 Q: do you think the personality traits associated w/ your astrological sign are accurate? You have to read this book! (I added an exclamation point to make the sentence seem less demanding 🤣.) But seriously, I love this book from the first page to the last. Alexandria Bellefleur’s Written in the Stars has everything I want: steam, laughs, & just enough emotion to make me feel alive (; ) ) AND it has the uptight/reserved + charmer dynamic between leads that I love so hard. Elle Jones & her BFF have made names for themselves as astrologers & they’re in the process of integrating their services into a popular dating app. The guy behind the dating app—now a friend to Elle—sets her up on a blind date with his sister Darcy. Darcy Lowell is a beautiful actuary. She’s also sophisticated & reserved & doesn’t appreciate Elle’s job or when Elle spills wine on her dress. But after the date, after Darcy has complained to someone about how it went (& after Elle overhears her ), Darcy finds herself telling her brother that she & Elle are dating so he’ll stop with the date suggestions. & then Elle goes along with Darcy’s lie for reasons, & soon Elle & Darcy are spending more time together because this has to be convincing dammit! & feelings start happening. What a delightful ride this book is. The back stories are developed well; each character has her own emotional baggage & it’s convincingly & thoughtfully related to their present. There are bursts of humor throughout—this is a funny one!—& there’s also a scene where one of the leads stands up for the other with family (which I know is catnip for some of us). The female friendships are authentic & the pacing is 100—I just couldn’t wait to read more of this opposites attract, fake dating romance that is by turns hilarious & tender. It gave me a million warm fuzzies to see how both leads feel free to be themselves with each other. I wanted an epilogue . But over & over again this book is wonderful & happiness-inducing & I am a B I G fan. 5⭐️. Written in the Stars releases on 11/10. Thanks to Avon Books & Edelweiss for the complimentary ARC; all opinions provided are my own.
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 Q: have you had any experience riding a horse / have you had a horse? We had a couple growing up & my grandparents raised minis! Would you believe that If the Boot Fits is my first Rebekah Weatherspoon book? Probably *won’t* surprise you to know how much I enjoyed it. A low-angst one-night-stand-was-so-good-I-want-more romance with a curvy & confident heroine & a cowboy/Oscar-winning hero, this book is a delight. Amanda McQueen is an assistant to an actress who treats her horribly. On a night off she attends an after-Oscars party where she meets Samuel Pleasant, recent winner of an Oscar. They go back to his hotel room for a night of no-names, no-strings sex & Amanda leaves the next morning without saying bye. Fast forward to a short while later when she goes to Samuel’s family ranch for a wedding & sees the man she set the sheets on fire with. Can they bridge the gaps between them & will she tell the truth about what her job is? That she’s an assistant and not quite the writer she says? So many things about this book are so well done: the Cinderella angle, the tension between leads, their banter—this heroine is a smart ass & . Their substantive convos including about the challenges of finding the right roles in Hollywood if you’re a Black man, how important family is to them both, how freaking sexy she is & how she owns it. If the Boot Fits is fun & steamy & obviously written by a really talented author. Really looking forward to reading more by Rebekah Weatherspoon! 4 ⭐️. If the Boot Fits is out on 10/27. Thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. I love how the authors Christina Lauren surprise us from book to book—from the contemplative, heart wrenching Love and Other Words to the face-sweating heat of Beautiful Bastard. In the case of their newest release In a Holidaze, I was once again impressed by their versatility but unfortunately didn’t fall for the love story. After an inebriated make-out session with a friend who just happens to be the brother of the man she’s had unrequited feelings for for years, Maelyn Jones asks the universe to “show me what will make me happy.” The universe decides to make her relive her Christmas vacation, the one her family does every year with her parents’s college friends & their kids, including Theo, the aforementioned friend she kissed, & Andrew, his brother & the man she’s harbored romantic feelings for. The question becomes: what does Mae’s happy life look like? & who is front & center in it? Though this romance shares a basic premise with the movie Groundhog Day it feels fresh & entertaining in Christina Lauren’s hands, peppered with approachable wry & sometimes crass humor. Mae’s a likeable heroine—she goes on a fun evolution from someone who, in her words, tries to be so careful to someone who isn’t afraid to upset the balance a bit. Where the book falls short for me is with the brothers, both of whom come off as rather one-note for me. The brother her heart ends up truly desiring feels too perfect; I couldn’t get a sense of his flaws or that Mae could see any, & that veered a little too close to putting-him-on-a-pedestal-adoration for me. After a sustained period of not warming to him, I couldn’t fully relax into their romance, a sensation that was made more unsettling by the unpredictability of the time travel plot itself. With that being said, I like this book: it’s sweet, sexy, and funny. The premise is great & the writing is warm & cozy. The romance just doesn’t rock my (holiday) socks off. 3.5⭐️. In a Holidaze is available now. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. Jenny Holiday, author of this adorable, smack you in the feelings romance, calls it “a Hallmark-style Christmas book” in the Acknowledgments & while I haven’t watched a Hallmark movie before I definitely got some of those isn’t-this-book-cuddly-&-cozy vibes I associate with the genre. I’m a big fan of Jenny Holiday’s books. They’re emotionally resonant, they’re sexy, & they’re beautifully written. A Princess for Christmas is all of those things: it’s also , super sweet, & it features a working class, kind hero & *these are a few of my fav-o-rite things.