Dying to Meet You

Happy Monday! Dying to Meet you is out tomorrow, thank you to the publisher for the ARC.

Loved this! It doesn’t matter what genre she write in, Sarina Bowen continues to write the most engaging, entertaining, compulsively readable novels.

This one is a domestic thriller, about an architect involved in a police investigation after her ex boyfriend ends up dead at her work site. She had recently been tracking him after he previously shared his location with her, which makes her the prime suspect.

It kept me flipping through the pages to figure out what the heck was going on and what the heck the history of the house she’s restoring had to do with it all. It also has a tiny bit of romance in it which of course I loved!

This was a nice change of pace for me (reading a domestic thriller) and I really enjoyed my time reading it.

The Last Guy on Earth

Happy Tuesday! The Last Guy On Earth is out today, thank you to the author for the ARC.

I loved this! No one does hockey romance like Sarina, and it is always a joy to return to this world.

This is a second chance romance with some forbidden vibes, between a hockey coach and the player transferred to his team. They played in the minors together years ago and had a burgeoning romance at the time, but their career took them in different directions until they’re suddenly dropped back into each other’s lives.

They had a lot of hurt feelings over the past, and I loved watching them work through those emotions while also trying to maintain a professional front. Both characters were really great, both separately and together. I really enjoyed all the secondary characters, and seeing our old friends from series past.

I just really loved it!

Holidating

Holidating is out today, thank you to the author for the ARC.

This is a collection of three standalone holiday stories, two previously released and one brand new novella, bound into one edition. I’ve already previously read Boyfriend and Blonde date so I’ll just share quick reviews and focus on Crossroads here.

This is a new novella following Damien, the final Rossi sibling from the True North series. Though this can be read as a standalone, it sure was nice to see the Rossi family again. Damien is a taxi driver with a crush on one of his fares, Nicolette. This follows them over the course of 15 years as he gives her rides at Christmas.

They’re quite young when they meet and the plot takes them far apart from each other at times, but I loved following their journeys and how they were eventually brought together. There is a certain sadness to their stories which I love – not everyone is happy at Christmas and I think it’s good to recognize that.

There could be some triggers for people in here so be careful but I really really enjoyed this story! It was so great to be back in Vermont and I just can’t get enough of this world.

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.

The Five Year Lie

Sarina Bowen is one of my all time favorite romance authors so I was so excited to see she had a thriller coming out! I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I don’t read a ton of thrillers these days but I do enjoy them so this seemed right up my alley … and it was!

I really enjoyed it. It’s a domestic thriller about single mother Ariel, who receives a text message five years after the disappearance of the father of her child. They once had a torrid affair, until one day he sends her an email saying he’s leaving and it’s over between them, oh and then he died. She sets off to find out who could have sent her this text and what was really behind his disappearance five years ago, as the contents of the text change her perspective on the whole situation.

It’s a quick reading book that flashes between past and present as we discover what brought Drew into Ariel’s life all those years ago and what led to his disappearance. The mystery was intriguing and I didn’t want to put it down so I could find out if my theories were correct. I enjoyed all the characters and yes, there is a romance. It’s in the background but it’s definitely there which was great.

Overall I thought it was an intriguing read and one I recommend for those who like thrillers with a bit of romance!

I’m Your Guy

Happy Tuesday! I’m Your Guy by Sarina Bowen released today, I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a heartwarming, kick your feet and giggle kind of romance between grumpy very closeted hockey player Tommaso and sunshiney very out interior designer Carter. Tommaso’s mother is visiting for Christmas and he wants his (entirely empty) townhouse to be perfect for her visit so he hires Carter to transform his place.

Carter is having a rough patch both personally and professionally so this opportunity is a lifeline for him, but I love how he still knows his worth in the relationship as they move slowly from client/professional to friends to lovers.

The two were such opposites, I love how they accepted each other so wholly despite their differences. Tommaso was so stoic & broody, afraid to be his true self due his unsupportive extended family while Carter was so outgoing, confident, and comfortable with himself.

It just felt so warm and cozy and just filled my heart with joy. I love the whole Cougars team and the flashes of Bruisers we got to see.

If you’ve read Roommate by the author and loved those vibes you will surely love this one too! But if you haven’t read Sarina Bowen before you could absolutely read this one as a standalone – I don’t ever say that lightly because I hate feeling like I’m missing something but you really could read this by itself.

The audiobook has me intrigued too, Teddy Hamilton and Jacob Morgan? Okay!

13 Office Romance Recs

I’m not always into office romance probably because all my years working in an office but sometimes it works! Especially if it’s an author I already like, I will still pick it up.

And look, I get it. The late hours, the forced proximity, the power dynamics, it’s hard to resist (fictionally)! Here are some that I’ve really enjoyed.

Tapping the Billionaire- Max Monroe

By A Thread- Lucy Score

Brooklynaire – Sarina Bowen

Bossman Bridegroom – Meghan Quinn

The Boyfriend Project – Farrah Rochon

Faking Ms Right – Claire Kingsley

The Devil You Know – Elizabeth O’Roark

Hate Notes – Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward

Dating You Hating You – Christina Lauren

The Deal Maker – Jessica Peterson

Neanderthal Seeks Human – Penny Reid

King of Wall Street – Louise Bay

Before I Ever Met You – Karina Halle

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

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?