 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. Clare Gilmore’s Love Interest dazzled me. I adore this contemporary—it has everything I want. Like: —a rivals to lovers workplace sitch where he doesn’t realize that he got the job she applied for. Her dislike of him is further fueled by the fact that he’s the board chairman’s son & she smells nepotism. —a spectacles-wearing hero. Need I say more?! —a financial analyst heroine who worries about her legacy as the daughter of creative-minded parents & who wants to be scared/excited again when it comes to putting herself out there —humor. There’s an only one bed line that really cracked me up. —so much heart & realness. References to previous “gastrointestinal turbulence” & needing deodorant (for those who appreciate things like that) & also the sweetest moments where she has to continually extricate herself from his warm snuggles & pee in the middle of the night & he teases her & she’s like “I have a small bladder.” These characters are so well-developed & not only the central relationship between Casey & Alex shines, so do the secondary ones. I love the portrayal of friendship & the queer rep, & basically everything about this authentic-feeling, fresh, intimate, & joyous story. 5⭐️. Out 10/10.CWs: Sexual harassment. Grief. Emotionally negligent parent. Reference to past chlamydia.
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 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Did I read my first December romance in August? Did this book make me want to start celebrating the Winter Soltice? Yes & yes. Jenny Bayliss’ A December to Remember is a story of sisterhood & community & it all happens when the father of three distant sisters dies & his will stipulates that they spend time together doing two things before they can secure their inheritance. Focusing on sisterhood, this book shows how people can come back together & how vulnerability is a big part of what allows that to happen. Each sister also has a romantic relationship they’re working through / starting in the book. This book addresses quite a lot of serious topics & throughout it all is the community of Rowan Thorp which the sisters are becoming more enmeshed in. The town is adorable, the antiques store is some place I’d like to visit & I love how inclusive it is. That’s maybe my favorite part of the book—watching the various residents’ contributions to their town & to the winter Soltice. I’d recommend this to anyone wanting a sweet story of sisters coming back together & allowing others in, of relationships that they’re choosing to make stronger. 3.5⭐️. Out 09/26.CWs: Cancer. Father was absent. Infertility. Miscarriage. Abortion reference. Former boyfriend is stalking a sister on page; former boyfriend’s drug use.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. From beginning to end The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter is pure fun: MCs dangling underneath bridges, playing fake marriage on a river cruise ship, trying to solve the mystery of who the amnesia-stricken heroine is. It’s a rom com with the com—so many moments are madcap & funny & the book (and reader) delight in all of it. The heroine is quirky imaginative sunshine & she shakes our unflappable operative/spy hero Jake Sawyer down to his sexy feet. Books where the leads are out being badass—making plans to take down baddies, essentially Home Alone for adults, I’m realizing right now —win my adoration & this one is just C U T E while it does it. Mal @talesofabookbug shared in her review that this is Fade to Black. I’m glad I had that insight & when the moment came I was just happy with how things were moving between them & that they were sated & also ready for more if you know what I mean . This one is so great & it was perfect for my mood. Check it out! 5⭐️. Out now!CWs: Attempted murder; murder; previous heart surgeries. Lies.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.I’ve long waited for Matthias & Pet’s book & Codename Charming has some great moments that pulled at the ole heartstrings. Starting with the fact that Matthias is a security guard for royals & becomes VERY protective of Pet, their royal assistant, & including the fact that to everyone else, their romance is beauty & the beast but to Pet, he is beauty & strength & dependability. & it didn’t quite pull at my heartstrings that Matthias has chest hair but I liked it, okay? Codename Charming also has a fake dating, opposites attract (but really they have compatible backgrounds) premise, a slooooow burn, some humor, & a story of two people creating this world where they can feel comfortable, together. Add to that an investigation into Pet’s father’s family & a meddling set of Royals & you have a cheery romance that is—as the title says—charming. 4⭐️. Out 08/15.CWs include: an emotionally abusive father; knife attack flashback; attempted knife attack in current book. Death of friend & feelings of responsibility. An unknown father that Pet discovers in book.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.You, Again by Kate Goldbeck is quite the emotional ride. If you’re an angst-lover, jump in, the water’s very warm. If you’re like me, you might read this one with that Chrissy Teigen cry-grimace-smile on your face because objectively you can acknowledge it’s a great book but subjectively you need the pain to be over & the HEA to hit you with sweet relief . Compared to When Harry Met Sally, this book features leads who keep bumping into each other over a series of years, at first fighting & disliking each other & gradually moving into friendship. This is where the book really got to me, in seeing the characters change & in seeing that the characters *have changed* since we saw them last. The leads’ first clunky forays past animosity are wonderfully revealing & sweet. Of course the leads don’t stay in the friendship zone—& I didn’t want them to!—but both have a lot of baggage to work through before the reconciliation. It’s the way the baggage is worked through that caused me secondhand distress as a reader: see paragraphs above about angst. But the story is compelling & the characters feel real & the ending is lovely & unique & something I won’t likely forget . I think a lot of people will love this one, & a lot of people will be moved by this one. It definitely makes an impact. 4⭐️. Out 09/12.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 way my brain works so hard to try to keep up with a time loop or time travel book :o ;) . When a strange cute man tells Gemma Peters that they’ve met over & over again, part of her is dismayed & scared bc she’s never met him. But the other part feels this wisp of familiarity that grows as they spend more time together, with both leads running all over LA. While most time loop books I’ve read share multiple of the days on page, The Déjà Glitch keeps it on the simple-ish side: Gemma Peters & Jack experience only two days together on page—all other iterations of the same day they’ve been living over & over again for 5 months (!) are just referred to. Those two days they spend together are full of so many emotions: yearning & wistfulness, annoyance, broken-heartedness, pride, & love—some of it betwee the two of them & some of it with other people as Gemma works through some big baggage she’s been carrying—that the book itself doesn’t feel superficial. It feels like a microscope has been pointed on the things weighing Gemma down & she’s ready to finally tackle all of them. But the romance arc doesn’t have the same effect for me, unfortunately. While the growth Gemma experiences is heartwarming, I was overall a bit less convinced by the romance. Still, this is a sweet read—closed door—with a heroine who goes through a lot of emotional work on this time loop day & who finds her way to something—dare I say, even more magical: love ;). 3.5⭐️. Out now! CWs: Gemma’s dad cheated on mother previously & has been emotionally negligent in past. Jack’s dad died previous to action in book.
 Hi and welcome to my blog stop for Alicia Thompson's With Love, From Cold World! A big thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Summary.Lauren Fox is a glass-half-empty kind of girl who is very content with her life. One could argue maybe too content. She may be the bookkeeper at a theme park, but she doesn’t find her work experience nearly as fun as those around her. She much rather hide in her office then have to socialize with customers—or worse, her co-workers. Specifically, Asa Williamson. Ever optimistic Asa loves finding ways to brighten his days at Cold World—whether that means organizing the Secret Santa or playing Snow Globe Guard. He also happens to be super attractive—something Lauren annoyingly can’t seem to ignore. But as glass-half-full as Asa may appear to Lauren, he has every reason to be jaded—his uber religious family disowned him for being bisexual and he hasn’t spoken to them since. When Cold World’s owner calls Lauren and Asa into a meeting to tell them that the theme park is in trouble, the last thing they want is to work together to come up with a solution. It turns out a winter wonderland in a summer destination is quite niche, and it’s becoming increasingly harder to compete with the major amusement parks down the road. But because the situation is dire, they must put their feelings side and find a way to save Cold World. As these polar opposites work together to save the day, things start to heat up. If Asa thought Lauren didn't know how to enjoy herself, he's surprised by how much he enjoys spending time together. And if Lauren thought Asa wasn't serious about anything, she's surprised by how seriously he seems to take her.  ID: Jess, a white woman wearing a beach hat and a red vintage-style bathing suit, holds the ebook while standing in front of some palm trees.My review.That exciting moment when you find a new author whose book you love… Alicia Thompson’s With Love, From Cold World masters that mix of components in my favorite reads: emotionally striking, great tension between leads, & (a bit rarer) moments of humor/eccentricity that make the book distinctive. I adored this book for many reasons, including: ❄️the enemies to lovers arc, which felt realistic given how seemingly different each lead is & their various insecurities/challenges/personality habits. ❄️a locked in scene, where both MCs are locked in at their attraction & where things really progress emotionally & physically in their relationship! ❄️ found family rep. Talk about getting to your heart…I love how friendship is portrayed in this book & Lauren’s efforts to put herself out there more. ❄️bisexual rep. I’ve only read a few books where the hero is bisexual & the other lead is a female. Asa has a backstory that I think will be meaningful to many readers. (Please check out trigger warnings). This book has steam and poignancy, & I had such a great time on the journey. Love these characters—do I relate to the self-conscious heroine or do I relate —& the happiness they find with each other. 5⭐️. Out 08/01.CWs: references to foster care experience, parental drug use. Asa’s parents made him leave their home when someone outed him without his consent. He is estranged from his parents for much of the book. Is this one also on your TBR? Are you as much of a fan of found family romances as I am?Let me know what you think and thanks for stopping by!   Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. I almost almost DNFed THANK YOU FOR SHARING by Rachel Runya Katz—mostly because I was initially taken aback by the heroine & her interactions with the hero —but by the middle & end this contemporary totally won me over & it wasn’t by the heroine drastically changing her entire personality. This is still a story about a heroine who is not all sunshine & rainbows. This *is* about a heroine who roasts the hero at most opportunities. Whose museum curating job is very important to her. Who is dealing with her past & confronting the fear of opening up. & in the end, I adored Aliyah Cohen-Jackson & Daniel Rosenberg separately, together, & as part of a friendship quartet. I also love the Jewish rep in this book (& the discussions of what it means for the leads to be Black & Jewish & Korean & Jewish, respectively); the sensitivity of the hero; the epistolary elements (the meeting notes from their friendship group are so funny!); & how pro therapy this book is. In the end, this is a rich, compelling romance that addresses so many weighty topics (see CWs) but does it with grace & moments of humor & heat & I’m really glad I finished it. Also really glad for the reminder that romance heroines can be “unlikeable,” that they don’t have to make it comfortable for everyone all the time to earn a HEA or a place in a friend group. 4.5⭐️. Out 09/12.CWs: Racism. Previous death of father. Heroine’s college best friend raped her when she was intoxicated & during the book she runs into him at an event.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. Grumpy & a supposed Ice Queen. Yes please. Elena Armas’ The Long Game plays with those tropes, beginning with an unfortunate case of “oops I ran over you with my car & maybe killed your chicken” (spoiler alert: she did not). Adalyn Reyes, the daughter of a soccer franchise owner, has been exiled by her father to the wilderness of NC after she becomes viral on social media for assaulting their mascot. She’s supposed to take on a philanthropic project. Only that’s made more complicated when she realizes the head coach of said philanthropic team is the grumpy former soccer pro Cameron Caldani & their initial interactions show that they’re oil & water. Forced to work together &, thanks to their own machinations, to spend free time together too, our leads have plenty of opportunity to let the attraction between them build. If you’re looking for a gruff man letting his nurturing, peaceful side loose, you might enjoy this one. Cameron uses his approval words to great effect during a yoga goat scene; there’s even sexy pottery-making, without the murder plot (thanks, Ghost). But I have to be honest, & maybe I’m revealing how unreasonable I am because of it: the middle of this book starts to feel one-note for me because Cameron is aggressively patient & doggedly persistent in being there for her & Adalyn just kinda loses her fire & the book just starts to flatten a bit. I don’t know—it just wasn’t totally working for me. Not only that but—& again, this might sound bad—but if Adalyn has to go after anyone to spur on her exile, I wish she had selected the actual person responsible—her dirtbag ex—instead of a random mascot. That just made the whole incident less sympathetic for me. 3.5⭐️. Out 09/05.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. There’s been a real trend in my reading lately of emotional contemporary romances that deal with grief & general life uncertainty & it makes me happy & sad. Happy for all of us that we’re living in a time when these topics can be discussed with gravity & often humor & always understanding & that there can be so much joy interwoven in those stories too—the joy of falling in love. Sad because books about grief & loss are that too, of course, & Ashley Poston’s The Dead Romantics & Sarah Adler’s Mrs. Nash’s Ashes & now Jessica Joyce’s YOU, WITH A VIEW really make their departed characters come across the page—their hopes & dreams & most importantly, their love—even as those characters are no longer physically present within the book itself. YOU, WITH A VIEW is just a stellar book in general, merging a rivals to lovers story with an emotional epistolary-laden road trip with splashes of humor so well. Not only is the book about an ending—the loss of Noelle’s grandmother & best friend—it’s also about beginnings: giving life to professional hopes & dreams, making new friends, seeing more to a high school rival than you thought was there, seeing everything. What else can I say about this book except that I loved it, it’s beautiful & sad & hopeful & romantic, I loved the steam, I want to go on an adventure with someone who will kiss me in a hotel room (ie my husband), & you should read this book? 5⭐️. Out 07/11.[ID: Jess’s white hand holds the ebook in front of the ocean. In the background is her husband Daniel, a white man wearing a hat, a light colored shirt, & blue swimming shorts.] |
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