Kindle Unlimited

Single Dad Dilemma

Single Dad Dilemma is out today! Thank you to the author for the ALC. 

I really enjoyed this! Single dad, neighbors to lovers, and an emotional slow burn as only Karla can write.

Barrett and Lily were both super grumpy which I love, but in sort of different ways. Barrett’s job as head coach to a football team leaves him with very little free time so he lives a very regimented life and doesn’t appreciate disruption, while Lily is a free wheeling nomad who constantly disrupts him. They’re brought together by Barrett’s kids and slowly find themselves turning into more.

I really liked Lily – she’s introverted, doesn’t really like people, and just kept needling Barrett. I love that the author regularly gives us non-sunshine FMCs. 

It wouldn’t be a Karla book if it didn’t break my heart, so of course it did at times, but overall I love how they found the partner/love/home they both had been missing. 

I did the audio on this one and really enjoyed it, especially Aiden Snow. He had the perfect taciturn kind of voice for this. CJ Bloom also did a great job, if not a little cheerier than the character called for.  

All The Missing Pieces

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!)

Wyatt

Wyatt is out today! Thank you to the author for the ARC

This one is for the mutual pining lovers! This is a childhood friends to fake dating to lovers romance between Sally and Wyatt, who we met in Cash. 

I loved this! I’m not always a fan of friends to lovers but I thought this was really really well done. It felt realistic why neither would have made a move before now, and I loved watching their relationship grow and change as they finally did admit feelings. 

I loved both characters separately and together. Sally is driven and ambitious but still has space for her family, friends, and community. She’s a good girl, following the dream her father set out for her, but I loved that she finally stood up for what she wanted and found her own path. 

Wyatt is, on the surface, a bit of a class clown, always flirting and trying to make people laugh. He’s faced some loss in his life that makes him scared to commit, that is until he finally gets a chance with his dream girl Sally. Oh, did I love the way Wyatt loved Sally. He loved her in big ways and small ways and it just filled my heart with so much joy. He’s a man who is not afraid to show emotion, not afraid to make a grand gesture, not afraid to ask for help to win over his girl.

Together their relationship just felt meant to be – these two opposites sure had common ground in each other and I just thought it was a beautiful romance. It’s a romance that actually feels romantic but also has some very dirty (complementary) scenes that had me sweating – it was sweet and spicy in the best way. 

Overall, I just really really loved this addition to the Lucky River Ranch series and can’t wait for Sawyer!

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! 

Muffin But Trouble

From Smartypants Romance… Muffin But Trouble, an all-new opposites attract small-town romance from Talia Hunter, is now live in #kindleunlimited!

★ ★ BLURB ★ ★

New Yorker, Magdalena Solis, is a city cynic to her core. But when she’s threatened by a thug who demands she pay her absent boyfriend’s debts, she flees to Green Valley, Tennessee. Bewildered by her rural surroundings, and harboring a serious aversion to beards and flannel, Mags is horrified when the first local she encounters is the scruffiest brute she’s ever seen.

Cy Baxter has a tortured past, a bad reputation, and facial hair like a tumbleweed in a dust storm.

With troubles of his own, Cy vows to keep clear of the rude stranger who does nothing but insult him. But he has a heart as big as the wide-open countryside, and when an adorable stray dog brings the two together, sparks fly in the most unexpected ways.

Desperate to pay off her pursuer, Mags starts work at the Donner Bakery. And as Cy becomes a regular customer, his sweet tooth turns into a longing for something spicier.

But with the relentless thug hot on Mags’ trail, can these city-meets-country misfits find common ground? Or will their love story be as impossible as square dancing in stilettos?

‘Muffin But Trouble’ is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #4 in the Donner Bakery series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.

My Take:

This is book four in the Donner Bakery series, featuring Magdalena, who is the sister to Carla from Tough Cookie. She’s in Green Valley to hideout after her boyfriend’s drug dealer threatens her. She gets a short term job at the Donner Bakery, and has a series of run ins with Cy, her bearded neighbor which eventually turns into a romance.

I loved Cy! His dad was a bad guy so everyone in town expects him and his family to be bad as well but he’s a really upstanding, kind hearted guy. He’s temporarily raising his niece while his sister gets medical help, and I loved how hard he tried to be there for her. 

