forced proximity

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! 

Promise Me This

Promise Me This releases tomorrow! I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. ⁣
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Another winner from Karla Sorensen! I love this world and this family and am always so happy to return.
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This is Ian Wilder’s story, the grumpy & slightly mysterious brother who’s mostly been in the background of the other sibling’s books. He’s back in town for good, settled down with a house and job at his family’s construction company, when suddenly his childhood best friend shows back up in town and needs a place to stay. He offers her and her daughter the spare rooms in his house and she reluctantly agrees. Harlow is a writer with a serious case of writer’s block and just needs a comfortable place to land for a while.⁣
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Ian and Harlow were truly always just friends, from kindergarten on up but they fell out of touch after high school and are now rediscovering each other in their mid thirties. The close proximity of living together eventually works its magic and they start to see each other in a new light. When I say eventually, I mean WHEW it’s a slooowwwww burn but that just means the payoff is that much sweeter. ⁣
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I loved both characters, Ian is so grumpy with everyone in his life except Harlow, and even when he is she calls him out for it. I loved how they were each other’s person, they were such good friends first and they found comfort and a sense of home in each other. I loved how they both fought so hard not to have Feelings for each other and I loved when they had their fuck it moment.⁣
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If you couldn’t tell, I loved it! ⁣

Unloved

Unloved is one of those books that’s been on my TBR for years and years. I can’t remember how it got there but when I saw it was now in KU I finally decided to read it and I’m so glad I did.

I am an absolute sucker for a true forced proximity romance – in this, the FMC is attacked and injured by a fellow hiker on a hiking trip, and the MMC swoops in to save her. He takes her back to his secluded cabin and nurses her back to health, until her wounds have healed enough to make the treacherous journey back to civilization. 

It’s not always an easy story, both have traumatic backstories revolving around violence that are explored via flashbacks but it was a lovely romance nonetheless.  

Cass is my favorite kind of hero, broken and secluded but ultimately caring and full of so much love. He lives off the grid, totally alone, because believes it’s best for society if he is not a part of it. His dad was a terrible man who did terrible things, and he’s worried those violent genes are a ticking time bomb in him. 

Brynn is also a bit of a hermit, her fiance died years ago in a violent act and she’s having trouble moving forward. They were so sweet together, Cass tried so hard not to fall for her but the forced proximity did its magic and they just couldn’t stay apart. Both characters were so resilient and I just genuinely liked them a lot.

It was a bit instalove and crazy dramatic at times and I ate it up. It was also heartbreaking, heartwarming, and emotional. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I am now dying to read the author’s entire backlist.

TWs: death of a loved one, grief, violence, gun violence, cancer

Wild Card

Wild Card is out today and I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Staci Hart has written pure romcom gold here and I loved it.  This book is so horny! 

It’s a small town, forced proximity, opposites attract, fake dating romance between Jessa, who’s in town for her best friend’s wedding, and Remy, her best friend’s cousin who is forced into hosting Jessa at his house when all other beds fall through. Jessa’s been in love with a childhood friend Henry her whole life, so Remy agrees to fake date her to make him jealous, only things turn real pretty quickly. 

Remy is totally outrageous- an unrepentant flirt, cocky and full of southern charm but also sweet to his mama and hiding his soft side. Jessa starts as a prim and proper lady and quickly devolves into playing horny games with Remy and I loved watching her let loose. 

The banter between them had me cackling, the spice had me sweating (this is SERIOUSLY spicy), and the romance had me swooning.

Staci’s back and her books are hornier than ever and I’m here for it! I can’t wait for more from this world because that last epilogue had me gasping and clutching my pearls. 

Only and Forever

Only and Forever is out today! Thank you to the publisher for the advanced review copy.

Can you believe it? The final book in the Bergman Brothers series is here and I am distraught that it’s over 😩

For four years we’ve laughed and cried along with this family as they’ve grown up and fallen in love. 

This time it was sweet Viggo’s turn, our ultimate cinnamon roll romance lover. We’ve seen him interfere in his sibling’s lives throughout the series, always pushing romance novels and rooting for their HEAs. He’s been waiting for a real life romance like he reads in his romances, but that doesn’t seem to be working for him. It’s okay because he’s busy opening a bookstore, being the best uncle ever, and adopting a whole lot of animals.

His life is shaken up when Tallulah Clarke, the girl he once had a big crush on, re enters his life and the two make an agreement. Tallulah needs help with her latest thriller from a romantic perspective, and Viggo needs help with his new bookstore. They agree to live together and exchange their skill sets, just as platonic friends, of course.

The forced proximity does as it always does and the roomies start to feel more, but both have a lot of baggage to work through. It was a slow burn, and the tension built most excellently.

I loved Viggo, he’s always been one of my favorite Bergmans and I loved getting to know him better. Tallulah was a little harder for me, not necessarily because she’s a ‘chilly cynic’ but because she was kind of mean to Viggo and since I already loved him, it felt kind of like she was being mean to my friend.

She comes from a toxic family with a lot of drama, but I felt like we never really got to understand what that drama was. We’re told her parents were bad, but I didn’t understand why. Her brother is a handful and enters rehab, but that happens in the background. I guess I just felt like her family stuff could have been expanded on so we could see it instead of just telling us they were toxic.

Another thing I felt like could have been explored more was Viggo’s ADHD. We know he has it but it doesn’t really seem to affect his life all that much, at least not that we see on page.

Overall it was a good read and ending to the series, just one I felt needed to be fleshed out a little more in some parts so we are shown more than told.

The Brood

The Brood is out today and I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

This is book six in the series (though you could absolutely read this one as a standalone) which follows Wilder, a grumpy high school teacher, and Iris, his best friend’s little sister. Wilder begrudgingly lets Iris stay with him for a couple months as she visits Calamity for her travel IG blog as a favor to his bestie.

If you like … 

-forced proximity

-age gap

-brother’s best friend

-grumpy/sunshine 

-opposites attract

-steam!

-widowed, broody MMC

-younger travel influencer FMC

-tension

-banter

Then check this one out! TBH I can’t say it’s the most complex plot, but I mean what more do you need? Look at everything on that list, it was a very enjoyable read.

Blurb:

A small town, forced proximity, age gap romance from Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, Devney Perry.


The last thing Wilder Abbott needs is a houseguest. Solitude has been his stoic companion for nearly a decade. He prefers to brood over his mistakes in seclusion. Besides, he gets enough social interaction as a high school science teacher in Calamity, Montana.


But when his oldest friend calls, begging for a favor, Wilder begrudgingly agrees. For the next two months, he’ll give up his guest room to his friend’s little sister.


Iris Monroe isn’t the girl Wilder remembers. Gone is the shy, quiet mouse ten years his junior who always had her nose in a book. Grown-up Iris talks too much and asks too many questions, especially about his past. And her bright smile and clear blue eyes are hard to ignore.


Two months. He just has to survive two months. Except Iris is as nosy as she is beautiful. And his secrets prove hard to hide when she’s living under his roof.


Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited


Amazon: https://bit.ly/46vWzrg
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/TheBrood

Out On A Limb

Books like this are why I’m scared to DNF! At first I wasn’t feeling the humor in the book and wanted to give up but then somehow it turned into a moving, tender, gorgeous romance and I’m so glad I didn’t quit.

It’s an accidental pregnancy story between two virtual strangers who hook up at a halloween party, only to discover they’re pregnant a couple months later. They move in together (just as friends of course) so he can support her during her pregnancy and they can get to know each other better since they will be forced to interact for at least the next eighteen years.

As this is a single POV, this is mostly Win’s story. She’s been burned before so has trouble letting Bo in and sets boundaries left and right so she won’t be hurt again. She finally finds the love and acceptance she desires in Beau, and the way the two love each other is just beautiful. Also, her lifelong friendship with her bestie was a delight to read about.

The disability rep (she has an underdeveloped hand, he is an amputee and uses a prosthetic) is outstanding. It’s an own-voices story and you can really tell how personal this is for the author and it was pretty eye opening to me about things I had never considered.

It wasn’t a 100% perfect read for me but I’m not going to nitpick because overall though those things didn’t matter to me by the end. The love story was so dreamy and tender and was a great read I’ll be thinking about for a long time.

Forget Me Not

Forget Me Not by Julie Soto releases tomorrow! Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Well this was an amazing debut!

It’s a second chance romance between Ama, an up & coming wedding planner, and Elliot, her ex boyfriend and the florist already contracted to do the wedding Ama has just signed on to plan. It’s a well known influencer’s wedding that could launch her wedding planning career, so she’s forced to work beside the man who she shares a history with, which is unraveled through flashbacks as the book progresses. 

Both characters were interesting and I liked Ama’s growth throughout the book, but the real winner for me here was Elliot. He comes across as grumpy and maybe a little rude but he’s so soft and gooey on the inside. He’s absolute book boyfriend material and I’m still swooning over the deliberate way he took care of Ama, even after she broke his heart. Also, he has a thigh tattoo. 

Look, I’m not a fan in general of dual timelines (I lose interest when the timeline changes and I never feel like we get enough of them together in the present day because so much time is spent in the past) but I did appreciate that the past chapters were told from Elliot’s POV. He’s an outwardly stoic character so it was a much needed insight into what he was thinking. 

The writing is light and funny but still emotional at times when it needed to be and it was honestly hard to believe this was a debut. There’s a good bit of steam, excellent supporting characters (I’m going to need Mar’s story next, thx), and a fun plot set around planning a splashy wedding. 

Overall this was a really great read! Especially if you like dual timelines!

10 Road Trip Romance Recommendations

One of my favorite forced proximity micro tropes: Road Trip romances. The ultimate forced proximity , with bickering over playlists and snacks. 

Here are some recs and some on my TBR!

On The Way to You– Kandi Steiner 

The Mother Road – Meghan Quinn 

The Romantic Pact – Meghan Quinn 

A Week to Be Wicked – Tessa Dare 

Cocky Bastard – Penelope Ward

Quarter Miles – Devney Perry 

Too Hot to Handle – Tessa Bailey *

Unraveling Him – Claire Kingsley 

Professional Development – Kate Canterbary *

Along for the Ride – Mimi Grace *

Love & Luck – Jenna Evans Welch (YA)

*On my TBR