Category: Book Review

ARC Book Review: Marriage is a Shore Thing (Wilks Beach #2) by Laura Langa

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 280 pages
Author: Laura Langa
Publisher: West East Publishing
Release Date: October 10th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She’s tough. He’s golden. One dare later, they’re hitched.

I’ve sworn off love, so accidentally marrying a stranger after a friendly game of Truth or Dare? Worst. Case. Scenario. Never mind that Evander Young is a brilliant ER doctor with a dimpled smile that makes my heart race.

News of our nuptials spreads through my small beach town like wildfire—only everyone thinks it’s real after a long-distance romance. With my mom ecstatic that her grumpy, boxing-instructor daughter has finally found love, it looks like we’re stuck playing house—at least for now.

The thing is, happily-ever-afters aren’t for people who avoid feelings like they’re a knockout punch. But Van’s golden-retriever energy keeps chipping at my well-forged armor, and the sizzling chemistry between us? Definitely not fake.

When a family heirloom goes missing, Van and I team up for a midnight heist—sneaking through shadows, racing against time, and dodging a few close calls. Turns out, the real risk isn’t the heist—it’s falling for my accidental husband.

Enjoy the playful banter and sizzling tension of this accidental marriage, black cat/golden retriever, small beach town, closed-door/kisses-only romance by grabbing your copy TODAY!

SWOONY.

Accidental marriage romances are so fun. And I think this handled insta-attraction + slow burn well. I thought that it was paced well (maybe a little fast) but that I genuinely started to love Van and Gen together. I’m apparently super into black cat x golden retriever romances and highly recommend you go try one too!! [aka this one because while it’s second in a series it can be read easily as a standalone!]

There’s just the right amount of small town shenanigans and I especially loved Gen’s tight friend group and the continual support that flowed from that corner. Van wove himself deeply into the Wilks beach community and I was smitten with him myself. I loved the heated kisses and the key quiet moments where their relationship was truly strengthened.

Looking forward to the next book!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: mentions of absent father, losing a sister to an aneurism (off page but recounted, grief depictions)

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Book Review: Tell Me You Love Me (Boys of Riverside #4) by Gracie Graham

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: NA Sports Romance
Length: 385 pages
Author: Gracie Graham
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 28th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Brynn Nichols is an enigma wrapped up in a riddle I can’t decipher.

She’s my best friend’s twin sister, the only girl immune to my charms. Far too wholesome for a player like me. Getting under her skin is my favorite pastime. And it’s not hard to do considering how much she hates me. But when football and summer classes take us to the same college, her brother makes me promise to watch over her. Keep an eye on her since he can’t.

I try to resist her, I really do.
She’s off-limits.
Too good for me.

There are a million reasons acting on my attraction toward her is wrong. But her biting remarks and constant scowls aren’t enough to keep me at bay.
Especially when her psycho roommate leaves her in need of a place to stay. Inviting her to bunk with me for the summer is the worst possible idea.

But I never said I was smart.
Several kisses and one heated encounter later, I’m in over my head.
If her brother finds out about us, he’ll kill me.
So, we agree to keep it quiet.

But there are demons lurking behind her smooth skin, soft lips, and long blonde hair. Reasons for her ire I don’t know about. And when I discover the truth, the lines between loyalty, love, and friendship are drawn. Now I’m so far away from the line, I can’t even see it anymore. And with the way I’m feeling, I’m not sure I want to.

LOVE THE CHEMISTRY.

This book about lit my kindle on fire. I love this series and loved that this one had a college setting. Two people clearly destined for each other kept butting heads until they realized it?? Yes, I love that vibe. Brynn and Jace were the best kind of opposites attract and I loved the brother’s best friend trope here too. The edge of forbidden-ness was fantastic.

I didn’t love the way some of the third act was handled. It didn’t make sense with the character and story progression at that time. I felt frustrated more than anything but I am grateful that the ending fully came together in a really sweet manner. I loved seeing previous characters and all of those romance book moments that make you swoon. I’m excited to finish this series soon!

Overall audience notes:

  • New adult sports romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: moderate innuendo; fade to black
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: sexual assault and attempted r@pe, absent parents

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ARC Book Review: Winterset by Tiffany Odekirk

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 272 pages
Author: Tiffany Odekirk
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Release Date: October 7th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A hidden past. A house with secrets. And one chance for two wounded hearts to find love together.

Northern England, Late Fall, 1820

Katherine Lockwood is hiding for her life in the most unlikely of places: the forgotten priest holes in the abandoned Winterset Grange manor house. When Kate learns that Winterset’s long-absent owner, Mr. Oliver Jennings, is about to return, she is desperate to find a way to make him leave, even if it means “haunting” him from behind her protective walls.

After a grand tour of the Continent, Oliver returns home to England determined to make the most of his inheritance. But from the moment he arrives, nothing is as he expected. His manor is in disrepair, the steward hired to care for his estate is a thief, and to top it all off, Winterset is haunted. Undeterred, Oliver resolves to reclaim his life, piece by piece.

When Oliver discovers the hidden rooms, he’s shocked and pleased that his “ghost” is actually a beautiful young woman. Captivated by Kate and her story, he invites her to stay at Winterset under his protection.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for a gifted copy.

A DASH OF DANGER.

I have been waiting for Oliver’s redemption story and I loved seeing his journey. He truly showed up in making the best of the situations before him and how he approached and took his time with Kate to show her what she meant to him. There were many sweet moments between the two and I was so happy to finally have them meet and interact.

I loved the setting. All of the hidden passageways and nooks added a fun element and led to a bit of chaos. For such a small cast I hardly noticed because the side characters were great to be around.

Seeing Oliver get a chance to reconnect with Damon and Hannah were some of my favorite scenes. I have been begging for those moments and that peace was felt between them. I enjoyed Kate a lot too. She and Oliver matched well in their personalities and I loved the soft nature between them.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: mild
  • Content warnings: gun violence, loss of loved ones (recounted), kidnapping

Book Review: One on One by Jamie Harrow

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Jamie Harrow
Publisher: Dutton
Release Date: September 24th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

They call it March Madness for a reason: Anything can happen on the way to a national championship.

Eight years after graduation, Annie Radford is not happy to be back at her alma mater in her old job with the Ardwyn Tigers’ basketball team. Worse, her coworker from back in college, Ben Callahan, is still on the Tigers staff, and he’s annoyingly wholesome, hot, and clinging to a grudge against Annie for abandoning him and the team their senior year.

But as Ardwyn becomes the season’s Cinderella Story, things start heating up between Annie and Ben, too. And while neither of them can deny this could be something special, Annie’s afraid to tell Ben the truth about why she left basketball—the thing she loves most—in the first place. She’ll have to learn to trust him if they have a shot at being together.

In addition to being funny, romantic, and sexy, One on One examines the pressure put on college athletes, challenges the sexism in the world of sports, and exposes the dangers in whole communities idolizing the big men on campus. For readers of The Hating Game and The Ex Talk, a workplace, enemies-to-lovers debut for anyone yearning for a courtside romance, perfect for anyone who can’t get enough sports rom-coms.

WELL…

As a former basketball girlie I am always on the hunt for a good basketball romance (send help, where are they?) so I jumped at the chance to read this book aaaaand, it was fine. There’s plenty of basketball (but neither of them are players) and it feels immersive to that atmosphere at least.

Though I thought the portrayal of March Madness didn’t work. It felt very scripted for the book and honestly that took the fun out of it. I was not inspired by this “miracle” team and think that plot point could have functioned better.

There are some good and important themes and discussions that felt relevant and informative. I wish Annie hadn’t lied and kept secrets from Ben for as long as she did though.

The romance is there, but it didn’t feel all that romantic. I kept waiting to feel the swoon and it wasn’t really there. The rivals to lovers trope worked well and there were tender moments woven throughout.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 3ish vague open door/closed door
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: sexual misconduct (recounted), workplace harassment

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