Magdalena I did not like as much. I genuinely hate leaving a review saying something about an unlikable heroine because everyone is too hard on FMCs but I really did not like her. She constantly judged and insulted people directly to their faces and didn’t care, even when they pointed out she was being rude. She was a mean girl which is different than just “unlikable.”

Overall though it was great to be back in Green Valley and I loved Cy!

In A Jam

I love this book. I loved it last year when it was my first read of 2023, and I loved it this year as my first read of 2024. I did it on audio this time around and it was so so so good (Jason Clarke 🥵)⁣
⁣
It’s easily become an all time favorite for me. It has literally everything I love in a romance – small town, marriage of convenience, a grumpy MMC who falls first and hard, pining (my GOD, the PINING). It had me laughing and swooning in equal parts. Even the tagline makes me swoon – “She was the one who got away. She just didn’t know it.”⁣
⁣
My review from last year still holds true – ⁣
⁣
Noah, Daddy Bread Baker for those in the know, is a serious dreamboat. He’s pined for his former neighbor/high school crush for years, so when she shows up back in town to claim an inheritance, he immediately throws out a marriage proposal to help her out – despite the fact that he’s very grumpy she left him behind in the first place. ⁣
⁣
He’s raising his niece all on his own and doesn’t really have time for a marriage, what with single handedly saving his family’s farm, helping out everyone in town, and perfecting his jam recipes but he just can’t help himself. His niece was an absolute hoot- I want to be Gennie when I grow up. Even though he’s grown up physically since high school, he can’t help but blush and panic when Shay gets close, which of course makes him even grumpier.⁣
⁣
Shay is a bit lost, her seemingly perfect life has come crashing down around her and she doesn’t know who she is or what she wants anymore. She was an interesting if not a bit frustrating at times character, but I think I actually understood her more the second time around. It’s so obvious Noah is gone for her, but she just got out of a really long and toxic relationship so immediately jumping into something new can’t be easy.⁣
⁣
The sparks between Shay and Noah were immediate, and though it was a slow burn, when things got physical oh boy did dirty talking Noah have me blushing. I loved how these two balanced each other out.⁣
⁣
I love this book. ⁣

Romance Novellas

Novellas are great for a lot of reasons. 

I love to squeeze them in between longer reads as a break, they’re perfect if you’re trying to reach a reading goal, they work wonders if your attention span isn’t great (especially during busy times such as the holiday season).

For whatever reason you have for reading them, here are quite a few options. Some I’ve read, some were recommended to me by others.

Contemporary

  • Denise Williams – Love and Other Flight Delays (3 novellas bound into one)
  • Rachel Lacey – Out of the Blue 
  • Suleikha Snyder – Tikka Chance on Me 
  • Devney Perry – Timeless 
  • Rilzy Adams – Treble 
  • Evie Mitchell – Knot My Type
  • Tessa Bailey – The Sweetest Fix 
  • Chelle Sloan – Thirst Trap 
  • Jenny Bunting – Safe With You
  • Penny Reid – Live and Let Grow

Historical

  • Erin Langston – A Day Until Forever 
  • Beverly Jenkins – A Prisoner of love 
  • Alyssa Cole – Let It Shine 
  • Courtney Milan – A Governess Affair
  • Mimi Matthews – A Holiday by Gaslight  
  • Erin Langston – Some Winter’s Evening
  • Felicity Niven – Duke the Halls 
  • Nicola Davidson- Her Virgin Duke 
  • Tessa Dare – When She Was Naughty 
  • Megan Frampton – The Earl’s Christmas Pearl

Audible Originals

  • Rebekah  Weatherspoon – A Walk In The Park 
  • Cara Bastone – Sweet Talk 
  • Kennedy Ryan – Coming Home
  • A Thief in the Night- KJ Charles
  • Michelle Stimson – Let It Snow 
  • Codi Hall – Along Came Holly
  • Karen Schaler – Once Upon a Christmas Carol 
  • Mahi Cheshire – Whisked Away At Christmas

Monster Romance

  • Lucy Eden – Bear with Me
  • Monster Pucker – Clio Evans & Ashley Bennett
  • Honey Phillips – Her Alien Farmhand
  • Ruby Dixon – Ice Planet Barbarians

