The Merriest Misters

The Merriest Misters released yesterday! Thank you to the publisher for the ARC

This was a super cute ‘marriage in trouble’ romance mashed with a queer version of The Santa Clause, and I loved how unique it felt.

After accidentally injuring Santa on Christmas Eve, Patrick becomes the new Santa, along with his husband Quinn who becomes the Merriest Mister. They travel to the North Pole are are immersed in elf and Christmas culture and it was so fun to read the world building. 

If you are looking for something fluffy (complementary) and fun and full of Christmas cheer, definitely check this out! 

Personally, I like a little more emotion – if you’re telling me it’s marriage in crisis I want to FEEL the crisis, which I didn’t at all here. It really skimmed the surface and focused more on the becoming Santa/The Merriest Mister instead of focusing on the romance which is not my fave. I honestly never felt like the couple had any romantic connection or felt any emotion between them.

I did enjoy their individual journeys – Patrick becoming Santa and finally feeling like he’s good enough, Quinn exploring what being The Merriest Mister (as opposed to Mrs Claus) means, learning to express himself, and deciding what he wants out of life.

I don’t really read romance for individual journeys, though. Overall it was cute, just not a new fave for me. Maybe it will be for you though! 

Slap Shot Surprise

Happy Tuesday! Slapshot Surprise is out today, thank you to the author for the ARC. 

I loved this!

Mabel Buckley, who we’ve seen as a side character in her brother’s books, finally has her chance to shine. She’s flying home to Cherry Tree Harbor when her plane his a lot of turbulence and she thinks she’s going to die so she blurts out all her regrets in life to the super hot guy sitting next to her – including how she’s only ever had bad sex. When they end up at the same wedding a few days later her former seatmate, hockey star Joe Lupo, offers to help her out and cross good sex off her bucket list. She agrees, and oops. She ends up pregnant.

I really loved that a lot of the book focused on the progression of the pregnancy and also the progression of their relationship. They had geographical hurdles, sure, but also Joe had never planned on settling down and starting a family so his journey into accepting his new reality was a good one and I loved that it wasn’t immediately sunshine and roses. 

Though becoming a father took some time to get used to, Joe was immediately taking care of his baby mama and I loved how protective and considerate he was. Mabel was also a great character, she knew what she wanted and was willing to go at it alone if necessary.Both characters were very family oriented and I loved spending time with the Buckleys and the Lupos. 

The romance between them was sweet and spicy and I loved them together. Overall this was a pretty lighthearted romance that I thoroughly enjoyed! 

Make The Season Bright

Make the Season Bright is out now! Thank you to Berkley Romance for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this second chance holiday romance!

Charlotte & Brighton were childhood friends to lovers to fiancées before Brighton ran away on their wedding day, leaving Charlotte at the altar. It’s five years later, the two have gone their separate ways, until they’re reunited at Christmas while staying at their respective friend’s (who happen to be sisters) house for the holiday (Surprise!)

It was like a queer hallmark movie, jam packed with snowy holiday activities, from cooking classes to skiing to looking at holiday lights. It also had a good bit of steam, awesome supporting characters, and I really enjoyed the setting.

I did like both characters, they’re both wonderfully flawed and I especially liked Charlotte’s closed off nature (I love a colder heroine, genuinely.) We got bits and pieces of their history that led to where they are today and I really enjoyed getting to know them.

I struggled a bit with the second chance portion, it’s hard for me to wrap my mind around forgiving someone who left me at the altar in front of all my friends and family. There’s a lot I can forgive but public humiliation isn’t something I think I could ever get over. But good thing it’s a book and it isn’t actually about me!! 

Overall though I thought this was a thoroughly enjoyable holiday romance that I definitely recommend, especially if you are looking for something (per the book) ‘cheery & queery’!  

Forever Starts Tonight

Forever Starts Tonight is out now! Thank you to the author for the ARC. ⁣
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Oh my word, I loved this book so much.⁣
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We’ve seen Poppy pine for Jax throughout the series and I was so excited for it to be their time to shine.Our girl has finally had enough of Jax avoiding her and decides to confront him once and for all. A drunken night together leads to an unintended pregnancy and the book follows the fall out from that.⁣
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I’m an unapologetic accidental pregnancy lover and I loved how this story unfolded. (If you don’t love accidental pregnancy, that’s fine but no need to comment to tell me 🙃) It’s an emotional journey for the two of them, and I just loved how they went from avoidance to one night stand to so much more.⁣
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Jax has some trauma to overcome but he wants to be there for Poppy, at least in support of the baby if he can’t be there for her romantically. His backstory made me cry and I felt like his struggle to open up to anyone was so believable as a result. ⁣
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Poppy was a really great character, we’ve seen her grow up throughout this series and always be there for everyone else so I loved that she finally got to stand on her own. She’s so loving and caring and just wants to find her own person like her siblings all have. ⁣
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I loved the Wilder family’s various reactions to what happened. Jax knocking up his best friend’s little sister caused quite a stir and I gobbled the drama up. They are also supportive and loving and just one of my favorite fictional families around right now. ⁣
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Overall I just really loved this! I laughed, I cried, I swooned. An easy five stars! ⁣

Lights Out

I’m not usually one for stalker romance (or so I thought) but I’ve seen so much hype for this that I just had to give it and try. And honestly, it was so fun!

It was laugh out loud funny, completely unhinged, and just thoroughly entertaining. 

It’s about Aly, a nurse who enjoys watching masked man content on social media when she has a free moment, and her number one social media crush who stalks her when he realizes she’s into him. 

Our masked MMC was one part morally grey and one part golden retriever and I thought that was such a fun combination. I just really loved him and wanted to give him a hug. 

