 Thanks to the publisher for the complimentary hardcopy & the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.In my opinion Diana Biller’s Hotel of Secrets is a perfect historical & the couple in it is now one of my faves & imagine every other superlative you can think of attached to the end of this sentence because the book is that good. The lovely & formidable Maria Wallner is doing everything she can to bring her family hotel back to its glory days. But someone is also trying to kill her, a fact which really arouses US Treasury Secret Service Agent Eli Whittaker’s ire…& he really doesn’t know why that would be, he is not one to form emotional attachments & he is in Vienna for a job etc etc. This book. The Vienna setting is richly rendered—I can picture the sounds & the sights even now—& it’s even more striking with the epigraph journal entries at the beginning of chapters, each written by the fierce Wallner women. Biller makes it easy to see that this couple belongs together, despite their surface differences. He comes across as uptight & reserved & she’s a dynamo & a charming & also extremely driven when it comes to her hotel but they have similar characters & values, not to mention incendiary chemistry that’s also communication-focused. I love love when a FMC in a historical romance is experienced & it’s just not a big deal & we get that here, along with a celibate MMC who decides not to be that anymore. Dear readers, he actually goes to an illicit bookstore to educate himself about female pleasure!!! If I haven’t convinced you yet, I will note that one of my fave things about this book is the subtlety & the power of the increasingly frequent moments when Eli has “urges” or “impulses” to actively show support or kindness to the people he is bewilderingly coming to care for… This book is an act of magic & I adored it. 5 BIG ⭐️. Out now![ID: Jess, a white woman, wears a dark green dress & stands against a yellow wall holding the book.]
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 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. If you are a member of the Thick Books Love Club you might want to check out Lucy Score’s romances. She has a keen eye for voice, her secondary characters are often endearingly eccentric (Mrs. Tweedy ), the steam is gooood, & there’s a nice bit of sweetness to magnify that lusty spice. With that being said, Lucy Score’s recent release--Things We Hide From the Light, out now—is uneven for me. Likes—all of the things I mentioned earlier. Plus a badass heroine named Lina who’s basically a bouncer hunter + treasure seeker + adrenaline enjoyer & a hero—Nash Morgan— who’s a well-respected police chief with a great butt. Dislikes, or maybe it’s more accurate to say discomforts—this book reveals Nash’s depression after surviving being shot & losing the memory of what happened & the inclusion of mental health challenges is always something I respect & love. But I find myself uncomfortable with how Nash pressures Lina into actions & situations by using his emotional/mental state (even if his intentions aren’t malicious, even if she is also drawn to him). Not that Lina can’t be that important to him & to his happiness…it’s more of a concern for me that he hasn’t tried to find & regularly actively pursue other resources in addition to his relationship with Lina. This book is angsty if angst is your jam, it’s got plenty of tension between leads, & then there’s a nice payoff at the end with a double epilogue (!). The more I think about this one the less I know what to rate it. 3.5 stars️? Either way, the bottom line is: there are some things I really liked about it, some things I didn’t like, & I’m looking forward to the next one (second chance with Sloane and Lucian, anyone?!) 3.5⭐️. Out now!CWs: Depression. Shot in previous book. Op she was in charge of resulted in injury. Previous heart issues. Panic attack. Flippant reference to assault. Racist cop incident with another cop. Discussion of child with cancer. Assault, attempted sexual assault. Addict father.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Secret admirer letters usually have me waving a banner that says YES, I LOVE, but while there are aspects of Tessa Bailey’s Secretly Yours that I really enjoy, the letters & the lead combo just don’t totally work for me. Landscape artist and business owner Hallie Welch has had feelings for Julian Vos for years & his reappearance on his family vineyard makes them forefront in her mind. Julian is bewildered by his immediate attraction to Hallie, to everything about her (especially her breasts), except for her total spontaneity. He’s a big fan of schedules & planning. I don’t know what to say about how opposites attract functions in this book except just to say that I didn’t buy them as a couple. But with that being said, the physical chemistry between Hallie and Julian is hot and I responded very well to the body positivity . The plot is a bit muddled to me as well—the letters feel superfluous to me. If you’re a Tessa Bailey fan &/or you’re looking for a quick-ish read with heat & some heart, you might really enjoy this one. But for me it was a somewhat superficial reading experience. 3⭐️. Out now!CWs: Grief over grandmother. Reference to mental breakdown of colleague. Anxiety rep.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.I was impressed by Mazey Eddings’s adult romance debut A Brush with Love but for me her voice shines even more in this adorable & also emotionally striking YA contemporary romance, Tilly in Technicolor. Mazey captures so well the feeling of not belonging / not feeling free to be oneself & how critical putting yourself into new experiences, putting yourself out there, being yourself, can be to your own happiness…& maybe it will allow you to find and appreciate happiness with someone else too. The neurodivergence rep, the story of recent high school graduates, Tilly and Oliver—the former trying to figure out her path forward—, the leads’ bad initial impression of each other, & some adventures in different European cities results in a book that really had me smiling on the inside & also feeling so happy by the end. There’s one moment in particular where Oliver realizes that unlike other people, Tilly is actually into his interests, like the color of a door, that is particularly lovely. Though I wanted more in regards to Tilly’s relationship with her overbearing, often toxic mom—the resolution is a bit hasty for me—everything else is basically pitch perfect. I’m really glad this book was written! 5⭐️. Out 08/15.CWs: Overbearing, overmanaging, dismissive mom; lack of understanding & even cruelty from others regarding neurodivergence.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC and the publisher for the complimentary hard copy. All opinions provided are my own.I just wondered what it would be like if someone like Kate Clayborn—who writes so gorgeously & so completely from the heart—hadn’t written books & they weren’t published… Especially when her books make me feel so full. So expansive (read the book to get this reference ;) ). Georgie, All Along is another exquisite portrayal of the best of people & of love. I think it’s also probably the funniest book of Kate Clayborn’s that I’ve read. Not only is Levi totally amazing—I want to hug him & go to his Bday party & drunkenly tell him how much I love him & also write embarrassing wishes regarding him up & down my arms in Sharpie —but Georgie—& her heart & her confusion & friendship—is also beloved to me. Have I ever been uncertain about what I want? About my future? Um yes. This is my favorite kind of romance in that not only is the central love story so wonderful & well-developed, the secondary characters & those relationships are too. Kate Clayborn is one of my fave writers of friendship & I absolutely love how she captures the one between Georgie & Bel, another opposites attract pairing that’s done so well. This book satisfies on every level & made me feel as if I were truly watching/observing/enjoying love in all forms. So if you haven’t read Kate Clayborn yet, please do. She is an author I recommend without reservation & her books are lovely & like Georgie says about Levi, “what I want, but better.” 5⭐️. Out now!CWs: Parental estrangement; parental neglect; parental “cruelty.” References to drug use & emotional abuse at alternative school.
 Thanks to the author for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Some books just leave you feeling & saying “wow” & that’s how I feel about Eliza McLane’s Perfect Match. From the beginning to the end, this novella is just delightful & feels perfectly considered—like everything is working so harmoniously (& maybe also horny-ly) toward a HEA that left me feeling very happy indeed. The novella opens with Rosie—who is smarting from how her business is currently doing & who is not interested in love at all thankyouverymuch—attending a speed dating/dating algorithm party out of support for her BFF. There she meets nice guy Tyler, who wears glasses and is an accountant (*cue all the butterflies bc I do love a hero like this!) & is smarting from a failed relationship. They are paired together & spend one magical & very H O T weekend together. Can they be something more?? You betcha & the Epilogue left me with such a feeling of satisfaction. The communication between leads in this book!! Not a full sentence but I think you get it . If you’re looking for a steamy, wonderfully written novella that gives you that full, complete HEA feeling, check out Eliza McLane’s Perfect Match. By the end of it all, I was in love with Tyler & Rosie, I was feeling the steam, & I was congratulating myself on requesting this ARC . 5⭐️. Out 02/06.[ID: Jess, a white woman, wears a black, white, purple, & blue flannel shirt & holds the ebook.] Thanks to Partner @bibliolifestyle for the complimentary finished copy and the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Every time I open a Jenny Holiday contemporary I’m reminded of how much I like her books. So This Is Christmas really got me going with: ❄️An uptight hero—Matteo Benz, an equerry to the king of Eldovia—who wears three piece suits on the daily, tries to be professional at all times, but is very much annoyed by the heroine. To quote the book: “He looked like a millennial dressed up as a boomer.” ❄️A business-oriented heroine—American Cara Delaney who’s visiting Eldovia & serving as a business consultant for the King. She & her job immediately rub Matteo the wrong way. ❄️Both leads recognizing that there’s more to the other lead than their initial impression & slowwwwly coming to call each other by their first names. ❄️a fun glimpse back at previous characters ❄️Holiday’s deft hand with emotions & nuance & pacing. I feel like I’ve been really blessed on the holiday romance reading front this year & this is another adorable book that warmed my heart. If you haven’t checked out Holiday’s Eldovia series yet I really recommend it—especially book 2 which is a fave. 4.5 ⭐️. Out now!CW: heroine’s mother forced out of home after unwed pregnancy. Cara assaulted at 16 & she fended him off using her high heel shoe. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.There are some authors who take the risk of always trying something new. Sarah Hogle is one of them. Some of you will really enjoy Hogle’s latest release Just Like Magic. Others of you might be like nope. Where was I? In the former camp. This is a really fun, supremely strange, marvel-filled, very funny book. I’ll be honest: I was a bit worried about where the plot would go, but in the end Hogle handled it really well & my final feeling was of being entertained, relieved, & warm & fuzzy instead of majorly annoyed . Bettie Hughes undergoes quite the transformation throughout Just Like Magic that’s facilitated by Hall, an embodied Holiday Spirit that she ends up meeting because of how she plays her Mariah Carey “All I Want For Christmas Is You” album one lonely night. If just that sentence is too much this book may not be for you ;) . Bettie is spoiled, her family is sometimes not the nicest to each other & often distant, & Bettie herself is on a mission of revenge that’s somewhat unlocked when she realizes Hall can make her wishes come true *Alexa, cue Mariah Carey holiday music.* Even if he sometimes messes her wishes up a tad . Imagine the movie Elf but darker, & those are Hall & Bettie’s opposites attract vibes. Hall is warmth & happiness & love & understanding & vulnerability & being around him helps bloom in ways she never anticipated. There are some truly hilarious lines in here, a fake dating situation, & some moments of defending each other to various members of her family. Plus lots of magic. All big wins on my end! But Hall comes across a bit flat at times, as others have said, one-note, especially at the beginning. Be advised that this book is closed door, which actually made it work better for me. Turning unexpectedly steamy wouldn’t have worked for this book’s dynamic at all. Overall I just leaned into this book & had a really good time. I’m here for the bizarre, hilarious holiday romances . 4.5 ⭐️. Out now!CWs: Former emotional abuse.
 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC and the publisher for the complimentary finished copy. All opinions provided are my own.If I’m looking for soft & cozy Roan Parrish is always a good bet & the title of this upcoming release--The Rivals of Casper Road—(not to mention those adorable FREAKING PUMPKINS on the cover!!) sucked me in. Give me all the fall stuff. This ended up being everything I said in the first paragraph: soft, cozy. Sweet. Pumpkin-y ;). The basic set-up of this one is that after suffering a big heartbreak Bram Larkspur has moved to Garnet Run, Wyoming, home to some of Parrish’s other beloved characters. His new neighbor is prickly Zachary Glass, a stiff, reserved type who has won the neighborhood Halloween decorating competition several years in a row. Thanks to a couple of unfortunate moments they end up as rivals for a brief moment, & then they become something else (hint: something with smooching). This is just a fast, heartwarming read between a prickly & the sunshine one with an epilogue that ended things on an awww note. I’m really happy that these two Harlequin releases of Roan’s just go for it & these covers make me all kinds of happy. 4⭐️. Out now!CWs: references to former anti-Semitism & bullying. Zachary has self-consciousness and insecurities about appearance now. Zachary’s sister disappeared when they were teens. Bram was cheated on in past.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. I think this is the steamiest vampire romance I’ve ever read? Imagine if you took a Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark vampire book, took out a bit of the worldbuilding intricacy & then added maybe 32 sex scenes (I’m exaggerating here )—then you might have Katee Robert’s Court of the Vampire Queen. A poly MMMF romance between one half vampire, half human (a dhampir) & three stunning vampire men, COTVQ is stunningly, fantastically steamy & also makes frequent use of the bite = near orgasmic pleasure motif that can really sell a vampire romance for me . This book kicks off when dhampir Mina is given against her will to vampire Malachi, who hasn’t been able to leave his home in decades. She’s supposed to feed him & bed him, but he stuns her by setting some boundaries & being clear that he wants her consent & her to actually desire him before they proceed any farther sexually. Then the other vampires start showing up at his home one by one & things really get interesting. Not only is the steam in this one winning, so are each of the different personalities & Mina’s varying relationships with each vampire. I love how Katee Robert shows that they get something unique from each other person but how they have something special as a whole. Be aware, there are lots of content warnings for this one that Katee Robert includes in a list at the beginning & a few repetitious moments. (I thought I saw somewhere that this work was maybe published some other way & now it’s being republished but I haven’t been able to find that note again so ). But there’s so much steam (have I mentioned that yet ;) ), an interesting relationship arc as they all find out how to navigate this new relationship, & this fabulous sense of drama & atmosphere. In short, it’s really fun, very bloody, & freaking hot. 4.5⭐️. Out 09/06.CWs: She’s bitten without her consent. She sees men trying to drug her drink and then shortly after helps those men get murdered to feed her lovers. Violence. Murder. Lots of other CWs—I would suggest checking out the author’s list.
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