Tag: austin siegemund-broka

Book Review: Seeing Other People by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Paranormal Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: December 9th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Two people haunted by their exes find that love isn’t dead in this heartfelt romance from the beloved authors of The Roughest Draft.

Morgan is being ghosted by her ex. No, really. It’s sad Zach died and became a ghost. But Morgan and Zach only ever went on the one date, and now she’s being haunted by him. Zach has no desire to spend eternity with Morgan, but he can’t recall his past and doesn’t know how to move on.

At a support group for humans and their haunters, Morgan and Zach run into Sawyer, whose fiancée-turned-ghost has started to fade. Unlike Morgan, Sawyer isn’t ready to part ways with his ghost. Although they face opposite issues, Morgan and Sawyer decide to work together to solve their problems.

As Morgan and Sawyer try to solve their paranormal conundrums together, they find something even more surprising—a tender, growing affection between them that threatens any unfinished business they’re seeking to close. The ghosts of their past might be there in spirit, but the connection between Morgan and Sawyer is as alive as anything they’ve ever felt.

SURPRISED IN THE BEST WAY.

I don’t usually read contemporary books that center around loss of a partner/spouse because my anxiety kicks into overdrive, but as someone who’s continually loved Emily & Austin’s books I wanted to give it a go. Y’ALL. This one gutted me in so many ways and was incredible. I loved it. You must read it too!!!!

I loved both of the MC’s. Struggling through their respective paths and coming together over the most unlikely of circumstances. There’s raw emotion and anger and grief and woven in-between those heavier moments are laughter, love, and the hope of the next day being just a little bit easier. Everything just worked for me in this book and I had the best time reading it.

The journey for the paranormal characters worked for me too. There’s this awful understanding that sometimes you’re not going to have all of the answers and sometimes you won’t have the closure you’re after but that things can still be okay. The loads of impactful moments here would take too long to write down.

It’s a beautiful story. Go read it!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Paranormal Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 2ish brief open
  • Violence: mild
  • Content warnings: depictions of grief and depression, loss of a loved one

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ARC Book Review: Book Boyfriend by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

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Rating: ★★★★
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Release Date: February 25th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Devoted fangirl meets hesitant fanboy in this swoony contemporary love letter to readers who adore fantasy worlds, from the beloved authors of The Breakup Tour.
 
Jennifer Worth lives to escape into the world of her favorite romantasy series Elytheum Courts, where the romance is sweeping and the men are brave, chivalrous . . . and winged. Newly single and craving connection,she travels to an immersive fan experience celebrating all things Elytheum, only to see the last face she expected—Scott Daniels, her work nemesis, whose disinterest in Jennifer’s favorite series and standoffishness have made their publishing jobs feel like a feuding fae court.
 
Except the Scott she encounters there, in his secondhand cosplay outfit, is . . . different. Swaggering, flirtatious, confident. Unlucky in romance himself and inspired by Jennifer’s love for the swoonworthy men of Elytheum, Scott is determined to remake himself into the perfect book boyfriend.
 
Jennifer has no interest in helping the man who vexes her every workday and dismisses her fictional fantasies, but as the immersive convention activities force them together, they’re surprised to discover magic like none Jennifer has ever read about. But is enemies-to-lovers romance only for books, or can Jennifer and Scott bring the trope to life?

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the eARC and PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook.

WELL.

Alright, I’ve been a pretty steady fan of EW & ASB adult romance books. They usually cover some good themes and have a swoon factor I enjoy. It’s also nice that they are on the lower end of the spice scale so it’s not in your face throughout.

I loved the initial idea with this book and how it felt like a love letter to fantasy books (and readers in general). I loved the immersion set up and I would absolutely attend one of these events if I could.

What kind of lost me was that it didn’t feel romantic. For a book centered around a fantasy romance and finding romance, etc. I did not feel that from the characters. The clue hunting plot (+ some side characters) was very much center stage and I wish it would have focused more on Jennifer and Scott. Not to mention, the third act was ridiculous.