Series Starters

  • Claire Kingsley – Protecting You
  • Max Monroe – Gotta Have Fate
  • Elsie Silver – Out of the gate
  • Devney Perry – Christmas in Quincy

Christmas I’ve read and recommend:

  • Talia Hibbert – Merry Inkmas
  • Devney Perry – Holiday Brothers (3 novellas) 
  • Lucy Score – One Night Only
  • Chloe Liese – Mistletoe Motive 
  • Melanie Harlow – Baby it’s cold outside
  • J Saman – Just One Kiss 
  • JR Jenner – One Week With You 
  • Talia Hibbert – Wrapped Up In You
  • Katie Reus- How the Hitman Stole Christmas
  • Melissa Ivers – Mistletoe and Mischief

Christmas recommended to me by others:

  • Hannah Bonam-Young – Set the Record Straight
  • Rilzy Adams – Spiked Hot Chocolate
  • Kate Clayborn – Missing Christmas 
  • Wren K Morris – From Cocktails to Sleigh Bells 
  • Rachel Holm – Carry Me Through Christmas
  • Carrie Aarons – A Wonderful Lie 
  • Stacey Kennedy Meet Me Under the Mistletoe
  • Oona Grace- Santa’s Broken Toy
  • Dirty Santa – Daphne Loveling 
  • The Christmas Blanket – Kandi Steiner 
  • Exes and Ho Ho Hos – Pippa Grant 
  • Gingerbread Kisses – Lucy Eden

2023 releases on my TBR:

  • Ilsa Madden Mills – Christmas Cupid
  • Victoria Wilder – December Midnights
  • Jessica Joyce – A Risk Worth Taking
  • Ann Einerson – If You Give A Grump A Holiday Wishlist
  • Echo Grayce – Provoking Saint Nick
  • Maren Moore – A Festive Feud
  • Nellie Wilson – Corporate Mandated Holiday Romance
  • Adriana Herrera – Run Darling

Extra Spicy

  • Naima Simone – Only For A Night
  • Katee Robert  – Your Dad Will Do
  • Molly Doyle – Scream for Us
  • Briana Michaels – Glitch
  • Eve Dangerfield – Dysfunctional
  • Kayla Grosse – Trick Shot 
  • Eliza McClane – Santa Baby
  • Katee Robert – Gifting Me to His Best Friend

Kissing Only

  • Jenny Proctor – The Christmas Letters
  • Summer Dowell – The Elle Project
  • Cindy Steel – A Christmas Spark
  • Hailey Gardner – The Holiduel

New Years

  • Tessa Bailey – Same time next year 
  • Kathryn Nolan- Keep You Both 
  • MJ Duncan – Champagne Kisses 
  • G Marie – Snowed in Fling 
  • Erin McClellan – Party Favors 
  • Sara Ney – New Years Steve 
  • Alexandria House A New Year New Boo? 
  • JL Sterling – Kissing My Coworker

Bonus – Even More

Authors who have a lot of novellas:

  • Kat Baxter (insta-love)
  • Cassie Mint (insta-love)
  • TS Joyce (shifters)
  • Honey Phillips (aliens/monsters)

Novella Series

  • ST Abby – Mind*ck
  • Adriana Herrera – Toy Runners (3 books)
  • Aurora Rose Reynolds – Adventures in Love (3 books)
  • Evie Mitchell – Capricorn Cove (10 books)
  • Annabeth Albert – Portland Heat (6 books)
  • Jackie Lau – Holidays with the Wongs (4 books)
  • Ruby Dixon – Risdaverse (11 books, I think two are not novellas)
  • Multi authored – Bold Brew (10 books)
  • Jillian Dodd – Kitty Valentine (9 books)
  • Brook Blaine – The Elite (3 books)
  • Kendall Ryan – Hitched (3 books)

Not technically novella but short and very bingeable:

  • KA Tucker – The Wolf Hotel (5 books)
  • KA Tucker – Empire Night Club (4 books)
  • Ruby Dixon – Ice Planet Barbarians, Ice Home
  • Amber Kelly – Poplar Falls (6 books)
  • Rebekah Weatherspoon – Loose Ends (2 books)
  • Devney Perry – Runaway (5 books)

One Look

I really enjoyed this grumpy/sunshine single dad romance! 

