Tag Archives: romance

Unknown's avatar

Romance Review: Kiss the Girl

by

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Thank you to the publisher for my review copy! 

Kiss the Girl
By Zoraida Cordova 
Meant to Be, Book 3 
Book 23 of 2024

✨ Series Info ✨

The Meant to Be series are all standalones and can be read in any order. They are closed door retellings of beloved Disney movies – this one is The Little Mermaid, and was my favorite so far!

✨ Review ✨

I was so excited for this book, but last year if it wasn’t on audio, I didn’t read it, and this book doesn’t seem to have an audiobook made, which is so heartbreaking!

However, I’ve been working on getting back into reading with my eyes, and I really loved this one, and thought it was such a clever interpretation of the story!

Ariel del Mar has been a pop culture icon since she was a child – her family business has been making her and her sisters pop icons. She meets Eric after sneaking out to a rock concert in Brooklyn. Then, after getting into a fight with her father, she joins his band’s tour to sell their merch at shows. It was fun to watch her join the “real world” after living a life of luxury. 

I absolutely adored all of the characters. The band gave major found family vibes, and everyone was so quirky in their own way. But of course the real magic was in the building romance between Ariel and Eric! The tension was exquisite. 

✨ Ramblings Semi-Related to the Book ✨

I’ve been on a musician romance kick lately. I think after being so disappointed by The Breakup Tour, this is exactly what I needed and the vibe I wished The Breakup Tour had been!

The connections made with the Disney version of The Little Mermaid were all so cute. I’ve read a few books lately that envision people who work in more pop culture settings – whether it’s musicians, fashion designers, or influencers – as kind of vapid hot messes. And while anyone can be a vapid hot mess, I just find it to be a very boring stereotype. So I really appreciated that Cordova leaned into how hard Ariel had worked and how knowledgeable she was about the music industry, even if she was lost when it came to doing things like laundry. It made her lovable and relatable. 

Unknown's avatar

Novella Review: Six Scorched Roses

by

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

✨ Spoiler Free Review ✨

Have you been seeing The Serpent and the Wings of Night series on Bookstagram and been wondering if you want to get into the series? Here’s why you won’t want to skip the novella Six Scorched Roses!

Six Scorched Roses
By Carissa Broadbent
🎧 Narrated by: Amanda Leigh Cobb
Crowns of Nyaxia 1.5
Book 22 of 2024

✨ Reading order ✨

I think this book can technically be considered a standalone, but it was recommended to me to read it in between Book 1 & 2, because the characters introduced in this book do show up in Book 2. I think the world building would be a little confusing if I hadn’t read book 1. 

✨ Review ✨

I am not generally a novella person – I tend to skip them honestly. However, this was a very purposeful and satisfying novella to me! After all of the fighting and action in Book 1, it was nice to spend time with Lilith and her medical experiments. 

Lilith’s town is being ravaged by an illness brought about by a god curse. Her sister is fading before her eyes, but Lilith is committed to finding a cure. 

Six Scorched Roses has a really good mix of plot and romance, and tells a complete story in just 187 pages! It’s a great palette cleanser before you dive into what I’m sure will be an action packed The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King! 

🎧 You might recognize Amanda Leigh Cobb from her work narrating A Court of Wings and Ruin and A Court of Frost and Starlight! She narrates all of the Crowns of Nyaxia books and I love her work. 

✨ KU subscribers can read Six Scorched Roses for free! ✨

[book synopsis ] 

Six roses. Six vials of blood. Six visits to a vampire who could be her salvation… or her damnation.

Lilith has been dying since the day she was born. But while she long ago came to terms with her own imminent death, the deaths of everyone she loves is an entirely different matter. As her town slowly withers in the clutches of a mysterious god-cursed illness, she takes matters into her own hands.

Desperate to find a cure, Lilith strikes a bargain with the only thing the gods hate even more than her village: a vampire, Vale. She offers him six roses in exchange for six vials of vampire blood–the one hope for her town’s salvation.

