Tag: contemporary romance

ARC Book Review: Trust Fall by Lynn Painter

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Upper YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Lynn Painter
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: September 29th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Better Than the Movies, Lynn Painter, comes a rags-to-riches rom-com about a small-town girl whose family inherits a fortune and moves to New York City, where she meets a big-city boy hiding an explosive secret.

Julia is just a small-town girl from Nebraska who loves her peaceful life. But when her elderly next-door neighbor—who just happens to be a secret multi-millionaire—leaves everything to Julia and her family after his passing, Julia is swept away to live in a historic brownstone in New York City and attend an elite private school for the super-rich.

It should be a dream come true. Wrong. Julia doesn’t fit in at her new school; worse, she’s failing. Enter Damion, the mysterious and handsome tutor who will get Julia back on track. Except Damion has a secret. He is the great-nephew of the man who left everything to Julia’s family. Damion doesn’t buy for a second that the person who was like a father to him would leave his home to strangers. And he’s determined to prove it.

To uncover the truth, Damion schemes to earn Julia’s trust. Not an easy task with Julia unsure about this rich boy with a rebellious personality. But the more time Damion spends with Julia, the more his plan begins to backfire. Because he is falling for the enemy—and the enemy is falling for him.

As Damion and Julia figure out where they belong, can they see past their differences and act on their feelings, or will the trust Damion has worked so hard to gain fall apart?

Thank you Simon Teen for the gifted ARC.

GOT ME IN THE FEELS.

And this really shouldn’t surprise anyone because I love Lynn Painter’s books.

DAMION. That guy falls SO HARD. Good heavens I loved the way he was written. It’s snarky and bad boy prep school vibes that clash with Julia’s small town Nebraska-ness that sent me over the edge. The way they sniped at each other while also chipping away at who they first thought was before them was everythinggggg. Damion’s inner dialogue and chapters were 100% some of my favorite ever. I highlighted multiple things because I could not get enough.

I knew exactly where this was heading with the Remi plot line and it still made me misty eyed. I loved that journey too (trying to stay vague) and the themes and conversations that came from it were impactful too. It brought such a sense of love and gratitude for those in our corner.

DID YOU KNOW THERE’S A BALL? Because I won’t shut up about those scenes for at least the next 100 business days. I’m telling y’all there were MANY moments that I could not get enough of. I loved the pacing and interactions and side characters and the setting and just all the things.

I would like to note that unfortunately there is a LOT of language for a young adult book and that was a bummer.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: very high
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: mild
  • Content warnings: loss of a loved one, physical altercation

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ARC Book Review: Well Versed (Well Met #5) by Jen DeLuca

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Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Jen DeLuca
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 22nd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It’s a second chance at first love at the Renaissance Faire, where the search for a new queen shapes a destiny, from USA Today bestselling author Jen DeLuca.

Caitlin Parker was a teenager when she fell out of love with the magic of the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire—the site of her first real heartbreak. But now, twenty-four and unemployed, she finds herself in her childhood bedroom and her childhood lady-in-waiting costume, assisting a rotating cast of substitute queens for the season. The very last person she wants to see is Alexander Wright—the sword-fighting, Shakespeare-spouting young man who won and broke her teenage heart. Yet there he is, older, annoyingly hotter, and back on stage at her Faire.

When Alex broke things off with Caitlin five years ago, he thought he was just ending a summer fling. He didn’t realize how much he’d fallen for her until he let her go, and he certainly didn’t know he’d tarnished her memories of her cherished Faire and worse, shattered her view on love and relationships. His need to right that wrong this summer brings them together again and again, and the four-year age difference that kept them apart years ago isn’t a big deal now. This time, it won’t be so easy to let go of this summer fling.

But as summer winds down, real life is catching up to both of them. Caitlin’s always thought that being an adult with adult responsibilities means leaving whimsy behind. Alex, with a life full of stage combat, songs, and sonnets, doesn’t know how to live any other way. Can they go after their dreams and find a future together where they can still say “huzzah”?

Thank you Berkley for the gifted eARC.

NOT QUITE.

Unfortunately, this didn’t have the same vibes as the first four books in this series (all of which I adored). What was interesting was that this was the first book I’ve ever read with the FMC having the same name (and spelled the same) as mine. So that was wild.

What was frustrating to me is that Caitlin acted younger than 24 even though she kept referencing that she was an adult now. The fact she swore off love over Alex didn’t make sense to me. It seemed like an over reaction and that was an immediate turn off.