I did love the audiobook and thought that the production and narration was great. If you want to read this book, definitely recommend that route.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: 2 open door

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ARC Book Review: The Breakup Tour by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: January 23rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A rising-star musician has a second chance at love with an old flame she remembers all too well in this swoony romance from the acclaimed authors of The Roughest Draft .

Riley Wynn went from a promising singer-songwriter to a superstar overnight, thanks to her breakup song concept album and its unforgettable lead single. When Riley’s ex-husband claims the hit song is about him, she does something she hasn’t in ten years and calls Max Harcourt, her college boyfriend and the real inspiration for the song of the summer.

Max hasn’t spoken to Riley since their relationship ended. He’s content with managing the retirement home his family owns, but it’s not the life he dreamed of filled with music. When Riley asks him to go public as her songwriting muse, he agrees on one he’ll join her in her band on tour.

As they perform across the country, Max and Riley start to realize that while they hit some wrong notes in the past, their future could hold incredible things. And their rekindled relationship will either last forever or go down in flames.

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for the eARC.

THERE WAS A LOT OF MUSIC.

And I totally get it, that’s the theme of the whole book. But dare I say, I felt like there were too many musically related things? I felt like every page was dedicated back to some song lyric Riley had written or how the day felt lyrical or about every little thing involving the tour. The whole vibe SCREAMED at you (and maybe that’s your thing??).

There were some solid second chance romance things though. I liked the bit of push and pull and there were tension filled moments too. I could truly feel the bond between them and that we’ll find out way back to each other-ness that I adored. Max was a lovable quiet guy who finally took the big shots he deserved.

Riley was a bit up and down for me. She frustrated me and I also saw her thought process. I think I was hoping for a turnaround about song writing in this book and not just one brief moment towards the end. The grand gesture deserves a star on its own though. I thought it was perfect, well placed and balanced for the story. Loved that so much!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 2 open door; low explicit
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of divorce

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ARC Book Review: Never Vacation with Your Ex by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
Publisher: Viking Books
Release Date: April 4th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Forgetting Sarah Marshall meets Crazy Stupid Love in a YA second chance romance from fan-favorite author couple #Wibbroka!

Seventeen-year-old volleyball star Kaylee Jordan lives a life of player rankings, constant training, and a carefully curated social media full of followers watching to see if she’ll go pro out of high school like her famous mom. Her one refuge, and the thing she looks forward to every summer? The vacation her family spends in Malibu with the Freeman-Yus. This year, there’s only one problem: Kaylee and their son, Dean, dated for the past three months, and Kaylee just unceremoniously dumped him. Hoping to spare them the worst summer ever, Kaylee comes to Dean with her unconventional solution: she’s going to walk him through her rules for getting over an ex. When Dean grudgingly cooperates, Kaylee’s got her work cut out for her. But helping Dean follow her own rules starts becoming difficult when the pressures of Kaylee’s family legacy and perfect life start to feel less like a plan and more like a prison…and amid warm California nights and stolen laughs, Kaylee feels herself falling for Dean for the same reasons and some new ones. With their trip coming to an end, Kaylee has to make the complicated choice between doing what’s expected and taking a (second) chance on love.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

I LIKED IT.

I feel kind of surprised by this one. Initially I didn’t know what I would think about it all, but in the end, I think it has a pretty good message and is set up really well for the audience (young adult!).

The pressure of perfectionism, especially in teens, was a big theme and WOW did I resonate with that. Kaylee struggling with trying to be the best volleyball player out there with the best image and everything else truly hit home. Everything in this vein was well written.

Now the otherside of that is the romance. I LOVED Dean. He was fantastic. Swoony, sweet and full of feelings. I love seeing his emotion and commitment to getting Kaylee to express some raw feelings. Kaylee though, I don’t love how she handled the whole situation. She didn’t come off in the best light and I wish she had been a little quicker to sensitivity.

Perfect beach, summery setting. Made me wish I was on a beach right this second. OH, lets talk about the PARENTS. I LOOOOOVE that there were present and active parents in this book y’all. It’s not seen enough. Even better, we saw that they weren’t perfect and made mistakes too. It was a great contrast to the young adults in the book making decisions too. A great cast all around.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: heated make-outs

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