There are some darker tones and trauma both characters have been through and I loved how that juxtaposed with all the hilarious moments. 

There’s also a long list of kinks explored, some I didn’t know much about and this felt like a safe way to read about them for me since they existed in a romcom. I love learning something new!

The plot did fall apart for me a little about midway and I lost a little interest but it was still entertaining and I look forward to more in this world!

I did the audio for this one and the duet narration by Elena Wolfe and Jacob Morgan was 🤌🏻chef’s kiss🤌🏻 amazing. I’m not sure I would have enjoyed the book as much as I did if I had eyeball read it. 

(Check trigger warnings, there are a lot!!)

A Jingle Bell Mingle

Our time in Christmas Notch has come to an end, and what a wild ride it has been! 

This brings us Isaac and Sunny’s story, who have both been interesting side characters along the way. Both are in town to try to find inspiration for their creative projects, and when Sunny’s motel room becomes uninhabitable, she and her cat move in with Isaac.

I’ve really been looking forward to Isaac’s story, the broken sad boy character is like catnip to me. I loved how Sunny was his total opposite, a testament to her name (or at least that’s what she wants you to think.)

The forced proximity works its magic on them and I think this might have been the spiciest book of the series. It was probably also the saddest, and most grief focused, but I love when books make me sad so I think this was my favorite of the three. I actually really love that this series has such emotional depth when at the surface it’s a raunchy romcom series about people in the porn industry making Hallmark-like Christmas movies.

It was funny, it was outrageous, it was entertaining. I loved the first book for its uniqueness, then the second book kind of fell apart for me so I was really glad when this one redeemed the series. I’ve loved this journey and I’m a little sad it’s over!

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

This was so fun! 

It’s a murder mystery rom-com between two rival authors who are invited to an English country estate at Christmas under mysterious circumstances when (gasp!) their hostess goes missing. They have to work together to solve what happened which leads them right into danger (and, perhaps, into each other’s arms). 

It was honestly just thoroughly entertaining, it was very quickly paced and I raced through to find out what happened. The MMC is a charming golden retriever who was very easy to fall for, while the FMC is more of a black cat but her walls are up for good reason and I just really loved how their relationship unfolded. 

It was twisty and turny and really just a lot of fun! The blurb mentions Knives Out, which I haven’t actually seen, but I definitely got modern Agatha Christie vibes, and also Clue (the movie), but set in a closed door rom-com. 

Definitely recommend it if you’re looking for something fun & light & easy reading in the best way!

The Christmas You Found Me

The Christmas You Found Me released today. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC.

Oh wow did I love this. This now ranks up there with my all time favorite Christmas romances, for sure. 

This is a marriage of convenience romance between Sienna, a recent divorcee whose friend places a joke Husband Wanted ad to find her a new man, and Guy, a single dad with a chronically ill daughter who responds to the ad in hopes securing work will help him afford his daughter’s life-saving medications.

Sienna was a great character, she’s clinging to her family’s ranch by her fingertips post-divorce and she still has it in her heart to help out this stranger and possibly help save his daughter’s life. She was kind and compassionate and I want to be as nice as her when I grow up. 

Guy was also great, a devoted dad willing to do anything to save his daughter in the hellscape that is the US healthcare system. Their romance was both insta-love and a slow burn and a very sweet one at that (by that I mean they both immediately liked each other but it took a while for things to actually develop romantically.)

I loved the forced proximity of them living together in her little cabin. There’s a pervasive sadness to both of their lives due to what they’re going through and I loved that they could bring a little light to each other. I also loved both their relationships with Guy’s daughter.

The tone in this is definitely different from that of the Moose Springs series, which is not a complaint. Those weird delightfully weird romcoms, while this is a straight up contemporary romance with angst and serious tones. I feel like both have hit at the right time to be exactly what I want at that time.

I really think this would be a great Hallmark movie, but specifically the Hallmark Miracles of Christmas variety. Overall I thought this was just a really great romance. It made me cry (a lot!) so I’m giving it five stars!

A Dawn of Gods & Fury – KA Tucker

A Dawn Of Gods & Fury is out today! I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

What a stunning conclusion to an epic series!

I’m going to keep this review short, because I cannot talk about the plot without spoilers so I will just say I loved it! It was everything I wanted it to be. 

Told in many POVs, we finally get the answers to the questions that have been building throughout the series. We also get action and adventure, humor and sadness, love and war. 

It is a thick book, with a lot of chapters, but it moved really quickly for me as I was dying to find out what would happen. 

I’m not a romantasy fan in general, but I’ve honestly enjoyed this journey so much and I will happily read whatever KA Tucker writes!

Hemlock

I saw a friend post about this book and thought it sounded right up my alley – small town, romantic suspense so I requested it from my library. I’m always looking for more of this type of book!

Told in dual timelines, this is a story about Maggie, a woman with a complicated past who returns to her hometown where old secrets start to resurface. She was once torn between two men who both reappear in her life and she must once again make a decision who she wants to be with. 

She’s purchased a home where mysterious things start to happen (lights flickering, temperatures spiking, etc) and it gets pretty creepy. You’re not sure as the story unfolds if the house is haunted, or if Maggie is losing her mind, or if someone is messing with her. 

I pretty much read this in one sitting because I was dying to know what would happen. It’s a little messy and dramatic at times and I ate it up. I’m not a fan of love triangles in general but I immediately thought there was a clear winner between the guys and I had to read to see if the one I wanted to “win” would end up with her. 

Was some of it a little far-fetched and too coincidental? Sure. But I still couldn’t put it down.I think the author is more of a thriller writer in general but I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for more romantic suspense from her in the future because I really enjoyed this ride.