Category: Book Review

ARC/ALC Book Review: Spur of the Moment (Willow Creek #1) by Juliana Smith

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Juliana Smith
Publisher: Bloom Books
Release Date: May 5th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

This beautiful edition of Spur of the Moment will include spot gloss and a gorgeous inside cover design.

“This might just be my favorite summer yet at Willow Creek. Lottie doesn’t know it, but I’m determined to make it her favorite too.”

Seventeen-year-old Lottie Turner was born to ride bulls.

Rodeos, big dreams, dusty boots—bull-riding was her whole life. Until the accident. Until the diagnosis that changed epilepsy. Now her doctor and her family have grounded her for good. No bulls. No danger. No freedom.

Then Walker—her former best friend, first crush, and the boy who once knew every piece of her—returns to town for the summer. Walker’s supposed to be chasing stars with NASA, not mucking stalls, even if he really does want dirt, sweat, and saddles. He wants Lottie Turner and all of her wildness.

When Lottie makes a summer bucket list to find herself again, Walker’s the first to volunteer to do it with her. One item at a time, they tumble back into laughter, heat, and everything they left unsaid.

But as the sparks between them reignite, Lottie has to face the hardest truth of some risks can break you, but others are worth taking anyway.

Thank you Bloom Books for the gifted ARC and audiobook.

ADORABLE.

Alright Juliana Smith officially has my attention. I really liked this book and can’t wait to see what couple is next at Willow Creek! I loved the epilepsy rep and all of the conversations surrounding it. The loss of things you can no longer do, the worry for yourself, the worry from your loved ones, and so much more. It made the book have a real rawness to the emotions and journey a new diagnosis can take.

I loved seeing Lottie push, learn, and grow. Two things can be true, you can be upset and what’s happening and be hopeful for new opportunities on the horizon. I loved where she ended up and the lightness brought in.

The romance with Walker was filled with just the right amount of tension. I loved having his perspective too and seeing where he was coming from on the decisions he had to make as well. I thought Walker and Lottie were a beautifully match pair and the chemistry between them sang towards that young love in the summertime vibe.

🎧 The audiobook is duet narration and is wonderful! Absolutely loved it and recommend that format for a great read.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low, infrequent
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: epilepsy (mentions of seizures and one on page), distant parents, infidelity (FMC’s Dad)

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Scot and Bothered by Alexandra Kiley

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Alexandra Kiley
Publisher: Canary Street Press
Release Date: March 4th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

SCOT ON THE TRAIL!

Brooke Sinclair’s dream of being a published author derailed when she was expelled from the University of Edinburgh seven years ago. Now a ghostwriter, she sticks to other people’s stories. But when her college mentor Mhairi McCallister needs a co-writer for her memoir about Scotland’s most challenging trek, Brooke would do anything for the opportunity—including agreeing to hike the rugged Skye Trail for authenticity’s sake… not knowing the nature photographer who’ll join her is Jack Sutherland, the man who shattered Brooke’s writing career—and her heart.

Between getting sacked from the University and walking away from his family’s tour-guiding business to follow his photography dreams, Jack is desperate to prove he didn’t disappoint his family for nothing. And he can’t ignore his Aunt Mhairi’s final wishes for her memoir. Even if it means acting as guide and storyteller for the one who got away. Even if it means keeping secrets about Mhairi’s health.

As Jack and Brooke head into the solitude of the sweeping Scottish landscape, they’re forced to confront old feelings that haven’t disappeared with time. But can two weeks and eighty miles heal years of unspoken hurt and offer a second chance at the end of the trail?

I AM FRUSTRATED.

And honestly I am writing this review days after finishing and I can’t even think of the specifics because of how much I have blocked it out already.

The flashback chapters didn’t add anything for me. I was not swooning over the first chance they had in a relationship and by the epilogue I still wasn’t convinced this couple actually made it that far.

I watched many characters struggle with miscommunication and that took away from what I thought were originally good bones of the story. I am getting exhausted from how often I am coming across books with a main plot of miscommunication. It feels like a weak plot device for 85% of situations.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 3+ open door
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: loved one with cancer

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

ARC/ALC Book Review: The Shippers by Katherine Center

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★.5
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Katherine Center
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: May 19th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

One of the hottest, fastest-rising rom-com stars delivers her latest swoon-worthy novel about a destination wedding on a cruise ship.