I did like the banter and chemistry between Alex and Caitlin when they were both just being sweet with each other. There’s a good handful of out of pocket commentary from Caitlin but it can be ignored, mostly. It was fun being at the Ren Fest again and seeing all of the romances from the previous books too.

They are definitely a couple that needed a little more communication but the entire book wasn’t a wash. It’s a good summer romance and it ends sweetly so all in all, I’m not mad I read it.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 3ish open door
  • Violence: low

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Book Review: I Wish He Would (Sweeter Than Fiction #4) by Amanda Schimmoeller

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Rating: ★★★★.25
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 301 pages
Author: Amanda Schimmoeller
Publisher: ABS Publishing
Release Date: September 1st, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I hit it out of the park in the friend department. The dating department? Not so much.

After a series of horrible first dates, I’m convinced it’s time to give up on my search for love. But when my best friends convince me to try out a list of twenty questions to fall in love, I decide to give it a shot.

I go on a date and test out the questionnaire, but it seems the only answers I get are the ones leading me back to my friend, Austin Bradford, who also happens to be the star shortstop for the Louisville Mustangs.

Despite all my desperate attempts to convince my best friends otherwise, I’ve had feelings for Austin since we met three years ago. Which also happened to be the same night he friendzoned me.

When I have to attend my cousin’s destination wedding—who, might I add, is marrying my jerk of an ex-boyfriend—Austin insists on going with me. I tell myself it will be fine, just a friendly vacation. Maybe I can even bury all my feelings for him on the beach.

Except, the time I spend with Austin has me questioning if the heated looks he’s sending my way are real, or if the Caribbean sun is making me hallucinate.

I wish he would give me a clear sign, because I refuse to put my heart on the line and risk our friendship without knowing if our love story will be a grand slam or a strikeout.

I Wish He Would is a friends-to-lovers baseball romcom with sizzling chemistry but no explicit content. It’s the fourth book in the Sweeter Than Fiction series, following four best friends finding love.

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

ADORED.

I think this is my new favorite of the series. I just had a blast reading it and flew right through it. I continue to enjoy this friend group and the way they show up for each other. It’s filled with kindness and saying the hard thing even when you don’t want to hear it.

I’m usually on a struggle bus when it comes to friends to lovers romances, and YAY, this was not the case here. I liked the realizations for Austin and Alyssa. It wasn’t riddled with miscommunication and focused on the intentional choices needed to see if their could be a romance relationship between them.

My small issue was some of the antagonists came off a little ridiculous in demeanor and such. But otherwise nothing major.

I loved that this had a dash of fake dating and baseball games mixed in with a destination wedding (+ a few of my favorite tropes popped up too!). I loved the baseball content!!! There were multiple swoony moments that had me gushing. The banter is fun and the whole lighter vibe of the book just feels right.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: none that I remember

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ALC Book Review: Fall Into Me (Willow Creek) by Juliana Smith

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance Novella
Length: 3 hours
Author: Juliana Smith
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Release Date: September 22nd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Brimming with Southern charm, Juliana Smith is back with a new adult novella in the same world as her Willow Creek series. When Oak Ridge’s biggest wedding of the year puts Dakota and Elliot face-to-face with their exes—who just happen to be dating each other—the solution is fake date their way through the weekend.

Thank you Sourcebooks for the gifted ALC.

GOOD NOVELLA!

After enjoying Smith’s young adult novel in Willow Creek I jumped at the chance to try out this novella. It is adult!! Just going to declare that again in case you missed it. It’s closed door but there is some light innuendo and overall adult vibe to the story.

I LOVED the duet narration. Gosh it’s just the best way to listen to a book. Both narrators did a fantastic job and it was easy to lock into this romance.

The fake dating to get back at exes isn’t always my favorite because I feel like the exes play too much into the story (and that did happen here to a degree) but I loved all of the moments that Dakota and Elliot had together. There’s a good amount of wedding shenanigans alongside times where they got to be by themselves. I loved the contrasting personalities and the banter. Elliot is such a cinnamon roll and I loved his nature. And I loved that SHE was the professional bull rider.

Things move quickly but without feeling like it’s insta-love. I thought the connection came across genuine and I would love to see these two pop up in a future Willow Creek book to see how they are doing.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance Novella
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses; light innuendo

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