Category: Book Review

Book Review: A Little Holiday Fling by Farah Heron

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Christmas Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Farah Heron
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: October 21st, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

There are two things that Ruby Dhanji loves with her whole entire Christmas and anything to do with the UK. For Ruby the holiday season means joy, generosity, and warm memories with her late mother. And now she’s on the verge of realizing the dream she and her mom always moving to England and opening a cozy inn. The only problem, Ruby needs some hotel experience first. 
 
Rashid just doesn’t get all the holiday hype. But when he meets a woman dragging home a Christmas tree alone from the Winter Market, he has to offer to help—even if he soon finds Ruby adores all the things he dislikes. When Ruby discovers that Rashid’s family owns a luxury boutique hotel chain in Britain, she offers him a she’ll help him give his young nieces an amazing Christmas if he’ll facilitate an introduction to his family. 
 
As Ruby and Rashid get closer, she realizes that the great big grump loves his large, eccentric family fiercely. And when their friendship turns to something more, she’s afraid she’s falling for someone weeks before she moves across the Atlantic and she’ll soon have to decide which dream she wants to chase. 

PRETTY GOOD.

This is my first book by this author and I liked it! I especially appreciated that this wasn’t spice forward and provided a lot of relationship build up and self growth in the midst of the holiday moments. Also, the audiobook was good too.

I struggled with the FMC at first because of a general personality clash, but decided to continue and the longer it went on the more I did like Ruby and backstory and overall why for this book. I liked her connection with Rashid and the enemies-ish banter as they both realized there are many layers to each other and started opening up.

The third act did make me a bit cranky but that was my only big complaint. I would love to read another book from Farah Heron.

Overall audience notes:

  • Holiday Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: 2ish quick open door
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: mention of breast cancer (and losing a parent), emotional abuse

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Book Review: Games Untold (The Inheritance Games #4.5) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Mystery Novella Collection
Length: 448 pages
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Release Date: November 12th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Romance, luxury, and secrets abound in this thrilling new collection that take readers deeper into the world of the #1 bestselling Inheritance Games series

There is nothing frivolous about the way a Hawthorne man loves.

An amnesiac playboy and the woman with every reason to hate him. A daredevil, his favorite heiress, and three nights in Prague. An unlikely pairing between a cowboy and a goth. Four brothers with an inescapable bond, strengthened by the family they chose, in a house of wonders that promises to always deliver one more secret.

Discover their stories of love and loss, power, puzzles, and life-and-death secrets in this mind-blowingly romantic collection that proves that when you love the way Hawthornes love, there is no going back.

This collection includes:
That Night in Prague (novella)
The Same Backward as Forward (novella)
The Cowboy and the Goth
Five Times Xander Tackled Someone (and One Time He Didn’t)
One Hawthorne Night*
What Happens in the Treehouse*
$3CR3T $@NT@
Pain at the Right Gun
*previously published in limited release

THIS WAS FUN.

I had a good time with this collection set! I didn’t even know this was releasing so it was a fun listen to get some more background information (and lots of romantic moments that I was missing from the original trilogy) on all of these characters.

The puzzles are entertaining to follow and I loved the depth that these stories gave. While I don’t think this is a necessity to read I do think it enhanced the trilogy for me.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Mystery Novella Collection
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: low

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ARC/ALC Book Review: In Your Dreams (When in Rome #4) by Sarah Adams

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 358 pages
Author: Sarah Adams
Publisher: Dell Romance
Release Date: December 30th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Madison Walker left Rome, Kentucky, determined to prove she could make it in the culinary world. But after years of chasing success in New York, all she has to show for it is a shattered confidence and a desperate need for a fresh start. Coming home isn’t part of the plan—until an unexpected job offer lands in her lap, giving her a chance to rebuild everything she’s lost: the head chef position at a new farm-to-table restaurant in her hometown. The only catch? It comes from James Huxley, owner of Huxley Farm, her brother’s best friend . . . and the last person she wants to work for.

James has always played it safe, keeping his head down and doing what’s expected of him in the family business and never contemplating anything different—until now when Madison’s happiness is on the line. He’s loved her quietly for years, knowing she’s never seen him as more than an annoyance. Now that she’s back, he’s determined to change that–even if it means he can only ever be her friend. The one problem? His charming, wildly successful younger brother, Tommy, seems determined to win her over first.

Then Tommy is called away on business and Madison and James are tasked with launching the dreamy farm-to-table restaurant on their own. But as the town starts meddling in their relationship, Tommy’s pursuit of Madison grows more relentless, and Madison’s fears threaten to hold her back, keeping things strictly professional becomes impossible. And when an unexpected disaster on opening night collides with a long-simmering sibling feud, both Madison and James will have to face their biggest insecurities—and decide if love is worth the risk or if some dreams are safer left untouched.

Thank you Dell Romance for the ebook and PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook.

OH HOW I LOVED THIS.

I should have known that the moment I picked this up I wouldn’t be able to put it back down. Because y’all don’t even know how addictive this was to read. I LOVE A MAN DOWN BAD OKAY? And James is so far gone the only thing he could see was Madison.

Gosh dang the man created a restaurant just so she’d have a place to come home to and WE LOVE IT. I was obsessed with the dynamic between Madison and James. It’s filled with heated banter and longing gazes, soft touches and tender moments. I love the way they got to be together and I think the level of spice worked out beautifully for the story.

Not to mention I loved seeing all of the previous When in Rome cohort. This whole world is beautiful and I don’t think a page was wasted in Rome, Kentucky. I’ll miss it!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 2 open door
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: loss of parents (briefly mentioned), physical altercation, smoking

Book Review: Anne of Avenue A (For the Love of Austen #3) by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 316 pages
Author: Audrey Bellezza & Emily Harding
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: October 28th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Jane Austen’s Persuasion meets the Big Apple in this swoon-worthy holiday romance from the authors of the “charming” (Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times bestselling author) Elizabeth of East Hampton and Emma of 83rd Street.

Eight years ago, Anne Elliot broke Freddie Wentworth’s heart when she refused to give up her five-year plan for the sake of adventure. But despite big dreams, Anne, now thirty, is still living at home with hardly a plan in sight. Anne tries to be optimistic—she knows better than anyone that regret will get you nowhere—but that goes out when the window when, thanks to her father’s bad spending habits, her childhood apartment in is rented out to the very man still living in her head rent-free.

Freddie Wentworth never thought he would see Anne Elliot again after she dumped him for accepting a job overseas. He spent years trying to forget her, and he’s been mostly successful. So when a job opportunity takes him back to New York, he’s shocked to find out that Anne is not only his new neighbor, but also the former resident of his new Greenwich Village penthouse.

Nearly a decade after Anne and Freddie’s fateful romance, the only thing they still have in common is a desire to leave their relationship firmly in the past. But between a disastrous off-Broadway show and a drunken Thanksgiving dinner, nosey neighbors, and flirtatious friends, Anne and Freddie suddenly find their lives more intertwined than ever before. When old feelings start rising to the surface, they must decide whether to put their hearts on the line or walk away all over again. 

Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

GREAT READ.

I have enjoyed this series 10x over. I love the Jane Austen allusions and the heated romances and all of the angst and drama in between. This was no different. The audiobook was amazing and I was glued to my headphones during all of the holiday baking.

But you know what did bug me??? Anne’s Mom. I know she was supposed to be a central roll in the conflict yet I’m not sure it was resolved enough? I spent the entire book being cranky with her and Anne’s inability to stand up for herself.

While I wish there had been a bit better communication between Freddie and Annie I gotta say the second chance romance was great. I loved the slow burn and all of the unexpected ways they kept landing in each other’s lives. These two were clearly long lost loves and I loved the reconnection.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: 2ish open door
  • Violence: low

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