Wildflowers is out today! Thank you to @theauthor.agency for the ARC.
This was such a fun read! I just love apocalyptic romance and this one was great.
Astrid and Dean are opposites who find themselves thrown together when the world ends (and he kidnaps her to keep her safe) and have to figure out how to survive this new world. They had lots of banter and sparks between them.
It was lighthearted and fun, despite a global pandemic, some kidnapping, and a fair amount of violence. I read it one sitting, I just found it so entertaining and didn’t want to put it down!
Happy Thursday! Hugo is out today, I received an ARC.
I really enjoyed this! I’m loving all the small town meets The Princess Bride vibes this series is giving us.
This is Hugo’s (our Inigo) story, a former Olympic fencer, and Mallory, a true crime podcaster in town to uncover who killed his father. I really loved both characters! Huge was such a good guy, so kind even when he was trying to get Mallory to leave him alone.Mallory was so strong and determined which I always love in a FMC.
We also get forced proximity, pregnant-but-it’s-not-his, and a super sweet romance. Overally I just really enjoyed my time in Olive Township!
Fan Service is out now! Thank you to @berkleyromance for the free book! #BerkleyPartner #Berkley #BerkleyBookstagram
This was a unique book! I really really loved the premise – a washed up actor seems to be following the path of his once beloved character on a long running tv show: turning into a werewolf. He doesn’t know who to turn to for help, so he finds the moderator of the fan page for his show, because no one knows more about his old character than her.
It started off so strong for me, it was laugh out loud funny and like I said the premise was so fun, but ultimately I was kind of bored and wanted more to happen.
So overall it was funny but not a true winner for me personally. I’d still say check it out if you like a himbo MMC or loved 90s The WB/CW paranormal dramas!
Happy Tuesday! Story of my Life is out now and it’s small town romcom perfection! I received an ARC, but all opinions are my own.
Lucy Score came out swinging (with a dead fish) in the first addition to this new series. Honestly I am not always the hugest romcom lover anymore, but this one was romcom done right for me – full of humor, irreverence, and a whole buttload of heart.
I loved the new in town, fish out of water vibes of city girl Hazel moving to small town Story Lake on a whim, starting over when life wasn’t going her way. She was a once popular romance author struggling with writer’s block, so when the hunky small town contractor working on the dilapidated house she bought starts to stir up some creativity in her, she asks him to keep inspiring her with a fake date, and maybe more. The banter between Hazel and Cam was hilarious, and boy were those two attracted to each other.
I loved the romance but I also loved the supporting characters and side plot. The town was so fun and quirky, and I loved how they banned together to try to save their town.
It felt like one part Schitt’s Creek, one part Hart of Dixie, with the close proximity, exasperated, I-want-to-tear-your-clothes-off vibes of Nick and Jess from New Girl (all my favorite things.)
Definitely check it out if you are a fan of the author’s Blue Moon series, or just quirky small towns in general.
Out of the Woods is out now! Thank you Dell Romance for the ARC.
This was a gorgeously written, tender, soft hug of a book.
We met Sarah and Caleb in Out On A Limb, where they appeared to be a perfect happy couple. They were childhood sweethearts who got married as teens, and now in her 30s, Sarah is questioning her life and whether she has anything to show for herself outside of being Caleb’s wife and has grown to resent her situation. Her best friend recommends a marriage retreat in the form of a hiking expedition with a group of strangers, and Sarah is just desperate enough to take her up on it.
Sarah is a great character, it’s a single POV from her so we get to learn all about her and what shaped her into the person she is today. She’s a bit lost and adrift, not sure what she wants from life but she knows she can’t stay stagnant where she is.
It’s technically a “marriage in crisis” story but that’s really only from Sarah. Caleb, sweet Caleb, loves his life and his wife and will do anything to keep her even if it means a week long hiking trip with strangers. I just really, really, loved him and his big heart.
I really enjoyed their journey and all the quirky characters they were on the trip with. I also especially loved that this couple was childfree by choice, which was reaffirmed multiple times throughout the book. Their HEA looked different than we normally see in romance and I LOVED it.
Since this is really one woman’s journey to self acceptance, I think this was women’s fiction rather than romance, but nonetheless I swooned, I cried, I laughed.
All The Missing Pieces is out now! Thank you to the publisher for the ARC and the author for the ALC.
There’s not much I like more than small town romantic suspense from Catherine Cowles!
