Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC and the publisher for the complimentary hardcopy. All opinions provided are my own.The Other Side of Disappearing is an intriguing change for a Kate Clayborn book: there’s still the warm, lovely feeling of watching two people call in love, plus a bit of mystery that comes with podcast transcripts, postcards, & some revelations along the leads’ journey. Let’s talk about the leads for a minute. Adam is a gentle, brawny, sensitive, protective giant who has immediate feelings for Jess. Jess is protective, comes across as an icy figure, has hair from a shampoo commercial, & slowly, wonderfully, very bravely, opens her heart to let Adam in after two big parental betrayals. One of my favorite things KC does is include the smallest of physical gestures that actually feels like a heart earthquake: in this one, it’s the leads putting their hands over each others’ under the table. TOSOD cements my belief that if KC writes it, not only will I read it, but I’ll think it’s wonderful too. Rounding up to 5⭐️. Out now!CWs: Mother left. Death of best friend. References to con artist & conning. Reference to death of person from cancer.
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Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.I feel like I keep saying the same things about Julie Anne Long’s Palace of Rogues series & that’s because each book is freaking amazing. JAL writes yearning like NO OTHER. The amount of feeling is extraordinary & yet it doesn’t feel like too much—it feels like how people feel when they’re falling in love & can’t immediately or (won’t) act on those feelings. There’s so much emotion but there’s so much physicality too. These people are falling in love with each other’s hearts & insides & bodies too, people. My Season of Scandal features MP Lord Dominic Kirke, who is basically a cat if a cat loved to stir up trouble with his words & also fight for very important social causes. The heroine, Catherine Keating, is visiting from the country, & she is lovely & divine but also astute & in Dominic’s words, a fighter, & the two go together like peanut butter & jelly, thunderous rain & spring flowers. I loved this book & I adore this series! The way that JAL writes romance is exquisite & if you haven’t read this series, you really, really should. 5⭐️. Out 04/23.[ID: Jess’s white hand holds the ebook in front of greenery.]Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. You know those feel good sports movies where you are rooting for the honorable underdog team & they finally win & you’re like YES, YOU DID IT, LOOK AT YOU GO!?! That’s how I felt reading The Prospects by KT Hoffman, with the added loveliness of rooting for one player extra hard, a trans hero named Gene who’s loved baseball for years & is shining on his minor league team. An old college teammate is traded to Gene’s team & what is initially annoyance & frustration turns into deep friendship, understanding, affection, & love. This book has so many sweet moments & they had my heart singing. Gene & Luis show so much care for each other—I had every sense that they completely had each others’ backs whether it came to the team they played on or in non-sports life. With anxiety rep, trans rep (including a scene where Gene injects himself with testosterone), strong friendships, & about a thousand other things I love, The Prospects is truly a stellar mix of hug-in-a-book-emotionality meets joie de vivre! 5⭐️. Out 04/09. CW: please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.The pure excitement of reading a steamy & heartwarming romance that features leads that are in their fifties! As someone who is about to bid her 30s hasta la vista, I love seeing older leads having fun & falling in love. Booksta Loves, Lips Like Sugar by Jess K Hardy has it all: Aforementioned steam, including a sizzling FaceTime moment A charmer hero who’s a famous drummer & also marvels over his granddaughter. A lovely, strong “baker goddess” heroine who’s got a lot on her mind. She is so cool. References to hot flashes and other references to hot bodies that are also aging. This book is so heartfelt & delightful—it’s so cute to watch them fall in love—& it also wrestles with tough topics like addiction & parental memory loss. I definitely, absolutely rec this contemporary if you’re looking for something that will satisfy your sweet tooth *drum roll* (sorry it just came to me). 5⭐️. Out 03/28.Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC and the publisher for the complimentary hardcopy. All opinions provided are my own.A story about two lonely people who become best friends & lovers? Not only did the steam really get to me in Ruby Barrett’s The Friendship Study, but the emotions did too. This book is hot. It also has a scene where the grumpy hero adopts a grumpy cat & the adorable, brilliant heroine also has a fave tree & likes to talk to herself. They also paint each others’ freaking toenails & unbeknownst to me, this is something that makes me swoon. Both of the leads, Jesse & Lulu, are at a bit of loose ends when the book opens. Jesse’s life status gives me some Roni Loren’s What If You & Me vibes (need I say more?). Lulu is trying to establish her own life as a professor outside of her brilliant professor-dad’s shadow. When they find each other, there’s instant chemistry. But it’s the friendship they show to each other, the acceptance, the home they provide, that really got to me. 5⭐️. Out now! Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC and the publisher for the complimentary hardcopy. All opinions provided are my own.Ahhh this book. I am swimming in feelings about READY OR NOT by Cara Bastone. My heart is mush; MUSH I TELL YOU. I am such a fan of best friend’s sibling romance & this book delivers in a major way. At the beginning of the book, Eve Hatch learns that a one night stand she had weeks ago has resulted in pregnancy. She wants to keep the baby & as her best friend Willa initially struggles with the pain of her own fertility struggles & how that relates to Eve’s surprise pregnancy, their other bestie, Shep, Willa’s brother, becomes even closer to Eve. Bastone deals with emotions so beautifully here, showing the various ways people can act to surprising events & how those behaviors & feelings can change over time. The friendships are wonderfully explored, including Eve & Shep’s, which gave me all the freaking feelings. I mean, this man. He has broad shoulders & a “bony sternum,” & he’s sweetly clumsy, & so smart, & so kind. I love him. The things he does for Eve & her baby in this book! I can’t say more bc of spoilers but oh my goodness. Eve is such a fantastic heroine, blazing a path while dealing with surprise, & her thoughtfulness & assertiveness (& struggles sometimes to decide things) feel so real & also cheer-worthy. Not only is this book romantic & , it’s also poignant. FYI, this book includes a labor scene, & it exacerbated those heart feelings. This book is so wonderful & I will be dreaming about Shep forevermore. 5⭐️. Out 02/13.CWs: Friend is struggling with fertility. Previous loss of parents & bff’s mom. Labor. The man that Eve conceived with doesn’t commit to everything at first, because he’s dealing with relationship struggles of his own.
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC and the author and the publisher for the complimentary hardcopy. All opinions provided are my own.Jen Comfort’s books take you on a ride in the best way. My experience with What is Love? felt a bit like what the hero Teddy feels in heroine Maxine’s presence: dazzled, awed, entertained, ed… This contemporary has-- 🐍two super hot nerds battling it out in trivia. They’re both very smart, curious, & determined but have totally different styles when it comes to studying & making decisions. 🐍 fantastic steam. Whew! 🐍so many funny moments, seriously, & some of them are in your face, can’t miss it, & others are more subtle. The way I must have been smiling reading this book! 🐍 no third-act break up! 🐍 an uptight & the chaotic one dynamic that’s a bit true, a bit of a mask, & throughout the book these leads see what’s deeper in themselves & in the other. 🐍 queer rep! 🐍 the hero falls first! 🐍 really great portrayal of ADHD & how that affects learning & experiences in education. I love how it becomes part of their trivia journey & their relationship. 🐍 romantic moments that had me swooning & laughing at the end. If you like your romance to feel free, wild, fresh, & very romantic in a bold kind of way, check out Jen Comfort’s books! I’m *such* a fan & have the feeling I will love everything she writes. 5⭐️. Out 04/01. Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. What an emotional adventure The Lady He Lost by Faye Delacour is & I loved every minute. This historical features a woman scorned only—the woman scorned was only very reluctantly done so & the hero has regretted it basically every moment since & he misses their friendship & being with her… Jane Bishop & Lieutenant Eli Williams used to be besties. One drunken night he is caught in a mildly (my interpretation) compromising position with Jane’s mean cousin & he proposes to said cousin as a result. Jane’s broken-hearted & even more upset when he leaves to return to sea & is presumed dead after a shipwreck. Now, several years later, Eli returns *surprise!!*. His former fiancé is now engaged to someone else & Jane is pissed at him. This book abounds with humor & emotional delicacy & enough steam even during a coded convo between the leads that I had an “oh my” feeling going on. My fave books are those where we have well -rounded relationships with secondary characters too, where they’re fleshed out & real, & TLHL has that for sure. I love Jane’s BFF & her uncle Bertie & could even see a bit of redemption in the cousin by the end. Then, the ending! I loved it. The gesture of support Eli makes is wonderful. Just *claps*. I didn’t even mention that Jane is entrepreneurial & is running her own ladies-only gambling hell with her bestie. Check this one out! You won’t be disappointed. 5⭐️. Out 04/02.Please see the CWs listed by a trusted reviewer.
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. I was totally taken off guard with how much I loved The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. But the book opens with intrigue & maintains a delicate & yet assertive sense of tension & suspense. Bennett weaves a powerful web of mystery & danger & in the background is more of that with the threat of leviathans attacking as apprentice investigator & his mentor Ana try to solve a case. The interplay between Din & Ana is fantastic. She is a brilliant, vaguely frightening, quirky force of nature & he’s the anchor & the facilitator & the man keeping a secret or two as he tries to unravel the ones surrounding them. The mystery is compelling, as is the worldbuilding—the safety & danger of Empire—the preciousness that can be enjoyed even when the leviathan stands at one’s back. The characters & the story mesmerize with complexity. I highly recommend this book for fans of thoughtful mystery. 5⭐️. Out 02/06.Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. From the first lines of The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers my attention was arrested, gripped in the hands of an evocative, sometimes unsettling fantasy that’s also beautifully written. Violet Everly has grown up in the shadow of her mother’s abandonment, left in a home that feels all too much like a prison under the watchful guard of her two uncles. She eventually learns that there is an Everly curse & either she or her mother are the next targets. In this world, friends can become betrayers, betrayers can become friends, morally gray characters can do favors for unidentified reasons, stars can walk among humans, & family secrets can both keep people safe & at risk. My favorite thing about this book is just the writing style, which is striking & thoughtfully wielded for maximum impact. The book balances emotion & action, keeping me invested & engaging me on all levels. Be advised this book contains kidnapping & murder with some particularly disturbing elements. On the whole it’s a compelling fantasy with some romantic elements—though it’s not a romance—& I’m really looking forward to the author’s next release! I get all the heart eyes for great fantasy books. 5⭐️. Out 01/30.[ID: Jess’s white hand holds the ebook in front of a forest of trees & a waterfall in the background.] |
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