ARC Book Review: The Bodyguard’s Fall (Falling for Autumn) by Cindy Steel

August 12, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Rmance
Length: 354 pages
Author: Cindy Steel
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: August 12th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Her stalker is getting closer. So is her bodyguard.

I know how to write murder mysteries.
Dead bodies? Great. Blood and gore? Even better.

Romance? Absolutely not.

Unfortunately for me, my production company disagrees. After years of writing cozy crime dramas, I’m suddenly being forced to write a flannel and cider romantic screenplay filled with pumpkin patches, maple festivals, and happily-ever-afters I don’t actually believe in.

Especially not after months of terrifying messages from a stalker who seems to know way too much about me.

Which is how I end up back in my hometown of Autumn Ridge, under the protection of Tate Walker—my older brother’s best friend, a cop, and the same overprotective pain in my neck who spent most of my teenage years telling me what I could and couldn’t do.

Tate is temporarily off-duty and back home recovering from a dangerous undercover operation that left him injured and drowning in guilt. And somehow protecting me has become his newest assignment.

Now I’m living on his family’s hay farm while police attempt to catch my stalker. Between boxing lessons, tractor rides, and cozy autumn outings that feel suspiciously like dates, I start finding inspiration for my romantic screenplay in the one place I never expected:

My bodyguard.

But as the threats escalate and my stalker gets closer, so do Tate and I. And falling for the man assigned to protect me might be the most dangerous plot twist of all.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

THIS BOOK Y’ALL.

Cindy Steel does not miss. I was in love with this book from the opening chapter and that obsession only grew. I loved the banter and tension between Tate and Liv. It was sexy and swoony and every touch and glance had me kicking my feet and grinning. They were a couple that was an obvious match from the get go and I loved seeing Tate fall HARD. I love a well used brother best friend’s trope.

This book had allll of the autumn vibes. The setting was magical and made me crave all things pumpkin and cozy. I loved the ranch setting (hello tractor) and the small town fall moments too. I also loved the family and friend relationships too. I really like having a family on page that looks after and teases each other all in the same moment.

The suspense elements were woven in perfectly and only added to the book. I liked feeling slightly on edge wondering when Liv’s stalker was going to pop up again. I liked that it didn’t overwhelm the love story and ended in a satisfying way too.

This book is everything fall and romantic and all things Cindy Steel wrapped in a new book to love.

AND PLEASE JUST TRUST ME YOU’RE GOING TO WANT TO PICK IT UP OKAY???

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: low
Romance: kisses
Violence: mild
Content warnings: stalker (main plot point), mentions of gun violence (recounted)

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ARC Book Review: The Cowboy’s Game (Pride and Pranks #3) by Cindy Steel

February 18, 2026February 3, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 356 pages
Author: Cindy Steel
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 18th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

He’s coaching her love life…and losing control of his own.

Jake Evans knows a thing or two about heartbreak. Recently divorced and raising his four-year-old daughter on his own, the cowboy has sworn off women for good. When a job opens up at a dude ranch in his hometown, he comes running, emotional baggage in tow.

An unexpected bonus? Spending the summer with his childhood best friend.

Shelby Tucker was always better at sinking three-pointers than navigating relationships. With a promising new job on the horizon, her life needs a change. She’s determined to stop sitting on the sidelines while life happens all around her.

First thing to tackle? Dating.

But after one too many cringeworthy moments, Shelby turns to the one person she trusts completely. Jake reluctantly agrees to coach Shelby through the dating world, certain his heart is safe where it is. Soon they’re back to their old routines—placing bets, shooting hoops, and putting Jake’s strategies into play.

Except this time, every touch lingers. What once felt safe now feels dangerous. And the line between practice and something real is blurring fast.

When an accident threatens to fracture Jake’s carefully rebuilt life, he’s forced to confront the one truth he’s been the woman he’s never allowed himself to date might be the one he can’t live without.

★ The Cowboy’s Game is a closed-door romantic comedy full of heart, sizzle, and witty banter, but without explicit content.

This is the third full-length novel in the Pride and Pranks Series. Each book can be read as a standalone, but you will see character crossovers!

Thank you to the author for a gifted eARC.

WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW.

This book was 10000% worth the wait. I kept wanting to put this book down to hold on longer but could not stop reading it because JAKE and SHELBY? ARE YOU KIDIDNG ME? I am absolutely positive I am still a puddle from the first kiss alone. I’ve been burned by multiple friends to lovers romances lately and this took on a different dynamic and let me tell y’all again, IT WORKED.

I LOVED the setting. The dude ranch x cowboy vibe was aesthetically pleasing on all fronts. It’s got this perfectly sexy and heated vibe while still being closed door. You can feel the dawning tension and chemistry turn to romance from the moment Shelby is back in Jake’s life. AND OMG, the hat scene??? IS THIS MY NEW FAVORITE MICRO TROPE? BECAUSE IT MIGHT BE.

