Tag: Female Authors

Book List 2024 · Reviews

The Perfect Guy Doesn’t Exist

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Title: The Perfect Guy Doesn’t Exist
Author: Sophie Gonzales
Source: Netgalley
Genre: Contemporary YA
Summary: Ivy Winslow has the house to herself for a week while her parents are away. She’s planning to use this newfound freedom to binge-watch her favorite fantasy TV show, H-MAD, and hang out with her best friend, Henry. She’ll also have to avoid her former best friend-turned enemy (and neighbor), Mack. But things quickly go awry when Ivy wakes up to find Weston, the gorgeous, very fictional main character of H-MAD in her bedroom, claiming to be her soul mate.

Ivy realizes that her fanfic writing has somehow brought Weston as she’s imagined him to life. But it turns out that the tropes she swoons over in her stories are slightly less romantic in reality, and her not-so-fictional crush is causing some real-world problems. To figure out why Weston is here and what to do with him, Ivy decides to team up with Henry and (against her better judgment) Mack. But with Mack back in her life, Ivy starts to wonder if Weston, her “perfect guy”, is the one who’s truly perfect for her . . . or if that was someone else all along.

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Book List 2024

Title: The Roommate Pact

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Title: The Roommate Pact
Author: Allison Ashley
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Romance
Trigger Warnings: Death
Explicit? Yes.
Summary: The proposition is simple: if ER nurse Claire Harper and her roommate, firefighter Graham Scott, are still single by the time they’re forty, they’ll take the proverbial plunge together…as friends with benefits. Maybe it’s the wine, but in the moment, Claire figures the pact is a safe-enough deal, considering she hasn’t had much luck in love and he’s in no rush to settle down. Like, at all. Besides, there’s no way she could ever really fall for Graham and his thrill-seeking ways. Not after what happened to her father…

Just as things begin to heat up way before the proposed deadline, Graham’s injured in a serious rock-climbing accident—and he needs Claire’s help to heal. She’ll do whatever it takes to nurse him back to health…even if it means moving into Graham’s bed and putting up with his little dog who hates her. But with this no-strings arrangement taking a complicated turn, keeping “for now” from turning into “forever” isn’t as easy as they’d planned.

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Title: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

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Title: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Author: Sangu Mandanna
Source: My local library
Genre: Cozy fantasy
Trigger Warnings: None I can recall
Explicit? Nope
Summary: As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules…with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn’t the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for….

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Book List 2023 · Reviews

The Boy Who Cried Bear by Kelley Armstrong

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Title: The Boy Who Cried Bear
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Haven’s Rock
Source: Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Genre: Murder Mystery.
Trigger Warnings: Kidnapping, child endangerment.
Explicit? Not explicit, but gruesome.
Summary: Haven’s Rock is a well-hidden town surrounded by forest. And it’s supposed to be, being that it’s a refuge for those who need to disappear. Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton already feel at home in their new town, which reminds them of where they first met in Rockton. And while they know how to navigate the woods and its various dangers, other residents don’t. Which is why people aren’t allowed to wander off alone.

When Max, the town’s youngest resident—taught to track animals by Eric—fears a bear is stalking a hiking party, alarms are raised. Even stranger, the ten-year-old swears the bear had human eyes. Casey and Eric know the dangers a bear can present, so they’re taking it seriously. But odd occurrences are happening all around them, and when a dead body turns up, they’re not sure what they’re up

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Reviews

This Spells Love by Kate Robb

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Title: This Spells Love
Author: Kate Robb
Source: Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Genre: Romance
Trigger Warnings: None I can think of.
Spice Level: Low-to-mid
Summary: Reeling from a recent breakup, a young woman tries to heal heartbreak with a spell–only to wake up in an alternate reality where she’s lost more than she wished for–in this witty, whimsical friends-to-lovers debut rom-com.

“Once lovers, now enemies, soon to be strangers with some memories, this love cleanse will rid you of your woes.”

When Gemma Wilde gets dumped by her long-term boyfriend, she reacts the way any reasonable twenty-eight-year-old would: by getting drunk with her sister, kooky aunt, and best friend, Dax, and performing a love cleansing spell to forget all about her ex. Sure, it sounds a little crazy, but nothing else has worked, so why not try it? They follow the instructions, complete with an absolutely platonic kiss from Dax to seal the deal, and Gemma falls asleep in a margarita haze, thinking nothing of it.

But when she wakes up, she realizes that this silly spell has worked. Not only has she never dated her ex; her life looks completely different –and spoiler alert, the grass is not greener in the alternate reality. The worst part of all: Dax has no idea who she is.

To get back to her old life, Gemma must reverse the spell before the next full moon. That means she has one month to convince a now near-stranger, Dax, to become friends with her in order to get his kiss. But as Gemma carries out her plans, she finds herself falling for him, and begins to wonder whether she even wants to go back to the way things were…

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Some of Us Are Looking by Carlene O’Connor – out October 24, 2023

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Title: Some of Us Are Looking
Author: Carlene O’Connor
Series: County Kerry Mysteries.
Source: Netgalley. Received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Genre: Mystery.
Trigger Warnings: Animal cruelty, torture.
Explicit? Not in a sexy way but there are semi-graphic depictions of both animals and people being hurt.
Summary: In late summer, the Dingle peninsula is thronged with tourists drawn to County Kerry’s dark mountains and deep, lush valleys. For Irish vet Dimpna Wilde, who has returned to run her family’s practice after years away, home is a beautiful but complicated place—especially when it becomes the setting for a brutal murder . . . 

In Dimpna Wilde’s veterinary practice, an imminent meteor shower has elevated the usual gossip to include talk of shooting stars and the watch parties that are planned all over Dingle. But there are also matters nearer at hand to discuss—including the ragtag caravan of young people selling wares by the roadside, and the shocking death of Chris Henderson, an elderly local, in a hit-and-run.

Just hours before his death, Henderson had stormed into the Garda Station, complaining loudly about the caravan’s occupants causing noise and disruption. One of their members is a beautiful young woman named Brigid Sweeney, and Dimpna is shocked when Brigid later turns up at her practice, her clothing splattered in blood and an injured hare tucked into her shirt.

Brigid claims that a mysterious stranger has been trying to obtain a lucky rabbit’s foot. Dimpna is incensed at the thought of anyone mutilating animals, but there is far worse in store. On the night of the meteor shower, Dimpna finds Brigid’s body tied to a tree, her left hand severed. She has bled to death. Wrapped around her wrist is a rabbit’s foot.

Brigid had amassed plenty of admirers, and there were tangled relationships within the group. But perhaps there is something more complex than jealousy at play. The rabbit’s foot, the severed hand, the coinciding meteor shower—the deeper Dimpna and Detective Sargeant Cormac O’Brien investigate, the more ominous the signs seem to be, laced with a warning that Dimpna fears it will prove fatal to overlook.

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Book List 2023 · Reviews

Review: The Worst Darcy by Robyn Gynne

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Title: The Worst Darcy
Author: Robyn Gynne
Source: Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Genre: Romance.
Trigger Warnings: Low self-worth/esteem, parental neglect/abuse. Further content warnings found on the author’s website here.
Spicy? It is.
Summary:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Brodie Bishop is the worst.

Vivian Trent is desperate. Her family doesn’t approve of her life as a single mom and the small town of Austen still won’t accept her as one of their own four years later. Playing Elizabeth Bennet at the annual Jane Austen Festival is the perfect way to win over the locals and prove that she’s thriving. But when Austen’s favourite festival hero is replaced by his tattooed, metalhead brother, how is she supposed to achieve perfection with such a bad boy playing Mr. Darcy? He’s never read the book. He’s brash and unpolished. He’s… blond?!

You must allow me to tell you how ardently I dislike you.

Brodie’s used to being the town disappointment, so when Vivian turns her nose up at him, he’s not surprised. Hot librarian or not, she’s way too uptight. But once the festival gets underway, they see new sides of each other. When he finds out her dark secret, suddenly she’s much more endearing. She’s vulnerable, but strong. And the way she looks in that gown only blurs the lines between playing the part and falling for her for real.

But when her goal is within reach, can Vivian go off-book and choose Brodie, if it means risking everything she thought she wanted?

Read more: Review: The Worst Darcy by Robyn Gynne

Brodie is not the worst. Brodie is my new book boyfriend, I love him, his angst, his tattoos, his piercings and his love for his heavy metal bandmates. I adore him. Seriously. Fell in love from the first word about him.

He is my type.

So is Vivian.

A librarian obsessed with Austin who wants to consider herself Lizzy? Yes please. Though the people pleasing? I’ve kind of gotten over that part.

This book was so good, I don’t even fully have the words to explain how much I loved it, and how glad I was to get an ARC of iit. I’ve been ruminating about it for weeks, re-reading some of my favourite parts and saving up to buy my very own copy. I’ve recommended it at the two libraries I belong to, and to a complete stranger in Chapters who was dawdling in front of a different book I was there to pick up in the romance section (sadly a present for someone else.)

I love Pride and Prejudice, it is one of the stories I consider to be almost perfect. (Nothing is ever completely perfect).

This book? Also almost perfect, absolutely just what I needed to read in the moment I read it, and I found myself hugging it to my chest.

This book has angst, romance, family, found family, just everything. This author is one who I will keep my eye on for future releases, and not just because she’s Canadian.

Book List 2023 · Reviews

A Little too Late by Sarina Bowen

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Title: A Little Too Late
Author: Sarina Bowen
Source: Kindle
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Trigger Warnings: Miscarriage, Parental Death, Alcoholism
Explicit? Yep.
Summary: How to behave when the guy who broke your heart two thousand miles away turns up in your office:

One: Don’t drop your lucky coffee cup in shock, even though it’s been ten years.

Two: Don’t get defensive when he asks how you ended up working his family’s ski mountain… and why you kept it a secret.

Three: Give him the worst room in the resort. He deserves it for suddenly waltzing back in like he owns the place. (Which he kind of does.)

Four, five, six, seven, eight and nine: Do not kiss him in the hot tub.

Ten: Try to keep your heart intact after you break all of your rules.

Because Reed is leaving again. Hate can’t turn back into love. And it’s a little too late…

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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?

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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?

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