But when what begins as a simple transaction gradually becomes something more, Lilith is faced with a terrifying realization: It’s dangerous to wander into the clutches of a vampire… and in a place already suffering a god’s wrath, more dangerous still to fall in love with one.

Six Scorched Roses is a standalone fantasy romance novella set in the world of the Crowns of Nyaxia series, perfect for those who love dark, romantic tales with bite and fans of Sarah J. Maas or Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Unknown's avatar

Historical Romance Review: One Night in Hartswood

by

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Thanks again to TLC Book Tours, Harper 360, & Emma Denny for my review / book tour copy – I finally read it!

One Night in Hartswood
By Emma Denny
🎧 Narrated by: Tom Alexander, Sebastian Humphreys
Book 21 of 2024

*chit chat semi related to the book*

We all know I read more with my ears than my eyes, so I’ve been waiting for my library to get the audiobook of this one…but they took too long so I finally got it from Libro! Some of my amazing booksta friends pooled money for my birthday and got me a year’s worth of credits! (For a normal person. A month’s worth for me, probably. Either way, an incredibly thoughtful gift!) I am really bad about hoarding audiobook credits because I have definitely gone through 4 in a week before. But now I have 15 so I probably should use them. 

*review*

I don’t know if it’s because of the 500 times I watched The Princess Bride or the popularity of the vibes in fantasy books, but I find the medieval period to be SO romantic. It is an under utilized time period in romance books, so I was so excited when I was offered a copy of One Night in Hartswood! 

This was a little bit of a slow burn with SO MUCH pining. And accidentally cuddling for body heat while traveling through the woods.  I absolutely loved it.

Check out the pinned comment for the plot synopsis. 

🎧 Raff’s voice is so swoony. Highly recommend.

[book synopsis]

Oxford 1360

When his sister’s betrothed vanishes the night before her politically arranged marriage, Raff Barden must track and return the elusive groom to restore his family’s honour. William de Foucart ― known to his friends as Penn ― had no choice but to abandon his fiancé, and with it his own earldom, when he fled the night before his enforced marriage. But ill-equipped to survive on the run he must trust the kindness of a stranger, Raff, to help him escape. Unaware their fates are already entwined, their unexpected bond deepens into a far more precious relationship, one that will test all that they hold dear. And when secrets are finally revealed, both men must decide what they will risk for the one they love…

Unknown's avatar

Romance Review: The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes

by

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes
By Xio Axelrod
🎧 Narrated by: Alexander Cendese, Tamika Simone
Book 17 of 2024

The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes has been sitting on my shelf probably since it’s release date in 2021, and I’m so excited that I finally read it!! 

Check the content warnings…this one is a little heavier than my typical romance read. It doesn’t live in it’s darker themes though, so it was overall a very fun read. 

I would recommend this for readers who like the romance to be just one of the main elements in their reads. We get to spend a lot of time with the band, and Toni’s own growth, as well as the romantic plot. And I would definitely recommend it to music enthusiasts! 

💖 second chance romance
💖female rock band / women supporting women
💖 some found family vibes 

Going back to the content warnings, both main character Toni and her love interest Seb have difficult parents that have a range of abuse. I really admired how Axelrod didn’t shy away from the complex feelings of being an adult child of an abusive parent. 

🎧 Excellent on audio!

QotD: Do you consider yourself a music lover? Who are you currently listening to? 

I’m always in my Taylor Swift era, but with a heavy side of Noah Kahan this week!

[book synopsis]

They say the road to stardom is paved with broken dreams.

Growing up, Antonia “Toni” Bennett’s guitar was her only companion…until she met Sebastian Quick. Seb was a little older, a lot wiser, and he became Toni’s way out, promising they’d escape their small town together. Then Seb turned eighteen and split without looking back.

Now, Toni B is all grown up and making a name for herself in Philadelphia’s indie rock scene. When a friend suggests she try out for the hottest new band in the country, she decides to take a chance. She’s in for a surprise when one of the decision-makers turns out to be none other than Seb. Toni can handle it. No problem. Or it wouldn’t be if Seb didn’t still hold a piece of her heart, not to mention the key to her future.

Unknown's avatar

New Books February 20th

by

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Thank you to the listed publishers for the gifted books!

Happy belated pub day! I came back from our weekend getaway to the mountains with absolutely nothing prepped. I feel like pub day always sneaks up on me!! What are you looking forward to that comes out today or this week?

February is honestly so stacked with amazing new releases, there’s no way I will ever be able to read all of them – the worst of bookworm problems. 

🎁 ARC/ ALC / free publisher mail – noted even if I was sent a widget and didn’t accept it. Everything on this list is something I would like to one day read!

🎁 How (Not) to Hate a Duke, by Jennifer Haymore, Entangled Publishing
Historical Romance | Neighbors

🎁 Island Witch, by Amanda Jayatissa, Berkley Publishing
Historical fiction | Fantasy | Horror | Sri Lankan folklore 

🎁 Remedial Magic, by Melissa Marr, Bramble Romance
Romantasy | Witches | LGBTQ | Magical Community College 

🎁 Sun of Blood and Ruin, by Mariely Lares, Harper Voyager
Fantasy | Zorro Retelling | Mesoamerican mythology & Mexican History 

🎁 A Tempest of Tea, by Hafsah Faizal, Fierce Reads
YA fantasy | Historical fiction | Heist | Vampires 

🎁 Till There Was You, by Lindsay Hameroff, SMP Romance
Contemporary Romance | Jewish | New York Restaurants | Celebrity Romance

🎁 Heartless Hunter, by Kristen Ciccarelli, Wednesday Books
YA Fantasy Romance | Witch vs witch hunter 

🎁 The Diamond and the Duke, by Christi Caldwell, Berkley Romance
Historical romance | Beauty & the Beast vibes 

🎁 Night for Day, by Roselle Lim, Berkley Romance #berkleypartner #berkley
Fantasy Romance | Second chance romance 

📚 The Bad Ones, by Melissa Albert, Flatiron books
YA fantasy | Gothic horror 

QotD: Are any of these on your radar? What are you currently reading? 

Unknown's avatar

Romance Review: The Breakup Tour

by

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

The Breakup Tour
By Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
🎧 Narrated by: Dan Bittner & Brittany Pressley 
Book 14 of 2024

Thank you to Berkley Romance and PRHAudio for my review copies! 

I don’t normally post negative reviews online, so if you don’t want to read a negative review, I completely understand and send you on your way to scroll! I have been talking a lot about DNFing lately, and when I do that I often don’t write a review, I feel like it’s a little unfair since I didn’t finish the book and maybe it got better? But I am making an exception to my rule because I am personally offended that this book was the way that it was and I need to vent about it. I read it cover to cover because I wanted it to be better than it was and I just couldn’t let go of my hope that it would somehow, magically turn itself around. (It did not.)

This book was marketed as being based on Taylor Swift, and is dedicated to Swifties and Ms. Swift, so that was clearly the intention from the authors. HOWEVER, this book follows a pop star named Riley who is best known for writing breakup songs. And if you did not tell me it was Taylor Swift fanfiction, that would be fine. But if you’re making it sound like you’re BASING your book on Taylor, don’t use the infantilizing, sexist stereotype that was created by the worst parts of the media when Taylor was basically a teenager. It’s gross. It would not be gross if this was written like the Barbie movie. Or the song “The Man” where it confronted those stereotypes. But that is not what the authors did. No, they in fact had Riley’s character arc be that she doesn’t feel like she can do real relationships or is deserving of love because breakup songs is all she is good for in this world. 

And honestly, I probably could have forgiven this like I did the weird consent issues in some of my last reads of 2023. I can compartmentalize my beliefs for the sake of a good story. Feel free to judge me for that. BUT these two had no chemistry. Maybe when they sang together? But they were both so whiny the entire book and so not romantic at any moment that I truly did not care if they got together. I think the characters with the most personality were the bus driver and the ex boyfriend who called Riley “Nightmare Girl.”

Even more petty complaints:

Sometimes, they would refer to her performances as a “rock show” – pick a lane. It’s either pop or it’s rock or it’s pop-rock, I don’t feel like those labels are interchangeable. Maybe I’m being overly picky or I’m wrong, but it bothered me. 

This is not a rom com. It’s melancholy and written as though Chat GPT got ahold of the lyrics of Evermore and a contemporary romance and did it’s best to write a romance with Evermore descriptions. Maybe these descriptions work for some people, but I thought I was doing a cartoon cover romcom, so they felt pretentious. Or maybe the poetry they were attempting was just really badly done. You can be the judge of that. 

Now, I have heard that some non-Taylor Swift fans did enjoy this book, so I think a lot of the issues are around characterizing this as Taylor Swift fanfiction. But even if it wasn’t, the book’s writing style would not have been for me. 

Unknown's avatar

Romance Review: The Marriage Game

by

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Do you ever rate a book 5 stars and then see the Goodreads rating is like…3.5…and question both your taste in books and the taste of everyone on Goodreads?

Well, that’s currently how I feel about this book. I’m going to write my review before I dive in to see what everyone else has to say about it, so you’ll get my fresh, unfiltered opinion…

The Marriage Game 
By Sara Desai
🎧 Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
Marriage Game, Book 1
Book 11 of 2024

I thought The Marriage Game was so much fun. It definitely gave me The Hating Game vibes, because our main characters were forced to share an office and started out enemies! 

Layla has just returned home to her family in San Francisco, and wants to start a recruitment company. Her father says she can use the office space upstairs, but isn’t able to communicate with the person he was going to rent it to before he is hospitalized. So Sam Mehta, CEO of a corporate downsizing company, moves in. And they decided to make a bet – the winner gets the office. 

They have the perfect enemies to lovers set up – everything about them clashes but they also are super attracted to each other the second they meet. I absolutely loved their banter. 

Layla has also decided that she is done looking for true love through modern dating, and agrees to go on a series of dates with men that her father found on an online matchmaking website. Since it is tradition for her to be accompanied by a male relative, and her father is hospitalized and her brother has passed away, Sam decides to go with her on all of these dates. 

Is it a bit silly, goofy, and cheesy? Absolutely. Kind of far fetched? Sure. Absolutely cartoonish villains? Yeah. But I absolutely eat up all of those things, I like my romcoms ridiculous. I love when there’s a bet and they watch each other on dates. This book is basically all of my favorite things. 

In  conclusion, I will not be reading the less than 5 star reviews, because it will hurt my feelings. 

QotD: Do you ever read negative reviews of books that you love? 

[book synopsis]

A high stakes wager pits an aspiring entrepreneur against a ruthless CEO in this sexy romantic comedy.

After her life falls apart, recruitment consultant Layla Patel returns home to her family in San Francisco. But in the eyes of her father, who runs a Michelin starred restaurant, she can do no wrong. He would do anything to see her smile again. With the best intentions in mind, he offers her the office upstairs to start her new business and creates a profile on an online dating site to find her a man. She doesn’t know he’s arranged a series of blind dates until the first one comes knocking on her door…

As CEO of a corporate downsizing company Sam Mehta is more used to conflict than calm. In search of a quiet new office, he finds the perfect space above a cozy Indian restaurant that smells like home. But when communication goes awry, he’s forced to share his space with the owner’s beautiful yet infuriating daughter Layla, her crazy family, and a parade of hopeful suitors, all of whom threaten to disrupt his carefully ordered life.

As they face off in close quarters, the sarcasm and sparks fly. But when the battle for the office becomes a battle of the heart, Sam and Layla have to decide if this is love or just a game.

Unknown's avatar

Historical Romance Review: Ten Ways to Be Adored

by

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord
By Sarah MacLean
🎧 Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells
Love By Numbers, Book 2 
Book 10 of 2024

Sarah MacLean is one of my favorite historical romance authors. Her setting and characters are the closest I’ve found to the Netflix version of Bridgerton, because they have some diversity and have some more modern sensibilities. 

Ten Ways to Be Adored… is the second book in the Love By Numbers series, which all follow the three St. John siblings. While we do hear some mention of the first book, these can be read out of order.

I absolutely adored the FMC, Lady Isabel Townsend, who has been running her family’s estate since the death of both her parents, as well as raising her brother, the 10 year old Earl. Her father was nicknamed the “Wastrearl” because he wasted the family fortune by gambling and generally running amok. Isabel kept the estate running by taking in women who found themselves in desperate circumstances. Isabel is the type of strong, hyper independent, protective heroine that I always relate to and find it easy to root for! 

Her love interest, Lord Nicholas St. John, is wonderfully swoony and pretty instantly devoted to the whole house. Some of my favorite interactions are between him and James, the young Earl. I might have teared up when Nick taught James to tie a cravat. 

While I generally adored all of the characters and the plot, I did feel like it got pretty repetitive in the middle. The end absolutely made up for it though! 

Unknown's avatar

Black Romance Author Feature

by

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

The post is a friendly reminder for me and anyone else who needs it that Black History Month does not have be focused on Black pain, but can (and should) celebrate Black joy and Black accomplishments!

Last year when the #23for23 challenge began, I learned that while BIPOC authors are underrepresented in publishing generally, the romance genre is especially underrepresented. Across all genres, just 11% of traditionally published books in 2018 were written by BIPOC authors. However, romance novels only had 7.8% written by BIPOC authors (2021). Since 2021, there have been 0 Black romance authors on the NYT print and e-book bestseller lists. 

My goal this year is to read at least 4 romances by BIPOC authors each month, with at least one being a book published this year! I would love to get more recommendations so I can continue to build my tbr!!

Talia Hibbert’s The Brown Sisters are some of my all time favorite romcoms. I would start at the beginning, because I feel like you get to know the whole family unit and that just builds your enjoyment of each book. So, start with Get a Life, Chloe Brown!

Rebel was my first book that I read by Beverly Jenkins, and I can’t wait to read more of her backlist! If you like historical romance, she is an absolute must read.

I usually stick to less emotional romances, but when you want to have your heart cracked wide open in the best of ways, Kennedy Ryan is the writer for you. Before I Let Go might be the most optimistically heartbreaking book I have read. Her backlist is also on my TBR!

I am enough of a sap that The Wedding Date made me cry with joy. Twice. I’ve only read two of the books in this series so far, but I look forward to reading more!

This is my current backlist TBR – I think Pride and Protest will be up first because I just got the sequel sent to me from Berkley Romance.

These are my top 2024 releases. Do you have any recommendations for me to add to my backlist or 2024 release TBRs? I’d love to hear about them!

Unknown's avatar

Romance Review: Bride by Ali Hazelwood

by

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Thank you to Berkley Romance and PRH Audio for my review copies! 

Bride
By Ali Hazelwood
🎧 Narrated by: Therese Plummer
Book 9 of 2024

I love Ali Hazelwood, and was super curious about what I was getting myself into with this vampyre & werewolf arranged marriage romance. It is somehow so quintessentially Ali Hazelwood though.

If you haven’t dipped your toe far into the paranormal romance scene, this is a great place to start. The worldbuilding is basically just our world but vampyres and werewolves. Our female MC, Misery, introduces you quickly to what you need to know about vampyres, but she has spent most of her time with humans and doesn’t know a ton about them herself. 

I always fall in love with Hazelwood’s whole cast of characters – and they were extra fun as paranormal creatures. 

The book does start with us finding out that Misery’s best friend and roommate has gone missing. I feel like this mystery element was balanced pretty well, while also giving us the paranormal worldbuilding and the romance! 

The 3rd Act conflict was stupid but needed to exist, and the end was very satisfying. 

🎧 Therese Plummer also narrated Love on the Brain, and her voice fits so well with Ali Hazelwood’s writing. 

PS – Don’t worry, Misery is very knowledgable in computer science (and hacking), so we still have a STEM FMC. 

PPS – I know I had a complete meltdown in my stories about a joke centered around a child doing things that developmentally were weird for her age. And I stand by that being a stupid joke, but overall I enjoyed the book. 

[ book synopsis ]

A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again…

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she’s ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.