romance series

Forever Starts Tonight

Forever Starts Tonight is out now! Thank you to the author for the ARC. ⁣
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Oh my word, I loved this book so much.⁣
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We’ve seen Poppy pine for Jax throughout the series and I was so excited for it to be their time to shine.Our girl has finally had enough of Jax avoiding her and decides to confront him once and for all. A drunken night together leads to an unintended pregnancy and the book follows the fall out from that.⁣
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I’m an unapologetic accidental pregnancy lover and I loved how this story unfolded. (If you don’t love accidental pregnancy, that’s fine but no need to comment to tell me 🙃) It’s an emotional journey for the two of them, and I just loved how they went from avoidance to one night stand to so much more.⁣
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Jax has some trauma to overcome but he wants to be there for Poppy, at least in support of the baby if he can’t be there for her romantically. His backstory made me cry and I felt like his struggle to open up to anyone was so believable as a result. ⁣
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Poppy was a really great character, we’ve seen her grow up throughout this series and always be there for everyone else so I loved that she finally got to stand on her own. She’s so loving and caring and just wants to find her own person like her siblings all have. ⁣
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I loved the Wilder family’s various reactions to what happened. Jax knocking up his best friend’s little sister caused quite a stir and I gobbled the drama up. They are also supportive and loving and just one of my favorite fictional families around right now. ⁣
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Overall I just really loved this! I laughed, I cried, I swooned. An easy five stars! ⁣

Lights Out

I’m not usually one for stalker romance (or so I thought) but I’ve seen so much hype for this that I just had to give it and try. And honestly, it was so fun!

It was laugh out loud funny, completely unhinged, and just thoroughly entertaining. 

It’s about Aly, a nurse who enjoys watching masked man content on social media when she has a free moment, and her number one social media crush who stalks her when he realizes she’s into him. 

Our masked MMC was one part morally grey and one part golden retriever and I thought that was such a fun combination. I just really loved him and wanted to give him a hug. 

There are some darker tones and trauma both characters have been through and I loved how that juxtaposed with all the hilarious moments. 

There’s also a long list of kinks explored, some I didn’t know much about and this felt like a safe way to read about them for me since they existed in a romcom. I love learning something new!

The plot did fall apart for me a little about midway and I lost a little interest but it was still entertaining and I look forward to more in this world!

I did the audio for this one and the duet narration by Elena Wolfe and Jacob Morgan was 🤌🏻chef’s kiss🤌🏻 amazing. I’m not sure I would have enjoyed the book as much as I did if I had eyeball read it. 

(Check trigger warnings, there are a lot!!)

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. 

Cash – Jessica Peterson

This is exactly what I want in a cowboy romance!

Give me a grumpy cowboy, a fish out of water city girl, and an enemies to lovers plot where the MMC thinks he was supposed to get the ranch the FMC inherits and now they have to work together side by side by side and I am a happy girl but throw in Jessica Peterson’s signature charm and steam and I am ecstatic. 

Cash was on the surface a stoic, grumpy cowboy, but at heart he was actually quite sweet and very caring for those he loved. He gave up basically everything for his younger brothers after his parents passed away and has devoted his adult life caring for them and Lucky Ranch, so he doesn’t appreciate this city girl coming in after she inherits the property. Also, he has a great mustache and isn’t afraid of being vulnerable and sharing his feelings. 

Mollie was a great character too, she was strong willed and determined but also willing to admit she didn’t know what she was doing. She stepped in and really tried to learn the business and I love how she stood up to Cash with no hesitation. 

The banter between them was excellent and the sparks were intense from the get go, and when they finally give into that chemistry it gets to be melt-your-kindle hot. No location is off limits to these two! I’ve never considered the phrase “mustache ride” hot before but my worldview has been shaken and I’m re-evaluating everything. 

I also loved the setting and side characters. Every small town cowboy romance needs a local dive bar, a close knit group of cowboys, and brothers who interfere with your life choices. I’m so excited to get the rest of these brother’s stories and get more from this world!

I’ve loved every Jessica Peterson book I’ve read and given her combination of southern gentleman (except in the bedroom) mixed with sassy, smart heroines, I feel like she was made to write cowboy romance! 

I just really had a great time reading this! 

The Boss + The Maid = Chemistry – Louise Bay

The Boss + The Maid = Chemistry is out now! Thank you to the author for the ARC.

This was such a sexy and fun rom-com! This is a spin off of the author’s Doctors series though it reads fine as a standalone.

Efa and Bennett have a one night stand after meeting at a bar, only for her to show up as a maid at the hotel Bennett is currently residing in (and secretly owns.)

Efa is young and ballsy, she’s come to New York to get a job in tech and has no trouble going toe to toe with Bennett, who is 13 years older and tech billionaire. Bennett thinks she’s possibly stalking him after she shows up in his hotel room which was a funny misunderstanding.

The two are very hot for each other but it’s complicated with their age gap, her technically working for him and wanting a job at his tech company, and his general desire to remain anonymous.  

It was spicy, funny, and I had a good time reading it!

Northern Twilight – Samantha Young

Northern Twilight is out today! Thank you the author for the ARC. 

I always love returning to Ardnoch! 

In this we get Lewis and Callie’s story, who we first met in their respective parents’ stories, and now it’s their turn to shine. This is a second chance romance, they were childhood friends to teenage lovers, but wanted different things post school. They reunite briefly and their one night stand results in an accidental pregnancy.

This was very much an “it’s always been you” kind of romance, you just knew these two were meant to be and I loved all the angst and longing this brought. They’ve had seven years apart, and neither managed to quite move on successfully so suddenly being back in each other’s lives is quite an adjustment – at least for Callie.  

Lewis was more all-in, and what’s not to love about a tatted, man bun wearing, motorcycle riding architect who knows what he wants (and has quite a dirty mouth on him!)

I loved how their relationship progressed and that we got flashbacks to where it all went wrong. It was sweet, it was steamy, there was some angst, and we got to revisit some of the other characters from previous books, so I loved it!

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.