ALC Book Review: Lights Out by Jenni Fletcher

February 3, 2026January 17, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: NA Sports Romance
Length: 346 pages
Author: Jenni Fletcher
Publisher: Simon Audio
Release Date: February 3rd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A sizzling Formula One romance perfect for fans of BookTok faves Hannah Grace, Lauren Asher, and Kat Ransom.

He’s a future F1 champion, but she’s making it hard to stay on track…

F1’s resident bad boy Giovanni Bauer isn’t used to losing, but when his non-stop partying leaves his position on the team at risk, he needs to turn his reputation around – fast.

Maisie Evans is a dedicated psychology student, desperate to break into Gio’s competitive world and reignite her dreams of a glittering sports career, but with no clue how to do it.

When Gio and Maisie’s worlds collide, the answer to their problems seems a fake relationship. She gets to travel the world and brush shoulders with sports royalty, and he gets to fix his image by settling down.

But as sparks fly on and off the track, will their ‘relationship’ see them cross the line together, or crash and burn?

Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

I’M NOT FEELING IT.

I’m 0/2 on F1 romances right now and that sucks. I did like the F1 content in this book. It felt present but not overwhelming and the behind the scenes stuff and such worked well for the plot. I also did enjoy the audiobook narrator and had no issues listening.

Both of the main characters caused me to be annoyed one too many times. It was as if this book was marketed/labeled as young adult, but actually had adult content with characters who acted 15. It was not a good look and the drama wasn’t drama-ing well.

Some of the romance was sweet/swoony and other times it went right back to the trying to hard to be dramatic issue. I did like both of their families and the kindness and love in those scenes.

I’m not really vibing with idea of picking up another book by this author, we’ll see.

Overall audience notes:

NA Sports Romance
Language: moderate
Romance: 2 open door
Violence: mild
Content warnings: car crashes and resulting injuries, mentions of loss of a parent

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ALC Book Review: Love Me Tomorrow by Emiko Jean

February 3, 2026January 16, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Emiko Jean
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: February 3rd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Tokyo Ever After comes a laugh-out-loud funny and deeply moving rom-com about a girl who starts receiving letters from the love of her life—writing to her from years in the future.

What if your true love could write to you from the future?

Seventeen-year-old Emma Nakamura-Thatcher doesn’t believe in love, not after her parents’ bitter divorce. So when she attends the festival of Tanabata, her wish is simple: proof that love is real and can last.

Emma thinks little of her wish…until she finds a note from someone claiming to be her greatest love writing to her from the future. It has to be a prank, right? But as the notes pour in, each revealing secrets only she knows, Emma is forced to accept the impossible: This is really happening. Someone is actually reaching out to her from across time.

But who? Ezra, the musical prodigy who makes her pulse race? Theo, the literal boy next door who’s known her since childhood? Or Colin, the overly confident, overly handsome, overly rich kid she meets while cleaning his mega-mansion?

As Emma races to uncover the identity of the letter writer, she’ll discover that love is more than real—it’s the most powerful force in the universe. And it’s been waiting for her all along.

Thank you Simon Teen for the eARC and Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

A SWEET READ.

I will say I loved that this felt truly YA and a book I could hand to that audience as well. It’s content appropriate with relatable characters and a storyline that works for the age group. As a fellow child of divorce I thought the rep here was on point too.

The one thing I’m still tilting my head at was the *letters from the future*. I was intrigued by the idea initially and based off of how I thought it would end I was excited to see everything come together. BUT BUT BUT then, when the ending did come up I felt like the letters didn’t even matter anymore and it took away from the overall story for me.

I adored the soft romance for Emma. And I just liked Emma. She’s likeable and endearing and making mistakes while also trying to do the right thing and was someone I wanted to cheer on. I liked seeing her relationship with her parents and those around her and how Emma tried to navigate many different situations.

I’ll definitely continue to read Emiko Jean’s books!!

Overall audience notes:

YA Contemporary Romance
Language: low
Romance: kisses
Violence: low
Content warnings: divorce

Book Review: Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer

January 30, 2026January 19, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Ellie Palmer
Publisher: GP Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: August 6th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A tender, laugh-out-loud debut romance about a woman who ends up in over her head after a little white lie . . .

When thirty-year-old post-double-mastectomy BRCA 1 carrier and reluctant thrill-seeker Alison Mullally arrives at her ex-boyfriend Sam’s funeral to find that no one knows he dumped her, she agrees to play the grieving girlfriend for the sake of the family and pack up Sam’s apartment with his prickly best friend, Adam Berg. After all, it’ll only take four weekends . . .

But Adam doesn’t want Alison anywhere near him. Forced to spend long hours with the grump, and his monosyllabic demeanor, Alison decides she must put her people-pleasing abilities to the test. She will make him like her. And after awkward family affairs and packing up dilemmas, the two form a tenuous friendship . . . if “friendship” means incredible chemistry and tension between them. Can Alison come clean and finally embrace the life and love she’s always wanted? Or will her little white lie get in the way of her new, unexpected romance?

NEW FAN.

I will officially be reading Ellie Palmer’s next book because this hit all the right notes for me. It was a well balanced romance and I loved the themes and story too.

It’s just a romantic read. I loved listening to the audio and was heavily invested in Alison and Adam’s story. The slow burn was incredible and I loved seeing these quiet moments they got together and the joy they found in each other’s company.

There’s good character growth in Alison’s story too. Her story line packed an emotional punch that had me teary eyed at the grocery store. The journey was beautiful and swoony and impactful on many levels.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: mild
Romance: fade to black
Content Warnings: themes surrounding breast cancer (throughout), loss of a friend, grief depiction

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Book Review: Morbidly Yours (Love in Galway #1) by Ivy Fairbanks

January 16, 2026January 8, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 328 pages
Author: Ivy Fairbanks
Publisher: Lassen Press
Release Date: July 25th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Callum Flannelly would rather dive into an open grave than take a stranger to dinner and a movie. But he can only inherit the family undertaking business and carry on their legacy under one condition: He must marry before his 35th birthday. So it’s out of the mortuary and into the dating scene.

Lark Thompson would rather get crushed by a falling anvil than stay next to a funeral home during her stay in Galway, Ireland. The vivacious American cartoon creator and animator came here to embrace life, not be reminded of losing her husband.

When Lark learns of Callum’s dilemma and aversion to marrying out of necessity rather than love, she agrees to help the introverted mortician. Although sworn off love herself, she is optimistic that Callum can find The One and secure his inheritance.

But as the dating project progresses and their friendship grows, so does a mutual attraction. The more time she spends with serious, sarcastic Callum, the more she dreads finding him a match. And the more disastrous dates he endures, the more he dreads Lark’s imminent return to the states.

If they think it’s possible to ignore their connection, they’re dead wrong.

I LIKED THIS!

This was my first book by this author and it was a good read. I loved the audiobook too and thought the narrators did a great job with the accents. The general set up of this book is not one I’m drawn to (because death terrifies me) BUT, I loved the way this was handled and discussed throughout. I had no anxious moment from listening and loved seeing Callum’s perspective throughout.

I loved how these two slowly came together. There’s a building friendship that spirals into more and I loved how Callum and Lark grew to communicate with each other and be the sense of peace they needed. I do think the spice got to be a little much for me in the second half (but hey, if you love spice, read it).

There were a few things that bugged me throughout and the third act wasn’t my favorite. It’s a good book though and I might look into reading the next one.

Overall audience notes: