Book Review: Unmasked (Benevolence & Blood #2.5) by Lauren M. Leasure

July 16, 2025June 20, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 266 pages
Author: Lauren M. Leasure
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: April 23rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The boys who age out of the orphanage become soldiers. That’s the way of it. That’s always been the plan for Miles Landgrave.

His own past is a mystery to him and he’s content to keep it that way. With his sights set on a higher rank, it seems his true life’s purpose is finally within reach. Soon, he’ll be able to step out of the shadows of survival and into the role he was born to fill.

When he meets Cielle Andyr, all of it comes grinding to a halt. He’s never questioned his own allegiance nor the horrific acts that allegiance will soon force him to commit. But now, he sees everything in a new light, one he was convinced didn’t exist.

For the first time in his life, Miles has more to live for than his duty, placing him at a crossroads between the honor of love and the love of honor. As unrest grows across the continent, he must choose between love and duty, between a sworn oath and a longing heart.

But a world doesn’t exist where he can have both.

I LOVE MILES SO MUCH.

I loved this novella. I’ve been wanting Miles story for a long time and oh my gosh it packed a GUT PUNCH. I loved being back in this world and getting more background. I loved that it was dual POV too. It’s set prior to the current track of the series and gives me a tiny bit of hope for how things will come together.

The romance was well paced. I loved seeing some side characters and I look forward to seeing how this all will fit back into the series! This isn’t a *necessary* story, but if you have been loving this world, I definitely recommend reading this too!

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance Novella
Language: high
Romance: 2 open door
Violence: high
Content Warnings: loss of life

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ARC Book Review: Roads of Resistance (Falcon Point Historical #2) by A.L. Sowards

July 15, 2025June 25, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Fiction
Length: 370 pages
Author: A.L. Sowards
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Release Date: July 15th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The line between enemy and ally can shift in a heartbeat.

1940

After her father is murdered, fifteen-year-old Ingrid Lang flees her home in Austria only to become separated from her siblings and stranded in the Dutch city of Arnhem with a pair of broken legs. Her future would be bleak if not for the kindness of a local doctor and his daughter Anita van der Veen. But before Ingrid can finish her healing and continue her journey to find her brother and sister, the forces of Nazi Germany overrun the Netherlands, leaving her trapped in an enemy occupation.

Four years later, Gerrit Hendriks, wanted by the Gestapo for his work with the underground, flees to his grandfather’s home in Arnhem, where he finds Ingrid and the van der Veens deeply ensconced in the local resistance. But suspicion, prejudice, and conflicting beliefs soon leave Ingrid and Gerrit at odds with each other.

As Ingrid and Gerrit gather intelligence for the Allies, smuggle airmen and other refugees to safety, and plan acts of defiance against the Nazis, irritations soften and teamwork blossoms. They soon realize that if they want to have any hope of outsmarting a German intelligence officer with a tie to Ingrid’s past, they’ll have to work together. As Ingrid and Gerrit begin to recognize just how much they mean to each other, they find themselves in the middle of an enormous airborne operation, and the imminent battles have the potential to change everything—for Ingrid, for Gerrit, and for the Netherlands.

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

ABOUT TOOK ME OUT.

A.L. Sowards continues to be one of my favorite historical authors and this was another book that took me on an intense journey. I love the way that A.L. pulls out these complex characters and getting to see many angles of the war and how it effected everyone for years to come.

I just loved Gerrit and Ingrid. There are so many nuanced things I could discuss about them independently and as a couple that I could fill pages with. The resilience and strength and the willpower each step took as the years stretched was empowering to read. I love their love.

A.L. never shies away from the intensity and brutality of war and that was once again present here. I liked the Netherlands setting because it’s one I don’t know as much about and only added to the story. Sowards knows how to craft an amazingly intricate and beautiful book and it wrenches my heart every dang time.

Overall audience notes:

Historical Fiction
Language: none
Romance: closed door
Violence: high
Content warnings: WW2 themes (starvation, mentions of concentration camps, work camps and more), loss of life, weapons violence, physical violence, loss of a baby, grief/depression depiction

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Book Review: Caught Up (Windy City #3) by Liz Tomforde

July 14, 2025June 8, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Liz Tomforde
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Release Date: October 10th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Kai.
I’m a single dad and starting pitcher for Chicago’s MLB team.I’m stretched too thin, but I don’t want help raising my son.Each of his previous nannies only lasted a few weeks before I let them go.Now, my coach is putting his foot down by hiring the one person I can’t fire—his daughter.Miller Montgomery is the last woman I should fall for. Too wild, too young, and too unattached. Chicago is just a quick stop for her. I thought I’d be counting down the days until she left, but summer feels too short when I start thinking about forever.
Miller.
As a high-end pastry chef who recently won the most prestigious award in my industry, I’m desperate to prove I deserve it. But with a new title comes new pressure, and I can’t create a fresh and inspiring dessert to save my life.With only two months to get back on track, I should be focusing in the kitchen, but instead, I let my dad talk me into using my time off to nanny for his star player’s kid.Kai Rhodes forgot how to have fun, and I’m eager to jog his memory. But when he and his son start to feel like home, I have to remind us both that my time in Chicago ends with the summer.Besides, I’ve always been a runner, and the last thing I want is to get caught.

GOOD.

This is the first baseball romance I can recollect recently reading and genuinely enjoying. I loved Kai so dang much and he was the sweetest Dad. I loved the level of baseball content throughout and getting to see teammates and Isiah. All of the friendships were some of my favorite aspects. I love seeing strong bonds. Oh!! And Miller and Monty’s relationship made my heat squeeze multiple times. They had a special bond I was endeared to from the beginning.

I enjoyed most of the romance. I didn’t love the summer fling aspects as it came to be a fairly repetitive dynamic, especially for Miller. After a medium-ish burn and some good angst I thought the needed relationship conversations would happen and I felt like those kept getting dragged out. I was tired of Miller repeating herself.

So while not my favorite of the series (The Right Move maintains all supremacy), I am still liking this series plenty. There were some fantastic scenes in here and I found the spice to be pretty easy to skip. Looking forward to book four!!

Overall audience notes:

Sports Romance
Language: high
Romance: 3-4 open door
Violence: low
Content Warnings: parental abandonment mentioned, sexual assault (on-page), death of a parent mentioned

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ARC Book Review: Maid for Each Other by Lynn Painter

July 13, 2025June 29, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Lynn Painter
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: July 15th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A millionaire and a house cleaner are a match maid in heaven in this sparkling new romantic comedy by Lynn Painter, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Happily Never After.

As a professional cleaner, Abi Mariano never thought her apartment would have any sort of infestation, but because of a building-wide outbreak, she now needs somewhere to stay for a week. As a part-time student with two jobs, she doesn’t have many options. Then the solution presents itself: the owner of the penthouse she cleans is out of town for the week. She normally wouldn’t consider it, but he’s literally never around (she hasn’t even met him). It goes great…until one morning she finds two strangers in the kitchen. They’re the parents of the penthouse owner and they seem to think they’ve heard all about Abi—not as their son’s maid, but as his girlfriend.

Declan Powell has always put his career first, working his way up to become an executive at his company, but he still has his sights set on the next level. When his parents mention that they met his girlfriend, “Abby,” he all but chokes on his escargot. As wonderful as it sounds that she was just darling, he doesn’t actually have a girlfriend—he made her up to get everyone off his back. When Dex finds out who Abi really is, he makes her a proposition: pretend to date him, and he’ll provide everything she needs during their little arrangement. What harm would it do? It’s purely business, no pleasure…right?

Thank you Berkley Romance for the gifted eARC.

OH I ADORED THIS.

It’s not a secret that I’m a big Lynn Painter fan. They just give me that shot of dopamine that I am always needing and I had a blast reading MFEO. It had me laughing and smiling and swooning all over the place. Is it totally cheesy? YOU BETCHA. Go for the vibes, it’s a delight.

I might be able to nitpick a few things about the plot but by the end I thought certain points were circled back to and answered and I was good with those conclusions.

The banter was, as always, top tier between Abi and Declan. I was a sucker for the nicknames and made up stories. All of the fake dating and millionaire aspects were incredibly fun. It felt unrealistic in a realistic way that made it one of those perfect picks for a summer romance. I loved the charm and heated moments. AND THE SWEET TENDER ONES SENT ME. Gosh these two were flipping adorable. Declan is a man who fell HARD. Loved it. Loved it all.

Overall audience notes: