The Love Plot

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.

Hideaway Heart

Happy Tuesday! Hideaway Heart released yesterday and I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Even more exciting, the human covers are now live on Amazon as well and I don’t think I’ve ever ordered anything so quickly in my life. 

This was such an entertaining read! It was high heat and low angst with plenty of funny moments and endearing main characters.

Kelly wants to spend her vacation feeling like a normal person instead of her stage persona, country superstar Pixie Hart, so she’s not happy when her brother sends his former SEAL buddy to watch over her. Xander is out of the private security business but can’t turn down his friend so he shows up to her vacation cabin rental only for her to fire him.  They finally reach an understanding and sparks start to fly pretty immediately.

A good portion of the book is them in the forced proximity of the cabin and boy was it spicy. The two were pretty feral in bed together and I was blushing. Outside of the bedroom I really liked their dynamic. They had really fun banter and I love that neither took it easy on the other. 

I also enjoyed getting to spend time with the Buckley family and I look forward to more from the series!

TW: consensual non consent, see TW from author.

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

Out On A Limb

Books like this are why I’m scared to DNF! At first I wasn’t feeling the humor in the book and wanted to give up but then somehow it turned into a moving, tender, gorgeous romance and I’m so glad I didn’t quit.

It’s an accidental pregnancy story between two virtual strangers who hook up at a halloween party, only to discover they’re pregnant a couple months later. They move in together (just as friends of course) so he can support her during her pregnancy and they can get to know each other better since they will be forced to interact for at least the next eighteen years.

As this is a single POV, this is mostly Win’s story. She’s been burned before so has trouble letting Bo in and sets boundaries left and right so she won’t be hurt again. She finally finds the love and acceptance she desires in Beau, and the way the two love each other is just beautiful. Also, her lifelong friendship with her bestie was a delight to read about.

The disability rep (she has an underdeveloped hand, he is an amputee and uses a prosthetic) is outstanding. It’s an own-voices story and you can really tell how personal this is for the author and it was pretty eye opening to me about things I had never considered.

It wasn’t a 100% perfect read for me but I’m not going to nitpick because overall though those things didn’t matter to me by the end. The love story was so dreamy and tender and was a great read I’ll be thinking about for a long time.

Snow Place Like LA

This was such a fun novella! 

We met Luca and Angel in A Merry Little Meet Cute. They had a passionate affair while in Christmas Notch, but Angel ghosted Luca after filming ended to go to Paris with his ex boyfriend (or did he? 🤔)

It’s now summertime and Angel is back in LA, where the two keep running into each other. Will the forced proximity of a Pretty Woman inspired adult film set be too much for them to resist?

It was so fun and quick paced it almost made my head spin. They definitely had a physical attraction (with lots of steam packed into this short book!) but I could have used a little more emotion – however, that’s pretty common for a novella.

Overall though a good time if not an in depth emotional romance! I’m really looking forward to more in this series.

Forget Me Not

Forget Me Not by Julie Soto releases tomorrow! Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Well this was an amazing debut!

It’s a second chance romance between Ama, an up & coming wedding planner, and Elliot, her ex boyfriend and the florist already contracted to do the wedding Ama has just signed on to plan. It’s a well known influencer’s wedding that could launch her wedding planning career, so she’s forced to work beside the man who she shares a history with, which is unraveled through flashbacks as the book progresses. 

Both characters were interesting and I liked Ama’s growth throughout the book, but the real winner for me here was Elliot. He comes across as grumpy and maybe a little rude but he’s so soft and gooey on the inside. He’s absolute book boyfriend material and I’m still swooning over the deliberate way he took care of Ama, even after she broke his heart. Also, he has a thigh tattoo. 

Look, I’m not a fan in general of dual timelines (I lose interest when the timeline changes and I never feel like we get enough of them together in the present day because so much time is spent in the past) but I did appreciate that the past chapters were told from Elliot’s POV. He’s an outwardly stoic character so it was a much needed insight into what he was thinking. 

The writing is light and funny but still emotional at times when it needed to be and it was honestly hard to believe this was a debut. There’s a good bit of steam, excellent supporting characters (I’m going to need Mar’s story next, thx), and a fun plot set around planning a splashy wedding. 

Overall this was a really great read! Especially if you like dual timelines!

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

10 Firefighter Romance Recommendations

What do you think the sexiest (… or should I say hottest 🤭) profession is? I don’t know but firefighter has to be up there! There’s something about a man who’s willing to put his life on the line to save old ladies and kittens, you know? Plus he can carry me. 

Here are ten of my favorites!

Hero – Lauren Rowe 

Parks and Provocation – Juliette Cross 

Hot Stuff – Max Monroe 

Reason to Believe – Rebecca Yarros 

Ignite – Melanie Harlow

Make You Mine – Laura Pavlov 

The Player Next Door – KA Tucker 

Hosed – Pippa Grant and Lily Valentine 

Bailey Brothers series – Claire Kingsley  

Protecting What’s Mine – Lucy Score 

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!

10 Road Trip Romance Recommendations

One of my favorite forced proximity micro tropes: Road Trip romances. The ultimate forced proximity , with bickering over playlists and snacks. 

Here are some recs and some on my TBR!

On The Way to You– Kandi Steiner 

The Mother Road – Meghan Quinn 

The Romantic Pact – Meghan Quinn 

A Week to Be Wicked – Tessa Dare 

Cocky Bastard – Penelope Ward

Quarter Miles – Devney Perry 

Too Hot to Handle – Tessa Bailey *

Unraveling Him – Claire Kingsley 

Professional Development – Kate Canterbary *

Along for the Ride – Mimi Grace *

Love & Luck – Jenna Evans Welch (YA)

*On my TBR