After a whole lifetime of being bad at love, JoJo Burton decides to solve her intimacy issues once and for all at her sister’s destination wedding on a cruise ship. With the help of a little pop psychology, she diagnoses herself with a fixation on the neighborhood guy who was her her first crush and first kiss (and who just happens to be a newly-divorced wedding guest ), and she decides to woo him during the cruise for some long-delayed closure. Only problem is, her sister’s a little busy being a bride at the moment—so JoJo ropes in her childhood bestie, Cooper Watts, to be her wing man. Cooper: who RSVPed no, but then showed up, anyway. Cooper: who left town without a word four years earlier and moved to London. Cooper: who was, if she’s honest, the worst heartbreak of JoJo’s life. It’s bliss for her to see him again, and it’s agony, too—and the more they team up for Project Conquest, the more she obsesses over questions she can’t bring herself to ask.

Shipboard antics ensue in this witty, heart-tugging, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance—as JoJo and Cooper fake flirt, slow dance, share a cabin, sing duets, treat sunburns, get jealous, rescue each other over and over, and finally, at last, figure it all out in the most blissful, swoony, romantic way.

No one does summer romance quite like Katherine Center. THE SHIPPERS will take readers on the cruise of a lifetime in a story awash with romantic longing, top-notch banter, long-held secrets . . . and true love rediscovered.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the audiobook and St. Martin’s for the the gifted ebook.

WELL I HAD A GOOD TIME.

This book found me at just the right time when I needed a sunshine filled romcom and Katherine Center delivered. It’s got the quirky writing I leaned right into and a humorous story full of heart and joy.

The FMC, JoJo, made me struggle just a bit because there were one or two small plots that didn’t work for me, but I digress, I was here for the rest. I LVOED the banter between her and Cooper. Gosh, it was sassy and smile inducing and I’m sorry, how could you not see from 10 miles away that Cooper is madly in love with JoJo??? We love a man who yearns.

There’s plenty of wedding shenanigans, cruise ship antics and drama throughout. I really liked the sub plots as well. I liked the conversations and themes and the supportive nature of JoJo’s family. This has a lot of those hallmark *romcom* moments that always bring me joy (one bed, stuck in a stairwell…you know you want to know more).

Also the audiobook! Stellar as always. The narrator does an amazing job. I loved it. JoJo’s character was brought to life beautifully. And don’t miss the special note from Katherine Center either.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: kidnapping & child abuse (recounted), sexual harassment and attempted assault

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Drop Shot (The Off Court #1) by Vai Denton

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 302 pages
Author: Vai Denton
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 9th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Delilah Anderson is no stranger to sacrifice where her siblings are concerned. Who needs to go to college when you have three hungry mouths to feed and pro tennis money in your sights? Except it’s not that simple. No matter how hard she works, the bills are piling up ad infinitum. When her doubles partner decides to start focusing on singles, she knows the margins are going to be razor thin.

So when Matteo Corsi, three-time Grand Slam winner and a friend of a friend, offers to play mixed doubles with her, it should be a no-brainer. She doesn’t believe he’s as hateful as the media claims, and with her new endorsement deal, teaming up with him could give her the financial breathing room she needs. But after years of carrying her family on her back, accepting help isn’t Delilah’s strong suit.

When circumstances force her hand, Delilah reluctantly agrees. As the days blur together with drills, practice matches, and lighthearted teasing, she realizes there’s more to Matteo than she ever could have imagined—not to mention what getting him to reluctantly smile or seeing him shirtless does to her.

Matteo is a distraction she can’t afford, but one she’ll have to navigate to keep her (im)perfectly constructed life from falling apart.

I HAVE THOUGHTS.

There are very few people who could convince me to drop what I’m reading and pick a book up, my sister is one of those people. This was not on my radar until she told me I might like it, and I did like it! 3.5 stars might seem otherwise, but I’m still on board to read the second book in the series so I consider that a positive.

This might be my first tennis romance?? And I may be a sports girlie but tennis is not at the forefront of that knowledge base. I liked learning about the tournaments and how playing singles/doubles worked and that there’s big facilities for all of training.

I liked the grump x sunshine trope between Matteo and Delilah. I thought they were a sweet couple and the spice wasn’t superfluous. I do think there was a quality to the relationship that seemed, superficial? While some deeper topics were explored I think the shortness of the story left something to be desired. There were MANY paragraphs dedicated to listing out random things that did not build the setting or story in anyway (to show my work: one long paragraph detailed every piece of art on Del’s bedroom walls and I just don’t think that was necessary). A little more show vs. tell would go a long way.

And I am grumpy over the third act. While short (hallelujah), I’m tired of FMC’s being angry over the love interest being helpful? Especially when it’s not vindictive, came from a place of love, and wasn’t a genuine over step. The resulting “fight” was silly.

All of this to say, I liked the side characters. I do think Delilah showed high levels of resilience of hope even when she’s had to hold things together for so long. I loved seeing the soft side of Matteo and I will forever love a man down bad.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports romance
  • Langauge: mild
  • Romance: 2 open door scenes
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: driving after drinking (side character, no one is injured), alcoholism/addiction, absent parent, loss of a parent (recounted)

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph