Tag: contemporary romance

ARC Book Review: Savor It by Tarah Dewitt

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Tarah Dewitt
Publisher: St. Martin’s
Release Date: May 21st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Summer won’t last forever.

Sage Byrd has lived in the coastal town of Spunes, Oregon (not to be confused with Forks, Washington) her entire life. She’s learned to love her small world, with the misfit animals on her hobby farm, and her friendships with the town’s inhabitants. But when her 5-year relationship ends and her ex, town-golden-boy Ian, suddenly gets engaged, Sage needs a win―something that will convince everyone to stop pitying her all the time, and to put Ian in his place. The Festival of Spunes, the town’s annual summer competition, would be the perfect opportunity. She just needs a partner.

Fisher Lange was a hotshot chef in New York City until the loss of his sister left him numb, grieving, and responsible for his teenage niece Indy. When Fisher loses his Michelin star along with his love of cooking, his boss sends him and Indy to Spunes on a much-needed summer sabbatical to consult on a restaurant opening. But when clashes with the townspeople threaten his last chance to redeem himself and a kiss with his new neighbor Sage leads to dating rumors, a strategic alliance might just be the best way to turn things around.

A deal is struck. Sage will improve Fisher’s image in the eyes of the town and remove the roadblocks he is facing with the restaurant, and Fisher will be Sage’s partner for the competition. But as their pact quickly turns into steamy rendezvous, emotional wounds begin to heal, and the pair tries to savor every moment, they start to realize that summer is racing by much faster than they would like…

Filled with spicy summer fun, small-town charm, and Big Feelings, this highly anticipated romcom is Tarah DeWitt’s best yet.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

NEW FAVORITE.

Audio notes first: LOVED. The narrators brought this book to new heights. It felt like I was truly listening to the main characters tell me the story. I loved the way it was crafted.

Oh my gosh, how does Tarah Dewitt do this to me every time??? I’ve been reading her books from the beginning and each and every dang story has brought the humor and feels and love and ALL THE THINGS.

I was SMITTEN from the first few chapters. Where you just know it’s going to be a five star read. And it never disappointed me once. I loved the grump x sunshine balance and the banter and heat between these two was next level. I loved how both Sage and Fisher had intricate backgrounds that played into their story, and seeing the growth from finding love with each other. This really read like a grown up summer romance story in allllll the best ways. I felt transported to this small town and adored the whole set-up.

This is full of swoon and romance. It’s full of heart and finding the best step forward. Full of reigniting passions and holding onto the parts of you that you love. This swept me away as an absolute romance book BUT with so much space filled with the ups and downs and pure joys of life.

I loved it. I loved it all. And I loved the ending came together too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate-high
  • Romance: 3+ open door scenes
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: depictions of grief, death of a loved one (off page)

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ARC Book Review: Wild About You by Kaitlyn Hill

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: NA Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Kaitlyn Hill
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: May 21st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Two total opposites. One race through the Great Outdoors. In this grumpy-sunshine teen romance from the author of Love from Scratch and Not Here to Stay Friends , the trail to true love doesn’t always come with a map.

Natalie Hart has always been loud, unfiltered, and unapologetically herself. But then comes her freshman year of college, when she loses her merit scholarship and gains one pesky little anxiety diagnosis.

Hesitant to take out more student loans, Natalie decides to shoot her shot and applies to Wild Adventures , a popular outdoorsy reality show. Sure, Natalie prefers her twelve-step skincare routine to roughing it on the Appalachian Trail while competing in challenges against other college kids, but that scholarship prize money is calling her name. High risk, high reward, right?

Enter Finn Markum, her randomly assigned, capital- O Outdoorsy teammate whose growl could rival a black bear. These partners have more friction than a pair of new hiking boots. Or is it flirtation? Turns out falling in love might be the wildest adventure of all…

Thank you GetUnderlined for the gifted ARC.

UH, I LOVED THIS.

I really didn’t have any kind of expectations going into this, I was just genuinely hoping to like this book and it ended up hitting me in the feels on many levels.

I adored the grump x sunshine set up. I loved Natalie. She made me laugh and want to hug her. I felt that 19 years old, trying to figure out the next step, and having to do it mostly alone. Not having the best parent connection and struggling with anxiety (the anxiety rep was amazing y’all). Meeting her match in Finn, the cutest grumpy cinnamon roll. I loved him and that even without a POV I got a great background and depth of self and I loooooved the banter between them. And also how they worked through apologizing and communicating. It wasn’t a linear road, nor was it wildly dramatic and blown out or proportion. I love the realness of it all.

The setting was fun. I liked the trek through a portion of the Appalachian Trail and the reality show worked well into the story. Even as a main part of the atmosphere I don’t think it overwhelmed the character driven story about Natalie.

