forced proximity

The Co-Op

The Co-Op just re-released recently, thank you to the publisher for the early copy in exchange for a review. It sounds like it’s been re-written a bit so I’m not sure how it compares to the original!

This is a second chance marriage of convenience romance between two people who inherit a house together and have to rehab it in order to get it on the market. 

LaRynn and Deacon were great characters, they’re both big people with big personalities and big opinions. They have excellent banter and they’re kind of mean to each other (LaRynn especially, but Deacon likes that) which I really enjoyed, and it felt realistic especially with their history. I loved the setting and the construction details, though I really could have used more of those to be honest.

It was a very character driven story, these two are orbiting around each other in a close space with a lot of hurt feelings from the past, and it felt a bit slow at times for me because of this. That being said, again, it did feel realistic to me. Working through the past takes time, I’m just impatient!

Overall though I thought it was a great story, especially if you love character driven plots with a crap ton of banter!

All Folked Up

Happy Thursday! All Folked Up is out today. 

This is book three in the Good Folk series, which is a spin off of The Winston Brothers, featuring important side characters finding their HEAs.

There is nothing I love more than returning to Green Valley with Penny. The way she writes, the unique turns of phrase, the thought and care that goes into every word, I just want to wrap myself in the pages and never leave.

We start off with possibly the most awkward meet-cute result of all time, which leads to an undercover investigation at the strip club our FMC Hannah manages. Hannah and Isaac have to work together so Isaac can investigate a frequent customer, but due to their terrible meet cute it’s quite awkward for a while. 

I’ve been wondering what Isaac’s deal was since I read Beard Science in 2016 so it was wonderful to get some answers. He started off a bit rigid and icy, but as the story moved on he started to thaw for Hannah and I grew to understand him better. 

Hannah was the kind of FMC I really enjoy – totally competent but underestimated and she proved how strong and worthy of love she is. 

It was heavy on the Green Valley cameos, especially Cletus & Hank, and my surprising new favorite Tina, which I loved! This gave me all the answers I’ve been wanting and it is always a true delight to return to my favorite fictional town. 

Sunlight

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

I loved this! I’ve been excited for Jax’s story since Crossroads and this did not disappoint.

This is an accidental pregnancy romance between Jax, the younger Haven brother, and Sasha, the new-in-town employee of the Haven River Ranch.They have a bit of a bumpy start, but after a few drinks at a holiday party, they hook up and oops! She’s pregnant. 

I loved how their tentative relationship unfolded, Jax was very into her but she took longer to warm up and I loved how carefully Jax brought down her walls. I love when it’s not all sunshine and roses and the two had a lot to work though. 

There are themes of redemption and forgiveness adding a somewhat sad tone to parts of this, but mostly it read like a really great contemporary cowboy romance. 

Honestly this was a perfect book for me – you get some of my favorite tropes, a swoony cowboy, an “uptight” heroine, an accidental pregnancy, a good amount of steam, and a stunning setting. It was great to revisit the ranch and the Haven family and I’ve just really really enjoyed my time with this series. These are easily some of my favorite reads of the year, if not all time favorite Devney books. 

Beacon – Claire Kent

Beacon is out today! I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m one part sad this series is over, one part glad we finally get Mack and Anna’s story!

We’ve seen these two as excellent side characters throughout the series, and it’s finally their turn to shine. A decade after impact, Mack has reached his breaking point. He’s been the strong one, the one everyone can depend on, the one who helps everyone, but now he just needs some time to himself. Anna gets tired of waiting for him and seeks him out in the Wild.

It’s a forced proximity romance and it’s also a second chance romance, they’ve got some hurt and past traumas that are explored. They’ve also got a lot of passion between them and boy did they get passionate all over that cabin. I’m not sure I’ve ever read such a high banging to plot ratio! The whole series has been spicy so this is not a shock but dang.

I really enjoyed returning to this world.and getting to visit with past couples as well! Overall it was a very enjoyable and very spicy apocalyptic romance! 

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’!  

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!

Delicate Escape – Catherine Cowles

Happy Delicate Escape day! Thank you to the author for the ARC and ALC

It’s great to be back in Sparrow Falls!

This brings us Thea and Shep’s story, both of whom we met in book one. Thea is a woman on the run, in hiding for reasons we discover as the book progresses, who has trouble letting anyone in for obvious reasons. Shep is a good guy who wants to get to know her and help her out when her house needs work. They end up as roommates so he can help with her plumbing (literally … but also figuratively wink wink) 

I loved them both individually and together. I just love when opposites attract and their black cat/golden retriever energies were so great. Shep fell hard and fast for Thea and I love how carefully he worked to gain her trust and get her walls down. 

The suspense had me guessing and my theory was so wrong which I love! The author fooled me again and I’m so glad she did. 

I love the family/found family aspect of Shep’s family and how they welcomed Thea so readily into their fold. Lolli continues to be the best and I can’t wait to get more of her antics! I love this series and this world and am so glad when I get to spend more time there. 

I read it first with my eyeballs then did a second read on audio and thought both narrators did a great job! It’s Erin Mallon and Teddy Hamilton so of course they did. 

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.