It’s a fun, easy reading light hearted story with lots of steam and a quirky small town. I love a grumpy single dad and his relationship with his daughter was just adorable. 

I honestly don’t have much else to say about it other than it was a fun read and I enjoyed it! It’s a great summer read, taking place during summer in Michigan along the lake so the setting is perfect. 

I hesitated to pick this up, because tbh I didn’t love the first book I read by the author (not the one pictured) and the premise of a professional mourner sounded a little too “quirky” for me, but I’m really glad I read it! The Andrew cover convinced me to give it a try. 

I’m looking forward to the rest of this series, the next book is out next week and I’m excited for it.

20 Travel Romance Recommendations

I love a romance set in a great travel destination, especially when one or both of the characters are there on vacation. It’s the perfect getaway when you can’t actually get away, no passport required. I have read and enjoyed all twenty of these!

  1. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. Destination: Maui
  2. One Hot Italian Summer by Karina Halle. Destination: Tuscany, Italy
  3. The Simple Wild by KA Tucker. Destination: Alaska
  4. The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth O’Roark. Destination: Hawaii
  5. Frenched by Melanie Harlow. Destination: Paris
  6. Wild Highway by Devney Perry. Destination: Montana
  7. My Life in Shambles by Karina Halle. Destination: Ireland
  8. Truth or Dare by Danielle Allen. Destination: Punta Cana
  9. The Romantic Pact by Meghan Quinn. Destination: Germany
  10. Broken French by Tasha Boyd. Destination: French Riviera
  11. The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morganthaler. Destination: Alaska
  12. Shipped by Angie Hockman. Destination: Galapagos Islands
  13. Where Sea Meets Sky by Karina Halle. Destination: New Zealand
  14. Love Lessons by Sarina Bowen. Destination: Lake Como, Italy
  15. Perfect Strangers by JT Geissinger. Destination: Paris
  16. Starting Back by Stephanie Rose. Destination: Florida Keys
  17. Much Ado About You by Samantha Young. Destination: England
  18. A Place In the Sun by RS Grey. Destination: Cinque Terre
  19. My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey. Destination: Cape Cod
  20. Bright Midnight by Karina Halle. Destination: Norway

MAKE ME BAD by R.S. Grey- Now Live!

I’m excited about this! I will begin reading it tonight as soon as I get home from work. I don’t know why my office keeps insisting I work when there are awesome books I should be reading instead!

About MAKE ME BAD by R.S. Grey

I was issued a warning: stay away from Ben Rosenberg.

As Clifton Cove’s resident “king”, he thinks he’s entitled to anyone and anything.

The trouble is, I’ve spent my whole life following the rules and playing it safe. I know what it feels like to be the good girl. I’m the police chief’s daughter and a librarian—for adorable children, no less. My wardrobe consists of colorful sundresses and baggy jeans. I might as well have a Post-it stuck to my forehead that reads: Yup, she’s a virgin.

An all-nighter with a fictional hunk is about as exciting as my life gets, until one day, fate decides to take pity on me and shove me straight into the path of Mr. Off-Limits himself.

Oof.

Just as I suspected, every inch of him promises to be my demise. Up close, he’s tall, menacing, dangerously handsome—the type of man who’s never spent a single moment worrying about the opinions of others. A well-behaved girl would do as she’s told and avoid him at all costs, but I’m overdue for a little rebellion.

No more Friday nights sprawled out on the couch in my comfiest pajamas. No more wishing I had the courage to misbehave.

Everyone thinks Ben is going to ruin me.

They think he’ll chew me up and spit me out.

Well, Ben…go ahead.

Tempt me. Taunt me.

Make me bad.

Add MAKE ME BAD on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2GGUakd

Get your hands on MAKE ME BAD now: https://amzn.to/2tPWs8R

About R.S. Grey:

R.S. Grey is the USA Today bestselling author of thirteen novels, including THE FOXE & THE HOUND. She lives in Texas with her husband and two dogs, and can be found reading, binge-watching reality TV, or practicing yoga! Visit her at rsgrey.com

Connect with R.S. Grey:

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1T707p0

RS Grey’s Little Reds Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1378399812435745/

Website: rsgrey.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorrsgrey/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author-RS-Grey-167668293429638/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorRSGrey