 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop surprised me—it went in a direction that I was *not* expecting—& it makes me so excited to see what exactly McQuiston might write next. August Landry moved from New Orleans to Brooklyn w/ a couple of pit stops along the way because she hasn’t found *her* place yet. She’s left behind her mom & the decades-old mystery that her mom’s obsessed with: the disappearance of August’s uncle. On the subway August is instantly struck by the sight of Subway Girl; Subway Girl gives her her scarf when August—teasingly christened Coffee Girl by the stranger—spills on her shirt. Later, August can’t stop thinking about Subway Girl, Jane, for many reasons. Over time, as they continue talking, & gazing, & flirting, August realizes that (1) Jane is *always* on the subway when she is; (2) Jane doesn’t actually know who she is & most of her memories are gone, only slowly revealing themselves when prompted by something August says or does; & (3) Jane’s last real memories before being on the subway are from the 70s, when Jane appeared exactly the same age. Wow, what a concept. & despite the fact that I knew there could be no “perfect” ending whereby Jane ends up unscathed, McQuiston pulls it off in a way that ultimately feels hopeful. That hopefulness also comes across in Jane’s consideration of the setting itself, since, as Jane reminisces, it’s a pretty different world for LGBTQIA people in modern Brooklyn as opposed to the 1970s (though not entirely without its challenges or difficulties, obviously). The relationship between August & Jane is lovely to watch unfold, as is that between August & her winsome & quirky roommates. I love how this is a story about friendship & found family too, in addition to offering lots of laughs & a couple of moving mysteries that August wants to solve. There are a couple of moments when I personally got a little bogged down by the technical details of time travel, etc., but I think that was more of a mood thing. Either way, this is a fantastic romance that I’m feeling nostalgic about even now. 5 ⭐️. Release date: 06/01
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 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. When I was a teen I did the slowest side fall off the most docile horse who’s ever existed & yet I am hugely drawn to Carly Bloom’s Once Upon a Time in Texas series...where cowboys & cowgirls find love & actually manage to ride horses successfully. This series has it all: steam, humor, small town charm, & fantastic chemistry & Must Love Cowboys, the latest installment out today, is no exception. Librarian Alice Ann Martin has never felt entirely at home in Big Verde so when a coworker insists she bring a date to her wedding she feels SOL. But then she finds a solution in hunky, vaguely frustrating Beau Montgomery, a ranch foreman & the man whom she used to babysit (she’s 4 years older). He needs help learning to combat the dyslexia that he’s tried to ignore for years, & when he makes Alice demand some kind of payment, she asks him to be her date in exchange. Of course everyone in Big Verde assumes they’re dating for real, which is even more interesting because of Beau’s player rep & Alice’s repeated desire to self-partner. If you love super sweet, stud cowboys who have had strong feelings for the heroine for YEARS w/out fully realizing it, Beau is your man. The moments where he reveals his vulnerabilities about his dyslexia are emotionally stunning & when he ponders whether he’s near tears the first time they sleep together I . & Alice is adorable & original & seeing both of them break out of their comfort zones—her by having fun & seeing how people care for her & vice versa—feels like a romantic movie montage. Also I’d like to applaud her thoughts on romance novels & virginity & many other things she says in the novel 🏻 & applaud her again for taking her happiness & for giving Beau a sizzling anatomy lesson 🏻 🏻. Must Love Cowboys is a fun, sweet romance that doesn’t skimp on emotions & doesn’t have a big crisis that drags on (a win in my book). I can’t wait to return to Big Verde! 4.5 ⭐️ Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Whew. He Said/She Said is quite a ride. Before I really get started I want to make it clear that this book contains disturbing acts of violence toward women, including alleged rape (the latter of which is a major plot point in this thriller). This psychological thriller is told largely from the perspective of Laura and her husband Kit over a period of time starting in 1999 & ending in 2015. Laura and Kit are eclipse chasers & during one viewing when they’re just dating, Laura believes she’s seen a rape. She serves as a witness at the trial where the alleged perpetrator maintains his innocence. During the trial Laura lies in an effort to put the alleged rapist behind bars, an act that she’s desperate to keep from Kit. Also during the trial Laura makes contact with the alleged victim Beth, another thing she must hide. After the trial is over, Beth makes herself part of Laura and Kit's life, only things with Beth aren’t quite as they initially seem & that’s what the book explores in each tense chapter as Laura & Kip wrestle with the past & its shadow over the present. This book is intense, compelling, not entirely easy to read. There are scenes that left me with visceral dismay & distress & at the end I returned to certain details, piecing things together in ways I hadn’t been able to before. The poignancy of Laura & Kit’s relationship is moving & adds a lot to the thriller arc. I definitely think that this book is doing really interesting things & I also can see how there’s a lot of potential to upset many readers by how those interesting things are being done. As one character articulates, whether or not Beth gave consent is questioned throughout the trial—but it’s questioned after, as well—& men’s manipulation (& worse) is considered at length throughout the novel. Though there are some moments that feel a little too simplistic to me overall this is an engrossing read with a well-done twist that left me thinking “nooooo.” 4.5 ⭐️. He Said/She Said is available now.CW:
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Alexandria Bellefleur’s Hang the Moon elicits one warm fuzzy after another. Brendon Lowell, Darcy’s well-meaning, matchmaking, dating app founding brother in Written in the Stars, is a blushing ginger romantic who enjoys watching proposal videos & crying. When the woman he used to have a crush on as a teen, his sister’s best friend Annie Kyriakos, visits Seattle, he ends up showing her around, determined to change her skepticism regarding romance to something more positive. It doesn’t take long before he realizes he wants to see where their very real feelings can go but his wishes are stymied by Annie’s announcement that she’s relocating to London for work. Hang the Moon is a straightforward, pretty low angst romance that feels warm & lovely. The hero is a blushing prince w/ a talent for oral, the heroine is not going to rush into anything & I stan a woman who needs some time. I really like Annie but in case I haven’t made it clear Brendon is the standout for me—he’s so freaking sweet & his tattoo is everything🥺. Outside of these great leads I absolutely love the poignant story Bellefleur tells about friendships, too. About what happens when your best friend has fallen in love but you haven’t, & you’re no longer their “first” anymore. How the effort Annie makes in friendships—she’s always going the extra mile—has carried over into what she wants & doesn’t want romantically. If you haven’t read this series yet I strongly request that you do. It’s so so good & just a delight. 4.5 ⭐️. Release Date: 05/25 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.In Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia 1920s Harlem is the backdrop for a mystery starring an intrepid 26 year old named Louise Lloyd, also known as Harlem’s Hero. At 16, Louise rescued herself & other Black teen girls from a kidnapper. Now, ten years later, she works at a cafe, loves to go out dancing with her friend & lover Rosa Maria, & is alienated from her family after angering her strictly religious father. But things grow much more complicated for our heroine when young Black women are murdered & placed outside Louise’s work & she’s forced to help investigate their deaths. There are lots of things about Dead Dead Girls that captivate: the intriguing setting & how it’s captured w/ little details; how independent Louise is & her punchy one-liners; her striking observations about how Black women are treated & how white police officers discriminate against Black residents of Harlem. I love when she takes off on her own investigations, how ingenious she is in making use of her clothes for hiding things. The glitz of the flapper lifestyle & Louise’s personality draw me in but overall, the mystery itself doesn’t feel as tight as it could be, particularly at the end. Dead Dead Girls offers a compelling backdrop & a resourceful, glamorous heroine, but the mystery doesn’t hit quite as hard as I’d like. 3.5 ⭐️. Release date: 06/01CWs:
 Thanks to Harlequin books & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided my own.Ruby Barrett’s Hot Copy is spicy w/ several H O T scenes & feels modern & innovative in some big ways; it didn’t make me swoon as much as I hoped but it leaves me wanting more from the author. On his first day as a marketing intern Wesley Chambers hears a coworker refer to his female boss as a c**t & awkwardly laughs in response before telling the guy he shouldn’t “say that word.” His boss, a powerhouse named Corinne Blunt, overhears his laugh & this, coupled w/ previous negative experiences w/ men in the workplace, makes her give Wes annoying, time-sucking tasks to complete instead of the digital marketing jobs he hoped for. But after Wes helps Corinne face challenges when he doesn’t *have* to, she realizes she