Munoz. You could read it as a standalone if you wanted, but the couple from the first book are in this one quite a bit. 

Similar to the first book in the series, it’s a little messy but very entertaining. It’s also spicy and dramatic (especially the 3rd act conflict 🙄) 

Nora and Colson are next door neighbors who don’t get along very well to begin with when a fallen tree during a winter storm pushes them both past the edge. Nora has a big huge crush on Colson, who happens to be her father’s right hand man at his construction company. Colson has been warned to stay away from Nora, but eventually finds the temptation of his next door neighbor too much to resist.

When I say it’s spicy, I mean it’s SPICY (at least by my standards.) There’s also some excellent caretaking, some forbidden romance vibes, family dramatics, and laugh out loud banter.

I didn’t really like either of the main characters here much at all (she was bratty and he was a weenie), so I can’t say this was a new favorite but I still enjoyed the book overall and look forward to the next book in the series which is set up really well in this one!

The Marriage Solution

The Marriage Solution released last week in Kindle Unlimited! Thank you the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a marriage of convenience romance between two long time best friends who marry when the heroine is in need of healthcare after losing her job (yay America!). Julie has recently been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, and her old friend Landon will do anything to make sure she’s safe and healthy and able to afford the treatment she needs.

When a quick trip down the aisle in Vegas ends with a spectacular kiss, the two friends start to realize maybe there have been feelings there all along. Add in a bit of forced proximity, and the two soon can’t fight those feelings anymore.

I enjoyed this! The characters are in their late 30s so due to their maturity there is not a lot of extra drama. It’s a sweet low angst story (with some spice of course). The two have to readjust their lives once they realize their feelings have shifted, and I enjoyed watching how it all played out.

It’s own-voices chronic illness rep and I appreciated the insight into what that is like. There’s a great supporting cast, good steam, and I love when the hero falls first.

Also there’s a “Get your hands off my wife!” moment 😏

Unfortunately Yours

Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey is out today! Thank you Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

I loved this enemies to lovers marriage of convenience romcom. I will admit I didn’t exactly love Secretly Yours so I was a little nervous, but this had all the humor and heart and dirty talking fans of Tessa Bailey would expect. We met both Natalie and August in Secretly Yours, but I think you’d be okay reading this one as a standalone. 

Natalie has returned home to Napa after losing her high powered career and fiance all with one bad business decision. She needs her trust fund in order to start a new company, but the terms of the trust say she must be married in order to inherit. August Cates is a former marine, new to the winemaking industry, but has sunk all his money into a vineyard that keeps producing terrible wine. The two strike an agreement, they’ll marry in order for her to receive her trust fund and him to make the connections needed in Napa to secure a business loan. 

August is one of my favorite Tessa heroes, just totally dumbstruck by his feelings and attraction for Natalie. He’s one part golden retriever, one part Marine veteran dedicating his life to fulfilling his fallen brother’s dream. He’s large and strong with a totally soft and gooey middle and I just love when the guy falls first.

Natalie was also a great character, everyone underestimates her and still thinks of her as the wild child teen she once was and I loved how she proved herself capable. 

Natalie and August constantly butt heads, leading to some truly excellent banter and the forced proximity leads to a lot of sexual tension (though, technically, this is sort of a slow burn).

I really had a great time reading this! This was exactly the book I want from the author. If you are a Tessa Bailey fan don’t hesitate to pick this one up despite your feelings about Secretly Yours.

Melanie Harlow

Melanie Harlow is one of the authors that got me into indie romance and I can honestly say I wouldn’t be the romance reader I am today without her books. I bought Frenched in March 2016 and never looked back. Her books strike the perfect balance of humor, heart, and heat for me. They’re exactly what I want in contemporary romance.

The steam is impeccable and plentiful, but there are also more emotional and romantic elements, alongside banter that makes me laugh every single time. The majority of the stories take place in Michigan and I love a Midwest setting.

And as of writing this, they are all in Kindle Unlimited!

Her books can really be read in any order, though I would recommend reading the individual series in release order (then again I recommend this for all series 😉).

🍷If you’re looking for small town, family oriented romance with lots of heart, start with Cloverleigh Farms.

🚜If you’re looking for a little more emotion, start with the After We Fall series.

⚾️If you’re looking for more lighthearted romcoms, start with Bellamy Creek.

If you want the full experience, which is not at all necessary to enjoy her books but will help you get every cameo and easter egg, go chronological release order.

