arc review

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 Boss + The Maid = Chemistry – Louise Bay

The Boss + The Maid = Chemistry is out now! Thank you to the author for the ARC.

This was such a sexy and fun rom-com! This is a spin off of the author’s Doctors series though it reads fine as a standalone.

Efa and Bennett have a one night stand after meeting at a bar, only for her to show up as a maid at the hotel Bennett is currently residing in (and secretly owns.)

Efa is young and ballsy, she’s come to New York to get a job in tech and has no trouble going toe to toe with Bennett, who is 13 years older and tech billionaire. Bennett thinks she’s possibly stalking him after she shows up in his hotel room which was a funny misunderstanding.

The two are very hot for each other but it’s complicated with their age gap, her technically working for him and wanting a job at his tech company, and his general desire to remain anonymous.  

It was spicy, funny, and I had a good time reading it!

Northern Twilight – Samantha Young

Northern Twilight is out today! Thank you the author for the ARC. 

I always love returning to Ardnoch! 

In this we get Lewis and Callie’s story, who we first met in their respective parents’ stories, and now it’s their turn to shine. This is a second chance romance, they were childhood friends to teenage lovers, but wanted different things post school. They reunite briefly and their one night stand results in an accidental pregnancy.

This was very much an “it’s always been you” kind of romance, you just knew these two were meant to be and I loved all the angst and longing this brought. They’ve had seven years apart, and neither managed to quite move on successfully so suddenly being back in each other’s lives is quite an adjustment – at least for Callie.  

Lewis was more all-in, and what’s not to love about a tatted, man bun wearing, motorcycle riding architect who knows what he wants (and has quite a dirty mouth on him!)

I loved how their relationship progressed and that we got flashbacks to where it all went wrong. It was sweet, it was steamy, there was some angst, and we got to revisit some of the other characters from previous books, so I loved it!

The Truth According to Ember – Danica Nava

The Truth According to Ember is out now! Thank you to the publisher for the ARC.

I was very excited to dig into this romcom from Danica Nava – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a traditionally published contemporary romcom from a Native author with two Native main characters. 

Ember is our main character, she’s working at a bowling alley cleaning toilets and serving nachos, desperate to get a job as an accountant but no one wants to hire her.

She makes a few creative adjustments to her resume, which leads to a new career based on a bunch of lies. She starts at her new office and runs into Danuwoa, the IT guy who she’s immediately attracted to but the office has a no-dating policy so the two start off as just friends which turns into more, though she has to keep lying to him to uphold her original lies.

I love that we get a book about Native joy and love. I enjoyed the exploration of microaggressions Native people face in a mostly white workforce, though not pleasant to read, it is so important.   

I’m not always a fan of books where the central plot is based on lies, and there were certainly times where I just wished Ember would be honest. So many of her lies were pointless, but I did understand the desperation that led to the first lie and how it can easily snowball from there. I spent most of the time worrying about when the other shoe would drop and all her lies would be found out (because they always are!)

Overall though it was a cute romcom from a fresh new voice and I love that I got to read a different perspective than I ever h

The Best of All

The Best of All is out today!

I really enjoyed this! This is book two in the series though I think it could totally be read as a standalone. 

This follows Liam and Zoe, who are named co-guardians to their best friends’ daughter Mira after their best friends tragically pass away. Zoe is immediately there for Mira, moving her in and accepting this adorable toddler into her life. Liam struggled a bit more, he never felt he should have a family or children after his own terrible childhood so a lot of the growth in this story is his, to accept love and family into his life. I loved watching his walls eventually fall down, all due to the little girl who melted his heart. 

Liam is a grump, football is his life and he doesn’t need any other distractions, especially living with the woman he’s pined for for a decade. The forced proximity works its magic and the sexual tension between the two of them was intense, though this is a sloooowwwww burn. 

Zoe was an easy character to love, she’s wanted her fairy tale ending ever since she was a kid and though this certainly didn’t follow the traditional path I love that she found her HEA in that broody football player who has secretly had feelings for her for years. 

Much like book one, this is a story of grief alongside the romance, though this one didn’t feel as heavy to me. Both Liam and Zoe (and Mira) were grieving the loss of their best friends but they had Mira to look after which helped keep them afloat. I’ve been looking for a good romance like Life As We Know It and this is the first one I’ve ever read that I thought really worked.

I loved it!

Just My Luck

Happy Monday! Just My Luck is out today, thank you to the author for the ARC. 

There’s not much I love more than a grumpy/sunshine marriage of convenience romance and this one was so good! I think this might be my favorite Lena book yet. 

We know Abel from previous books, he owns the local brewery, and is very grumpy. Sloane is his employee, a sunshiney single mom who overhears that Abel is having trouble securing a business loan to buy out his evil father’s stake in the brewery, so she concocts the perfect plan – they’ll marry so she can get her trust fund early and give him the money he needs in exchange.

