Tag: contemporary romance

ARC Book Review: Call of the Loon by K. Sinko

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 286 pages
Author: K. Sinko
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: June 5th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It’s 2020. Tea Richards sold off all of her apartment furniture and watched her master’s graduation on Zoom, with no future job prospects and nowhere to go. Her mother is on the front lines working at hospitals to fight the disease, so going home to New Jersey wouldn’t be safe. Instead, her mother suggests joining her grandparents at their cabin up at Silver Falls in Minnesota for the summer, a place she has avoided since her last visit when she was eighteen. It’s the only choice she has, even if it forces her to finally face her grief. But at least there’s open air, blue skies, golden sunsets, and less people she’ll have to deal with.

Until the boy next door knocks on the screen door.

Archer Vincent has spent every summer at the lake helping his family run Wild Pines Resort, and this year is his first as the resort’s manager. But throw a global pandemic into the mix, and nothing seems to be going to plan. Especially now that Tea Richards is back for the summer, and even though he hasn’t seen her in years, his boyhood crush on her remains. Despite his best made plans to keep everyone at the resort safe, Archer can’t help breaking his own rules over and over again, all so he can get one step closer to the girl that got away.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

SUMMERTIME LOVE.

I loved how much this felt like SUMMER. It really made me want to run off and find a lake and sailboat to enjoy a hot day on the water. I love when a book can bring out such beautiful and engaging setting.

Having dual POV is always a bonus for me and I loved getting both Archer and Tea’s thoughts and mannerisms. I liked the instant rekindling of chemistry they had upon seeing each other and that they finally communicated a bit to be able to most forward from the past. I don’t love flashback chapters so it was great not to have those in this second chance romance. I felt like I still got the information I needed and it made the pacing much more smooth.

I just don’t think I was quite ready for a pandemic romance though. I don’t feel far enough removed from those years to be able to read about them. I do think the author wrote those aspects with care and mindfulness so that’s not an issue at all.

I love having heated closed door authors to read and K. Sinko continues to be a favorite. I always look forward to her characters, romance, and storylines.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: mild – moderate
  • Romance: vague/low explicit fade to black
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings; COVID pandemic, loss of a parent (recounted)

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

ARC Book Review: The Friendship Fling by Georgia Stone

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 385 pages
Author: Georgia Stone
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: June 3rd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this delightfully charming and heartfelt debut love story, two lonely and wildly different strangers embark on a short-term friendship over one London summer—only to discover they may be something more by the time the season ends.

No one would ever call Ava Monroe a people person, which isn’t ideal for a barista in a busy London coffee shop. She’s sarcastic, blunt, and cynical, and her relationships are strictly no strings attached. With her best friend Josie soon leaving for a year, Ava knows she’ll be all alone unless she shakes up her routine. But she can’t risk bringing chance back into her carefully controlled life.

Then insufferably cheerful, country-hopping, undeniably gorgeous Finn O’Callaghan rolls into her coffee shop with a horrifying proposal —a strictly friends-only summer fling. Finn needs a local to help him complete his London bucket list, and Ava needs to reassure Josie she won’t be on her own. And it’s only for a few months.

To Ava’s surprise, their mismatched friendship of convenience becomes oddly tolerable, and as they work their way through Finn’s list and around the sun-drenched city, from rooftops and floating bars to nights at the museum, their adventures—and Finn’s company—start to feel . . . nice. Incredibly, terrifyingly, dangerously nice.

Still, rules are rules—Ava has good reasons for them—and as the days get shorter, Finn’s departure gets closer. Because that’s the thing about it always ends. Right?

Thank you Harper Perennial for the gifted copy.

CHARMING DEBUT.

Oh well this was a delight and I would definitely read another book from this author!! I felt like Ava and I were soul sisters so that really helped. Many of her characteristics were my vibe and personality which was fun to see in a book. I am not bubbly, neither is Ava. Give me more black cat book recs.

I really adored this that book went from strangers to friends to lovers. It is a SLOW BURN and we love slow burns. The plot is a little slow and I wanted something *else* for it but that was my only issue. I loved the strong friendships and positive communication throughout. The third act works for the book and did not make me cranky so this book gets all the points for that fact alone.

