arc review

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!

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!

Grumpy Santa

Grumpy Santa is out today! I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

This was a quick and sweet but spicy romance filled with all the tropey goodness you’d expect from Kat Baxter. In this we get a surprise pregnancy, boss/employee, grumpy sunshine, small town romance.

There are lots of connections and cameos from previous stories from the author, which is good because I had to rely on that previous knowledge to really get the feelings between Audrey and Jared. All these books are quick and insta-love but because of the way this story is presented (present, past, present) it feels extra quick with not a lot of time building the romance.

Overall though a quick and fun read!

BLURB

Audrey

I’ve been in love with big, brooding Jared Sawyer ever since he hired me to work in his hardware store. He scowls a lot and growls more than he talks, but there’s something about him that makes me feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be. After one explosive night in his arms, I’m even more certain we belong together. But then he never mentions the way he kissed and held me, or the naughty things he whispered in my ear.

How is it possible that what felt like forever was just a one and done?

Just when I’m sure that the only consequences of our night together are awkward silences at work, I find out Jared left me with more than a broken heart.


GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200271720-grumpy-santa


PURCHASE LINKS 

US: https://amzn.to/3tb25Re
UK: https://amzn.to/3RuKrkV
CA: https://amzn.to/3GvJqCN
AU: https://amzn.to/3sV7D2s

Free in Kindle Unlimited

Among the Heather

Among the Heather is out now! I received an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I love returning to Ardnoch! This world the author has built is my favorite – so cozy, so beautiful, so atmospheric. Among the Heather is book two in The Highlands series, which is a spin off of the Adair Family series.

In this we have characters we’ve met in the previous books – Aria, who is managing Ardnoch for Lachlan, and North, an up and coming hollywood star who’s laying low at Ardnoch after a scandal breaks about his past. The two are immediately attracted to each other but Aria, whose father is an extremely famous movie director, is distrustful of actors after being used by so many of them to try to get to her father. But, throw in a bit of forced proximity, a meddling sister, and intense chemistry and the two start a “no strings” affair … but will it turn into more? 

I loved both characters – Aria is so prickly but in an understandable way given her past. I loved her journey to self acceptance and her relationship with her family. I always love when we get a curvy heroine! North is just a superstar book boyfriend – so supportive, so loving, so open and willing to communicate his feelings. He definitely falls first and he made me cry at one point and I’m not usually a crier so that shows how much I love him.

There’s also a good bit of steam, some suspense, a gorgeous setting, and great secondary characters. I love this book, this series, this world, and this author. Definitely recommend!

Make Believe Match

This was such an enjoyable marriage of convenience romance! 

It’s a one night stand turned more when Lexi discovers the man she had a wild night with turns out to be none other than the man trying to buy out her family’s ski resort. She’s convinced he seduced her on purpose, but things take a turn when he offers to marry her so she can inherit the resort and he can get payback to his former employer. 

It has everything I love about marriage of convenience – the forced proximity, the tension (which these two give in to often), the “wife” nickname. I loved both characters – Devlin is so charming and confident but in a non-toxic way, and Lexi is so spunky and determined to save her family’s resort. The two had such a fun relationship with so much chemistry, and I loved the way Devlin supported her to help make her dream come true.

It’s a Melanie Harlow book so of course it’s very spicy but also funny and full of heart. We get plenty of Buckley family time, and also the fun addition of Winnie from Ignite as Lexi’s friend. This has been my favorite of the series so far and I’m still looking forward to the rest of the Buckley’s stories!

Side note – I have seen some reviews calling it enemies to lovers and I don’t think that’s quite true. She doesn’t like him at the beginning but he always likes her so it’s one-sided at best.

Shadows of You

It’s Roan day! 🧭

Finally we get Roan’s story! I’ve been waiting for this since the beginning of the series and it did not disappoint. We’ve seen Roan as the solitary, sort of outsider of the Hartley family and it was so wonderful to see him find the place where he belongs.

Aspen is in hiding with her daughter due to reasons we find out as the story unfolds, and when danger yet again arrives at her door, Roan is there to protect her even if that means sleeping on her couch and being attacked by her cat. 

I loved watching that grumpy loner fall for both Aspen and Cady. The relationship between Cady and Mr Grizz was just so precious. I also loved watching Roan start to open up to his family after seeing him as such a closed off guy during the series, and I loved how easily and wholly the Hartley’s accepted Aspen and Cady into their fold. 

The suspense will keep you guessing, the romance will have you swooning, and the Hartley antics will have you laughing out loud. An excellent edition to the series!

I Wish I Knew Then

Like a cold glass of sweet tea on a warm summer’s day, I Wish I Knew Then is a refreshing and very southern treat.

Riley and Louise had a whirlwind summer relationship when they were 18, only for Riley to unceremoniously dump Lu at the end of summer. It’s ten years later and the two run into each other at their respective best friend’s wedding, and Riley decides not to let Lu get away this time. 

Riley was a man determined, he sacrificed for love once before and wouldn’t make that mistake again. Louise is fresh off a long term relationship and not so sure she’s ready to start something new, especially with the man who broke her heart ten years before. 

It’s a very sexy story, full of exploration and rekindled feelings, but it’s also a warm and cozy story about a small touristy southern town and the wedding the two were brought together for. It’s also brimming with food descriptions that had my mouth watering as is common with any Jessica Peterson. Oh, and butt stuff. 

It’s a fairly low angst story, just a sweet second story with a lot of spice. I enjoyed it a lot!