Tag: contemporary romance

Book Review: Tropesick by Lauren Okie

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance / Magical Realism
Length: 416 pages
Author: Lauren Okie
Publisher: Avon Books
Release Date: June 16th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this lush, slow-burning romance, two childhood neighbors, connected by a shared tragedy, unexpectedly reunite to ghostwrite a love story for a reclusive author. Spending the summer at her secluded Hamptons estate, they soon discover that dozens of classic romance tropes, including the ones they’re crafting on page, are mysteriously playing out in real life.

Katie Caruso is a completely normal twenty-five-year-old girl. At least, for the past eight years, she’s tried to be. She likes glitter and sequins and flirting with cute boys at New York City bars. She’s also a ghostwriter for Meredith Bradford, the bestselling romance novelist of all time. But then Tyler McNally walks back into Katie’s life, and that bedazzled facade crumbles at her platform-sneakered feet.

Katie and Tyler haven’t seen or spoken to each other since the overdose death of Katie’s older brother, a standout MLB pitching prospect. Tyler was her brother’s best friend, and Katie—naturally—was the girl next door. But now, Tyler is a sleeve-tattooed, Ivy League-educated aspiring literary fiction novelist, nine years sober . . . and Katie’s writing partner for the summer.

As genre conventions require, Katie and Tyler soon find themselves removed from Manhattan and instead writing their love story in “forced proximity” at Meredith’s isolated Southampton home. As the summer unfolds, the tropes Katie and Tyler have written into their novel begin to play out in their own lives. Call it destiny, fate, or magic It’s clear their love story is unfinished. This time, though, they’ll fight for their happy ending.

Heart-wrenching and tender, Tropesick is a love letter to the romance genre. With a wink and a nod, Okie has packed the novel with listeners’ favorite

Thank you to LibroFM for the gifted audiobook.

I DID NOT LIKE THIS BOOK.

Which sucks because I genuinely enjoyed Lauren Okie’s first book A BUNCH.

The magical realism and I did not bond well. Already a hard sell for my usual reading preferences (and to be fair, I did not know this book even had magical realism until I clocked in halfway through because I don’t usually read summaries).

And I also realized that the audiobook may have played into the downfall? I thought the narrators did a good job but the narrator who voiced the FMC made Katie sound like she always yelling. Or maybe Katie and Tyler were just arguing that often? Either way, nooooope. And the spice was a bit much, especially in the second half.

It was pretty clever to have the tropes pop up in the book as the story went on. And SOME of the angstyness was fine too.

This didn’t turn me off from reading the next book from Okie, but I’ll be eyeing that one more.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance/Magical realism
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: multiple open door
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: strained parent relationships, loss of a brother (recounted), side character with a drug addiction (recounted)

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: September 2026

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THE BER MONTHS. And what a good reading month for September! Made it through a lot and now I’m drowning in ARCs for October.

  • Ungodly Rich by Katharine McGee
  • Fossil Feud by Maggie North
  • Hawk & Sparrow by Ayana Gray
  • Catching Feelings (Varsity #2) by Emily Charlotte
  • [ALC] Fall Into Me by Juliana Smith
  • [ARC] Trust Fall by Lynn Painter
  • Steelborn (The Steelborn Saga #1) by Taylor J. LaRue
  • The Enigma Challenge by S.C. Godfrey
  • A Flame Among the Seas (Beyond the Tides #2) by Emilia Jae
  • Sea of Charms (Spellshop #3) by Sarah Beth Durst
  • [Graphic Novel] Rebel by Marie Lue
  • Our Strange Duet by Erin A. Craig
  • Further to Fall by Catherine Cowles
  • [Reread] House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [Non-fiction] Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our Planet by Geo Rutherford
  • Runaway Rule (The Fugitive Files #1) by Jenessa Fayeth
  • The Gods Will Sing Our Song by Autumn Krause
  • [ARC/ALC] Empire (Heir Duology #2) by Sabaa Tahir
  • The Theory of Uncertain Things by Madysson David
  • Die for Me by Shirlene Obuobi
  • [Reread] The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
  • I Wish He Would (Sweeter Than Fiction #4) by Amanda Schimmoeller
  • The Winged Game by Sophie Kim
  • Resisting the Fall (Falling for Autumn) by Jess Heileman
  • Chasing the Rush (Football and Feels #2) by Lauren Rowe
  • [Non-fiction] Spooky Rivers (Haunted Hydrology) by Geo Rutherford
  • Alchemy of Souls by Adriana Mather
  • Story of My Life (Story Lake #1) by Lucy Score
  • Kobra (Inked Sap #1) by Cris G. Wells
  • [ARC/ALC] Guard My Heart by Sabrina Fedel
  • [ARC] Once, Again, Always by Amanda Gayle
  • Tempest (The Lyrian Sea #1) by Victoria Aveyard
  • Forget Me Knot (Happy in Honey Hill #1) by B.R. Goodwin
  • Threshing Day (The Empyrean #3.5) by Rebecca Yarros
  • Falling for Keeps (Falling for Autumn) by Kasey Stockton
  • [ARC/ALC] Falling Like Snow (Bramble Falls #2) by Misty Wilson

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Book Review: Ghost Business (Boneyard Key #2) by Jen DeLuca

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Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Jen DeLuca
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 9th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Clashing ghost tours lead to a sizzling romantic rivalry in the second romance in the new series from USA Today bestselling author Jen DeLuca.

Boneyard Key, Florida, is the only home Sophie has ever known. Her love for its supernatural history has flourished into a career, as she guides the one and only ghost tour through the town’s can’t-miss haunted spots. And while her bank account isn’t full by any means, her heart is. Or at least, it was.

But there’s a newcomer in town. The son of a Fortune 500 businessman, former theater kid Tristan has grown his tours from a fraternity fundraiser to a multicity ghost tour conglomerate. It’s doing well, but not well enough—if he can’t prove that he’s solidly in the black by the fall, Dad’s going to pull his funding, spelling the end of his career. Boneyard Key, with its haunted reputation, seems like the perfect place to boost his bottom line.

When the two ghost tours clash, Sophie’s expletive-filled rant goes viral, and the rivals strike up a deal. Whoever has the most successful business by summer’s end stays, while the loser must ghost. But the more Tristan comes to appreciate Boneyard Key, the more Sophie comes to appreciate Tristan, and what starts as begrudging respect becomes something spicier. Can they put their feuding businesses aside to make room for a chance at love, or is Boneyard Key too small for two ghost tours?

LACKED SOMETHING.

I feel like the magic is missing in this series. Another book in and I am not feeling the CLICK. That little bit of something that makes me swoon an fall in love with the romance. It was perfectly fine and ended well enough (third act wasn’t a total anger inducing event).

I do enjoy the small town and paranormal aspects. They are woven in well and the side characters are a charming inclusion to the story. I did like the job aspect of a walking ghost tour and the hurricane was something I haven’t read [at least recently in my mind] which was another layer that fit the Florida setting well.

I know I’ll find myself reading the next book and hoping for the best!

Overall audience notes:

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

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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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