 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. This blog post includes affiliate links.Bowen Penhallow. Brooding & brawny & blushing. Three amazing b’s. Also, he’s a Welshman (!!!). I don’t really see how the title of The Wedding Witch comes into play in the plot very much but this witchy romance by Erin Sterling is adorable & came into my life just when I needed a fun read. Bowen Penhallow is looking for magical artifacts for a noble, if misguided, reason, & Tamsyn is the acquirer he hires (& pretty much immediately falls for). Despite the fact that their mutual falling is apparent to the reader from their first meeting, there’s still a great sense of anticipation with this one. It doesn’t lose its zest. With amusing family dynamics, a heist plan, a time travel twist, & a cariad reference or two, this fun & hot witchy romance delights . 4.5⭐️. Out 10/08.Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.
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 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. This blog post includes affiliate links.If you’re looking for a rather cozy fantasy featuring two middle-aged best friends who become lovers, Megan Bannen’s The Undermining of Twyla and Frank fits the bill. There’s also dragons. I was in unabashed fan of both the fantasy and romance in The Undertaking of Hart & Mercy; with this book, the latter doesn’t work as well for me as the arc itself riddled with miscommunication. But the fantasy aspects are interesting (if a bit anticlimactic for me), & I love the idea of the dragons being cozy & mostly friendly & how that fits in with the overall vibes of the book & Twyla & Frank’s relationship. This fantasy with romance is soft & a sweet follow-up to the characters we are introduced to in Hart & Mercy’s story but didn’t grip my heart quite as much as the former. 4⭐️. Out 07/02.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.After going on a bit of a slog through Radiant Sin, I was so excited to be lifted & tossed around in the high-speed gusts of the sex & intense-feelings tornado that is Midnight Ruin. In this addition to Katee Robert’s Dark Olympus series, increasingly assertive Eurydice, stoic & protective BFF Charon, & artistic & guilt-ridden Orpheus find unexpected pleasure in each others’ arms as Olympus threatens to come crashing down around them. On the chemistry side of things, whew!, this book is hot. But the romance arc is a bit wobbly for me in the beginning. If I’m reading a poly book, I want all people involved in the initial relationship to equally want to pursue adding another or others to their relationship—otherwise it makes me a bit sad . In this case, I felt a teeny bit sad for Charon, but by the middle & end (this book moves fast!), he was as invested in the new dynamic as Eurydice is. Midnight Ruin is a great return to a series that has offered satisfyingly steamy reads. With that being said, I’m not sure if I’ll continue to read it—for me, Robert’s latest Threshold series holds more freshness & bounce to it. 4⭐️. Out now!CWs: reference to murder; attempted murder; reference to abortion
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC and the publisher for the complimentary hardcopy. All opinions provided are my own.A story about two lonely people who become best friends & lovers? Not only did the steam really get to me in Ruby Barrett’s The Friendship Study, but the emotions did too. This book is hot. It also has a scene where the grumpy hero adopts a grumpy cat & the adorable, brilliant heroine also has a fave tree & likes to talk to herself. They also paint each others’ freaking toenails & unbeknownst to me, this is something that makes me swoon. Both of the leads, Jesse & Lulu, are at a bit of loose ends when the book opens. Jesse’s life status gives me some Roni Loren’s What If You & Me vibes (need I say more?). Lulu is trying to establish her own life as a professor outside of her brilliant professor-dad’s shadow. When they find each other, there’s instant chemistry. But it’s the friendship they show to each other, the acceptance, the home they provide, that really got to me. 5⭐️. Out now! 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. This powerhouse of a cover matches the vibe of these books by Xio Axelrod so well. Girls with Bad Reputations & the former, The Girl with Stars In Her Eyes, focus on members of the all-girl rock band The Lillys. These books have such musical presence, you all. I feel like I’m at their concert during the musical scenes, only without the crush & stress of having to leave a crowded parking lot after ;) . Girls with Bad Reputations, this upcoming release, features drummer Kayla, who's actually managed to keep her rocker life a secret from her demanding, reputation-focused mother, a prestigious professor & writer. But The Lillys’ success is growing in this book, thanks to their talent & their hard work, & not only are those scenes really fun & magnetic to read, they also amp the stakes with Kayla emotionally. We know eventually everything will come out. As Kayla travels the US with her band, she gets to know Ty, their bus driver who’s still processing trauma from being recently falsely accused by a classmate. This friends to lovers story is a slow burn, with plenty of conversations & support & understanding to really cement their connection, & I love how they genuinely appreciate each other. I wish the book had been a bit tighter in spots, but I’m such a fan of this premise & The Lillys & Axelrod really makes me feel the authenticity of it all. The experience of them. 4⭐️. Out 02/06.[CWs: Ty was falsely accused by a classmate of plagiarism & assault. Death. Grandfather experiences a stroke.]
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. Whew. That’s what I always think about a Tessa Bailey book. So much feeling, so much passion, so much intensity. Wreck the Halls has all of those things, plus a friends to lovers romance arc that shouldn’t work for me bc it moves so quickly & yet it does. Melody Gallard & Beat Dawkins meet when Melody is 16 & feeling a distinct lack of confidence largely thanks to how the media portrays her appearance. She & Beat are the kids of a legendary rock duo that split decades ago, & they feel an immediate connection. Years of not talking later, they’re offered the chance to make mega bucks if they’ll allow themselves to be filmed as they work on convincing their mothers—members of the Steel Birds—to reunite for a Christmas Eve concert. This book is not fated mates but it has those overtones to me. These people have a primal, body- & soul-deep connection that I would call call sweet even as they rock each other’s faces off. The chemistry is great, the friendship is great, & it has this moment where Mel gets sent to jail & unruffable Beat is very RUFFLED & he’s like hell no I’m about to call the President (not really but basically). But there are a couple of things about the plot that I either wanted less of or more of, respectively . Like his orgasm denial kink. Totally cool with the kink itself but the rationale that is consistently offered for it just doesn’t work for me . Anywho, this is another hot, passionate offering from a queen of DIRTY/TENDER MOMENTS & I had a lot of fun with it. 4⭐️. Out now![CWs: blackmail, past lying and cheating (secondary characters), parental emotional negligence, media harassment.]
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