Half-Light Harbor is out today! Thank you to the author for the ARC.
I always love (fictionally) spending time in Scotland with Samantha Young but this book feels extra special! It’s a great kickoff to a new series, with an amazing small town and great characters I already love.
We’ve got a broody, grumpy Scottish MMC and an American FMC who moves to Scotland for a fresh start & to open a B&B (all while trying to solve the mystery of her parent’s death.) I loved them both separately and together. Tierney really dragged Ramsay out of his comfort zone and he could not resist her despite himself.
The location is perfection, the suspense engaging, and I just really enjoyed my time in Leth Sholas! What an excellent start to what is sure to be a phenomenal series!
Bitten by Destiny is out today! Thank you to the author for the ARC.
This was a solid conclusion to the series! It brings closure to questions that have been lingering throughout the series, and also puts a new couple in the spotlight – a rockstar who happens to be Fae but doesn’t know it, and the vampire daughter of a man who wants to kill him.
I’ve really enjoyed this world and how exciting each book has been. There are supernaturals, action, and chase scenes all alongside the swoony romances and spice. I definitely recommend this series if you are a PNR fan, or if you’re new to the genre but want a good, easy reading, compelling series to pull you in.
All books available now in Kindle Unlimited!
(I do recommend reading the series in order as there are overarching plotlines, and by book four it felt like the supernatural version of the avengers all coming together to stop evil so it’ll be easier to tell who’s who if you go in order)
Happy Thursday! On Loverose Lane is out today, thank you to the author for the ARC.
It’s so great to be back in the On Dublin Street world! This is a next-gen story following our OG ODS couple’s daughter, though you can read it as a standalone.
It’s a second chance, fake dating romance between Beth, the CEO of her own successful company, and Callan, a popular footballer. They had a brief dalliance as teens that ended quickly, but Callan still has hurt feelings over it so he’s not happy to see he’s moved into an apartment building next to his old crush. He’s even less happy when Beth ropes him into fake dating her to help her business.
The banter between the two was hilarious, and Beth was not afraid to put Callan in his place. I love a FMC that takes no shit! It was at times emotional, though overall I found it heart warming and sexy, and while I loved the nods to the original series, it still felt young and fresh. The mental health/anxiety rep was great to read about as well.
Happy Thursday! Forever The Highlands is out today! Thank you to the author for the ARC.
It’s always great to be back in Scotland with Samantha Young. This is the final book in The Highlands series, which is a spin off of the Adairs, so this is book number 11 set in this world.
This is Eilidh and Fyfe’s story, which is a brother’s best friend, single dad romance. We’ve known Eilidh since the beginning of the Adairs and watched her grow up over the course of the series so it was nice that she finally got a turn to shine.
I thought both characters were really interesting. Eilidh is struggling, she sacrificed everything for a career she hates. She doesn’t know who she is anymore or what she really wants, other than her brother’s best friend. Fyfe has had a troubled life and doesn’t think he has the capacity for love until the daughter he didn’t know existed is dropped on his porch unexpectedly.
I loved how these two broken people finally found each other after years of tension and pining. I’m sad to see this series end, but look forward to what the author will bring us in the future!
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!
Happy Thursday! Skies Over Caledonia released today, I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I love returning to Ardnoch!
This brings us Jared and Allegra’s story, two characters we’ve met in previous books. We’re now five years in the future from the previous book, and Allegra finds herself about to be kicked out of Scotland for visa reasons. She has a proposition for Jared, whose family farm is failing – they get married so she can stay in the country and she can provide the capital needed to save the farm.
I love a marriage of convenience romance and this one was so good! Jared’s been avoiding Allegra’s attentions for years, she’s too rich and shiny and young for the likes of a surly farmer like him but the forced proximity works its magic and they eventually can’t resist each other any longer.
Jared was so broody and grumpy and I loved it. He boarded on rude at times in his insistence at not growing closer to Allegra and I love that she eventually won him over. He was the king of “my wife” moments that I am an absolute sucker for. Allegra was a character who surprised me, she wasn’t necessarily cast in the best light during previous books but I loved learning her history and watching her come into her own.
They’re both two lonely souls and I loved how they found belonging with each other. It’s a slow burn but when they finally gave into those feelings it was super hot! There’s also a dash of suspense and I love that it drove them closer together.
It’s always great to return to this world and I thoroughly enjoyed it!.
Happy Thursday! Through the Glen released today into Kindle Unlimited. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In Through the Glen, we return to the (unfortunately) fictional Ardnoch, the member’s only club set in a castle deep in the Scottish Highlands, where shy housekeeper Sarah asks worldly aristocratic television producer Theo to work on her screenplay with her. Struggling with writer’s block on his own, he eventually agrees and the two shut themselves away in Sarah’s cottage to work on the project together. Their close proximity does its magic and the two start to have feelings that surprise them both.
They’re opposites in almost all ways – Sarah is extremely shy and sheltered in her small town, she has lived a quiet life but really comes into her own in this book. She’s secretly a bestselling author under a pen name, and she goes through a lot of growth to accept her success and also to accept new friendships and experiences in her life. Theo is a swaggering playboy, the son of a British Viscount, one who’s vowed never to settle down after his first relationship imploded spectacularly.
The two find comfort and acceptance in each other and it was lovely to watch their respective walls start to fall. The sparks between them were intense and the author always brings the spice which I love.
I can’t say either MC is my favorite of the author’s, but that’s okay. They can’t all be my favorite! They loved each other and Sarah is a lot more forgiving than me, so that’s what matters.
I love being in this world and am so glad we still have more books to come! I can’t get enough.
Among the Heather is out now! I received an arc in exchange for an honest review.
I love returning to Ardnoch! This world the author has built is my favorite – so cozy, so beautiful, so atmospheric. Among the Heather is book two in The Highlands series, which is a spin off of the Adair Family series.
In this we have characters we’ve met in the previous books – Aria, who is managing Ardnoch for Lachlan, and North, an up and coming hollywood star who’s laying low at Ardnoch after a scandal breaks about his past. The two are immediately attracted to each other but Aria, whose father is an extremely famous movie director, is distrustful of actors after being used by so many of them to try to get to her father. But, throw in a bit of forced proximity, a meddling sister, and intense chemistry and the two start a “no strings” affair … but will it turn into more?
I loved both characters – Aria is so prickly but in an understandable way given her past. I loved her journey to self acceptance and her relationship with her family. I always love when we get a curvy heroine! North is just a superstar book boyfriend – so supportive, so loving, so open and willing to communicate his feelings. He definitely falls first and he made me cry at one point and I’m not usually a crier so that shows how much I love him.
There’s also a good bit of steam, some suspense, a gorgeous setting, and great secondary characters. I love this book, this series, this world, and this author. Definitely recommend!
Happy Tuesday! The Love Plot by Samantha Young is out today, thank you to the publisher for the early review copy.
This was such a fun opposites attract fake dating romcom!
Rafe needs a fake girlfriend to get his family off his back about settling down, so he makes a deal with Star, the character actor hired to dress up at his niece’s birthday party. She’ll pretend to be his girlfriend, while he’ll pay her a large sum to be at his beck and call for the next six months.
The two are opposites in almost all ways, Rafe is grumpy and reserved, from a rich traditional family while Star is the easygoing daughter of two hippies, content to live her life flying by the seat of her pants.
Rafe is a new favorite of mine, he came across as Darcy-like at the beginning, so reserved and standoffish but I really really loved him as we got to know him. Star was so sunshiney and I loved how she didn’t take anything too seriously. I can’t say she didn’t frustrate me at times, but that’s all part of the character arc, right? Sometimes they have to make mistakes in order to learn from them and grow.
Overall this was a very funny and charming romance about two polar opposites finding their way together with a good amount of steam and emotional moments for balance. I definitely recommend for my romcom loving friends!
BLURB:
There’s a magnetic attraction when a happy-go-lucky gig worker agrees to a fake relationship with a rich, uptight New Yorker in this steamy romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young.
Star Shine Meadows is all about freedom, thanks to the hippie parents who raised her. Juggling her jobs as a professional costume character actor and a line sitter, she believes in no expectations, no stressful ambitions, and no-strings-attached relationships. So when she meets a birthday girl’s grumpy uncle while working a princess party, she can’t help but needle him. She’ll never see him again, and honestly, he’s pretty hot.
Rafe Whitman may be a veterinarian with a great bedside manner, but that doesn’t mean his patience extends to anyone with opposable thumbs. His family will not stop nagging him about finding “the one,” so when he runs into obnoxiously cheery Star again, he makes her an offer: He’ll pay her more than she would make doing her odd jobs if she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend at family gatherings. She can stop sitting in line waiting for someone else’s new phone, and he’ll get his family off his back.
When the tension between them heats to a breaking point, Star’s desire for “no strings” is tested against Rafe’s staunch stability. They say opposites attract, after all….
Samantha Young is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series, including Moonlight on Nightingale Way, Echoes of Scotland Street, and Fall from India Place, and the Hart’s Boardwalk series, including Every Little Thing and The One Real Thing, as well as the standalone novels Fight or Flight and Much Ado About You.
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.
Romance Reviewed 