Tag: berkley

Book Review: Code Word Romance by Carlie Walker

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Carlie Walker
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 18th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Two exes. One mission. A trip she’ll never forget…

Max is just your average girl. She works odd jobs, has a soul-crushing amount of debt and just happens to have an uncanny resemblance to Europe’s youngest female prime minister, Sofia Christensen . . .

So when the prime minister receives a credible death threat, the CIA approaches Max with a a life-changing amount of money if she pretends to be Sofia on the prime minister’s annual Italian trip.

It would be a dream if it weren’t for those pesky assassins and Flynn, Max’s ridiculously hot handler – the man who broke her heart years and years ago.

With her life now on the line, Max knows she has no choice but to lose herself in the role. But losing her heart to Flynn again? Now that’s a risk that she isn’t willing to take . . .

Red, White and Royal Blue meets Emily Henry in this opposites-attract, fake-dating romcom. Perfect for fans of Katherine Center and Ali Hazelwood.

THIS WAS FUN.

I have really enjoyed the spy romcom sub genre of romance. They are a lot of fun and have a different vibe than my usual books and I appreciate the smiles it brings amidst all of the chaos of the journey.

This was a fantastic second chance romance. I was INVOLVED with Max and Flynn’s past and current relationship. I loved the slow burn tension and the bodyguard moments?? YES PLEASE.

The audiobook is great, an easy and fast listen with a solid narrator. I loved the turns the plot took and seeing Max kind of come into her own in an impossible situation. There’s romance and action and political betrayals that will keep you busy. Such a gem and can’t wait for more!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: mild – moderate
  • Romance: brief open door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: weapons violence, attempted murder

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Book Review: The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Fiction
Length: 368 pages
Author: Freya Sampson
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: August 30th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Strangers aboard a London bus unite to help an elderly man find his missed love connection in the heartwarming new novel from the author of The Last Chance Library.

When Libby Nicholls arrives in London, brokenhearted and with her life in tatters, the first person she meets on the bus is elderly Frank. He tells her about the time in 1962 that he met a girl on the number 88 bus with beautiful red hair just like hers. They made plans for a date at the National Gallery art museum, but Frank lost the bus ticket with her number on it. For the past sixty years, he’s ridden the same bus trying to find her, but with no luck.

Libby is inspired to action and, with the help of an unlikely companion, she papers the bus route with posters advertising their search. Libby begins to open her guarded heart to new friendships and a budding romance, as her tightly controlled world expands. But with Frank’s dementia progressing quickly, their chance of finding the girl on the 88 bus is slipping away.

More than anything, Libby wants Frank to see his lost love one more time. But their quest also shows Libby just how important it is to embrace her own chances for happiness—before it’s too late—in a beautifully uplifting novel about how a shared common experience among strangers can transform lives in the most marvelous ways.

UNEXPECTED.

I didn’t even know this book existed until a week ago when a friend texted me about it, and since I love her dearly I said I would read it too. AND HERE WE ARE. I think this was an unexpected gem that I grew to love. Now, it is definitely more fiction than romance so know that going in.

As Libby rides the bus after a miserable turn of events in her life she meets many characters who turn to impact her future and the way she learns to handle trials. I loved all of the side characters and learning their stories and paths that they have walked. Some are joyful and some are more filled with sorrow, but there was this sense of hope and that things worked out in the end that I loved.

There is a little dash of a romance with some tropes I love and some not so much. I do think everything came together in the end really well and the epilogue is just the absolute best. I thought the answers needed were given and I am not upset I picked this one up at all.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Fiction
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: Kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, dementia

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Book Review: The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Cozy Fantasy
Length: 336 pages
Author: Julie Leong
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: November 5th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A wandering fortune teller finds an unexpected family in this warm and wonderful debut fantasy, perfect for readers of Travis Baldree and Sangu Mandanna.

Tao is an immigrant fortune teller, traveling between villages with just her trusty mule for company. She only tells “small” fortunes: whether it will hail next week; which boy the barmaid will kiss; when the cow will calve. She knows from bitter experience that big fortunes come with big consequences…

Even if it’s a lonely life, it’s better than the one she left behind. But a small fortune unexpectedly becomes something more when a (semi) reformed thief and an ex-mercenary recruit her into their desperate search for a lost child. Soon, they’re joined by a baker with a knead for adventure, and—of course—a slightly magical cat.

Tao sets down a new path with companions as big-hearted as her fortunes are small. But as she lowers her walls, the shadows of her past are closing in—and she’ll have to decide whether to risk everything to preserve the family she never thought she could have.

Thank you Berkley for the gifted copy.

IT WAS FINE.

I’m realizing I am someone who wants to love cozy fantasy but that I really need some dark and tense action to stay fully connected to a story. This book is charming, and I didn’t have glaring issues. I just never became invested enough.

The plot felt a bit meandering and like scenes were added to get to a certain page count. I did enjoy the characters and the rag-tag group of souls who found each other and worked to find a lost child. There’s some good charm, and some good themes woven in too. I also liked the audiobook narration too.

Things came together well in the end and it definitely fits the cozy vibe if that’s what you’re after.

Overall audience notes:

  • Cozy Fantasy
  • Language: none – low
  • Romance: none
  • Violence: low

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Book Review: Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 464 pages
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: February 4th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis.

Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford and a student-athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships—at least, that’s what she tells herself.

Swim captain, world champion, all-around aquatics golden boy, Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It’s how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus, with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes.

So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water…

OKAY I GET IT NOW.

This wasn’t really on my radar because I figured the spice would overwhelm my enjoyment of the book but a friend read it and her review convinced me that I needed to go for it and I DID AND I LIKED IT A LOT Y’ALL. The book, not the spice, I still skipped that.

BECAUSE, the story was so dang solid. It really was more than the spice. I was hooked on this plot. I LOVED getting all of the swimming/diving knowledge about competitions, practices, etc. I know very little and this is why I love unique sports romances.

And Scarlett with her mental health moments and therapy? Also in love. As an athlete in another life it was incredibly relatable and I loved seeing her move through that journey. SWEET LUCAS. Good heavens. I think the duet narration in the audiobook sold him x1000 for me. Every single moment and interaction between them was incredible.

I could have used a little less of Pen (Penn? Audiobook problems). She kept popping up and adding another dash of drama that I don’t think the book needed. Otherwise though? I’m not even a little bit mad I picked this up. It was amazing.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: y’all I stopped counting
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: death of a parent (recounted), depiction of trauma and PTSD, bullying

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