* The Princess of Eldovia, Marie, is in NYC to secure a market for one of her country’s chief exports. While there she unexpectedly has to take a cab driven by our hero, Leo, who has two jobs & is basically living paycheck to paycheck while taking care of his orphaned sister. The gulf between them is huge, for obvious reasons. Like I said before Holiday is so skilled at writing emotion. A Princess for Christmas sparkles with feeling. It’s funny, it’s warm, it’s real. Both leads have anxiety; they buy pads for his preteen sister together—>those are just a couple of moments that plucked my heart like a guitar string. Also the attraction between them is a dream & I love how Leo notices ALL OF THE THINGS about Marie. In short I love so much about this book. But there are a couple of things that I have reservations about. First, there’s a loose love triangle plot because Marie is a *princess* & there’s a suitor her father favors. My problem is that I don’t feel like the book is upfront enough with the reader about Marie’s plans with this (ie is she actually engaged? Is she on the way there?), her feelings, if she is in some way possibly acting or feeling inappropriately because of that possible relationship, etc. The book moves pretty slowly in the steam department so it wasn’t a huge issue; still, I was a little confused about the basics of the potential love triangle for part of the book & when it comes to that trope in particular I don’t want it to be any more complicated/unclear than it needs to be. Moving on (somewhat), I wanted Marie to take on an even more active role in choosing her future—for growth reasons. And finally, I feel like some logistical aspects of the resolution are rushed. So in the end this wasn’t a “perfect” read for me. But it was really enjoyable & sweet, with leads who deserve happiness dammit! & we all need more of that. 4⭐️. A Princess for Christmas is out on 10/13. Thanks to Avon Publishing & Edelweiss for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. Thanks for joining me on my blog tour stop for Jane Igharo's Ties that Tether!(For an #ownvoices review, you might check out Jite’s @now_booking. She's one of my favorite reviewers & I appreciated her insights on this book in particular.) One night Azere Izoduwa acts impulsively & has a one night stand with a handsome stranger. Then she learns that said stranger is her new co-worker. *Then* she learns that she’s pregnant & she’ll have to inform her Nigerian mother (of Edo heritage), a woman who strictly upholds the traditions & behaviors of their old village & demands that Azere do the same, that the father of her illegitimate child is white. Jane Igharo’s Ties that Tether compellingly & thoughtfully considers Azere’s predicament: after having immigrated to Canada when she was 12, she’s tried to take on aspects of Canadian life & culture while also respecting & honoring her Nigerian history & culture, the latter of which often seems to necessitate that she act in specific ways her parents dictate. Not only does she feel a need to have her mother’s approval; Azere lives with the deathbed promise she made to her father, to not marry a white man. To make her life & family with an Edo man. But against these pressures & wants Azere weighs her attraction toward the father of her baby, Rafael Castellano, who grows more enticing. I really enjoyed this book, how Igharo portrays Azere’s conflict between her family, her own fears about the erasure of Edo culture from her life, & her feelings for Rafael. Also lovely? Writing a hero & heroine who are imperfect but who respect one another, who offer forgiveness & grace to each other. I was a little less enamored with how quickly their feelings seem to develop for the other, his deception plotline, & a love triangle aspect of the plot which detracts somewhat from the central romance arc for me—although it is nicely related to Azere’s internal conflict. All things considered, I really enjoyed this debut. Sensitive heroes, sensitively rendered conflicts, characters who grow, plus some steam=a giant yes please. CW: a difficult labor, including a placenta complication. 3.5⭐️. Ties that Tether is out today. Thanks to Berkley Publishing & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. Katie Reus’s romantic suspense & paranormal romance books are reliably sexy & entertaining with adventurous action plots, but unfortunately Deadly Past falls flat for me. Autumn Perez was Ana Diaz before witnessing someone trying to dump a body. Now she’s living in Verona Bay & a member of WITSEC. After witnessing another crime, a bank robbery, she seeks comfort in the arms of her hot sheriff neighbor, Lincoln Jordan. But their one night stand turns into a surprise pregnancy situation, made more complicated when someone seems to be threatening Autumn’s safety. Lincoln’s an alpha who wants Autumn badly; he’s also content to give her space in the hopes that she’ll want something serious with him. I love how he respects her boundaries & how he even sets his own. Deadly Past *is sexy & I enjoyed the round of secondary characters. But I have a couple of substantial issues with the book, too. The romance between Lincoln & Autumn just doesn’t feel super believable to me. Instead it seems rushed. I wondered how much they really knew one another, beyond I think one serious convo about their pasts & the fact that they’re having a baby. I can respect that relationships can & usually do move faster in romantic suspense but something about this one just doesn’t work well for me. This book also has a lot of dramatic plot points & several of them aren’t related to the main story being told—and honestly, in my reading, distract from it. Sadly I didn’t love this romance but I’m looking forward to reading a lot more by the author! 2.5⭐️. Deadly Past is out on October 20th. Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. ✨Q: how soon do you write reviews after you’ve finished a book? 🌿 I take notes as I read & usually write the review a week or so later. I’ve seen so much buzz surrounding Rachel Reid’s enemies to lovers Heated Rivalry that when I had the opportunity to request her latest release I snapped that puppy up. Common Goal is an age gap romance between an NHL goalie who wants to explore his long-held but never acted upon attraction to men & a younger bartender whose heart is currently preoccupied with having big feelings for a soon-to-be married man. Eric Bennett, aforementioned goalie, is 40, divorced, & immediately captivated by Kyle Swift, bartender. But Kyle Swift sees the wedding ring Eric hasn’t taken off yet & is fully aware of how being attracted to older men has never worked out for him & decides to stay away. It turns into a “we’ll go to a bar together & I’ll be your wingman” situation for a little while but luckily for us, Eric & Kyle can’t resist their attraction for one another & kissing commences. Common Goal is super steamy & that made me 😄. What else did I love? How Eric & Kyle have compatible interests & actually talk about them. But they also miss a couple of communication opportunities that always seem so easy to me (TELL HIM, the oversharer in me inwardly screams. My life philosophy = better to make someone feel awkward w/ oversharing rather than seem emotionally unavailable 🤣🤣.) My biggest squabble with Common Goal however is that the resolution feels really rushed. This was a 3.5⭐️ read for me. There are some things about the plot that I didn’t jump up & down for but I’m really excited to dive into Rachel Reid’s catalog. What I liked about her writing I really liked. Common Goal is out 09/21. Thanks to Netgalley & Carina Press for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. Q: have you ever named your car? Ok. This book is adorable. Carter Ramsey’s an injured MLB player who’s about to be named Man of the Year. When he succumbs to peer pressure from his twin & travels to his hometown of Haven for their high school reunion, he never imagines that the first person he’ll run into at his temporary lodgings will be his former lab partner, Olive Dunn. Everyone loves Olive. She’s capable, confident, & never met a problem she didn’t cut off at the knees. She’s also a whirlwind of energy & when she sweeps into Carter’s life—literally repeatedly barging into his home or imposing on his plans—he’s not prepared to like her. A lot. Feelings happen, but Carter’s got a secret he’s only confided in Olive. He’s also home to *possibly* reunite with the other half of his golden high school coupledom (don’t worry about a real love triangle here!) Yours to Keep is a consistently funny (I know, I know, does that even mean anything in reviews anymore?!), steamy read with a lot of heart. Both leads are genuinely nice people & I always love that when happens. Especially when one nice person is really drawn to another nice person & then they kiss. Layne offers a friends to lovers story that I think will appeal to a lot of people—a pro baseball player + a high school biology teacher who seems confident in most ways, insecure in others—& she writes the ending of the book (the chapter before the epilogue) in a way that feels hopeful for their relationship but that doesn’t make either one of them entirely sacrifice their personal aspirations. & the Epilogue is 🏻. There are some aspects of the romance that I think could have been expanded on throughout the book—like the storyline with his former high school girlfriend, which feels a little flimsy for me. Also the ending, which doesn’t seem to have as much introspection or reflection as I’d like. But I definitely recommend Lauren Layne’s Yours to Keep for a lighthearted small town romance that kept me smiling. 4⭐️. Yours to Keep is available now. Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. I really enjoy Pamela Clare’s romantic suspense books, especially Hard Justice, which I loved. Give me (alpha) men and women saving the world any day, particularly when the books are so sweet & so steamy. But Hard Line, her latest release, falls flat for me. The premise is that relatively new Cobra recruit Thor Isaksen is sent to Antarctica to retrieve parts of a satellite that was hacked & destroyed by an as-yet unknown entity. The researcher asked to help him & his team is astrophysicist Dr. Samantha Park, who’s still reeling from the death of her best friend & fellow researcher. But of course nothing is what it seems with her friend’s murder & Thor & his team have to solve the mysteries before lots of innocent people are hurt. As always, it feels like Clare’s done the research & the plot moves quickly & with skill. The Antarctica setting added a lot to the mystery, providing many possible new challenges for the MCs to overcome. I always appreciate the steam Clare brings & enjoyed the dynamic between the sensitive alpha Thor & the brilliant but insecure Samantha. But I have two big issues with this read. First, Samantha’s lack of confidence, which is pervasive & includes her appearance & even how she talks about her astronomy work with Thor. I didn’t see much evidence of growth in this until the end of the book & even then, as she notes in one instance, it seems largely more attributable to how Thor has made her feel instead of her own conclusions about herself. & speaking about Thor, his efforts to show Samantha how sexy she was by using his arousal as “proof” kinda make me roll my eyes. My other issue with this romance is how the lines are so blurred between Thor’s professional demands & his relationship with Samantha with very little introspection or deliberation about how he is blurring them. His actions & his teammate Jones’ actions make me doubt their qualifications as operatives—maybe because so much of those scenes feels surface-level to me. I look forward to reading a future Pamela Clare book but this one just didn’t really work for me. CW: pretty gruesome story about Thor’s wartime experience including murder. Other on-page murders. 3⭐️
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