Mid Year Favorites

Whew can you believe this year is halfway done already? Like what?? 🤯

I’ve read 180 books so far this year (which I fully acknowledge is a silly amount) and here are my favorites so far! Ten 2023 releases and two backlist reads. The awesome thing is that I got to meet six of these authors this year (Lucy, Teagan, Abby, Karla, Sarina, and Christina Lauren) and hang out with book friends! How cool is that?

Let me know if we have any in common, or if none, let me know what your favorite read(s) of the year so far!

In A Jam- Kate Canterbary

Things We Hide From The Light – Lucy Score

Moth – Lily Mayne (really the whole series)

Glove Save – Teagan Hunter

R’jaal’s Resonance – Ruby Dixon

Yours Truly – Abby Jimenez

One and Only – Karla Sorensen

Good as Gold – Sarina Bowen

Georgie All Along – Kate Clayborn

Crimson River – Devney Perry

The True Love Experiment – Christina Lauren

Berries & Greed – Lily Mayne

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!

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.

Berries & Greed

Berries and Greed by Lily Mayne releases next week on the 30th! I was lucky to receive an ARC and it absolutely captivated me. I read it all day yesterday and woke up thinking about it so I can’t wait another eleven days to talk about it.

This book was just so much fun! It’s a low angst, adorable, friends/roommates to lovers monster romance between Beryl, a human woman who has spent her life in a cult which worships the demiurgus, and Greid, a socially awkward demiurgus who’s just looking for a little company.

Their friendship started off so sweet, Greid has been lonely living on his own so he invites Beryl a chance to escape her cult and live in the real world in exchange for some companionship.

He’s the grump to her sunshine, his social anxiety means he’d rather sit at home, smoke a joint, and watch tv rather than go out and make friends. He’s an absolute dork in the best possible way. He’s also a sympathetic crier, caretakes Beryl during her period, and wears a Snuggie 95% of the time (Pooh bear style)

Beryl is a strong woman, discovering the real world for the first time and ready to take it on. I really enjoyed her journey to find herself, and also her complete acceptance and willingness to fight for her seven foot tall roommate.

The chemistry between them builds up so well, it’s a bit of a slow burn but when in snaps, it snaps hard. They have to be a bit creative due to their body difference and his monster peen and oh boy was it spicy! The author has a list of content warnings and kinks explored on her website if you need it.

This was overall such a delight to read. It made me laugh out loud multiple times, their friendship and udder awkwardness made me smile, and the burgeoning romance and way they took care of each other made me swoon.

I’m so excited for more from this world! It releases into KU next Friday

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

Favorite Family Series

One of my very favorite types of series is one about a family where each sibling finds their HEA. If you can throw in a sassy grandpa or wise grandma, I’m pretty much guaranteed to love it.

Here are some of my favorite fictional families! Do we have any in common?

Shipley: True North by Sarina Bowen

Bailey: The Bailey Brothers by Claire Kingsley

Winston: The Winston Brothers by Penny Reid

Sawyer: Cloverleigh Farms by Melanie Harlow

Beauregard: North Carolina Highlands by Jessica Peterson

Adair: The Adair Family by Samantha Young

Easton: Tattered & Torn by Catherine Cowles

Savioe: Stay A Spell by Juliette Cross

Bergman: The Bergman Brothers by Chloe Liese

Saving the Single Dad

Saving The Single Dad is book three in the Mount Macon series, which is an age gap nanny/single dad romance.

I was pretty excited for this one (I mean there is a forehead kiss cover and a single dad) but it ended up being my least favorite of the series. The cover is still gorgeous though!

The series so far has been very soap opera-ish in some ways. I don’t mean that in a bad way necessarily, just that the characters are dramatic and the plots can be pretty messy and vice versa. While the first two weren’t exactly new favorites, they were very entertaining and I flew through them and just enjoyed the ride.

This was mostly true for this one as well but I really didn’t like the hero here 😬. He is actively pretty mean to the heroine (though to be fair, the blurb does say he’s bossy and rude, so that’s on me for being surprised when he is). He also made some very questionable parenting decisions and acted less mature than the heroine even though he is a lot older.

The steam is still great and it was still very entertaining like the other two! The heroine was my favorite of the series and I really enjoyed her relationship with the kids.

Melanie Harlow

Good As Gold

Good as Gold by Sarina Bowen is out today! I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review and loved it so much I ordered the paperback immediately.

Man it’s good to be back in Vermont! Returning to this world felt like a warm hug. It doesn’t hurt that Matteo Rossi is one of my favorite heroes the author has ever written!

Matteo is the slightly mysterious brother who was missing from his sibling’s books, and he has returned home for a family wedding and to make amends for all the time he’s missed. Coincidentally, the girl he loved as a teen has recently divorced his former best friend and is looking to make a baby. What better dad than her old friend Matteo?

I actually loved this premise, I know a lot of people hate accidental pregnancy trope but this was the exact opposite of that. Leila was taking control of her life and trying to get what she’s always wanted. Matteo was willing to do anything to make Leila happy, even before things turned romantic between them. These characters were slightly older than what we often see (they were around my age, I’m not calling them old) and I appreciated the maturity that came along with that.

Matteo and Leila were friends first, romantic second, and I really enjoyed their easy going respectful relationship. I liked how they progressed from friend to lovers and while I am not always a fan of flashbacks, they were used well here to explain the past relationship.

It was great to be back in Vermont and see some old favorites, and I’m excited for more! Nash’s story already has me intrigued.

Resisting the Grump

This one has been on my TBR since I saw this gorgeous cover last year! I finally made time to read it and I’m glad I did.

It’s a small town, age gap romance between Rae, who returns home after college to help at her parent’s business, and Davis, the town recluse who Rae had a huge crush on as a teen but who barely knew she existed then.

It’s a little messy and a little angsty. They both make a lot of mistakes and they’re both kind of mean to each other at times, and I was here for that!

For my steam loving friends, I would say this book is pretty darn spicy and had me blushing at times..

I saw a lot of mixed reviews for reasons that I can’t explain without spoilers but I enjoyed it and apparently don’t have the same set of standards as those people. I’ve been slumpy recently and I was still able to read this all in one sitting because I wanted to know how it would play out.

If you are looking for a spicy, dramatic, small town romance this one is in KU!

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