Tag: contemporary romance

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: February 2025

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The month of love. And a lot of good books! I love seeing all of the covers together at the end of the month.

  • Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
  • [ARC] You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon
  • Here’s the Thing (The Seddledowne #4) by Susan Henshaw
  • [Short story] The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez
  • [ALC] A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall
  • Sweet Wicked Vows (A Wicked Dade Brothers Book #1) by Rachel Donnan
  • Kingdom of Claw (The Ashen #2) by Demi Winters
  • [ARC] If Tomorrow Never Comes by Allison Ashley
  • A Crown So Silver (Fair Folk #2) by Lyra Selene
  • We Redeemed the Rain (Meadowbrook Ranch #1) by Ashley Dill
  • [Short story] Please Be Mine by K. Sinko
  • [ALC] Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods
  • [ARC] One More Wish (Sugar Valley #2) by Lindsey Lanza
  • Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft
  • [Novella] A Churn in the Dark (Into the Churn #2.5) by Hayley Reese Chow
  • The Rose Bargain (The Rose Bargain #1) by Sasha Peyton Smith
  • Beautifully Broken Control (Sutter Lake #4) by Catherine Cowles
  • [ARC/ALC] The Scorpion and the Night Blossom (The Three Realms Duology #1) by Amelie Wen Zhao
  • Wedding Dashers by Heather McBreen
  • The House of My Mother by Shari Franke
  • Beautifully Broken Redemption (Sutter Lake #5) by Catherine Cowles
  • [ARC] The Emerald Alliance (The Otherworlds #3) by Courtney Millecam
  • The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Volume #8) by Beth Brower
  • [ALC] The Dark Mirror (The Bone Season #5) by Samantha Shannon
  • [ARC] The Serendipity (Only Magic in the Building) by Emma St. Clair
  • The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson
  • [ARC] The Magic of Light by Jordan Abitz
  • [ALC] Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven
  • [ARC] Secret or Shutout (D.C. Eagles #4) by Leah Brunner
  • Under Your Spell by Laura Wood
  • Taken With Trouble (Caught in Chaos #2) by Jenessa Fayeth
  • We Will Be Heroes (The Vigil & Ante Files #2) by Megan McCullough

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Book Review: Sweet Wicked Vows (A Wicked Dade Book #1) by Rachel Donnan

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 347 pages
Author: Rachel Donnan
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 28th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

JAXON
Revenge doesn’t have an expiry date.
So when my brother hands me the chance to get it, I jump.
It doesn’t matter that it involves marrying my main competitor and enemy’s daughter.
All I have to do is focus on the task at hand and not on the redhead who makes me question everything, including my own heart.

EVELYN
My whole world is being turned upside down.
Broken-hearted and thrust into becoming CEO of my dad’s company, I make a deal with the Dade devils.
Marriage for one year. Simple.
Except everything I start to feel for Jaxon is anything but simple.
No matter how much I crave him, falling in love with my temporary husband isn’t an option, right?

PLEASANTLY SURPRISED.

Okay so, I picked this book based off of seeing it recommend on a Thread I wrote. It just called to me. And at the time of me writing this review, it has less than 40 reviews on Goodreads. I took a shot in the dark, and I am here to say, I enjoyed this book.

The marriage of convenience trope CALLED to me. And I answered. I thought it was a clever plot with the feuding jewelry stores and I did like both characters. There was some good and feisty banter. I love a man who speaks a different language and I thought the romance showed a lot of potential.

What was missing for me was a fleshing out of all aspects of the plot and romance. Since I’ve read 1,000+ romance books I felt like my mind filled in the blanks because I knew where things were going. I do wish that we had some more background on the feud, the characters, just all of the little pieces put together.

Will I read the next book? Maybe. I think the spice was a bit out of my wheelhouse preference level (but if you like more spicy things, I would say try this!!). I’m not mad I took a chance on reading this though. It brought me out of a slump I was mulling me way through.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: multiple open door; fade to black
  • Violence: mild
  • Content Warnings: loss of a parent (recounted), loss of a parent (on page)

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ARC Book Review: Book Boyfriend by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

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Rating: ★★★★
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Release Date: February 25th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Devoted fangirl meets hesitant fanboy in this swoony contemporary love letter to readers who adore fantasy worlds, from the beloved authors of The Breakup Tour.
 
