Tag: Favourites

Book List 2025 · Reviews

Review: All Rhodes Lead Here

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Title: All Rhodes Lead Here
Author: Mariana Zapata
Series: N/A
About this Book: Aurora De La Torre, or Ora to her friends, knows moving back to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, a place that was once home and is now full of bittersweet memories of her late mother, isn’t going to be easy. Starting your whole life over probably isn’t supposed to be.

But after breaking up with her longtime, famous musician boyfriend, hiding out in a small town in the mountains might be the perfect remedy for a broken heart. And checking out her landlord who lives across the driveway just might cure it, too.

Only Tobias Rhodes didn’t rent out the apartment to her, rather it was his teenage son, Amos. Fiercely protective of his family and distrusting of strangers, gruff and grumpy Rhodes initially keeps little miss sunshine Ora at a distance. But over days and weeks, long hikes and fireside chats, Aurora breaks down his walls and soon an unbreakable friendship blossoms into a once-in-a-lifetime love.

My Thoughts:

Amos Rhodes is a national treasure and I would fight tooth and nail for him, I just want that to be mad clear. He’s a good kid, a great kid even and I love how different he is from Tobias in manner, and how much he can get under his father’s skin, especially by bringing in someone who will become a big love for Tobias.

This book takes place in a small town surrounded by gorgeous scenery and sometimes dangerous hiking trails. It will make you wish you had a camera and the same surroundings and maybe even want to get out and hike a little while taking photos.

The characters are as different as can be (Tobias kind of gave me Luke Danes vibes), and I am a sucker for Grumpy/Sunshine so it’s not surprising that I ended up loving this book.

That being said if you are hoping for a quick romance you won’t find this here. This book satisfyingly takes the two through an awesome getting to know you stage and a slow burn before allowing them to get together.

And as with all romances we are not without conflict.

Book List 2025 · Reviews

Review: Funny Story

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Title: Funny Story
Author: Emily Henry
About this book: Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.
 
Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.
 
Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads —Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?
 
But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?

My Thoughts:
Emily Henry is a master at many things but especially at banter and this book is teeming with it in the best way.

Let’s start with the characters:

Daphne: She is a bit judgemental at first, that cannot be denied, and a little uptight but one of the best things in this book is watching her evolve and begin to loosen up and maybe become a little more chaotic in the process. She gives up so much for Peter (I hate him) and gets a lot of despair in return.

Miles: I loved this scruffy stoner from the get-go, listening to his sad music and turning out to be a world class guy despite Petra doing what she did to him.

I can’t ignore that this book also takes place in a library, be still my heart. I love a library setting, it’s above only one bed, and coffee shop romance for me.

This book isn’t heavy, and is filled with wonderful romance, great characters, both main and otherwise, and I am happy to own it.

Book List 2023 · Reviews

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano

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Title: Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice
Author: Elle Cosimano
Series: Finlay Donovan
Source: Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Genre: Mystery, Thriller.
Trigger Warnings: Violence, death, wouldn’t say too graphic but take care of yourself.
Explicit? Low level spice.
Summary: Finlay Donovan and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero are in sore need of a girls’ weekend away. They plan a trip to Atlantic City, but odds are―seeing as it’s actually a cover story to negotiate a deal with a dangerous loan shark, save Vero’s childhood crush Javi, and hunt down a stolen car―it won’t be all fun and games. When Finlay’s ex-husband Steven and her mother insist on tagging along too, Finlay and Vero suddenly have a few too many meddlesome passengers along for the ride.

Within hours of arriving in their seedy casino hotel, it becomes clear their rescue mission is going to be a bust. Javi’s kidnapper, Marco, refuses to negotiate, demanding payment in full in exchange for Javi’s life. But that’s not all―he insists on knowing the whereabouts of his missing nephew, Ike, who mysteriously disappeared. Unable to confess what really happened to Ike, Finlay and Vero are forced to come up with a new plan: sleuth out the location of Javi and the Aston Martin, then steal them both back.

But when they sneak into the loan shark’s suite to search for clues, they find more than they bargained for―Marco’s already dead. They don’t have a clue who murdered him, only that they themselves have a very convincing motive. Then four members of the police department unexpectedly show up in town, also looking for Ike―and after Finlay’s night with hot cop Nick at the police academy, he’s a little too eager to keep her close to his side.

If Finlay can juggle a jealous ex-husband, two precocious kids, her mother’s marital issues, a decomposing loan shark, and find Vero’s missing boyfriend, she might get out of Atlantic City in one piece. But will she fold under the pressure and come clean about the things she’s done, or be forced to double down?

Continue reading “Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano” →
Review: Water Under the Bridge
Book List 2023 · Reviews

Review: Water Under the Bridge

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Water Under the Bridge
Series: Perks and Benefits
Authors: Kels Stone, Denise Stone
Genre: Romance
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Books in Series: 4 as of April 2024
Spicy Levels: Fair to High
Tropes: Enemies-to-Lovers, Workplace Romance, Grumpy x Sunshine
Pacing: Fast
Summary:
Avery Soko, a bright-eyed and ambitious do-gooder, is on the cusp of getting her dream fundraising job at the Oceanic Research Organization. Luca Navarro, a former corporate lawyer with an extravagant tie collection and an irritatingly handsome smirk, holds Avery’s future in his very large hands. When he calls with the news of her rejection, Luca seems to revel in crushing her dreams.

But Avery will do anything to pursue her passion, even accept a job at a struggling start-up. Her spell of bad luck finally changes when a competition is announced at a grandiose gala that could save her and her new team from going under. Of course, Avery’s least favorite person, Luca, also joins the running for the multimillion-dollar prize.

At the height of the competition, Avery and Luca realize they’ve met their match. Will the tense moments, absurd attempts to out-do each other, and the string of games and bets they’ve concocted turn into a series of failures, or will it make them into something more than adversaries.

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Book List 2023 · Reviews

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

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Title: Boyfriend Material
Author: Alexis Hall
Source: My shelves.
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Trope: Fake Dating, Found family
Trigger Warnings: Parental abandonment, homophobia and verbal abuse.
Explicit? Yep
Summary: Wanted:
One (fake) boyfriend
Practically perfect in every way

Luc O’Donnell is tangentially–and reluctantly–famous. His rock star parents split when he was young, and the father he’s never met spent the next twenty years cruising in and out of rehab. Now that his dad’s making a comeback, Luc’s back in the public eye, and one compromising photo is enough to ruin everything.

To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice, normal relationship…and Oliver Blackwood is as nice and normal as they come. He’s a barrister, an ethical vegetarian, and he’s never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. In other words: perfect boyfriend material. Unfortunately apart from being gay, single, and really, really in need of a date for a big event, Luc and Oliver have nothing in common. So they strike a deal to be publicity-friendly (fake) boyfriends until the dust has settled. Then they can go their separate ways and pretend it never happened.

But the thing about fake-dating is that it can feel a lot like real-dating. And that’s when you get used to someone. Start falling for them. Don’t ever want to let them go.

Continue reading “Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall” →
Book List 2023 · Reviews

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

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Title: Red, White and Royal Blue
Author: Casey McQuiston
Source: My own shelf.
Genre: Contemporary Romance.
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, secret relationship.
Trigger Warnings: Internalized homophobia, forced outing.
Explicit? Yes, yes it is.
Summary: First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.

The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him.

As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?

Continue reading “Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston” →
Reviews

On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe

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Title: On the Plus Side
Author: Jenny L Howe
Source: Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Reality TV Romance, Grumpy Lumbersexual x Actual Sunshine.
Trigger Warnings: Fatphobia, online bullying, emotionally abusive parents.
Explicit? Skirting the edges, it does get spicy.
Summary: Everly Winters is perfectly happy to navigate life like a good neutral paint color: appreciated but unnoticed. That’s why she’s still a receptionist instead of exploring a career in art, why she lurks but never posts on the forums for her favorite makeover show, On the Plus Side, and why she’s crushing so hard on her forever-unattainable co-worker. When no one notices you, they can’t reject you or insist you’re too much.

This plan is working perfectly until someone secretly nominates Everly for the next season of On the Plus Side. Overwhelmed by the show’s extremely extroverted hosts and how much time she’ll have to spend on screen, she finds comfort in a surprising friendship with the grumpy but kind cameraman, Logan. Soon Everly realizes that he’s someone she doesn’t mind being noticed by. In fact, she might even like it.

But when their growing connection is caught on camera, it sends the show’s ratings into a frenzy. Learning to embrace all of herself on national TV is hard enough; can Everly risk heartbreak with the whole world watching?

Continue reading “On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe” →
Book List 2023 · Reviews

Happy Place by Emily Henry

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Title: Happy Place
Author: Emily Henry
Source: Indigo
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Fake Dating, Friends to Lovers to…
Trigger Warnings: None that I can think of.
Explicit? Yes yes, and yes again
Summary: Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.

They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

Continue reading “Happy Place by Emily Henry” →
Book List 2023 · Reviews

Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong

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Title: Hemlock Island
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Source: Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Genre: Horror.
Trigger Warnings: Torture, death, occult.
Explicit? Not for sex. But dang this is one intense book.
Summary: Laney Kilpatrick has been renting her vacation home to strangers. The invasion of privacy gives her panic attacks, but it’s the only way she can keep her beloved Hemlock Island, the only thing she owns after a pandemic-fueled divorce. But broken belongings and campfires that nearly burn down the house have escalated to bloody bones, hex circles, and now, terrified renters who’ve fled after finding blood and nail marks all over the guest room closet, as though someone tried to claw their way out…and failed.

When Laney shows up to investigate with her teenaged niece in tow, she discovers that her ex, Kit, has also been informed and is there with Jayla, his sister and her former best friend. Then Sadie, another old high school friend, charters over with her brother, who’s now a cop.

There are tensions and secrets, whispers in the woods, and before long, the discovery of a hand poking up from the earth. Then the body that goes with it… But by that time, someone has taken off with their one and only means off the island, and they’re trapped with someone—or something—that doesn’t want them leaving the island alive.

Continue reading “Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong” →
Book List 2023 · Reviews

Review: In the Case of Heartbreak by Courtney Kae

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Title: In the Case of Heartbreak
Author: Courtney Kae
Series: Fern Falls
Source: Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Genre: Contemporary romance.
Explicit? Yes, but you won’t complain.
Trigger Warnings: Child abuse, gaslighting, missing child
Release Date: July 25, 2023
Summary: When his hometown crush suddenly returns his affections at a seaside celebration, pastry chef Ben Parrish must find a way to pursue his dream of moving his bakery to San Francisco – without losing the love he’s always wanted…

Ben has been baking his grandma’s cinnamon rolls at the family café for years. He’s been quietly in love with Adam Reed, his musician-slash-mechanic neighbor, for just as long. But Ben’s done waiting behind the pastry case. He’s entered a make-or-break competition to show off his own recipes. He’s going to buy his overprotective family out of the business. And he’s going to ask Adam out. TONIGHT.

Except his big plans get punched down before they even half-rise. Soon Ben is dashing down the coast to his grandma’s 80th birthday party on the beach, hiding his broken heart in Maywell Bay, California. Sun, sea, and fresh breezes should blow in something new—except they don’t. They blow in Adam Reed, grinning like a pirate and stealing the show as the musical entertainment hired by Grandma for her big bash. Grandma’s signature Heartbreak Tea is the only remedy, and Grandma’s tea could take the paint off a fence.

But there’s a burn of truth along with the booze in his bottle, and Ben has a decision to make. Can he take the sweetness in front of him, and brave the bitterness that comes after? Or is a little sea salt just what this cinnamon roll needs?

Salty cinnamon rolls? Ew. Ben would never.

Continue reading “Review: In the Case of Heartbreak by Courtney Kae” →