This surprised me in all the best ways. I constantly found myself wanting to pick it up and enjoy it. Made me smile and swoon, and I appreciated the themes throughout too.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low-moderate
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent (off page, recounted – cancer)

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ALC Book Review: I Wish You Would by Eva Des Lauriers

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Upper YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 305 pages
Author: Eva Des Lauriers
Publisher: Henry Holt
Release Date: May 21st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this drama-filled love story, private confessions are scattered on the beach during a senior class overnight and explosive secrets threaten to tear everyone apart, including best friends (or maybe more?), Natalia and Ethan.

It’s Senior Sunrise, the epic overnight at the beach that kicks off senior year. But for Natalia and Ethan, it’s the first time seeing each other after what happened at junior prom―when they almost crossed the line from best friends to something more and ruined everything. After ghosting each other all summer, Natalia is desperate to pretend she doesn’t care and Ethan is desperate to fix his mistake.

When the senior class carries out their tradition of writing private letters to themselves―what they wish they would do this year if they were braver―Natalia pours her heart out. So does Ethan. So does everyone in their entire class. But in Natalia’s panicked attempt to retrieve her heartfelt confession, the wind scatters seven of the notes across the beach. Now, Ethan and Natalia are forced to work together to find the lost letters before any secrets are revealed―especially their own.

Seven private confessions. Seven time bombs loose for anyone to find. And one last chance before the sun rises for these two to fall in love.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

LEAN INTO IT.

I knew going into this that it would be drama with a capital D. Honestly, knowing that going in allowed me to enjoy it more. I wasn’t overanalyzing everything and rode this rollercoaster in style.

Audiobook notes: The audiobook was fantastic. It’s a dual POV story with two narrators which worked wonderfully. Definitely recommend this format.

Anyways, this is a concentrated timeline of about 48 hrs with a few flashback chapters here and there. It kept the pace fast and I did find myself continually wanting to pick it up so I could see what spectacle was going to occur next.

There are some good moments of growth towards the end. And I didn’t mind the main characters. Yes, it’s filled with miscommunication but I also tried to remind myself these are 17/18 year old’s and I’m glad they worked things out in the end.

Overall audience notes:

  • Upper YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: one closed door scene; mild innuendo throughout
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: mentions of inappropriate teacher/student relationship, homophobic remarks, cheating (off page), divorce, underage alcohol use

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Book Review: Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Naina Kumar
Publisher: Dell
Release Date: January 16th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this utterly charming debut romance, a teacher with big dreams joins forces with a no-nonsense engineer to survive an ex’s wedding and escape matchmaking pressure from their Indian families. Their plan? Faking an engagement, of course.

Meghna Raman’s parents wanted her to be an engineer, but instead she’s followed her passion, becoming a theater teacher and aspiring playwright. But when she discovers that her beloved writing partner, best friend, and secret crush, Seth, is suddenly engaged—and not to her—she realizes he’s about to become the one-that-got-away. Even worse, he’s asked her to be his best man. And worse than that, she’s agreed. Determined to try and move on and relieve a bit of the pressure she feels, Meghna agrees to let her parents introduce her to a potential match. Maybe she’ll even find the engineer her family wishes she became. . . .

Grumpy, handsome engineer Karthik Murthy has seen enough of his parents’ marriage to know that it isn’t for him. He only agreed to his mother’s matchmaking attempts to make her happy, never dreaming he would meet someone as vibrant as Meghna. Though he can’t offer her a real marriage, a fake engagement could help Meghna soothe the sting of planning Seth’s wedding festivities and Karthik avoid the absurd number of set-ups his mother has planned for the next year.

But as they find common ground, grow protective of one another’s hearts, and learn to fall for the flaws they thought they hated, an undeniable chemistry takes shape. Soon, Meghna and Karthik’s expectations and insecurities threaten to risk something that’s become a lot more real than they hoped.

Say You’ll Be Mine is a delightful trip back to the heyday of swoony romantic comedies from the nineties, but with a deep and poignant look at the effects of culture and family in our most intimate relationships.

WHAT A GEM.

I took a random chance on this one and it was a HIT y’all. I really adored this whole story. Fake dating/engagement has kind of burnt me out lately, and I can happily say this broke that streak for me. I loved the way this was approached and handled.

If I was being a bit nitpicky the FMC, Meghna frustrated me a bit with the red flags here ex boyfriend/current best friend was clearly exhibiting from the get-go. Gratefully, the way it was delt with helped me kind of roll with it all and just let it be.

The romance was the sweetest and best kind of slow burn!! I loved that this wasn’t high unnecessary heat. There was great relationship development and some absolute heart squeezing moments that made me want to hug Karthik myself. I loved this entire progression of the story. I loved the families and friends and how there was just enough side plot without being a distraction from the main couple. Oh, and it’s dual POV! Also recommend the audio. Loved that format.

A fantastic debut, I am a fan and can’t wait for more.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: 1-2 open; low explicit
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: a Dad accused of workplace harassment, cheating (side characters)

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