romance novel

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

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 Firefighter Romance Recommendations

What do you think the sexiest (… or should I say hottest 🤭) profession is? I don’t know but firefighter has to be up there! There’s something about a man who’s willing to put his life on the line to save old ladies and kittens, you know? Plus he can carry me. 

Here are ten of my favorites!

Hero – Lauren Rowe 

Parks and Provocation – Juliette Cross 

Hot Stuff – Max Monroe 

Reason to Believe – Rebecca Yarros 

Ignite – Melanie Harlow

Make You Mine – Laura Pavlov 

The Player Next Door – KA Tucker 

Hosed – Pippa Grant and Lily Valentine 

Bailey Brothers series – Claire Kingsley  

Protecting What’s Mine – Lucy Score 

Done and Dusted

Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage was such a pleasant surprise for me! I’ve seen it around since it made its debut a couple weeks ago but I didn’t really know much about it other than it has a unique cover. I read the first couple lines to see if it would draw my attention and the next thing I knew I was 20% in without realizing it. 

It’s a small town, brother’s best friend story about Emmy, who has returned home after an injury on the barrel racing circuit has left her shaken. She runs into Luke, her oldest brother’s best friend, who is surprised to find she’s all grown up.

They become friends as Luke helps her regain her confidence on horseback and the tension grows between them. There’s good steam, good banter, and he totally falls first which is the best since he’s a former bad boy/current playboy turned absolute cinnamon roll for her. 

I loved Emmy’s family and while brother’s best friend is not my favorite trope, I really enjoyed that dynamic here. We also get ADHD rep and no third act break up!

This did not read like it was the author’s debut at all which made it all the more impressive that it was. It made me want to listen to Brooks and Dunn and learn to ride a horse and I’m so excited for more from this series!

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

15 Single Dad Romance Recommendations

Happy Father’s day! In honor of the holiday, here are some of my favorite fictional daddies. I am such a sucker for this trope, especially if you throw in a small town setting and a blue collar profession.

Do you have any favorites? I need all the recommendations.

Ignite – Melanie Harlow

Broken French – Tasha Boyd

One Hot Italian Summer – Karina Halle

Single Dad Seeks Juliet – Max Monroe

In A Jam – Kate Canterbary

The Least Amount of Awful – Jennifer Millikin

There With You – Samantha Young

Flirting With Forever – Claire Kingsley

The New Guy– Sarina Bowen

Heartless – Elsie Silver

The Last One You Loved – LJ Evans

Make Me Yours – Melanie Harlow

Until You – K. Bromberg

Wrong For You – Harloe Rae

One Look – Lena Hendrix

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

Tempting the Neighbor

Tempting The Neighbor is book two in the Mount Macon series by Ashley Munoz. You could read it as a standalone if you wanted, but the couple from the first book are in this one quite a bit. 

Similar to the first book in the series, it’s a little messy but very entertaining. It’s also spicy and dramatic (especially the 3rd act conflict 🙄) 

Nora and Colson are next door neighbors who don’t get along very well to begin with when a fallen tree during a winter storm pushes them both past the edge. Nora has a big huge crush on Colson, who happens to be her father’s right hand man at his construction company. Colson has been warned to stay away from Nora, but eventually finds the temptation of his next door neighbor too much to resist.

When I say it’s spicy, I mean it’s SPICY (at least by my standards.) There’s also some excellent caretaking, some forbidden romance vibes, family dramatics, and laugh out loud banter.

I didn’t really like either of the main characters here much at all (she was bratty and he was a weenie), so I can’t say this was a new favorite but I still enjoyed the book overall and look forward to the next book in the series which is set up really well in this one!

The Marriage Solution

The Marriage Solution released last week in Kindle Unlimited! Thank you the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a marriage of convenience romance between two long time best friends who marry when the heroine is in need of healthcare after losing her job (yay America!). Julie has recently been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, and her old friend Landon will do anything to make sure she’s safe and healthy and able to afford the treatment she needs.

When a quick trip down the aisle in Vegas ends with a spectacular kiss, the two friends start to realize maybe there have been feelings there all along. Add in a bit of forced proximity, and the two soon can’t fight those feelings anymore.

I enjoyed this! The characters are in their late 30s so due to their maturity there is not a lot of extra drama. It’s a sweet low angst story (with some spice of course). The two have to readjust their lives once they realize their feelings have shifted, and I enjoyed watching how it all played out.

It’s own-voices chronic illness rep and I appreciated the insight into what that is like. There’s a great supporting cast, good steam, and I love when the hero falls first.

Also there’s a “Get your hands off my wife!” moment 😏

Unfortunately Yours

Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey is out today! Thank you Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

I loved this enemies to lovers marriage of convenience romcom. I will admit I didn’t exactly love Secretly Yours so I was a little nervous, but this had all the humor and heart and dirty talking fans of Tessa Bailey would expect. We met both Natalie and August in Secretly Yours, but I think you’d be okay reading this one as a standalone. 

Natalie has returned home to Napa after losing her high powered career and fiance all with one bad business decision. She needs her trust fund in order to start a new company, but the terms of the trust say she must be married in order to inherit. August Cates is a former marine, new to the winemaking industry, but has sunk all his money into a vineyard that keeps producing terrible wine. The two strike an agreement, they’ll marry in order for her to receive her trust fund and him to make the connections needed in Napa to secure a business loan. 

August is one of my favorite Tessa heroes, just totally dumbstruck by his feelings and attraction for Natalie. He’s one part golden retriever, one part Marine veteran dedicating his life to fulfilling his fallen brother’s dream. He’s large and strong with a totally soft and gooey middle and I just love when the guy falls first.

Natalie was also a great character, everyone underestimates her and still thinks of her as the wild child teen she once was and I loved how she proved herself capable. 

Natalie and August constantly butt heads, leading to some truly excellent banter and the forced proximity leads to a lot of sexual tension (though, technically, this is sort of a slow burn).

I really had a great time reading this! This was exactly the book I want from the author. If you are a Tessa Bailey fan don’t hesitate to pick this one up despite your feelings about Secretly Yours.