might have misunderstood what happened. This is both bad & good b/c Wesley is described as a hot nerd & now she can see what a big heart he has...but she’s also his boss. Hot Copy tries to tackle some big topics & it succeeds in some ways but falls a bit short in others. The exploration of grief is touching, as is the fact that it’s a way for them to connect. Beta hero Wesley is stunningly portrayed; I love his uncertainty, sensitivity, & desire to nurture. I’m less enthusiastic about the portrayal of Corinne. On one hand I love her complexity—she’s smart, hardworking, & keenly aware of the power imbalance between herself & Wesley in the workplace & how that affects their personal relationship. On the other, I grew frustrated w/ her prickliness bc it’s so pervasive. Corinne’s frequently rude to even her close friend & I was frustrated by how she responds to the crisis moment w/ Wes. She consistently comes across as inflexible & I would have loved to have seen her taking more emotional initiative w/ Wes throughout the book. I’m all here for an adorkable beta hero w/ a novelty sock collection & a kicking ass, taking names heroine who’s soft w/ people she trusts. But I did want more emotional nuance in regards to the latter in Hot Copy. 3.5 ⭐️. Hot Copy is out today!CW:
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.This rule follower loves the thrill of a heist romance so I grabbed It Takes a Thief by Sloane Steele as soon as I read the description. While I have some quibbles with the execution of this one the steam is applause-worthy & I see potential in the series, particularly for fans of authors like Katie Reus. Jared Towers is a wealthy, sort-of fixer, and also the son of a Ponzi scheme runner who fled the country after stealing from people. Jared & his cousin Mia—whose father is also guilty—come up with a scheme to steal artwork that their fathers own before their fathers can liquidate them. So Jared hires “Data," a hacker he's worked with in the past, who turns out to be Audrey. Audrey knows nothing about Jared's real identity or his motivations behind the theft & she has her own reasons for wanting to be involved. Fast forward to sparks between them erupting into flames & Audrey finding out Jared’s secrets... The premise of this one is intriguing, the steam is delightful, & Jared is a devoted hero. On paper everything is there for me, but the romance loses a lot of power after the conflict, which seems to drag on for a considerable amount of the book & which I didn’t entirely understand (or maybe buy?) the reason for. Some aspects of their relationship also feel rushed to me, particularly at the beginning, when I would have enjoyed more build-up. Overall the romance could have been tighter but It Takes a Thief is a fun read. 3 ⭐️. Release date: 04/27 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.My feelings for Alexis Hall’s Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake are complicated: some really cool things are happening but it just doesn’t totally engage my heart. Single mom Rosaline Palmer feels like she hasn’t lived up to her parents’s goals & isn’t providing the life she wants for her daughter. But she loves baking & though she isn’t fully confident in her decision she signs up for a baking reality tv show a la GBBO. The blurb clues you in to this dynamic, but on the way to production she meets Alain, a witty landscape architect. Soon after she meets other contestants, including Harry, a ripped electrician who calls her “love” until she asks him to stop & whose grammar grates on her. This is a spoiler alert but for much of the book Rosaline is interested in & involved in a relationship of sorts—including sexually—w/ Alain, when he is not, of course, the one she will end up w/. Throughout RPTTC we get glimpses that Alain isn’t the nicest person, which helps me w/ the love triangle-ish aspect. We *also* see moments when Rosaline isn’t the *nicest* person; when she shows some of her least attractive & yet also some of her most relatable qualities: her strong desire to please & to judge. While I’m a proponent of an imperfect heroine Rosaline’s portrayal doesn’t totally work for me, mostly bc I don’t think there’s enough self-awareness & reflection. That includes her snobbery...her awareness of which feels kinda surface level to me even when she’s apologizing to Harry. Still, throughout RPTTC Rosaline grows in major ways & I cheered along. In addition to Rosaline’s journey, I really like RPTTC’s wit, its gentle moments, its consideration of how others respond to Rosaline’s bisexuality, the intimacy in the sex scene b/t Rosaline & Harry. The way he encourages her to say what she wants & she encourages him to share his feelings throughout is lovely—though I yearned for more of a romantic declaration at the end. I can’t wait to see what Hall writes next, obviously. But this one just doesn’t always work for me. 4 ⭐️. Release date: 5/18.CW:
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