Jennifer Worth lives to escape into the world of her favorite romantasy series Elytheum Courts, where the romance is sweeping and the men are brave, chivalrous . . . and winged. Newly single and craving connection,she travels to an immersive fan experience celebrating all things Elytheum, only to see the last face she expected—Scott Daniels, her work nemesis, whose disinterest in Jennifer’s favorite series and standoffishness have made their publishing jobs feel like a feuding fae court.
 
Except the Scott she encounters there, in his secondhand cosplay outfit, is . . . different. Swaggering, flirtatious, confident. Unlucky in romance himself and inspired by Jennifer’s love for the swoonworthy men of Elytheum, Scott is determined to remake himself into the perfect book boyfriend.
 
Jennifer has no interest in helping the man who vexes her every workday and dismisses her fictional fantasies, but as the immersive convention activities force them together, they’re surprised to discover magic like none Jennifer has ever read about. But is enemies-to-lovers romance only for books, or can Jennifer and Scott bring the trope to life?

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the eARC and PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook.

WELL.

Alright, I’ve been a pretty steady fan of EW & ASB adult romance books. They usually cover some good themes and have a swoon factor I enjoy. It’s also nice that they are on the lower end of the spice scale so it’s not in your face throughout.

I loved the initial idea with this book and how it felt like a love letter to fantasy books (and readers in general). I loved the immersion set up and I would absolutely attend one of these events if I could.

What kind of lost me was that it didn’t feel romantic. For a book centered around a fantasy romance and finding romance, etc. I did not feel that from the characters. The clue hunting plot (+ some side characters) was very much center stage and I wish it would have focused more on Jennifer and Scott. Not to mention, the third act was ridiculous.

I did love the audiobook and thought that the production and narration was great. If you want to read this book, definitely recommend that route.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: 2 open door

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Book Review: Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Jenny Holiday
Publisher: Forever Books
Release Date: January 30th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A charming and heartfelt romance about a woman who comes face to face with the fake Canadian boyfriend she made up as a teenager.

The fake Canadian boyfriend. It’s a thing. The get out of jail free card for all kinds of sticky social situations. “I can’t go to prom; I’m going to be out of town visiting my boyfriend in Canada.” It’s all over pop culture. But Aurora Evans did it first. Once upon a time she met a teenage hockey player at the Mall of America. He was from Canada. He was a boy. She may have fudged the “friend” part a little, but it wasn’t like she was ever going to see him again. It wasn’t like she hurt anyone. Until she did—years later—on both counts.

 When pro hockey player and recent widower Mike Martin walks into the dance studio where Aurora Evans teaches, he’s feeling overwhelmed with the fact that his wife may not have been exactly who he thought she was and the logistics of going back to work. As one of the few people his angry, heartbroken daughter connects with, Aurora agrees to be a pseudo nanny to help him navigate the upcoming school year and hockey season. To his surprise, she turns out to be the perfect balm for him as well. Aurora gets him. The real him underneath his pro jersey. And yet, he still finds himself holding back, unable to fully trust again—especially when he finds out the secret Aurora’s been hiding from him.

SO CLOSE.

I have found myself disappointed again, and this started off so strong?! I was smitten with the plot set-up and characters. I always love a hockey aspect and this was giving me everything I was looking for…until it didn’t.

This book felt way too long. Every time I thought we were getting closer to those ending moments I would check and still have way too much time left in my book. And the third act (that came at 90%+)??? Are you kidding me??? Mike got way too upset about what happened and blew everything so out of proportion. For being so endearing for the majority of the book this was not it.

Also, WHY DID AURORA ONLY CALL HIM MIKE MARTIN? Why the entire dang book did she use his full name? Drove me nuts.

There were some good thoughts and themes I appreciated throughout. Some tough conversations and therapy positivity. I enjoyed much of this but was letdown too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 3+ open; moderate explicit
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a spouse (theme throughout), discussions of eating disorders, panic attacks, anxiety

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