The Fiancée Farce

The Fiancee Farce was my first book of June, and also my first by this author. And what a great way to kick off Pride month!

It’s a marriage of convenience romance between Gemma, an heiress and part time cover model who needs to be married in order to inherit her grandfather’s company, and Tansy, a quiet bookstore owner who told her family she had a girlfriend to get them off her back about her love life. When Gemma finds out Tansy has been pretending they’re dating, who better to rope into a marriage of convenience? 

I really enjoyed watching their relationship unfold. The two are opposites in many ways, but it was fun watching them learn more about each other and finding a middle ground. They both had excellent character development, especially Tansy I think. She’s a person who doesn’t like attention and keeps her head down, but when pushed she put herself out there to stand up for the woman she was falling for. 

There’s a truly excellent cast of supporting characters, some you will love and some you will love to hate, delicious spice, and a lot of laughs. The writing was engaging and easy going, and I definitely want to read more from this author. 

It was pretty predictable, though. I knew exactly how every piece of it was going to play out, but if you have read less marriage of convenience books than me this probably won’t be an issue! I found it quite enjoyable overall even if it followed the beaten path.

Good As Gold

Good as Gold by Sarina Bowen is out today! I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review and loved it so much I ordered the paperback immediately. 

Man it’s good to be back in Vermont! Returning to this world felt like a warm hug. It doesn’t hurt that Matteo Rossi is one of my favorite heroes the author has ever written!

Matteo is the slightly mysterious brother who was missing from his sibling’s books, and he has returned home for a family wedding and to make amends for all the time he’s missed. Coincidentally, the girl he loved as a teen has recently divorced his former best friend and is looking to make a baby. What better dad than her old friend Matteo?

I actually loved this premise, I know a lot of people hate accidental pregnancy trope but this was the exact opposite of that. Leila was taking control of her life and trying to get what she’s always wanted. Matteo was willing to do anything to make Leila happy, even before things turned romantic between them.  These characters were slightly older than what we often see (they were around my age, I’m not calling them old) and I appreciated the maturity that came along with that.

Matteo and Leila were friends first, romantic second, and I really enjoyed their easy going respectful relationship. I liked how they progressed from friend to lovers and while I am not always a fan of flashbacks, they were used well here to explain the past relationship.

It was great to be back in Vermont and see some old favorites, and I’m excited for more! Nash’s story already has me intrigued. 

The True Love Experiment

I got to see Christina Lauren in person last night through a local bookstore and and my local library. Christina and Lauren are just as funny and charming and delightful as you’d expect them to be. 

Also funny, charming, and delightful? The True Love Experiment. 

If you’ve read The Soulmate Equation, you know what a bold and hilarious character Fizzy is, and she finds her match in hot single dad Conner, the executive producer who recruits her for a new reality tv dating show. Get this – the premise is a romance author looking for love, with each of the contestants a romance hero archetype (cinnamon roll, hot nerd, cowboy, vampire, etc). 

Fizzy and Conner’s relationship was adorable and funny and full of forbidden chemistry. This was a tiny bit spicier than I’m used to for modern day CLo and I was obviously here for it. I loved revisiting Jess, River, and Juno, and really enjoyed all the new characters as well. 

If you are a reality tv lover, you are sure to love all the behind the scenes aspects of this. I am not a huge reality tv show lover but I still found it enjoyable, though slightly hard to keep all the contestants straight. 

Overall, I had a great time reading this! It was delightfully funny and romantic and felt like a big love letter to the romance genre. From the fans to the tropes, to the bucking of patriarchal norms, it just felt like a big warm hug to this romance lover. 

And if you’re wondering, yes. I did drag every book pictured into the signing line afterward 🙃

The Troublemaker

The Troublemaker by Jessica Peterson is out today in KU! This is book two in her Sex and Bonds series, but I think you could easily read it as a standalone. 

This is a sweet and spicy age gap brother’s best friend romance between Brooks, a 34 year finance whiz, and Greer, his best friend’s virginal 23 year old sister who sells her baked goods at his office. Greer has had a crush on him for quite a while, but Brooks has only started noticing her more recently. Throw in a little forced proximity and BOOM.

Though the book does touch on some heavier topics, the relationship itself is pretty low angst. I loved how the relationship brought out the best in both of them and how encouraging Brooks was for her to take care of herself and ask for what she deserves. 

I know there are going to be two things in any Jessica Peterson book: hot sex and delicious food and this one didn’t disappoint. This was an easy read that I really enjoyed!