ARC/ALC Book Review: The Trident and the Pearl (The Fisher King #1) by Sarah K.L. Wilson

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Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 464 pages
Author: Sarah K.L. Wilson
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: February 24th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A desperate queen makes a deal with the gods to save her land in this spellbinding romantasy debut from Sarah K. L. Wilson.

Queen Coralys rules the Kingdom of the Five Isles, but when disaster strikes, killing her husband and destroying half her nation, she pleads with the gods for salvation. And they do save her, turning back the terrible winds and tide and snatching her islands from the brink of destruction.

But the gods have a wicked sense of justice and they demand an exchange for their help: Coralys must marry the first man to set foot on her pier. Coralys expects the fleet of a neighboring country to come to rescue her people, led by its prince, a loyal ally. What she gets instead is a fisherman so sunburnt and stinking that her court can barely keep their breakfast down.

Coralys marries the fisherman just as she promised the gods, and sets out with him in his unkempt dinghy, with nothing but hopes of revenge against the gods to keep her from despair. But what she does not know is that the fisherman is actually the god of the sea. And he stepped on her dock for a reason.

His own kingdom besieged, his body terribly wounded, and his place as a god threatened, the fisherman has plans to turn the tides set against him and finally offer a place of refuge for his people. But working the magic he needs will require the help of the one woman bent on his destruction.

Thank you Orbit Books for the gifted ARC.

EH, I DON’T KNOW Y’ALL.

I will say that I’m still obsessed with this cover.

Alright, now about the inside of the book. Initially I was fine with it, I was leaning into the vibes and I love marriage of convenience so I wanted to give it a chance. I loved the ocean based setting and that there seems to be a lot of meddling gods.

Then somewhere in the middle it kind of lost me? I was getting frustrated with the FMC and how she was choosing to make her decisions and listening to parties that were pretty dang obvious not anyone Coralys should be considering which caused more things to fall a part. And then the romance was missing something. It felt like certain pieces were forced and since this is a series I think it would have benefited from a different type of slow burn.

This book isn’t spice forward, which is super nice because I feel that’s all I see lately, which does lean me towards wanting to try book two. I thought the conclusion was a decent cliff hanger and made me curious to see how this will continue.

I listened to the audiobook as well and I did like the narration.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: heated kisses
  • Violence: moderate+
  • Content warnings: loss of a spouse, loss of life, battle themes, weapons altercations

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Book Review: Lonely Hearts Day by Kasie West

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Romance Novella
Length: 113 pages
Author: Kasie West
Publisher: Paper Kiss Press
Release Date: January 30th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It isn’t that Scarlett Landry doesn’t believe in love, her parents’ relationship is perfect, after all. It’s just that she doesn’t think she should be forced to celebrate it. Forced to listen to terrible poetry and watch Valentine’s Day roses being distributed to everyone around her at school. If there is a relationship status that deserves its own holiday, it’s single-hood.

So, she enlists the help of her best friend, Jack Bowman, to throw a party for all the lonely hearts of their high school. She’s known Jack for years. He’s fun and nerdy and smart and will make the perfect co-host. There are two problems. One: the king and queen of school already throw a party on Valentine’s Day. Have for the last few years. And they are not fans of being dethroned. Two: when you become known for throwing a party to celebrate singles, you probably shouldn’t fall in love.

This fun, flirty YA contemporary romance novella, takes place over four Valentine’s Days. It follows the ups and downs of friendship, family, and falling in love.

Thank you Tantor Audio for the gifted audiobook.

IT’S CUTE.

I had no idea this story existed until I saw it on an influence audiobook list and of course I had to read it??? It’s Kasie West???

And she delivered another cute romance that’s bite sized and perfect for reading on Valentine’s Day. I thought the audiobook was excellent (under three hours) too. This story spans multiple Valentine’s Day(s?) and the ups and downs that come from growing up. While I would have loved some deeper and more expansive moments I think this encapsulated a full plot well in the short amount of pages.

If you didn’t know about this little gem either, definitely pick it up!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance Novella
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Content warnings: divorce (FMC’s parents)

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Book Review: The Check Down (Lacey Bros #1) by Brandy Pelletier

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Football Romance
Length: 346 pages
Author: Brandy Pelletier
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 8th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

He’s the superstar tight end staging a comeback. She’s the hit he never saw coming.

For ten-year NFL veteran Griffin Lacey, football is life. Months after being released from his team due to a season-ending injury, he’s given an unexpected opportunity—a one-year contract to play for his hometown team. His game plan is clear: play to win, no distractions. But a fender bender on the way to the first home game changes everything.

College literature instructor Brynn Nelson is thirty and not thriving. Trapped in a dead-end relationship and stuck in a city that has never felt like hers, every day seems to blur into the next. When she accidentally rear ends a sports superstar, the chance encounter makes her long to break free from the rut she’s in. He offers to show her the magic of her adopted city, and through their adventures, she reclaims her spark.

As Griffin and Brynn’s connection deepens, they discover magic of a different sort—that love happens when you least expect it.

A sexy, swoony football romance and a love letter to one of America’s most iconic cities, The Check Down is the first book in the Lacey Bros series.

A BIT GOOD. A BIT NOT SO GOOD.

Alright, after finishing this I am still very much undecided if I will continue the series. This book was not bad by any means, when you’re looking at the core of the story and the characters. There were a lot of truly sweet moments and I thought the relationship showed plenty of chemistry and a willingness to do new things and communicate and work together to get to the future they wanted.

What didn’t work for me was the high level of innuendo that started off the bat. I can generally handle some spice but when that’s combined with a bunch of innuendo (if I saw the word tits one more time…) it turns me off from the heat of the story. To me it often comes off as trying too hard to convey a certain passion when it can be accomplished it another way.

I fear if that’s the same case with book two I would be frustrated again (even if I would probably love the characters like I did here).

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary football romance
  • Language: very strong
  • Romance: 4+ open door; high innuendo
  • Violence: low

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ARC Book Review: Love Catch (The Love Playbook) by Laura Langa

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 253 pages
Author: Laura Langa
Publisher: West East Publishing
Release Date: February 13th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Jilted at the game. Roommates by chance. Catching feelings by accident.

Humiliated after my MLB fiancé called off our engagement—in the middle of a baseball game, I did what any rational, rule-following girl would I climbed on top of the dugout to give him a piece of my mind.

I just didn’t expect to slip—or fall straight into the arms of Trevor Chapman.

Awkward? Totally. Except the team’s veteran catcher also happens to be my roommate. Trevor’s protective, patient, and ten years my senior—but I’m the one sharing custody of his rescue calico and handling the personal taxes for half of the Waves lineup.

To shake off my post-breakup funk, I make a list of adventures—and rope Trevor in. With every item we cross off, it’s harder to ignore that I’m catching feelings faster than Trevor snags fastballs.

I’ve already been burned by a Waves player, so letting myself fall again feels risky—even when Trevor has always been there to catch me.

Love Catch is a closed-door sports romcom featuring a jilted bride, her protective MLB roommate, and one very sweet calico rescue cat.
It’s perfect for readers who love playful banter and sizzling kisses with no third act breakup!

The Love Playbook series—where swoony athletes, laugh-out-loud romance, and happily-ever-afters meet adorable rescue animals who steal the show. Each book is a standalone, full-length, closed-door romcom featuring a different sport and an adorable pet! Books can be read in any order.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

THIS WAS CUTE.

Your girl is always after a good baseball romance because I feel like there’s not enough floating around out there. I would add this to the list if you enjoy a closed door romance with friends to lovers, two cute cats and a man who is INCREDIBLY down bad.

I loved all of the soft and quiet moments between Travis and Kenzie. Helping with animals, going to a wedding, attending games, all add up to the flirtatious pull between them. They are both sweet characters that are easy to love on and this book is only about 230 pages so it’s a perfect quick read to put a smile on your face.

I wish there had been less of the ex content because that overshadowed a large portion of the plot. I did love Kenzie finding a new strong female friendship at least.

Overall audience notes:

  • Baseball romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: physical altercation

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