ARC Book Review: Here We Go Again (Georgia Jaguars Hockey #2) by Jenny Proctor

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Jenny Proctor
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: August 25th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

He knows what it takes to make a comeback. She isn’t sure he deserves a second chance.

After a career-threatening injury, Georgia Jaguars defenseman Theo Williamson is fighting to prove he still has a future in hockey. The harder battle? Convincing Rebecca Bradley he deserves another chance at her heart.

After a career-threatening injury, Georgia Jaguars defenseman Theo Williamson is fighting to prove he still has a future in hockey. The harder battle? Convincing Becca Bradley he deserves another chance at her heart.

Eight years ago, when his father died, Theo shut Becca out instead of letting her help him through the hardest time of his life.

Becca rebuilt without him. She’s stronger now. More careful. And she definitely isn’t interested in letting him back into her life—no matter how sincere his apology sounds.

But when their meddling mothers trap them on a surprise vacation together, distance isn’t an option—and neither is ignoring the chemistry they never really lost.

Just when Becca starts to think Theo might be worth the risk, real life comes crashing in. Demanding schedules, hard days, and the uncertain shape of what a future together would even look like.

Soon, Theo realizes he isn’t just fighting to win Becca’s heart. He’s fighting to believe he deserves to keep it—before the same old doubts convince him to let her go.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

SWEET BABY THEO.

Oh I’m down bad myself for Theo Williamson. I was hooked from this book from the beginning. This is how you do second chance romance!!

I loved seeing Theo and Becca reconnect. It is tension filled and yet soft and sweet. They both had many conversations that needed to be had and I liked that there was arguing and push and pull and getting down to the grittiness of how crappy life can be sometimes. The way that they learned to lean on each other again and the fact that this gave me that soul mate level kind of love!!!

There were also some beautifully handled conversations around first loves, grief, and pain. As someone who personally deals with chronic pain I found a lot of what Theo was going through to be highly relatable. And I also just adored Becca too. She’s independent, a good friend, and works hard. I love when romantic characters stand as well on their own as they do together.

I could fawn over a dozen scenes in here. And getting to see other teammates and future set ups!! There’s not one weak moment in this entire book. I am head over heels smitten with these two.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: loss of loves ones (recounted), sports injury

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ARC Book Review: Rebel Season (Hockey Boys of Loft 3B #3) by Katie Bailey and Leah Brunner

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 324 pages
Author: Katie Bailey & Leah Brunner
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: August 27th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

He wants to prove he’s more than a pretty face with a trust fund…

NHL rookie Archibald Fisher is wealthy, handsome, and appears to live a charmed life without a care in the world.

But behind closed doors, Fisher’s pretentious family treats him like a liability. A problem to fix rather than a person. And when his granddad passes away, he’s given an ultimatum: Get married, or say goodbye to every penny of his inheritance.

His family thinks it’s a foolproof plan to control their rebellious youngest son…but they clearly don’t know him very well.

…She’s fighting to save everything she loves

Lila Chen practically grew up in San Francisco’s historic firehouse turned art collective. Her fellow artists are like family to her, especially since her mom passed away.

So when she discovers the firehouse is going to be destroyed by Fisher Group, Lila is desperate to save the only home she has left. But after multiple dead-end attempts, she’s running out of hope.

Until Archibald Fisher shows up with a proposal she can’t refuse…

Their marriage was meant to be on paper only, until real feelings creep in. But new love is fragile, and between Lila’s secrets and threats from the Fisher family, there might be no way to stop it from shattering…

(This is a new adult hockey romance with moderate language, frequent innuendo, and references to sex. Though the romance fades to black, there are themes of grief and emotional/verbal abuse. If you are sensitive to these subjects, please use this content warning to make an informed decision before reading this book.)

Thank you Leah Brunner for the eARC.

Y’ALL KNOW I LOVED THIS.

Marriage of convenience is my kryptonite and I am down bad. JUST LIKE FISHER. I was obsessed with this book from the get go and it did not let up on the swoon and banter and chemistry and all the things.

I loved the way Fisher and Lila met. I loved every single interaction. I loved them on their own. I just ate up all of the moments together. What really makes for my favorite romances are when I feel like every scene serves the romance. AND SERVE IT DID. And Fisher and Lila stood strongly on their own which only made me love their arcs too.

And of course I loved seeing the previous couples too. This mish-mashed found family and how well they take care of each other in endearing and HILARIOUS and New Girl coded in all the best ways.