I loved that it was dual POV and getting to know both Ava and FInn. I LOVED Finn too. Both characters have great arcs about learning to step outside comfort zones, make boundaries for family and finding what’s next in life. It’s charming and sweet and a little spicy.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: 2ish open door
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: a loved one with cancer, absent parents

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Done and Dusted (Rebel Blue Ranch #1) by Lyla Sage

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Lyla Sage
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: October 24th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She’s off-limits, but he’s never been good at following the rules.

For the first time in her life, Clementine “Emmy” Ryder has no idea what she’s doing. She’s accomplished everything on her to-do list. She left her small hometown of Meadowlark, Wyoming; went to college; and made a career for herself by doing her favorite thing: riding horses. But after an accident makes it impossible for her to get back into the saddle, she has no choice but to return to the hometown she always wanted to escape.

Luke Brooks is Meadowlark’s most notorious bad boy, bar owner, and bachelor. He’s also the unofficial fifth member of the Ryder family. As Emmy’s older brother’s best friend, Luke spent most of his childhood antagonizing her. It’s been years since he’s seen her, but when she walks into his bar and back into his life, he can’t take his eyes off her. Despite his better judgment, he wants to do a whole lot more than just look at her.

Emmy’s got too much on her mind to think about romance. And Luke knows he should stay away from his best friend’s younger sister. But what if Luke is just what Emmy needs to get her spark back? Or will they both go up in flames?

SO I DIDN’T HATE THIS?

I have been holding off on reading this book for a very long time. I just didn’t think it was going to work for me. But one day, I was like, I need a a cowboy romance, and here we are.

This was definitely a debut and I rode on vibes for it, which helped a lot. There was quite a bit of telling vs. showing that must be why it was such a quick read. I would have loved the scenes mentioned to have been expounded upon to get a better and deeper understanding of the characters.

For it’s benefit, the quick read also worked for me. I loved the setting. I loved the dynamics between this family and look forward to future books because of it. The brother’s best friend trope worked well and there were some really good swoony moments.

I think if there’s a bit more plot next time (rather than just hanging out around the ranch) I’ll turn into a big fan.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 3-4 open door
  • Violence: low

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: May 2025

GoodeyReads1 Comment

May was a rough one y’all. Almost gave a book one star and had THREE two star books which is generally underheard of for me. Two were new to me authors so at least I tried some new authors??

Some of these reviews are already out and others will be out in the future!

  • Broken Souls and Bones (Stonegate #1) by LJ Andrews
  • [ARC] The Enemy’s Daughter by Melissa Poett
  • What If I Never Get Over You by Paige Toon
  • To Steal from Thieves (Thieves & Kings #1) by M.K. Lobb
  • Watch Me (Shatter Me: The New Republic #1) by Tahereh Mafi
  • The Things We Water by Mariana Zapata
  • [ARC/ALC] Cruel is the Light (Cruel is the Light #1) by Sophie Clark
  • Silver Elite (Silver Elite #1) by Dani Francis
  • As You Ice It (Appies #7) by Emma St. Clair
  • [ALC] Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli
  • Even if It Hurts (Huntley Square #1) by Molly Barlowe
  • [ARC/ALC] The Knight and the Moth (The Stonewater Kingdom #1) by Rachel Gillig
  • [ARC/ALC] Rules for Ruin (The Crinoline Academy #1) by Mimi Matthews
  • [Short Story] The Six Deaths of the Saint (Into Shadow #3) by Alix E. Harrow
  • The Geographer’s Guide to Romance (Love’s Academic #2) by India Holton
  • The Long Way Home (Magnolia Parks Universe #3) by Jessa Hastings
  • A Curse Carved in Bone (Saga of the Unfated #2) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • The Q by Beth Brower
  • [ARC] The Friendship Fling by Georgia Stone
  • A Guarded Heart by Heidi Kimball
  • All We Lost Was Everything by Heidi Kimball
  • Enchanted Kingdom (Enchanted Kingdom #1) by Tricia Wentworth
  • [ARC/ALC] The Beautiful Maddening by Shea Ernshaw
  • Scot and Bothered by Alexandra Kiley
  • Rewind it Back (Windy City #5) by Liz Tomforde
  • Love Sick by Deidra Duncan
  • Caught Stealing (Southern Sports Sweethearts #1) by M.J. Padgett
  • [ARC/ALC] A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
  • Can’t Get Enough (Skyland #3) by Kennedy Ryan
  • [ARC] The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
  • [ARC] Call of the Loon by K. Sinko
  • The Floating World (The Floating World #1) by Axie Oh
  • It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph