 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. Isn’t it a delight when leads hook up early in the romance & the author still manages to maintain a good level of will they or won’t they (of course they will!)?! That’s what happens in Witches Get Stitches, Juliette Cross’s upcoming offering in her Stay a Spell series. Violet Savoie is a Divine Seer & tattoo artist & Nico Cruz is her business partner & also the sexy singer werewolf she hooked up with almost two years earlier. But Violet’s read her cards which seem to forecast a not so happy ending for them. Despite the high level of attraction that rages between them, she doesn’t want to pursue it—even if a big part of her does in fact want to pursue it. This book has so much of JC’s delicious trademarks: sexy sexy interactions between leads—you can feel how much they want each other. Sweetness—Nico wants Violet so bad & it’s actually painful for him even as she feels like home. Cool worldbuilding. A lovely set of ensemble characters w/ some suspense built up for future books. This series has been such an enjoyable ride & I really luxuriate in the steamy world the author offers. Though I didn’t totally appreciate one of Nico’s try-to-make-Violet-interested strategies, Witches Get Stitches is a fun, hot installment & I can’t wait to read more. 4 ⭐️. Release date: 07/20.
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 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.If childhood friends to enemies to lovers + a redemption story is your jam, I recommend Annabeth Albert’s Out of Character. Jasper & Milo were best friends until high school, when Milo had a chance to turn popular jock & believed that necessitated leaving his best friend Jasper, a gamer who had recently attended a Rainbow Alliance meeting, behind. Throughout high school Milo’s new jock best friends harassed Jasper & Milo said & did nothing. Years later, when Jasper is in college & Milo is a college drop-out with a series of bad decisions behind him, they come back into each other’s orbit. This story is sweet & thoughtful, not unlike the main characters themselves. I love seeing how they mature individually, especially Milo, who has a lot to reflect on & who wants to put actions toward becoming the person he hopes to be, & how their personal efforts make them better partners & vice versa. The redemption story works for me, especially how Milo & Jasper have to reckon with his past behavior & figure out a productive & loving path forward, something made more difficult by the continued presence of Milo’s high school best friends—bullies—in his life & the fact that Milo hasn’t come out yet. The characterization of Jasper as someone who constantly wants to be heroic is a little heavy-handed for me but the warm fuzzies this book constantly gave me—the lack of a present-day huge crisis between them (excepting their weighty high school past)—,the loveliness of Milo’s desire to change his life & his behavior—won me over time & time again. 4.5 ⭐️. Release date: 07/06. Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. When I say that Rachel Reid’s Role Model swept me off my feet... If you love > Redemption arcs > A too-handsome-to-be-believed + attractive-in-a-more-approachable-way kind of pairing > Grumpy & the sunshine (who is literally a former apple farmer!) > Ilya you must read this! Notice I didn’t mention the sports. You don’t have to love the sports to love this one . In Role Model, NHL hockey player Troy Barrett has just been traded to one of the worst teams: the Ottawa Centaurs. He’s gotten a lot of heat from his former team & fans, as well as hockey fans in general, for calling his former BFF & teammate a rapist after rape allegations were brought forward against him—& the moment was caught on video & leaked. Instead of rallying behind Troy, his team is supporting the alleged rapist, & Troy, who didn’t realize what his former BFF was allegedly doing but who was undeniably an asshole (& one of the homophobic variety), is left hanging in the wind. The social media manager of his new team, Harris Drover, is adorable, cheerful, & out—he’s nice to everyone, has an “average” physique compared to the ripped Troy, & an annoying loud laugh. Are you as in love as I am? First off, hats off to Reid for really going at how sports culture (specifically hockey in this book’s case) all too often supports the perpetrators of assault & not the alleged victims. There are some people in this book, like Troy & members of his new team, who are very much supporters of the latter, but Reid makes it clear that there are a lot of hockey fans & admins who would rather support the money-making, spectacle of the game than the alleged victims. Second, I adore this lead pairing. Troy tries so hard to be a better person & he has a lot of bad behavior he has to reckon with—not to mention the fact that he’s currently in the closet & not sure how to come out/if he wants to. & he’s drawn to Harris, who likes everyone & wears Pride pins on his jacket. I love how Troy’s reserve meets Harris’s zest & crumbles a little under its charm each day. Third, this book is so funny (cake pops 🤣) & came at me with so much heart. Highly recommend this one for major feels. 4.5 ⭐️. Release date: 08/10 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Bethany Bennett’s lovely debut Any Rogue Will Do had me so excited about this new voice in historical romance. While West End Earl falls somewhat flat for me, I’m really looking forward to seeing what Bennett writes next. Adam Hardwick has worked as a land steward for Lord Calvin Carlyle for two years. They’ve developed a close friendship, Cal even referring to his amiable, red-haired friend as Puppy. But after Adam is attacked, Cal realizes that Adam is a woman, Phee, who has assumed her brother’s identity & the dress & mannerisms associated with men during the time so she can hide from her nefarious uncle & guardian. Cal’s there for her, even as this development causes him to develop romantic feelings for his employee/friend. There are lots of things standing between them but can they make it work? Kudos to Bennett for writing a sweet, beta hero who’s a good friend, a bold heroine, & an unconventional story. On balance I think Bennett writes with grace & sensitivity, & as I mentioned before, I think more great things are in our romance-reading future. But I was disconcerted by Cal’s rapid transition in thinking regarding Phee. As Adam, Phee garners none of Cal’s romantic interest; Cal even muses on how unattractive a sister of Adam’s would have been. But basically as soon as Phee reveals she’s a woman, soon after Cal’s aforementioned musing, she becomes attractive to him. The turnaround is very quick & it just feels odd to me. The story also goes in a very unexpected direction & while it eventually gets smoothed away, some of those vaguely rough edges took me out of the story somewhat. I love the sweet friendship between Cal and Phee & that the story (& Bennett) are willing to be daring, but sadly West End Earl doesn’t always work for me. 3.5 ⭐️. Release date: 06/29 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. Q: what’s one of your fave 2021 covers? I think this one is gorgeous! Shout-out to Diana Quincy for writing a viscount/bonesetter couple in The Viscount Made Me Do It, a daring combo that was fun to read for the first time. Hanna Zaydan is the bonesetter in question, a woman who faces discrimination on account of her profession, her sex, & her Arabic ancestry & culture. But she’s not bowing down to anyone’s idea of what she should do, not even her mother & grandmother, who want her to marry an Arabic man & stop practicing bonesetting. Viscount Thomas Ellis “Griff” has spent the last couple of years in tremendous pain but that’s not why he visits Hanna. It’s because he sees her wearing his murdered mother’s necklace & wants to question her about its providence. The fact that she heals his arm when others haven’t been able to garners his respect for life & her beauty & demeanor capture his more romantic admiration. But there are big obstacles between them & tbh, I had my doubts about how it would all work out. The characterization of Hanna is often delightful. She’s ambitious, skilled, & she really isn’t afraid of much. There’s a flower scene with Griff—where she really lets her feelings go— that I adore. But Griff is frequently frustrating to me. One mark in his favor is his appreciation for Hanna’s skill, but I find his overall attitude toward her & their relationship to be not as romantic as I would like. There are a couple of moments where I feel like he’s somewhat cold. Hanna is a compelling heroine but sadly the romance in this one is a little lackluster for me. 3.5 ⭐️. Release date: 07/27.CW:
 Thanks to Harlequin Publicity Team for the free finished copy. All opinions provided are my own.Serving Sin was my first time dropping into Angelina M. Lopez’s Filthy Rich series but as soon as I saw bodyguard romance I said helloooooo there. Roman Sheppard & Cenobia (Cen) Trujillo met about 13 years ago when he was a former Army Ranger, newly turned private security CEO who rescued her after she was kidnapped. Now, at a special celebration in Monte del Vino Real, Spain, where Roman now lives with his half siblings & serves as adviser to the king & a freaking prince, Cen reveals (1) that it was actually her who led the initiative to help their struggling country out of a financial bind, not her father as he thought & (2) she’s receiving violent threats as her huge car production company prepares to launch its first car. Roman wants to keep her safe, even as he knows how challenging it’ll be to be around the stunning woman he’s spent the last several years avoiding. Well, call me a Lopez fan because this book has so much of the good stuff: ⭐️ Cen knows her shit. Her business acumen🏻. Her drive, her stubbornness, her tenderness. ⭐️ age gap ⭐️ Roman is just in awe. Would also like to add that he doesn’t see himself as worthy of anything & while this is very sad that’s also my catnip. ⭐️ really interesting consideration of misogyny ⭐️ throughhhh sex scenes that aren’t clinical in the slightest. ⭐️ so much respect between leads There are a couple of moments where I came out of the story a bit due to how those plot points are presented, but overall, Serving Sin has great steam, characterization, & heart, & I really enjoyed my time with it! 4 ⭐️. Out now!CW:
 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.I’ve read some powerful fantasy this year & Ava Reid’s The Wolf & the Woodsman is one of them, telling a story that hits like a bag of bricks. This book wrestles with questions of magic & faith & left me with a hopeful feeling, even if it is slightly tempered by what this romance reader would call a somewhat precarious HFN. Unlike others in her village Évike can’t do magic. Every year her community must sacrifice one of their own to the Woodsmen on Woodsman Day & this year, it’s Évike, who’s sent in someone else’s place & against her will. Despite the fact that she doesn’t quite fit in with the people in her community, like them she’s considered pagan & referred to as wolf-girl by the woodsmen. But on their journey Évike wonders if there’s more to the enemy Captain who’s taken her & who leads their group than the sternness & eyepatch that first drew her attention. He blushes; he’s not a warrior despite his position as leader; he shows his feelings of guilt when his actions conflict with his religious beliefs. But that’s the thing—no matter how drawn Évike & the Captain are to the other, he & his people believe that “faith”—in actuality, magic—is accessed most through bodily sacrifice. Thus his missing eye. & he holds himself to a set of impossible faith-based standards, which he himself struggles with because they don’t always match what seems morally best. & she’s trying to determine her own path forward, as someone who doesn’t share his beliefs or his preoccupation with “perfection” & as someone who’s both tied to her village & ostracized within it. As someone who, as she says earlier in the book, wasn’t gifted with what everyone else around her was. As the blurb says, TWATW is “inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology” & it’s full of stunning similes that make me see the world in a fresh way; it’s gory & often dark; it’s emotional; it’s colorful. Not to mention, it walks that line between hopeful & unsettling that makes books memorable. 