And I think this did a beautifully job of balancing the light with the heavy. Jake has a lot of baggage and things to work through and I loved seeing his anger and joy and frustration and hope. He comes to the realizations and truths he needs to and leaves what’s not serving him in the past. It’s one of the best male character romance arcs I’ve ever read.

Seeing the characters from previous books is always a good time and all of the ranch shenanigans only added to the plot. I am a smitten fool for this book and Cindy Steel’s writing.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: very low
Romance: make-outs
Violence: low
Content warnings: absent father, car crash (side character, harmed but okay), parental abandonment, divorce

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ARC Book Review: Rebel Summer (Falling for Summer) by Cindy Steel

July 31, 2024July 23, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 364 pages
Author: Cindy Steel
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: July 31st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Every good summer has a little bad…

I wasn’t supposed to be in Sunset Harbor for more than a weekend. But thanks to, let’s just call it—an unforeseen act of stupidity on my part—I’m here for the whole summer. And for the first time in my life, I’m in a whole lot of trouble.

The sentence? Community service paid toward the person I accidentally wronged.

The problem? That person happens to be Dax Miller. The guy who always spent more time fighting the law than obeying it. He’s also the guy I once told to have a nice life amounting to nothing.

So…it’s been fun being court-ordered to serve him now.

Except the more time I spend with Dax fighting and fixing what was broken, the more I remember that sizzling…something…that’s always been between us. Or that smile of his that can get me to do just about anything. Let me be clear, with a politician for a father, I don’t do trouble. But what happens when the temptation to embrace that inner rebel becomes too strong to resist?

And what do I do when the guy who has only dated trouble his entire life, has his sights set on me?

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

*INCOHERENT SCREECHING*

I wish y’all could have seen me read this book. I truly had a giddy little grin on my face the entire time (sorry to those who watched me reading at the gym). BUT IT WAS TOO GOOD NOT TO ENJOY WITH MY WHOLE HEART. Cindy Steel is one of my favorites and she delivered another swoony romance again.

There were many key moments in here that will make you squeal. I loved the immediate banter and chemistry between Dax and Ivy. They are EVERYTHING. The tension filled push and pull will bring you to your KNEES. Every single interaction felt tangible. I melted at each kissing scene and I loved how they brought out another side in each other. You can see the growth from their separation Dax and Ivy have had a for a few years and I loved the slow dismantling of their walls and seeing all the love that was between them.

This was the perfect adult summer romance book. I can’t beg y’all enough to pick it up. It is swoony and heated (kisses only!), has this perfectly tuned nostalgic quality and gosh dang DAX Y’ALL. I am not over this man. I’m just not over this book. The soft and tender moments combined with the fun and joy of falling in love squeezed my heart. A new all time favorite.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses

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ARC Book Review: The One with the Kiss Cam by Cindy Steel

November 16, 2023November 13, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 317 pages
Author: Cindy Steel
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 16th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It was just one date.

My friend told me I needed more fun in my life, so I reluctantly said yes. Fun wasn’t exactly in my wheelhouse. After watching my own mother’s love life implode time and time again it’s only natural that I have a few rules to protect myself.

Actually, it’s just one rule…
Avoid relationships with men so I don’t get attached.

I wasn’t worried. Getting attached has never been a big problem for me. This guy was just a warm body in a chair. I was here for the basketball game. I was absolutely NOT here for my date.

Or the kiss cam.
Or the kiss.
Or the impromptu evening with the one man who seems bent on throwing my tidy world off of its axis.

But when my life takes a nose dive, he’s also the man who seems bent on proving to me that good men do exist, dreams can come true, and sometimes throwing out the rule book is when the magic really starts to happen.

★ The One with the Kiss Cam is the first in a series of standalone romantic comedies by Cindy Steel. It is a sweet, closed-door romance full of sizzle, witty banter, and chemistry, but without explicit content.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

THIS BOOK.

Cindy Steel really is absolutely incredible at creating beautiful rom-coms. Books that make you smile, swoon, squeeze your heart and cheer on the characters. I loved this one so much. The meet cute was clever and the story that followed brought out all the feels.

The banter and dialogue between Duke and Nora had me grinning like a fool for most of the book. This had reverse grumpy x sunshine vibes and it was immaculate. The office setting had me waiting for any moment that would force them together and it did not disappoint. Add in some eccentric and sweet side characters and this was a recipe for a five star book from the get go.

One of my favorite (more subtle) aspects was that Duke and Nora argued. I actually enjoy seeing this in romances. When things need to be said and discussed and really letting those walls come down, and that they also worked together too!! Some of those closing scenes sent me. Nora finally got the break and love she deserved and Duke just being completely gone for Nora from the get-go is everything I could hope for.

READ THIS BOOK Y’ALL.

Overall audience notes: