small town

Saving Rain – Kelsey Kingsley

Oooh did I love this book.

This is a beautiful story of redemption, told in dual timelines but only one POV, which was his. I really liked the uniqueness of the single POV being the MMCs. And what a great MMC he was!

Soldier was born to a young mother with a drug problem, leading a very unstable upbringing and a series of bad decisions as a teen led him to be in prison in his early twenties. He did not always make the best choices but we can see the desperation that brought him to that point. We get his whole story from childhood to adult as we move through the first past timeline. 

We also get his present day story, being released from prison years later and trying to fit in back in the outside world. He ends up living next to a single mother and her son, whom he befriends and eventually starts a romance with the mom.

Truth be told, the romance is somewhat of the lesser plot here, and I didn’t mind at all. I loved Soldier, his strength and inherent goodness despite his difficult upbringing was beautiful. His journey was hard at times but I genuinely loved it. There is not much I love more than a true story of redemption and this one just really hit the spot for me. 

We do however definitely get a romance, and a beautiful, tender one at that. Soldier and Rain saved each other in multiple ways and their love felt meant to be. I also loved Soldier’s other relationships, with his former prison guard who helped him reestablish himself, with the townspeople as he won them over, and especially with Rain’s son who was the first person to befriend Soldier and not treat him any differently. 

I do have to say, it’s pretty long. It’s around 500 pages, and it’s very character driven so you spend a lot of time with Soldier. I personally enjoyed every second and flew through the pages. I loved the author’s writing style so much I immediately picked up the next (loosely interconnected) book and binged that one as well (review to come!) 

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!

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.

Bourbon & Lies

Oooh did I love this book! This is my first by the author but it certainly won’t be the last. This cover is stunning and what initially drew me to the book but the contents were just as good.

It’s a forced proximity romance between Laney, a woman on the run, and Grant, the youngest son of a bourbon distilling family dynasty. She needs a safe place to hide out for a while and Fiasco, Kentucky is just that place.

I loved both of them individually and together. Grant has suffered a lot of loss in his life which has led him to become somewhat of a recluse, cut off emotionally from his family if not physically. He’s very grumpy about this woman who showed up out of nowhere who he can’t seem to avoid. Laney was so resilient and I love that she did not take Grant’s shit at all, and threw it back at him even harder. They were such a great match! And WHEW the sparks were flying between them from the get go.

This was such a sexy book. The writing, the scenery, the descriptions, all sexy (also, you know, the sex was sexy too). There’s also a bit of suspense which I love! I loved the small town and supporting characters and I’m genuinely so excited to get to read more from this world. 

This is easily my favorite book I’ve read in June and it’s on my top reads of 2024 list! 

Free Fall

Free Fall is out today! Thank you to Hambright PR for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. ⁣
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What a treat! Kathryn Nolan has written a perfect summer read.⁣
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It’s a small town, grumpy/sunshine romance between a straight-laced bodyguard and the charming man he’s supposed to protect. Luke has just inherited his father’s company, and with it a handsome bodyguard & a series of threats. Elijah is up for a promotion so he obviously can’t break the number one rule of not getting personal with a client but as threats draw them together, it gets harder to keep Luke at a distance.⁣
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Ooooh did I love all those forbidden tension filled moments! Elijah is such a serious guy who’s so secretly soft for Luke and I loved how that stoic man blushes. Luke is the life of the party and I love that he didn’t make it easy on Elijah to keep his distance. Both had a lot of family trauma and I love that they found acceptance in each other. They had great laugh out loud banter, a ton of chemistry & heat, and I loved that we got some action in the story as well.⁣
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Overall, I just really had a great time reading this!⁣

Crossroads

Crossroads is out today! Thank you to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

She’s done it again! Devney Perry yet again has me packing my bags because I’ve decided to move to Montana, get a job at a resort, and find myself a cowboy. 

Crossroads brings us the story of Indya and West, a love story spanning years between these childhood friends who turn into so much more. Each summer, Indya and her parents visit West’s family’s ranch/resort in Montana and we follow as they grow up and fall in love. With dual timelines, the present day story brings us Indya’s return to the ranch with the bombshell news that she’s bought the ranch from West’s dad. 

The two butt heads as Indya makes changes to the resort and I was living for their banter and tension. They were immediately both drawn into each other again and it was just a delight. Their story packed a real emotional punch as well, there is a lot of grief and loss Indya especially has to work through but West does as well. 

I loved the setting, the side characters, and it sets up really well for book two which I’m already ready for! 

I loved this beautiful story! One thing about me is I take my bedtime very seriously and the fact that I stayed up until 1 am to read it, on a work night, basically in one sitting, tells you how much I really really loved it! It’s easily one of my favorite books by the author and definitely one of my favorite books of the year. 

Funny Story

So … this was definitely an Emily Henry book! If you’re already a fan, I think you’ll love it. If you didn’t like her previous books, this probably isn’t going to be the one to convince you otherwise. 

It was a close proximity fake dating romance between Daphne, a straightlaced librarian, and Miles, a laid back bartender, who both get dumped at the same time when their (now) exes realize they are in love with each other. Daphne has nowhere to go, so she moves in with Miles, despite their very opposite personalities.

I liked the progression of their relationship, they don’t know much about each other other than what their exes have told them so it was fun to watch them discover who they truly were. They start off pretty sad and grieving their lost relationships but it quickly turns into friendship and then more. I didn’t feel a strong passionate love between them, mostly because they are both still pretty hung up on their exes, but that’s okay. 

Miles started as a very Nick Miller type character which I really loved, you don’t see that many romance MMCs who are often high while listening to Celine Dion alone in their bedroom. Daphne is a pretty typical Emily Henry FMC, smart and clever and sad. 

The first half flew by for me, filled with the budding relationship and excellent banter, but the second half felt a bit slow. I expect Emily Henry books to be more on the women’s fiction side but there’s a lot of other stuff Daphne is working through with her friends and family and I just wasn’t that interested in those parts. The third act conflict was miscommunication based and I didn’t love that even though I understood it. 

Overall though it was good! Again, if you love EmHen I think you’ll enjoy it. It fell somewhere in the middle of the pack for me behind Beach Read and Book Lovers. I did the audio and thought Julia Whelan did an excellent job as always. 

The Ride of Her Life

The Ride of Her Life releases today! Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

I’m a big Hallmark fan and the plot of this sounded very Hallmark to me in the best way – city girl Molly inherits a horse farm and goes there with the intent to fix up the farm to sell – only to be met by a hot farrier who doesn’t want her to sell and clashes with her at every step. Only in this one, it’s a sapphic enemies to lovers between Molly and Shani, the hot tenant who knows everything about horses. 

I had mixed feelings about this one. I loved the premise, the setting, Shani, and all the supporting characters at the farm. They have such a great found family centered around the stable where they board their horses. There was a lot of humor and a bit of steam and I loved that we got a character who is a farrier, which is a career I’ve never read about in a romance novel before.  

Molly, on the other hand, was a bit of a struggle for me. When you watch a Hallmark movie, you’re rooting for the small town to win, for the developer to go away, for the festival to raise enough money to save the library or whatever. In this, she’s the only POV and she was the city girl who came to ruin everything which made it hard to root for her. She only cared about her best interests and I just never warmed up to her. 

Overall though it was a cute read! I was curious to see how it would all unfold and work out between them, and like I said I did enjoy the rest of the characters. The writing was light and enjoyable so if sapphic hallmark sounds good to you I do recommend it!

Fragile Sanctuary

One word review – Unputdownable. 

A new Catherine Cowles series feels a bit like the first day of school. Excitement, wonder, new friends, and a little bit nervous because you don’t know what’s going to happen. And boy was this an excellent new beginning. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

This introduces us to Rhodes and her found family in Sparrow Falls. She finds herself growing closer to her brother’s best friend Anson, the grumpy, broody, mysterious fire restoration specialist helping rehab her childhood home. When a series of “accidents” happens to Rhodes, Anson is just the man to help protect her, but Anson is a man full of secrets and those secrets might be the most dangerous of all. 

Both have painful pasts and watching them comfort each other and help bring each other’s (especially Anson’s) walls down was just beautiful. The sexual tension between them built masterfully and when it finally snapped whew it was hot. 

There’s an excellent cast of supporting characters. Rhodes and her siblings and grandma were an amazing found family. They are mostly not blood related but they are a true family nonetheless and I loved their interactions and group texts. I’m looking forward to their stories and already have guesses about who their future love interests will be!

The romantic suspense kept me guessing and I was totally fooled this time. I’m usually great at guessing the “bad guy(s)” in romantic suspense but I didn’t put it all together this time and I love that!  I rarely read a book in one sitting anymore, but I could not put this baby down once I started because I just had to find out what was going on.

I loved loved loved it! I loved it so much I read it first with my eyes then a week later listened to the audio as well which was also amazing and I thought both narrators did a great job!

Muffin But Trouble

From Smartypants Romance… Muffin But Trouble, an all-new opposites attract small-town romance from Talia Hunter, is now live in #kindleunlimited!

★ ★ BLURB ★ ★

New Yorker, Magdalena Solis, is a city cynic to her core. But when she’s threatened by a thug who demands she pay her absent boyfriend’s debts, she flees to Green Valley, Tennessee. Bewildered by her rural surroundings, and harboring a serious aversion to beards and flannel, Mags is horrified when the first local she encounters is the scruffiest brute she’s ever seen.

Cy Baxter has a tortured past, a bad reputation, and facial hair like a tumbleweed in a dust storm.

With troubles of his own, Cy vows to keep clear of the rude stranger who does nothing but insult him. But he has a heart as big as the wide-open countryside, and when an adorable stray dog brings the two together, sparks fly in the most unexpected ways.

Desperate to pay off her pursuer, Mags starts work at the Donner Bakery. And as Cy becomes a regular customer, his sweet tooth turns into a longing for something spicier.

But with the relentless thug hot on Mags’ trail, can these city-meets-country misfits find common ground? Or will their love story be as impossible as square dancing in stilettos?

‘Muffin But Trouble’ is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #4 in the Donner Bakery series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.

My Take:

This is book four in the Donner Bakery series, featuring Magdalena, who is the sister to Carla from Tough Cookie. She’s in Green Valley to hideout after her boyfriend’s drug dealer threatens her. She gets a short term job at the Donner Bakery, and has a series of run ins with Cy, her bearded neighbor which eventually turns into a romance.

I loved Cy! His dad was a bad guy so everyone in town expects him and his family to be bad as well but he’s a really upstanding, kind hearted guy. He’s temporarily raising his niece while his sister gets medical help, and I loved how hard he tried to be there for her. 

Magdalena I did not like as much. I genuinely hate leaving a review saying something about an unlikable heroine because everyone is too hard on FMCs but I really did not like her. She constantly judged and insulted people directly to their faces and didn’t care, even when they pointed out she was being rude. She was a mean girl which is different than just “unlikable.”

Overall though it was great to be back in Green Valley and I loved Cy!