cherry tree harbor

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 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.

Hideaway Heart

Happy Tuesday! Hideaway Heart released yesterday and I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Even more exciting, the human covers are now live on Amazon as well and I don’t think I’ve ever ordered anything so quickly in my life. 

This was such an entertaining read! It was high heat and low angst with plenty of funny moments and endearing main characters.

Kelly wants to spend her vacation feeling like a normal person instead of her stage persona, country superstar Pixie Hart, so she’s not happy when her brother sends his former SEAL buddy to watch over her. Xander is out of the private security business but can’t turn down his friend so he shows up to her vacation cabin rental only for her to fire him.  They finally reach an understanding and sparks start to fly pretty immediately.

A good portion of the book is them in the forced proximity of the cabin and boy was it spicy. The two were pretty feral in bed together and I was blushing. Outside of the bedroom I really liked their dynamic. They had really fun banter and I love that neither took it easy on the other. 

I also enjoyed getting to spend time with the Buckley family and I look forward to more from the series!

TW: consensual non consent, see TW from author.

Runaway Love

Runaway Love is out today! 

What a fun start to this series! Melanie Harlow is a favorite of mine, and this was a lighter, funnier side of hers. All of her books make me laugh, but this one stepped it up a bit. 

Veronica is a runaway bride with nowhere to go who stumbles into a job as a nanny for single dad Austin. The two are immediately attracted to each other, but obviously Austin can’t date his kid’s nanny. The forced proximity and tension eventually explodes and we get that excellent steam the author is known for.

I really had a fun time reading this! It’s lighthearted, funny, spicy, and gave me all the good feelings. I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a new small town romcom without a lot of angst or drama!