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

June 2, 2025April 17, 2024 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

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: May 2025

June 1, 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

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Book Review: Old Flames and New Fortunes by Sarah Hogle

May 30, 2025April 12, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Sarah Hogle
Publisher: G.P. Putnam
Release Date: April 2nd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A steamy second-chance romance about a magical florist’s unexpected reunion with her high school sweetheart as she fake dates his soon-to-be stepbrother.

A small, magical town tucked away in rural Ohio, Moonville is the perfect place for flora fortunist Romina Tempest to expand her shop, where she uses the language of flowers to help the hopeful manifest their love lives. After giving up on her own big romance eleven years ago, at least she can bask in the promise of others’.

So, when the shop’s potential financier shares news of his wedding, Romina jumps on the opportunity to discuss buying the business. What better place to negotiate a deal than at a wedding, even if she has to fake-date her chaotic colleague Trevor to get an invitation? But all hell breaks loose when she discovers Trevor’s soon-to-be stepbrother is none other than Alex her high school sweetheart. Her greatest love. The boy who, eleven years ago, broke her heart, and who now thinks she and Trevor are dating.

What starts as an innocent misunderstanding becomes a week-long fake dating scheme, as Romina resolves to make Alex pay for breaking her heart. The only issue? She can’t deny their still-burning connection. Caught between proving to Alex what he lost, and coming clean and risking her business, Romina must decide whether giving Alex another chance means going back on herself, or finally releasing her hold on the past.

CUTE AND QUIRKY.

I enjoyed this one so much. I loved all of the flower content and the whole plot set-up. The magical realism was at just the right level to add to the story without overwhelming it. This was a good second chance romance that brought some heated tension and angst, and some solid jealousy moments too.

There’s a lot of quirky side characters and sub plots that made me laugh. This book balanced not taking itself too seriously while covering some heavier topics too. There was a lot to work through for Romina and I loved where she landed in the end.

I thought a big third act full of nonsense was on the horizon, but pleasantly it was handled really well and with meaning. Unfortunately afterwards the last quarter of the book dragged on too long. I think things could have been wrapped up quicker with the same emotional hit.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: moderate
Romance: 2-3 open door
Violence: low
Trigger/Content Warnings: grief from a break-up that also involves a child

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Book Review: Simply the Best (Chicago Stars #10) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

May 28, 2025April 11, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: February 13th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips returns with the next book in her Chicago Stars series where a successful sports agent and the sister of his biggest client engage in a take-no-prisoners battle of the sexes.

Take one hard-driving sports agent…

Throw in a failed chocolatier…

And her superstar football player brother…

Add a quirky pink and purple food truck…

Then, to really screw things up, mix in a very unfortunate murder.

Brett Rivers is the hottest sports agent in the business—fast and furious, swift and deadly. Failure? Not an option.

Rory Garrett is—let’s be honest—a disaster. She has a big heart, an empty bank account, a passion for making exquisite chocolate, and a huge inferiority complex from living in the shadow of Brett’s most important client, her football legend brother.

Brett and Rory should never have met, and they absolutely, positively should never have had to deal with the consequences of one stupid, drunken night…one disastrous lie…one career in jeopardy…one missing football player…and a very dead body.

It’s going to get messy…and dangerous…and heartbreaking…and sexy. To Rory, Brett represents skewed values and a devious mind. To Brett, Rory is forbidden fruit, off limits, do not disturb, and no entry—definitely no entry.

A woman who has succeeded at nothing and a man who’s succeeded at everything confront the challenge of their lives as they struggle with themselves and each other. When it comes to love—what price are any of us willing to pay to be simply the best?

A NICE SWITCH.

I have never read this author before so I had no idea what I was getting into. I thought this was a quirky contemporary that had some added murder mystery dynamics that made for a good and quick read.

I absolutely loved the banter between the two main characters. It made me snicker multiple times. As someone who doesn’t love the one night stand trope I liked how this was approached for the book. It’s clever and on the lighter side too.

I wasn’t quite sure why there was a third POV in here and it kind of took me out of the story and didn’t feel necessary. And I was hoping for more romance rather than mystery. This was at least a fresh vibe for me and that made it an overall delight.

Overall audience notes: