 Thanks to the author for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. 📖 Q: If you were going to have any *one* sweet treat, what would it be? I think I would go for a piece of white wedding cake since I literally had a dream I was describing what it tastes & looks like to George Clooney last night (🙄 WTH, Jess 🤷🏻♀️😆). Stories with MCs who are starting over always hit me in the feels & I found Samantha SoRelle’s Suspiciously Sweet to be particularly moving. First off, the tropes—foodie romance meets grumpy & the glib one with a dash of deception—are all working for the good in this novella. Grumpy & the glib one is one of my fave tropes bc I live for seeing the grumpy one get agitated 😆. Second, the initial premise is stellar: one MC—Owen—opened a bakery after getting out of prison that he named after his beloved grandmother. The other MC, Trevor, is a food critic of many insults who visits the bakery anonymously & is absolutely stunned by how good the food is. Of course he still finds some overall minor things to critique about his experience & that’s how Owen develops nasty feelings toward Mr. Tasty, the food critic. But IRL, Owen is discovering Trevor, the man who keeps visiting his bakery & even offers to help with the books, isn’t so bad. What else did I love about this one? Two older heroes who reluctantly can’t stay away from each other—there’s something so magical about seeing people drawn to each other over & over again—a dynamic that goes from antagonistic to combative friends to lovers, a really cute epilogue, & this sweet moment where a disgusted Owen does something food-related for Trevor that made my heart smile. This romance was such a boost to my day! I adore it. 4.5 ⭐️. Release date: 02/08.
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 Thanks to the author for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. 📖 Q: what’s your current read? I started A Darker Shade of Magic yesterday! @bisexual_booknerd wrote this in a recent post about KJ Charles’s Will Darling series—how emotionally satisfying it can be to stay with the same couple over multiple books—& Cat Sebastian’s Page & Sommers series is a fantastic example of that. In the first book in the series, Leo, a spy, comes to the village where James, a physician lives, to solve a murder. In book 2, The Missing Page, the mystery involved takes on more of a personal slant, as James, his other family members, & Leo try to figure out what happened to James’s cousin Rose—said to have died in a drowning accident over 20 years earlier. The pacing & drama of the mystery is really well done—I couldn’t wait to see how it ended. Leo & James make a strong investigative team for all that James doesn’t work in the dangerous world Leo does, where darkness & potential violence can lie at every turn. But it’s the relationship between Leo & James that shimmers & glows in this one & I ADORE seeing how they care for each other. Setting out each other’s pajamas, using words that are less likely to hurt even when someone’s trying to work through difficult emotions, talking about a couch purchase 😭. & more. This book had my heart squeezing many times. Communication—even when it seems impossible—is an important theme in this book & when Leo & James make themselves work on it, the results are lovely. I highly recommend this series for anyone wanting ❄️ Captivating mystery ❄️ Two people finding/making a home with each other ❄️ Atmospheric settings ❄️ Steam It’s so so good & I’m really hoping there’s a new one soon-ish. 5 ⭐️. Release date: 01/18.
 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. I wanted to love Alexis Hall’s Something Fabulous. But while there are things I appreciate about it—including how funny parts are—on the whole it’s uneven for me & I was increasingly frustrated by some of the characters 😩. The premise of this romance is that Valentine, a Duke, has just proposed very badly to Arabella Tarleton out of a sense of family duty. She runs away & her twin Bonny persuades Valentine to follow her & do better with his proposing. A road trip romance that takes them all over, that encapsulates lots of adventures, & that opens the stuffy Valentine’s eyes & mind over & over again, Something Fabulous is—like others have said—often fun & funny & gives me some of those screwball comedy moments I love. One of my fave things is how consistently clueless Valentine is—how often he misses the obvious clues about relationships (especially those of a romantic nature) & people in general. Alexis Hall tackles Valentine’s privilege again & again & that’s a refreshing element in this historical. As is Arabella’s unwillingness to give her life over to anyone she doesn’t want to, including (especially?) a Duke. But by the end of the book I was exhausted by the characters & their hijinx & I just wanted something else to happen, besides Valentine still being insensitive & overly concerned with appearance & what he grew up believing in & for Arabella to stop being reckless & actually violent. At a certain point it just stopped working for me. This book is by turns amusing & serious & Bonny & Peggy provide anchors for the story. The speech at the end is particularly lovely to me. But overall this romance didn’t win me over 😢. 3.5 ⭐️. Release date: 01/25.