There’s plenty of hockey content, a lot of good conversations about privilege and grief, beautiful paintings that I wish I could see in real life and more. It is so hard to pick a favorite from this series because I love them all but this might have squeaked out on top.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Sports romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: fade to black
  • Violence: mild
  • Content warnings: loss of a parent (recounted but brought up throughout), toxic family relationships, emotional abuse

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Book Review: The Silversmith (The Selvaren #1) by LJ Claren

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Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 480 pages
Author: LJ Claren
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: July 13th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Power is awakening. Love is a liability.

And the fate of the world rests in the hands of a grieving girl who never asked to be chosen.

Still reeling from the deaths of her father and brother, Ary Gold survives only by sheer will in the icy wilds of the North. But when friends arrive with stories of long-lost magic and a power buried in her newly discovered royal blood, Ary is thrust into a fate far larger than her sorrow.

The realm of Nyrida is under threat. An ancient shadow wielder is determined to claim Ary’s power and plunge the world into corrupted darkness. To stop him, Ary must marry the commander she’s been promised to—a man whose army could help them win the war—and train to fight alongside him.

But her fiercest challenge may not be on the battlefield.

Assigned to shape her into a warrior is a man cloaked in violence and secrets. Cold, commanding, and maddeningly unreadable, he isn’t her betrothed… but he may be her undoing. As sparks fly and loyalties are tested, Ary must decide whether to follow the path laid out for her—or risk everything for a love as wild and dangerous as the power awakening inside her.

WELL THAT WAS…SOMETHING.

I read this with a group of friends and I’m glad I did because this felt like pure chaos that I had to dissect with multiple people at once.

There were more good than bad moments. I liked the concept and bones and the reveals were handled [mostly] well. I felt like I kept learning more and more at just the right moments that did keep me wanting to read.

And while I looove a possessive grumpy alphahole type of love interest, the MMC was a bit…much? I don’t know. The way he was written came across as trying too hard and some of it honestly felt a little icky too. There were great moments woven in, but that was my overall impression.

A crucial moment was created by an idiotic decision from the FMC that made me want to throw my kindle across the room. Which left me feeling in the middle about most of this book. I don’t know if I’ll read book two? I’ll wait to see some reviews.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 1-2ish open door
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: attempted sexual assault, animal death

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ARC Book Review: Miss Beresford and the Beast (Daughters of Somerset #1) by Mimi Matthews

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 294 pages
Author: Mimi Matthews
Publisher: Perfectly Proper Press
Release Date: August 25th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A spirited Victorian beauty with a fondness for fairytales unwittingly falls under the power of a beastly, scandal-plagued nobleman in the first book in USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews’s new Daughters of Somerset series.

Charlotte Beresford has spent far too long under the iron rule of strict governesses and unflinching finishing school teachers. When she’s offered a brief window of freedom—an invitation to spend the summer with a recent acquaintance in a remote corner of Yorkshire, far from societal expectations—she jumps at the chance. Never mind that her new friend is odd, their chaperone questionable, and the village rumored to be cursed. Charlotte knows how to look after herself. All she must do is show a friendly face, keep her wits about her, and—above all—avoid the derelict manor house that stands on the edge of the moors…

Battle-scarred and bad tempered, Magnus Sterling never intended to return to England, let alone Yorkshire. But now he’s inherited the title, it’s his responsibility to settle his late father’s affairs. It should be simple enough to do without riling up the superstitious locals. Indeed, they don’t even need to know that the infamous son of the equally infamous Earl of Eversleigh is back on British soil. Magnus will keep to himself, and to the crumbling manor house, and for once in his miserable life avoid any cloud of scandal. A straightforward enough plan, or so he believes, until he catches sight of the bold, auburn-haired intruder infiltrating the grounds of his estate…

Thank you to Mimi Matthews for a gifted eARC.

SWEET RETELLING.

I liked the Beauty & the Beast nods and the interpretation Mimi Matthews went with this historical. One of the more unique opening *meet cute [disasters]* I’ve read and I thought a good use of an amnesia moment.

I really enjoyed Charlotte and Marcus together. I loved the sunshine x grump dynamics and the soft banter between them. You can easily see Magnus falling and YAYYY for having dual POV because I desperately needed his thoughts and feelings too. Things do move quickly (and I do wish they had been slower) but I thought MM kept the focus on Charlotte and Magnus so you got to see their relationship develop through plenty of proximity.

The mystery kept me curious and I loved the derelict home and crumbling walls. I loved how well Charlotte saw every layer of Magnus and did not shy away. It made my heart burst seeing Magnus receive the love in return he’s been after his whole life.

I adored getting to see past characters and the epilogue where even more of them showed up. There’s something magical about having read so many books by an author that you see the evolution of characters + children over series and how they come back into play at times. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: mild
  • Content warnings: head injuries, gun violence (recounted), loss of life (recounted)

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