The forced proximity of living together worked its magic and the tension between them was so great. Sloane was so upbeat and fun and I loved how grumpy Abel melted for her and her kids. He was so soft for them when he generally didn’t allow softness in his life – due to his heartbreaking past. 

I loved being back in Outtatowner! It was so great seeing both the Sullivans and the Kings and how their overall relationships have changed throughout the series. The subplot that has run through the background of both series continues to grow and I’m dying to see what happens next! Royal’s book is coming and I’ve been waiting not so patiently for him.

Golden Touch

Happy Tuesday! Golden Touch is out today, I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love going back to Vermont! This is book two in the Giltmaker series, which is a spin off of the True North series, but tbh I think you could read this one as a standalone with no problem.

This brings us Livia and Nash’s story, and it was such a fun close-proximity, opposites attract romance. Nash is back in town to keep his father’s brewery afloat while his dad is in the hospital, while Livia is his dad’s right hand woman. They end up bunking together so both can be close to the brewery and while they’ve met before and had a brief flirtation, their second meet cute doesn’t go quite as well and I do love a meet disaster. 

I loved them both. Livia is a total black cat heroine, which is my fave. She’s super competent at her job but doesn’t always make the absolute best choices in her personal life so her walls are up. She’s on the run from a bad ex which brought an element of suspense to the book I wasn’t expecting (but obviously loved.)  Nash was such a fun MMC, he’s so charismatic and flirty.He was very very into Livia and I loved his confidence in trying to win her over. The chemistry between them was so great.

The book overall was pretty lighthearted and funny and I really enjoyed myself while reading it! This is easily one of my favorite fictional worlds and I just loved being back. So so good! 

Side note – I reread Good as Gold in preparation and still really loved it! I did the audio and Jason Clarke is forever my favorite male narrator. 

Change of Heart

Change of Heart is out today! I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

I loved this so much! 

Change of Heart brings us back to the Vital Signs world but with a new cast of main characters so you can absolutely read it as a standalone – that being said, if you’ve read certain Walsh and Vital Signs books, you’ll surely enjoy their coworkers. 

Whitney is a talented surgeon who recreationally crashes weddings with her bestie as a stress reliever. She has a steamy one night stand with the best man at a wedding in California, only for him to show up as a resident in her program at the hospital she works at in Boston. Henry hasn’t gotten over their night together so this is excellent news to him but she is technically supervising him and working on strengthening her hospital’s ethics policies so she has to be appropriate. He quietly woos her as they wait for his time in her program to be over and man it was a delight to watch the tension build between them.

There’s not much I love more than when he falls first and Henry is all in. I just loved him and how far gone he was. I love how Kate Canterbary writes a pining man and Henry gives Cal and Noah a run for their money. He’s such a good guy, so easy going in life but determined to win his lady over. 

Whitney was also a great character, she’s super competent and talented in her field but that hasn’t left a lot of room for a personal life outside her best friend so it was great to watch her try to find more balance.

I love their relationship, I love this world, I love Kate Canterbary’s words, I just loved it all. A top read of 2024!

Bourbon & Lies

Oooh did I love this book! This is my first by the author but it certainly won’t be the last. This cover is stunning and what initially drew me to the book but the contents were just as good.

It’s a forced proximity romance between Laney, a woman on the run, and Grant, the youngest son of a bourbon distilling family dynasty. She needs a safe place to hide out for a while and Fiasco, Kentucky is just that place.

I loved both of them individually and together. Grant has suffered a lot of loss in his life which has led him to become somewhat of a recluse, cut off emotionally from his family if not physically. He’s very grumpy about this woman who showed up out of nowhere who he can’t seem to avoid. Laney was so resilient and I love that she did not take Grant’s shit at all, and threw it back at him even harder. They were such a great match! And WHEW the sparks were flying between them from the get go.

This was such a sexy book. The writing, the scenery, the descriptions, all sexy (also, you know, the sex was sexy too). There’s also a bit of suspense which I love! I loved the small town and supporting characters and I’m genuinely so excited to get to read more from this world. 

This is easily my favorite book I’ve read in June and it’s on my top reads of 2024 list! 

Free Fall

Free Fall is out today! Thank you to Hambright PR for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. ⁣
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What a treat! Kathryn Nolan has written a perfect summer read.⁣
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It’s a small town, grumpy/sunshine romance between a straight-laced bodyguard and the charming man he’s supposed to protect. Luke has just inherited his father’s company, and with it a handsome bodyguard & a series of threats. Elijah is up for a promotion so he obviously can’t break the number one rule of not getting personal with a client but as threats draw them together, it gets harder to keep Luke at a distance.⁣
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Ooooh did I love all those forbidden tension filled moments! Elijah is such a serious guy who’s so secretly soft for Luke and I loved how that stoic man blushes. Luke is the life of the party and I love that he didn’t make it easy on Elijah to keep his distance. Both had a lot of family trauma and I love that they found acceptance in each other. They had great laugh out loud banter, a ton of chemistry & heat, and I loved that we got some action in the story as well.⁣
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Overall, I just really had a great time reading this!⁣