4.5 ⭐️. Out today! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.TL; DR Review: often funny, w/ two leads who do the work. This one made me feel very positive about my vulva (is that TMI?). Uptight & agent of chaos is one of my fave couple combos *she says very nonchalantly & not as if she has a major internal squee nearly every time she encounters it.* Karelia Stetz-Waters’s Satisfaction Guaranteed does it really well. Starchy gallery owner & manager Cade Elgin doesn’t really know how to lighten up—which makes her a bit of an anomaly in her free-spirited, unconventional family. Selena Mathis is a celibate sex educator who is trying “to get her shit together on her own.” An artist who isn’t making art, she’s haunted by her last relationship—which was emotionally devastating & the aftermath of which led her to make some decisions she’s still wrestling w/. Cade’s aunt leaves her home & struggling sex toy shop Satisfaction Guaranteed to both of them. On the surface it seems that Cade has the business savvy & Selena has the heart & passion but as the book explores, maybe they’re both more than that. This romance offers a real sense of growth for both leads & a winning sense of humor. It’s sex & body positive & really exciting seeing Cade (& Selena!) learn more about their wants. I stan honest convos about female orgasms & in Cade’s case, love seeing how she can finally experience an orgasm with Selena but also how it’s not a guaranteed situation & that’s okay too. Throughout the latter half of Satisfaction Guaranteed there’s a real hopefulness in where things are going between them & where each character is going on her own & a celebration of bravery—taking a chance. It hits so many of the right notes for me. 4.5 ⭐️. Release date: 06/01.CW:
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.M. A. Grant’s Rare Vigilance hit a real sweet spot for me: it’s a paranormal romance between the bratty but secretly compassionate wealthy heir to a finance throne & the gruff bodyguard who resents his charge...at least for a little while. Bodyguard Atlas Kinkaid doesn’t talk about why he was involuntarily discharged from the armed forces. Regularly stricken with migraines, Atlas is just trying to get by. But then his sister & boss Bea puts an opportunity in front of him: working his preferred hours & guarding the son of the most famous businessperson in their community. His protectee is Cristian Salva. (Whom I imagined as a Theo James type 🤩. Prob not necessary info for this review ). But despite his attraction for Cristian, things happen & Atlas finds himself with BIG stressful decisions to make. Rare Vigilance is a fun ride that kicks off what I think will be a series focusing on the same couple. There’s some kissing, one scene where things go further, & a cliffhanger. Grant sets up things for this couple well—Atlas’s efforts to resist Cristian & the way he tests his control are delightful—& it was an escape to sit inside this world for a while. I won’t ruin the PNR aspect of the book but I love how it plays out amidst a story of capitalism & power & how it’s complicated by Atlas’s awareness that working class people (& maybe others too) are suffering. There are some aspects of this book that don’t feel thoroughly developed to me—I wanted more subtlety & clarity in the transition of Atlas’s feelings toward Cristian, for example—but I’m really excited to have discovered this author & to read her backlist! 4 ⭐️. Release date: 6/22. Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. When I saw who the author of this book is—not to mention the delightfully soft seafoam cover & read the synopsis—I wanted it fiercely. Cat Sebastian books are one of my love languages. The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian did *not* disappoint. It gave me everything I was looking for: outstanding chemistry, emotional intimacy, & smooching, *&* even some things I didn’t know I was looking for, & it’s a big HURRAY for me. There’s a ballad about an indomitable, almost heroic highwayman, Kit Webb. He actually exists, minus some of the song details. But after a leg injury took him out of the highwayman business, he’s a coffeehouse owner. That doesn’t stop him from being tempted though—in more ways than one—when Edward Percy Talbot, supposed heir to a dukedom, invites him to rob his father the Duke of a precious book he carries in exchange for funds. You see Percy has just learned that his father is a bigamist & he’s being blackmailed to keep it a secret. But he & his stepmother, who grew up close, have hatched a plan that the supremely reluctant Kit Webb can help them pull off. The magnetic attraction between Kit & Percy from the get-go gives me butterflies: two intimidating, seemingly unreachable people who can’t help but stare at the other. Can’t help but want. I love how Percy is bratty—I believe the text says—but lovable, & how Kit gives him hard truths about what his family’s wealth has cost & is costing others. How the legacy Percy is so tied to has tied down others & thrown them away when they’re deemed useless. The scene at the estate Percy faces losing is so moving to me. (With that being said, I do feel feel the text’s two references to the Duke’s “property” in the West Indies & the deeds of manumissions Percy later commissions are too briefly considered.) Overall the dynamic between Kit & Percy is everything I love in romance. Kissing because they can’t help but kiss each other / emotional truths between people who just can’t keep it casual / & a HEA kind of love. 5 ⭐️. Release Date: 06/08
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