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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Book Review: Smoke and Mirrors (Silver and Bone #2) by Claudia Cain

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Paranormal Mystery
Length: 310 pages
Author: Claudia Cain
Publisher: Black Sheep Books
Release Date: October 31st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Two months have passed since the events at Locklear Church, and Detective Jennifer Jones and her new partner Ian Clarke are trying to leave the past behind them. But nothing stays buried in San Francisco, including the dead…

When a local attorney returns from beyond the grave, it could be seen as a miracle. However, as her investigation turns up reports of supernatural stalkers and odd murders, Jennifer begins to suspect something darker is at work.

With her job on the line, Jennifer can’t afford to make mistakes. But not everything is as it seems, and as the mystery deepens, she quickly finds herself in more danger than ever.

A GOOD SEQUEL.

I am really enjoying this series. It’s different than my usual romance reads and I loooove Jennifer Jones character so much. She’s humorous and strong willed with a soft interior. I loved watching her solve this mystery and take care of those in her group.

The whole doppelgänger concept was creepy in the best ways. It added a level of mystery that kept me intrigued. I will say (which might be from my mental state at present) but I had a hard time picking this back up. It’s GOOD, but didn’t convince me to rush through it.

Any who, it’s a wonderful book. I highly recommend this series and I can’t wait for the conclusion!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Paranormal mystery
  • Language: low
  • Romance: none
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: grief depiction, murder, loss of a loved one

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ALC Book Review: Red Star Rebels by Amie Kaufman

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Sci-Fi Romance
Length: 288 pages
Author: Amie Kaufman
Publisher: Knopf Books
Release Date: February 10th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

8 HOURS TO STOP AN EXPLOSION… 8 HOURS TO FALL IN LOVE.

From the NYT bestselling co-author of Illuminae and Aurora Rising comes a high-stakes, high-chemistry sci-fi romp about a stowaway girl and the richest boy in the galaxy, racing the clock to outwit a gang of mercenaries.

It’s 2067, and the Graves family has transformed Mars from lifeless rock into a chaotic patchwork of settlements—and everybody wants a piece.

Enter Hunter Graves: handsome, ambitious, and with spectacularly bad timing. He shows up at the United Nations base just as an emergency evacuation sends everyone scurrying for safety. Except he’s left behind. Uh oh.

Also stranded: Cleo, a sharp-tongued stowaway with no intention of dying today, and even less patience for overconfident trust fund boys. But the enemy of your enemy might just help you survive, so here we are.

Turns out the evacuation was just a cover for the mercenaries who came next, and they plan to blow up the base—and every trace of their crime—in eight hours.

Now, Hunter and Cleo have one shot to stop the explosion, escape alive, and deal with the inconvenient fact that they’re falling for each other.

The clock is ticking.

Thank you PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook and Get Underline for the gifted copy.

STELLAR STANDALONE.

I admit to thinking this was a series starter before seeing another friend’s review and I’m glad I knew going in this is a STANDALONE because my frame of mind was much better.

I think Amie Kaufman writes some of the best overall dialogue in the young adult genre. I love the quippy comebacks and sentiments, the right amount of snark and gentleness. This combined with the incredible audiobook made this story come alive. I loved the multiple narrators and sound effects that made the downfall of this Martian settlement all the more intense.

The romance wasn’t 100% believable for me within such a short time line, but I did like it well enough. Hunter and Cleo are a reluctant allies from different walks of life and I liked seeing them come together and find a stronger understanding between them.

This really covered a lot of ground for 250 pages and I had such a good time reading/listening to it. Highly recommend!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Dystopian Sci-Fi Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate

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