 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.I know I’ve said this before but the more I read by Alexis Hall the more I’m in awe of how versatile of a writer he is. A Lady for a Duke is just masterful, Paris Daillencourt is like being inside my own brain in some of my most anxious moments, & then Glitterland—which is being rereleased—is another emotional powerhouse. Dark, hopeful, & hilarious by turns, it deals with the topics of depression and a past suicide attempt, among others, offering a book that I think will move & maybe resonate with a lot of readers. At the beginning of Glitterland writer Ash meets model Darian in a one night stand that ends in a rather panicked exit afterwards. They meet again thanks to Darian’s pluck & what follows is the beginning of a relationship, as Ash starts to relax some into his mystifying connection with Darian & how Darian makes him feel. This is not an easy, emotional read despite the moments of hope & the bursts of humor. In the end, Ash is not “cured” of his depression or totally rid of uncertainty. But he can see & feel happiness in that moment & he has found love with someone who is so generous & lovely. So this book isn’t for everyone but, for me, it was another reminder of how much we all need & deserve love, no matter what our brains might sometimes tell us. 5⭐️. Out 01/17.CWs: Suicide ideation. The lead refers to himself as being bipolar, depressive, & having anxiety and describes emotions relating to those. References to past cutting. The lead ceased an RX before the book began bc it made him gain weight. Reference to something being “Not like black urban. Just urban urban.”
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 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky totalllly surprised me. There was so much to be delighted about in this New Adult novel & I shall enumerate it below in hopes of convincing you to give this one a try: The tropes. Money difference, hate to love, fish out of water, only one bunk bed. All wrapped up in a male male holiday romance that had me singing “all I want for Christmas is you.” A rich guy who’s kinda rude & undergoes a transformation of the heart after he’s cut off by his parents & sent to live with his grandparents. Mental health rep. Matthew Prince Jr. has generalized anxiety disorder & experiences panic attacks on page. When he does, the other lead Hector Martinez helps calm him. I didn’t fall in love with Janovsky’s first book but I’m so glad I gave this one a shot because it was everything I could have wanted. The hate to love arc is wonderfully rendered, with both leads not being at their finest coupled with assumptions they both make, & then a moment of kindness & realization that turns things sweeter between them. This one hit me emotionally on several levels & offers so much holiday goodness. 5⭐️. Out now!CWs: Generalized anxiety disorder. Parents aren’t the most supportive or involved.
 Hi and welcome to my Blog Blitz stop for Sangu Mandanna's The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches!  Summary.A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family—and a new love—changes the course of her life. As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules...with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos "pretending" to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously. But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat. As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and when peril comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for....  My Review.Sangu Mandanna's The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is one of those books that makes me so happy to be a reader. It’s magic-filled & wonderful & the grumpy & the sunshine relationship at its core—not to mention the found family, the whimsy & the iron—had me squeeing. I love this book so much! In The Very Secret Society witch Mika Moon is hired by the residents of Nowhere House to be a magic teacher for three witch children. She takes on what seems like a huge task even though witches aren’t out in the open & aren’t supposed to be together out of set & infrequent social gatherings. In addition to the children, there are four other caretakers living at Nowhere House, including a striking & very grumpy librarian named James Kelly who is also amazing & gave me heart eyes. I will say that I fell in love with both leads because they’re both stunning. Mika’s funny & I love how she can laugh at herself, how brave and cheerful she is (without being annoying!). There’s a caretaking scene & just a sense of care running throughout the pages—I have every feeling that these leads have found true love and family & it makes my heart swell. This book is enthralling & I loved it from beginning to end. I can’t wait to add it to my shelves. 5⭐️. Out 08/23.  An excerpt.When the spellwork part of the meeting was complete, Primrose cleared her throat. "Finally, does anyone have any news they'd like to share?"
"It's okay to say it's time to gossip, Primrose," Mika said merrily. "We all know that's what comes after the spellwork." "Witches don't gossip," sniffed Primrose. This was patently untrue, however, because gossiping was precisely what they proceeded to do. "My ex-husband wanted to get back together last week," said Belinda Nkala, who was in her forties and never had time for anyone's nonsense. "When I turned him down, he informed me that I am apparently nothing without him. Then he left," she added calmly, "but I fear he's going to be suffering from an inexplicable itch in his groin for a few weeks." Several witches laughed, but Primrose set her lips in a thin line. "And have you been playing such petty tricks lately, Mika?" "Oh, for the love of fucking god, Primrose, what does this have to do with me?" "It's not an unreasonable question, precious. You do like to take risks." "For the millionth time," Mika said, irked beyond belief, "I post videos online pretending to be a witch. It's just a performance." Primrose raised her eyebrows. Mika raised hers right back. "Hundreds of people do the same thing, you know. The whole witch aesthetic is very popular!" "Witchcore," Hilda said, nodding wisely. "Not quite as popular as cottagecore or fairycore, but it's up there." Everyone stared at her. "I didn't know fairies were real!" shouted Agatha Jones, who was almost as old as Primrose and tended to believe all young people needed to be shouted at lest they miss the import of her pronouncements. "Whatever next!" "You see, Primrose?" said Mika, ignoring this interruption. "People call themselves witches all the time. I'm not putting myself or you or anyone else at risk. Nobody who watches my videos thinks I'm actually a witch." It was unfortunate for Mika, then, that at that precise moment, over five hundred miles away, in a big house in a quiet, windy corner of the Norfolk countryside, a skinny old man in a magnificent rainbow scarf and enormous fluffy slippers was saying exactly the opposite. “Absolutely not!” This came from Jamie, the scowling librarian, who was not in fact the skinny old man in the scarf and slippers. That was Ian. And the third person in the library was Lucie, the housekeeper, a chubby, round-cheeked woman in her fifties, who sighed as if she knew exactly how this argument was going to go. (She did know, and she was right.) Ian smoothed down the tail of his scarf and replied, in the deep voice that had charmed audiences in many a small theatre over his eighty-odd years, "Don't be difficult, dear. It doesn't become you." Jamie was unmoved by this criticism. "You can't seriously be considering bringing that"-and here he jabbed a finger at the dewy, sparkly face on the screen of Ian's phone-"into the house?" "Why not?" Ian asked. "Well, for one thing, there's no way she's a real witch," Jamie said irritably. This was not unusual. Most of the things Jamie said were said irritably. "What kind of witch would show off her magic on a platform with millions of viewers?" Mika would have been immensely gratified to hear this, had she been there, but it looked like her double bluff had not hoodwinked Ian. "She's a real witch," he insisted. "How the hell can you possibly know that?" "I have excellent observation skills. Just watch part of the video." Ian wiggled his phone like he was dangling a lollipop in front of a toddler. "A minute. That's all I ask." Jamie's glare stayed firmly in place, but he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against his desk to look over Ian's shoulder. Gleeful, Ian tapped the screen and the video started to play. Excerpted from The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna Copyright © 2022 by Sangu Mandanna. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved.  Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @williammorrowbooks for the complimentary finished copy & @avonbooks and Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. Wow, Sarah MacLean doesn’t play around with Heartbreaker. Honestly it feels like she took some of *my* favorite things & wrapped them in a stunning package & said “please knock yourself out with good feelings, Jessica” . I’m trying to think of how this book could have been any better & it’s just not possible to me. From its seemingly mismatched leads—a thief from the rough & tumble part of London & an uptight duke—to its “chase me” vibes, to its badass group of Belles & the ways said leads show they care over & over again…it’s quite a one-two- to infinity punch. I adore how Adelaide Frampton is written & how Henry, the aforementioned duke, is so aware of her strength, courage, & effectiveness. This isn’t a book where the hero is sleeping on the heroine’s attributes . & Henry is basically a perfect hero. Or at least perfect for me. Coming at the reader with big “not like other toffs energy,” his background gives him empathy, a sense of fun, & sportsmanship & it’s easy to see how they work together despite their difference in status. Who could have suspected that a thief & a duke would be so good together? Okay me. I suspected . Powerfully written, sensual & hot & passionate, funny & romantic & trope-tastic, filled with moments where the leads try as hard as they can to protect each other, Heartbreaker both packs a heart wallop & had me grinning. I’m pretty sure this one’s going on my best of 2022 list! In conclusion this is the first time I’ve been sexually attracted to the name Henry. 5 ⭐️. Out 08/23.CWs: violence. Horrible rich white people—mostly men—only caring about themselves. It’s implied that Adelaide’s father “all but insisted” that she become physically intimate with her former fiancé, who was of his choosing. Kidnapping. Probably others.
 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.📖 what’s a long-running romance series that’s still releasing books that you’re still loving? Honestly it was *so* fun to be back in the world of the Baylor family, the Baylor Investigative Agency, the magic-wielding heroes + heroines & the monsters, the loving relationships, etc etc with Ilona Andrews’s Ruby Fever. Ilona Andrews’s Hidden Legacy series is one I recommend again & again (like in yesterday’s Trope Tuesday post) & it’s sooo good whether you’re a reader of urban fantasy or not. The first three books in the series focus on Nevada Baylor, & these last three, including Ruby Fever, focus on her sister Catalina, who’s head of the Baylor House in the cutthroat world of magic & Houses & power. I don’t want to ruin the plot of this one but suffice it to say that baddies are back & we learn some secrets related to Catalina & Alessandro…not to mention a couple of enticing pages concerning the last sister, Arabella. (Pleaseeee let there be more books!!). If you haven’t read these books yet please please put them on your list! 5 ⭐️. Out 08/23.Lots of CWs, including murder (including a reference to a woman who was pregnant at the time) & violence. Catalina’s grandmother had an unconscious woman serve as her surrogate without her consent.
 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.God bless my fellow bookstagrammers & book-lovers for spreading the word about books you’re adoring. That’s how I found Megan Bannen’s The Undertaking of Hart & Mercy, & it delighted me so hard. From the first pages, when the hero & heroine haven’t actually seen each other in person yet but the author has so perfectly captured their antagonism, I was ALL in. Marshal and demigod Hart Ralston & undertaker Mercy Birdsall do not like each other. But they must work together at times. Then one day Mercy gets a letter from “a friend.” That friend is actually Hart, who didn’t think his letter would actually get delivered to someone. It’s a You’ve Got Mail-ish situation, people! Only add fantasy. This is so wonderfully & inventively written, the chemistry between leads—& their slow & then fast fall into attraction & feelings—is compelling & lovely, & it all comes together so heartwarmingly at the end MY GOD. It was just so good. The dance scene, the epilogue . Other things I loved: a grand p*%#> declaration, a taciturn hero who also cries, stunning final lines. Check this one out!! 5 ⭐️. Out 08/23.CWs: Death. Violence. Reference to cheating & death of family members. Parental abandonment in past and current fears over parent's health. Hart is somewhat self-conscious about being a demigod due to how others have treated him in the past.
 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. Roni Loren’s Say Everything series is one that’s going on my fave contemporary romance series list—you can put that blurb right on the cover 😆. The latest installment, For You & No One Else, out now, warmed every cockle of my heart. I really loved this friends with benefits romance where they really are *friends* & lovers & eventually make an adorable and unfairly hot partnership. Therapist & mental health influencer Eliza hasn’t won over office-mate Beckham & that’s fine. But they strike up a friendship while unexpectedly shopping for a dog together *cue the soft, happy tears* & as a hacker & friend he’s there for her when a horrible date tries to publicly shame & bully her by posting a video of her without her consent rightfully going off on him (check out the CWs for more on this!). Gradually they move into something steamier, but there are big complications standing in the way including Beckham’s past & their different relationship wants. This age gap, forced proximity, workplace-ish romance is written so beautifully & captures how romance underlaid with a strong friendship can be so strong & heartwarming. The speeches that each makes about friendship, & later about love, really got to me in the best of ways. & the Epilogue. I didn’t need to see it go there, & it didn’t have to for the characters, but I absolutely loved seeing them sooo happy. Furthermore, seeing the other characters from past books—all of them one big, happy, extended family—was particularly welcome given the crappy news we’re dealing with in the Real World. This book & this whole series is fantastic. If I want sensitive romance with steam & compelling relationships with attraction & tenderness & respect & gentle challenges I’m rec’ing this one! Check it out if you haven’t already—you won’t regret it! 5 ⭐️. Out now!
   SummaryA disillusioned millennial ghostwriter who, quite literally, has some ghosts of her own, has to find her way back home in this sparkling adult debut from national bestselling author Ashley Poston. Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead. When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won’t give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father. For ten years, she’s run from the town that never understood her, and even though she misses the sound of a warm Southern night and her eccentric, loving family and their funeral parlor, she can’t bring herself to stay. Even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. And she hates it. Until she finds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is. Romance is most certainly dead . . . but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories.  My ReviewWow, Ashley Poston’s The Dead Romantics blew me away & had me freaking crying before taking my kids to gymnastics the other morning 😆. This book engaged me emotionally on every level—it kind of has a Book Lovers effect in that way. The story weaves in happiness & grief, joy & sadness, laughter & tears in a most affirming way—as the book makes us aware time & time again, that weaving is life itself. The sour sometimes but always the sweet too. At the beginning of the book ghostwriter Florence Day asks to write the last book on her contract as a non-romance bc according to her, “romance is dead.” (Ok, Florence, check back in with me later 🙄🤣). The editor Benji Andor, a hottie who clearly turns cold by her ask, says no. Shortly thereafter, Florence’s beloved dad passes & Benji Andor, her editor, arrives at her family’s funeral home as a ghost. Good thing that Florence can communicate with them—even if that actually made her infamous in her small town. This book obviously deals with some tough topics, including the loss of Florence’s dad, but it handles them so lovingly, so eager to see the possible beauty left in the world even through tears & wrenching sadness. I missed Florence’s dad even though he was only alive on page for a short portion of the book. Just as I was happy for her happy memories & the moments she shares with Benji—because Florence’s narration reeled me in & I could feel the fullness of her, of her family too, as a person. Quirky, funny, loving, hopeful, this book hits every note & I loved living in it for a while. Every character in The Dead Romantics feels special & precious. More books like this one, please. 5 ⭐️. Release date: 06/28.
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