Tag: atria books

Book Review: In Stormy Weather by Chelsea Curto

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Chelsea Curto
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: July 14th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From USA Today bestselling indie author Chelsea Curto comes an academic rivals-to-lovers romance about storm-chasing meteorologists during hurricane season in Florida—perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood and B.K. Borison.

Nothing can rain on Quincy Monroe’s parade. She’s a woman-in-STEM with a PhD in atmospheric sciences, the host of a successful online weather show, and has one million followers on her meteorology Instagram.

Quincy has spent endless hours forging her path in this male-dominated field, becoming one of the best in the industry. And with a new job opportunity, nothing can derail her success. Except for the ill-timed arrival of Sebastian Dunn.

Sebastian is her best friend’s brother, her long-suffering academic and professional rival, and a flashy TV weatherman from New York City that everyone swoons over. Everyone but Quincy.

Over a scorching Florida summer and record-breaking hurricane season, Sebastian and Quincy are forced into close proximity. Setting aside their grudges to chase storms and stay alive is one thing, but can they weather the inevitable collision of their hearts?

WELL WELL WELL.

Not too shabby for my first Chelsea Curto book. I’ve had some reservations in regards to the spice but it was alright! Definitely spicy (why did each scene need multiple chapters???) but the innuendo was low which made glossing over them easier.

I think a small downfall was that I read Chase Me If You Can days before and I LOVED that book. This one, with a similar theme and tropes, didn’t hit the same high marks I already fell in love with. Though I do feel it was well researched and the meteorology aspects served the romance and the larger plot. I love a well balanced story.

Don’t get me wrong, I had a good time and I liked the hurricane focus in this book. And the highs and lows of being a woman in a male dominated field. I thought Quincy and Sebastian had good chemistry and I loved the way Sebastian doted on her. The man yearned, and he yearned well. I also really liked his character arc too. I flew through this audiobook and I’m looking forward to the next book in this series!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 3-4ish open door
  • Violence: mild
  • Content warnings: sexism, misogyny, severe weather scenes (tornados and hurricanes)

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Book Review: Not That Kind of Proposal by Victoria Lavine

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Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Victoria Lavine
Publisher: Simon Audio
Release Date: July 21st, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the internationally bestselling author of Any Trope but You comes an enemies-to-lovers rom-com about a hopeless romantic wedding planner and the cynical divorce lawyer forced to help her plan her ex’s wedding.

Gracie Holland lives for Happily Ever Afters—just not her own. After a crushing breakup, she’s thrown herself into planning weddings at Larkwood, the ivy-covered Rhode Island estate where she also lives in the guest cottage. But when her beloved boss passes away and leaves the estate to her grandson, Gracie’s carefully rebuilt life is suddenly on the line. Jude Larkwood is everything she’s sworn ruthless, practical, and immune to romance—he’s a divorce lawyer, for crying out loud! Worse, he plans to sell Larkwood by the end of the summer.

Jude has spent his life cleaning up other people’s romantic disasters—and he has no interest in watching another love story fall apart on his family’s lawn. But inheriting Larkwood comes with one its maddeningly optimistic wedding planner. Gracie’s sunshiney faith in love unsettles Jude almost as much as her ability to push through his defenses. He’s built a life on keeping emotion out of the equation—but something about her keeps slipping past his guard.

When Gracie’s ex calls out of the blue asking her to plan his wedding, she sees an unexpected opportunity. Jude reluctantly agrees to give her until the wedding to change his mind, and in exchange, she drags him into a two-month crash course in love to make even the most hardened cynic start to wonder if love might not be such a scam after all.

But as cake tastings and vendor emergencies give way to late-night confessions and undeniable chemistry, Gracie and Jude must confront the fears they’ve spent years avoiding. But can a hopeless romantic and a confirmed cynic find a future they both believe in?

Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

HONESTLY, BUGGED.

I super liked Any Trope But You so color me disappointed because this one fell flat. I don’t think it helped that I read two back to back romances with a pushover FMC + wedding crap I hate, but that was the luck of the draw here.

I am 100% not a fan of weddings involving one of the MC’s exes. It’s old. It does nothing for me and makes me cringe. I wish the plot didn’t have this story line whatsoever.

I didn’t mind the enemies to lovers vibes and the banter and tension between Jude and Gracie. I could feel that and it worked well for the chemistry between them. I also liked the plot surrounding the estate and Jude’s lawyer related things too.

What I did not like was the sub plot involving Jude’s best friend. This was another thing that rubbed me the wrong way and could have been left out. Also, some of the romantic scenes were cringy. Bleh.

This didn’t turn me off from trying VL’s next book, but things feel on thin ice.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 4ish open door
  • Violence: mild
  • Content warnings: discussions surrounding domestic abuse (recounted too), loss of a loved one

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Book Review: Under Your Spell by Laura Wood

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Laura Wood
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: June 25th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The daughter of an aging rock star finds herself working for the hottest musician on the planet and is shocked when sparks start to fly—especially since she swore she’d never, ever date a celebrity—in this unputdownable romance that is perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Emily Henry.

She wants three things. He isn’t one of them…

Dumped by her cheating ex, fired from her dream job, and about to lose her Clementine Monroe is not having a good day. So when her sisters get her drunk and suggest reviving a childhood ritual called the Breakup Spell, she doesn’t see the harm in it.

But now Clemmie has accidentally ruined a funeral, had her first one-night stand, and she’s stuck with a new job she definitely doesn’t want—spending six weeks alone with the gorgeous and very-off-limits rock star, Theo Eliott.

He’s the most famous man on the planet. Her life’s a disaster. As their summer together turns into its own kind of magic, is Clemmie cursed to repeat the mistakes of her past—or will her future see all her wishes come true?

I LIKED IT!

This has been all around on my feed and I finally bit the bullet on trying it out. And you know what? It was good. I loved the humor and banter the most. It was me laughing and loving the dynamic between Clementine and Theo. Theo turned into my favorite kind of golden retriever.

It did take me a little bit to get into this one. Not my favorite kind of opening but I loved the way it all came together. I loved the audiobook too. The relationship between the sisters was everything. I adore these kind of bonds. I would absolutely read another book by this author.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 3ish open door

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ARC Book Review: The Shadowed Land (The Lost Queen #3) by Signe Pike

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Fantasy
Length: 400 pages
Author: Signe Pike
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: December 3rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

King Arthur and his contemporaries are boldly reimagined in this “mystical, epic, and captivating” (Hazel Gaynor, New York Times bestselling author) series that resurrects the real historical figures who inspired one of our most enduring legends. Kingdom of Gododdin, AD 580: After defeating the Angles at the Battle of the Caledonian Wood, Languoreth, her daughter Angharad, brother Lailoken, and the warrior Artúr mac Aedan are reunited. But all too soon, fate pulls each back to their own path. Artúr receives a mysterious summons from his father in Dalriada. Languoreth and Lailoken return to Strathclyde with the dangerous former bishop Mungo in tow, determined to maintain the fragile peace between the Christians and the people of the Old Way. Meanwhile, Angharad must travel deep into the shadowed land of the Picts, hoping to become the initiate of Briochan, a druid who practices the secret Celtic art of summoning weather. As they rise to their destinies, they are pushed to impossible new frontiers as each must decide whether they are willing to do what it takes to be the heroes their harrowing days demand. This “rich, immersive” (Kirkus Reviews) saga transports the reader to a vivid world of mysticism, beauty, and meticulously researched early medieval history.

Thank you Atria Books for the Goodreads Giveaway win.

THIS DID NOT BRING PEACE.

Oh how the devastation hits me every time I read one of these books. I love how entranced I become by the history and fantasy colliding and am pulled in by the depth of these characters. I love all of the POV’s and the different dynamics they bring to the story. It’s a book where mistakes are made and rights sometimes turn out wrong and where you will FEEL for each of these characters.

I loved this next installment and the slow and languid build to an intense ending. I loved having more of Artur’s story line and his rise to power. The research that clearly had to go into this to bring the atmosphere and plot to life is astounding. The writing is carefully crafted and filled with nuanced themes that will hit you in the soul.

Originally I thought this was a trilogy, but this definitely left space for more story and I am once again enthralled and in need of the next book.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical fantasy
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: brief allusions to sexual assault (recounted), infidelity (recounted), murder, battle themes, loss of life, grief depictions

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