 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. As the characters are all too aware, things are really coming to a head for Rockton in Kelley Armstrong’s The Deepest of Secrets, as Casey, Eric, & Will work to solve a new mystery before things in Rockton become even more volatile than usual. The impetus for their investigation this time is an anonymous note that someone puts up making Rockton’s residents aware of Will’s big, violent secret. Like other Rockton mysteries, The Deepest of Secrets is told in Casey’s measured & captivating voice, & I love how she & Eric work together & respect each other. I’m always excited to return to this world that feels both potentially deadly & hopeful, depending on the character focused on, & to solve the mystery after Casey solves it 😆. But on the whole this installment just doesn’t flow as well for me & the ending feels abrupt. It’s not my fave in the series, although I’m still really looking forward to seeing what happens next & rooting for Casey & Eric & their friends all the way. 4 ⭐️. Release date: 02/15.
 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. 📖 Q: what’s your fave cereal? Take enemies to lovers & set it in space. Add in forced proximity & eventually some kissing (& also some secrets) & surrounding it all, some awesome world-building (!). Then you’ll have the bare bones of Jessie Mihalik’s Hunt the Stars 😍. I’m always looking for writing that reminds me of Ilona Andrews. Always. & that dream duo is what I was reminded of when I joyously read this sci fi romance last week. Lieutenant Octavia Zarola—now a bounty hunter—& Torran Fletcher were military heroes on opposing sides of the war their two countries waged recently. When he comes to hire her, her ship, & her crew for a job, she’s reluctant to be working with him & his soldiers, all Valovians with deadly powers who have the potential to hurt her & crew. Setting out on a journey amidst the stars & living & working together helps Tavi & Torran see that maybe things aren’t quite as clear-cut as they thought. This story is dramatic, it’s rife with tension & misunderstanding & tinged with omission & deception (gasp), & it’s so fun to read. Even when they’re prepping for their trip I was invested in the plot. The slow burn is satisfying & exciting & Mihalik maintains the ultimate will they or won’t they relationship suspense until the end. I’m already looking forward to the next one! 4.5 ⭐️. Release date: 02/01.
 📖 Q: what tv shows have you been loving lately? I just finished the documentary The Alpinist but I’m looking for more recs of all kinds 🤩🤍. Joanna Chambers’s & Sally Malcolm’s Total Creative Control is the story of a big rude , love ‘em-&-leave ‘em tv producer & his cheerful, loved by everyone—& overall jack of all trades—assistant who fall into some kissing while visiting an estate for work. Other things this book has: 🤍 a commitment-phobe brought low by love. 🤍 a big, romantic gesture. 🤍 a little bit of fan fiction & some talk about the characters & storylines on the tv show both leads are working on. 🤍 a tiny smidgeon of (surprising) jealousy—one MC has never had feelings before but also he can’t stand the thought of the other MC being wooed by someone else. 🤍 & did I mention a rude + sweet to everyone lead combo? This book has everything I want in a romance: steam & heart & a grumpy grump turned (relatively) docile by feelings. 5 ⭐️. Out now.
 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.On January 4 I finished my first “it was so great” book of 2022 & it was Falon Ballard’s Lease on Love. An imperfect & awesome MC named Sadie Green who says the “f word” a lot, gets fired for losing her temper while standing up for herself at work, is unapologetic and driven about her ambitions & not ashamed of the one night stands she’s had before meeting the other MC…I mean sign me right the heck up. & Jack Thomas, the other MC, so mysterious & nerdy & awkward & “lean” with a great smile & freaking glasses. He has generous man of mystery written all over him. They’re brought together when Sadie inadvertently applies to be his roommate & what ensues is a slow burn, a relationship they both want to be deliberate & considerate about. Other things that stand out to me are stellar friendship rep w/ secondary characters who feel unique from each other & are delightful together, so many funny lines, & two leads who really try to figure out how to deal with their pasts so they can be happy in their futures. There are some heavy topics included in this one, including what I would call moments of very low self esteem (including repeated self-criticism at moments of perceived failure), a narcissistic, emotionally abusive parent (who is not present on page), & the previous death of parents—& my only quibble is that, from a romance reader perspective, I wanted to see more of their relationship after Sadie had started therapy again. But this is a fantastic read & it gives me the warm & fuzzies of many varieties. 5 ⭐️. Release date: 02/01.
 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Dramatic & sensual, Katie Reus’s Ancients Rising series offers dependable entertainment for me. Ancient Vendetta—her latest release, out yesterday—is the culminating moment I’ve been anticipating for Aurora, a Phoenix shifter, & King, a wolf shifter & Alpha, who’ve been crushing on each other for a long time. While I enjoyed this one, especially seeing Aurora & King find their way to each other & how she has the power to bring the devoted Alpha to his knees, the story doesn’t feel as straightforward or tight as I would like, which detracted at times from the pace of the main story. Basically it just feel like there’s a lot going on. The HEA between Aurora & King is satisfying after they’ve spent so long being attracted to each other, as is the sense of camaraderie between supernaturals trying to re-build the world after the Fall & fight against baddies. Despite some of the heavy topics covered here I did enjoy this one—it’s always fun being back in this world. 3 ⭐️. Out now!
 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.I’ve recently discovered that one of my fave sports romance tropes is rookie + the veteran 🤤 & Cait Nary’s Season’s Change offers that plus great mental health rep, sunshine & the loner, & roommates/friends falling in love. Olly & Benji’s journey to a love declaration isn’t easy for lots of reasons, including the fact that hockey veteran Olly isn’t publicly out—he hasn’t even told his family yet—& Benji isn’t much for introspection & is overall pretty slow in recognizing/understanding his feelings for Olly. Beyond this, Olly has experienced what I would call severe anxiety & perhaps even depression over how people associated with his previous team treated him after someone saw him trying to hookup with another man. Needless to say, this isn’t a light read. There’s quite a lot of angst. But it is a wonderful story about friendship turning to love, about supporting someone & encouraging them through moments of emotional turmoil. The steam doesn’t hurt (understatement); neither do the two MCs, who are sweet, well-meaning, & refreshingly “flawed” (ie human). I’m really looking forward to seeing what Cait Nary puts out into the world next. 4.5 ⭐️. Release date: 02/01.
 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. 📖 Q: do what’s a book you want to finish before the year ends? This is not a light read but I really enjoyed it…in the way that you can enjoy a suspense w/ romantic elements which includes a serial killer 🙃. First in the Laurel Snow series, Rebecca Zanetti’s You Can Run introduces us to the aforementioned Laurel, an absolutely brilliant FBI Special Agent with an eidetic memory & a reputation for catching killers. When her uncle is accused of being a serial killer Laurel returns to Washington state to find out the real killer. Early in her investigation she meets Huck Rivers, a taciturn man with Fish & Wildlife—an organization which happens to have police-level powers in that state. They have to work together to solve the murders as they continue happening, a task made more difficult by the fact that neither is exactly a people person & they happen to be wildly attracted to the other. This book isn’t subtle. Some details are said again & again. But it is exciting & entertaining & creepy & sexy & I swiped the pages with speed. On the emotional front the book does a good job of showing how both Laurel & Huck are isolated in their own ways but still have some type of connection. Though there’s no HEA or even a HFN I was okay with where things have temporarily stopped mostly because Zanetti so satisfyingly builds up Huck’s baggage & I know that Timber! moment is coming & I’m ready for it. 4 ⭐️. Release date: 01/25.
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