This brings us Ridley and Colt’s story, which is a complete standalone. Ridley travels the country in her van, making a true crime podcast when she rolls into town to investigate a cold case that’s very close to Colt’s heart. He doesn’t appreciate her stirring up trouble in his town and reopening old wounds.
They started off very antagonistically which I love. I also love when opposites attract, so the straightlaced sheriff MMC facing off with (and eventually living with) the free wheeling FMC was a lot of fun.
The mystery kept me guessing and I did not figure out who the “bad guy(s)” is/were in advance, which is the best.
I loved it! I read it twice – first with my eyeballs, second with my ears as I tried to pick up on any clues I missed the first time. The audiobook was well done, especially the FMC (the MMC sounded a little old for the character for me but still great!)
PS I Hate You is out now! Thank you to Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was an emotional and heartfelt journey between Maddie and her brother’s best friend Dom to spread her brother’s ashes at eight specific locations across the US as designated by her brother in his will. Dom is her nemesis (in her head) so this is extra hard for her, but the two start to form a begrudging friendship which turns to more as they go about carrying out these tasks.
Though it is emotional and grief heavy at times on this journey, there was also a lot of laughter amongst the tears.
Maddie was a bit immature, but to be fair, she had no good role models growing up and she is actually quite young still. So, it was reasonable she would be a bit bratty at times but it did get a bit tiring. This didn’t make me dislike the book at all, but I do think it stopped it from being as emotional of an experience for me because I just wasn’t feeling sympathetic.
However, I loved taciturn Dom, the caretaker, the big brother, the serious accountant who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was so worried about Maddie’s health and safety, even when she was rebuking him at every step.
This is a single POV, so we only see what Maddie thinks of things but I thought the author did a good job letting us know what Dom was thinking, even Maddie couldn’t understand it. The single POV also made it Maddie’s journey rather than Maddie & Dominic’s, so it felt more like women’s fiction than a romance to me.
Overall though I thought it was a well written exploration of grief, one I definitely recommend to those who like emotional stories that border on women’s fiction!
Broken Harbor is out now, thank you to the author for the ARC.
I’m so happy to be back in Sparrow Falls! This is Sutton and Cope’s story, both of whom we’ve met previously.
Sutton is a single mother bakery owner with a young son and a past she’s hiding from. Cope is a NHL star, in town to coach a kid’s camp and rehab his image a bit. When Sutton loses her place to live, Cope invites her and her son to stay with him.
There’s forced proximity goodness, suspense that keeps you guessing, and a swoony romance. The relationship between Cope and Sutton’s son is also very cute.
I really enjoyed this! I also listened to the audio and thought it was well done, especially Connor Crais as Cope.
I love this world so much! It’s always lovely to return to Rebel Blue, and I was especially excited to get Gus and Teddy’s story after seeing the animosity and banter between them during the first two books of the series.
This is a single dad/nanny, enemies to lovers, forced proximity romance that I absolutely loved. I’m a sucker for those tropes, but it also could have been really easy for this to feel trite and overdone. Instead, it felt fresh and exciting due to the author’s easy-reading writing and excellent world building.
I really loved Gus and Teddy, separately and together. Gus is the oldest Ryder, a single dad with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Teddy is his younger sister’s feisty best friend and her chaotic vibes don’t mesh well with Gus’s more structured life.
The two start out with true dislike between them, but the forced proximity of Teddy living with him works its magic and they start to see each other in a different light. I thought the pacing of enemies to lovers felt believable and I really enjoyed watching them fall.
Overall, it was an excellent addition to the Rebel Blue Ranch series and i’m very excited for the fourth book!
This magical holiday romance releases today on audio! Thank you to the author for the ALC. The ebook is also available in KU.
This is a small town romance set at an inn in Maine during the winter solstice. A matchmaker has told Aurora she will meet her soulmate this solstice, but the only man she’s drawn to is Gray, a former baseball player, now investor at the Inn where she works. He’s leaving town soon to pursue a new career so this can’t be the man for her, right?
Full of magic and whimsy and spice, this is a quick reading and unique novella.
I eyeball read this last year and was happy to reread it again this year on audio. The MMC, Gray, is a bit grumpy and growly, and Tor Thom’s narration fits that perfectly, especially during the dirty talk scenes. Savannah Peachwood was also perfect for Aurora’s whimsical and hopeful nature. The duet narration between them was just a delight, and I recommend checking this one out on audio if you can!
Romance Reviewed 