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Book Review: Resisting the Fall (Falling for Autumn) by Jess Heileman

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Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 382 pages
Author: Jess Heileman
Publisher: Vagabond Publishing
Release Date: August 26th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The divorce never finalized. Neither did their feelings.

The discovery that I was still legally married—years after I thought my divorce was final—was supposed to be the worst thing to happen to me this fall.

It wasn’t.

Because apparently the state of Vermont believes in closure. And no regrets. And court-ordered thirty-day reconciliation efforts. So now, in order to fast-track my divorce from Bennett Walker—my high school sweetheart and the man who walked out on our marriage seven years ago—I’m being forced back to the small town we grew up in to spend an entire month proving our relationship isn’t worth saving.

A situation Ben annoyingly finds amusing.

Which is why I plan to make this the most memorable, insufferable, torturous thirty days of his life. As a prank-loving aficionado, I have countless ideas about how to drive Ben crazy while keeping myself focused on the goal: finalizing our divorce.

With my life in New York and a career I absolutely love, not even deeply embedded habits and old feelings can threaten my resolve.

I’m resolved.

So resolved.

Absolutely, definitely, one hundred percent resolved. And if I keep saying it, maybe this time around, I’ll be capable of resisting the fall.

WELL THAT WENT DOWNHILL.

I tend to enjoy marriage in crisis books so I was all over this one. Buuuuut there were some issues y’all.

One of the big ones was the fact I wasn’t convinced for basically the entire book that this couple made it??? There was hardly an attempt at working through the communication issues that caused the initial separation. Most things were brushed under the rug and never genuinely resolved.

I think having Ben’s POV from his childhood was a disservice to the current timeline. I wanted to see him yearn more and get his thoughts and feelings rather than having to wait until 85% of the way through to finally figure out why they separated in the first place. Maven was actually too petty for me about things (which again, I think could have been helped had I known the WHY not just “he’s the reason we’re in this mess”).

Lastly, the ending. I won’t go into specifics (but DM me if you want them). I don’t think it was handled well and let me wanting more for Maven, regardless of her assertions. All leading back to the communication y’all.

I did fly through this book and I didn’t hate it by any means. There were just enough stand out issues that I have been cycling through them on repeat since I finished. I do recommend the audiobook if you want to read it, the narrators were great!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

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Book Review: A Wilder Wild by KP Haven

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Romantic Suspense
Length: 400 pages
Author: KP Haven
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: October 21st, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Chasing her next photograph, Jay Roke takes a chance on a remote Alaskan town. With her late father’s shadow hanging over her, a few months encased by towering spruce and endless wild is exactly what she needs.

She doesn’t expect Briggs Sawyer.

The sawmill owner is doing everything he can to keep his family’s business afloat. Burned by a failed marriage and too stubborn to admit how alone he is, he has no patience for outsiders—least of all a wildlife photographer with no intention of staying.

Then one impulsive night changes everything.

Snow-choked trails. Sun-starved wilderness. The undeniable pull between them. Jay wonders if Alaska offers more than her next viral shot—right up until her camera catches something she was never meant to see: a criminal operation hidden deep in the wilderness.

Now dangerous people want what’s on that memory card. And the one complication neither of them planned might be the only thing keeping her alive.

INTRIGUING.

This is my second book from this author. I had some mixed thoughts about the first one I read from KP Haven, but received an opportunity to try this book and I liked it! I would be interested in reading another. I think one of my favorite things to note is that it’s a genuine closed door (aka more than kisses). I feel like this niche in romances is hard to find and I appreciate it! I’m always here for a genuine slow burn too.

There’s some suspension of belief I had to rely on to follow through with a few tropes in here. It’s a little on the insta-romance side of things but it worked? I thought Jay and Briggs had chemistry and the banter between them worked well. I loved the remote Alaskan setting and the winter vibes this book provided. It does lean on the mildly heavy side but without overwhelming the romance. There were many themes to work through and I liked the way they were combined.

Overall audience notes:

  • Romantic suspense
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: fade to black
  • Violence: moderate-high
  • Content warnings: murder, gun violence, physical violence, mentions of past abuse, divorce, arson

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Book Review: The Silver Kingdom (The Silver Kingdom #1) by Radiya Hafiza

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Radiya Hafiza
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: November 3rd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

For the first printing only! This hardcover features sprayed stenciled edges while the special edition supply lasts.

A “[s]washbuckling, swoony, and filled with intrigue” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) South Asian–inspired young adult romantasy about the forbidden love between royals of rival kingdoms that endangers their tenuous peace just as a prophecy comes to pass and long-lost magic returns.

The savior will rise and lead an army to the gates of darkness. Only when the fire has fallen can light prevail.

Prince Zayd, heir to Dakaria, the Silver Kingdom, spends his days defending the land from pirate raids. Princess Layla, heir to Sawan, dreams of running away and escaping her cruel, power-hungry mother.

When the two meet, sparks fly. But the royals are destined to marry other people and tensions between their kingdoms are high—one wrong move could threaten the fragile peace between them.

As dark forces begin to threaten Dakaria, a centuries-old prophecy is set into motion, and Layla discovers she has a latent power, one that she doesn’t understand and begins to fear. Magic has been forbidden for a hundred years. Could Layla be the key to uniting their kingdoms, or will the young royals’ forbidden love plunge them all into a devastating war?

Thank you Simon Teen and Simon Audio for the gifted copies.

GOOD START.

First off, I had no idea this was the start to a series (duology??) so you have been told now. This book ends open and with a fantastic cliffhanger that makes me excited for the next book.

I liked the forbidden romance + lost chosen one tropes. It’s been a minute since I’ve read a genuine forbidden romance and I think this was a good start to that journey. It does read very young adult (which can be a positive or a negative, I get it). While that fell somewhere in between for me, I was swayed by the artful story telling and the world building. I liked seeing the different parental involvements and how that was playing into the main character’s decisions.

It’s a good story with an awesome audiobook. Even with a prince and princess at the helm, I still found the themes to be relatable to a young adult audience and even more bonus points that this was kisses only, without heavy language, or over the top violence. It’s always nice to find a book that is actually written for a teen audience.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: emotionally abusive parent, kidnapping

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Book Review: Hollywood, Ending by John Green

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: John Green
Publisher: Dutton Books
Release Date: September 22nd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A behind-the-scenes Hollywood love story that brilliantly confronts the private cost of a public life

For rising young actors Kai Laramie and Juniper Castillo, being cast in the buzzy biopic Andy Warhol Never Gets Old is the opportunity they’ve been waiting for. They’re on the verge of breaking out, and maybe even falling in love. Soon the movie is blowing up and so are their lives—in exciting but also terrifying ways.

John Green artfully blends a behind-the-scenes Hollywood love story with an unflinching examination of the insatiable attention economy. Told through dual points of view, the novel follows Kai and Juniper from their first days on location to the movie’s premiere, brilliantly juxtaposing their story with the on-screen study of Warhol’s life at the dawn of celebrity culture.

Hollywood, Ending is a deeply observed novel about the tension between a public and a private life, and finding your safe someone to hold onto. Tender, heartbreaking, and shrewdly funny, this is a story as only Green can tell it.

ALWAYS A FAN.

John Green can really just write in whatever genre he feels like and nail it.

This one had some heavy triggers that I thought were approached with care and a realistic sense of how trauma can keep occurring in our lives and how it affects everything around us.

I liked the chemistry between Kai and Juniper. The romance is at the front yet takes a step back for some commentary and themes surrounding Hollywood, acting and the like. I liked that Juniper and Kai had this soft build between them. You could feel the care they had for each other and how they learned to communicate and go through the hard things with trust. I love a good fight moment and I think this one did it well. Kai was easily my favorite character and I loved his enduring nature.

It’s very fast paced (read the audio in an afternoon), LOVED the audiobook (Julia Whelan y’all!!!!) and sad that I now have to wait for more John Green books.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: fade to black
  • Violence: moderate+
  • Content warnings: child sexual assault (recounted in some detail, theme throughout)

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