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Book Review: Can’t Get Enough (Skyland #3) by Kennedy Ryan

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 448 pages
Author: Kennedy Ryan
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: May 13th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Hendrix Barry lives a fabulous life. She has phenomenal friends, a loving family, and a thriving business that places her in the entertainment industry’s rarefied air. Your vision board? She’s probably living it.

She’s a woman with goals, dreams, ambitions—always striving upward. And in the midst of everything, she’s facing her toughest challenge caring for an aging parent.

Who has time for romance? From her experience, there’s a low ROI on relationships. She hasn’t met the man who can keep up with her anyway. Until…him.

Tech mogul Maverick Bell is a dilemma wrapped in an exquisitely tailored suit and knee-melting charm. From their first charged glance at the summer’s hottest party, Hendrix feels like she’s met her match. Only he can’t be. Mav may be the first to make her feel this seen and desired and appreciated, but he’s the last one she can have. Forbidden fruit is the juiciest, and this man is off limits if she plans to stay the course she’s set for herself.

But when Maverick gives chase—pursuing her, spoiling her, understanding her—is it time to let herself have something more?

Thank you to LibroFM for the gifted audiobook.

OH I LOVED THIS SO MUCH.

This was FANTASTIC. What a conclusion. Gosh I am in loooooove. I loved the audiobook too. The narrators are incredible and bring this story to life. BLESS DUAL POV ROMANCES.

I loved the loyal and loving friendships. The bond these women have is incredible. I love the way they raise each other up and show up during the hard and easy moments.

AND THE ROMANCE? Maverick was a man OBESSED and I am here for it. I loved his pursuit that was not over done. He cared and showed that time and time again. The trust and build was swoony and heated. And I loved that he was this strong support for Hendrix. Hendrix can do all the things and is fiercely independent and intimidating so the push and pull between them really brought out so many layers to their relationship.

All of the Alzheimer’s content was deeply moving and brought out all of the emotions. I wasn’t expecting this book to hit as hard as it did and I am blown away.

(My only small thing was that the spice was SPICY, I had to skip more than I like).

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: 5+ open door
  • Violence: mild
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: a parent with Alzheimer’s (strong theme throughout story)

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ARC/ALC Book Review: The Blood Phoenix (Fall of the Dragon #2) by Amber Chen

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy + Romance
Length: 464 pages
Author: Amber Chen
Publisher: Viking Books
Release Date: June 17th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The sequel to Of Jade and Dragons, a thrilling and epic silkpunk fantasy inspired by the legendary Qing dynasty. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Lim and Xiran Jay Zhao.

Two years after Ying leaves the Engineer’s Guild and the ghost of her father’s unjust death behind, life seems to regain a semblance of normalcy. But the winds of unrest continue to stir within the Nine Isles, and the aftermath of a horrific pirate attack by the mysterious Blood Phoenix fleet forces Ying back into the tense political world of the new High Commander, Ye-yang. And soon, Ying, Ye-yang and her former friends from the guild must work together to find a way to outsmart the cunning pirates who terrorise the straits—and the elusive mastermind who’s controlling them.  

Meanwhile, Ying’s sister, Nian, now lives in the capital, awaiting the day she will finally marry the High Commander. While her relationship with Ye-yang remains distant, she finds company in her friendship with the fourteenth prince, Ye-kan, and discovers her unexpected affinity for governance and strategy. But the capital is more dangerous than she expects, and when a dark conspiracy arises, Nian and Ye-kan must unravel the mystery in time to prevent the High Command from collapsing from within. 

New dangers arise at every moment, threatening to tear the Nine Isles apart. In order to sail through this storm, Ying and her loved ones must make difficult choices amidst terrible betrayals. With the world on the brink of destruction, will they find a way to defeat their enemies and survive? And will it be worth the cost?

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Colored Pages Book Tours for the gifted copy and PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook.

I THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD SEQUEL.

I’m not going to lie, the early reviews for this one had made me nervous because I loved Of Jade and Dragons so I’ve been trying to do everything to get my hands on book two, and for me? It was not a disappointment (do I wish I could give it five stars, sure, but I am not mad that I read it).

ANYWAYS. I loved seeing all of the STEM aspects and the guilds and how everything works together in this world. It’s brutal and full of failings, but the rise of many of these characters, especially the FMC was fantastic.

It had an ending that I can see people being somewhat frustrated with but I have read multiple books like this before and prefer to live in the fantasy of it all so I think it fits where the author was trying to lead us. AND it helped create a better sense for why there was a second POV added that wasn’t the MMC (it’s Ying’s sister, Nian, if you’re curious).

I think these characters had to go through some hard things and make some hard decisions. Was every decision the best choice? Probably not but that’s from the viewpoint of a reader. I liked that it was complicated, the struggle felt real.

The middle of this book side quested hard. A little too hard. I had an issue from the pacing of that, but otherwise, I liked the action and politicking and not quite knowing who was behind it all. I really enjoy Amber Chen’s writing style and story telling so I will absolutely be back for her next book.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy + Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate

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Book Review: The Winter Companion (Parish Orphans of Devon #4) by Mimi Matthews

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 318 pages
Author: Mimi Matthews
Publisher: Perfectly Proper Press
Release Date: February 11th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She needed to be seen…

As a lady’s companion, Clara Hartwright never receives much attention from anyone. And that’s precisely how she likes it. With a stormy past, and an unconventional plan for her future, it’s far safer to remain invisible. But when her new employer is invited to a monthlong holiday at a remote coastal abbey, Clara discovers that she may not be as invisible as she’d hoped. At least, not as far as one gentleman is concerned.

He wanted to be heard…

Neville Cross has always been more comfortable with animals than people. An accident in his youth has left him with a brain injury that affects his speech. Forming the words to speak to his childhood friends is difficult enough. Finding the right things to say to a lovely young lady’s companion seems downright impossible. But Miss Hartwright is no ordinary companion. In fact, there may not be anything ordinary about her at all.

During a bleak Devon winter, two sensitive souls forge an unexpected friendship. But when Clara needs him most, will Neville find the courage to face his fears? Or is saying goodbye to her the most heroic thing he can do?

CHECK.

Another Mimi Matthews series is complete! I really enjoyed this whole series and this book specifically was super sweet. I loved the romance between Clara and Neville. It was incredibly tender and they continually found small ways to connect with each other. It showcased the effort and love that goes into taking care of someone else and allowing that love to be in your life.

This was a quick audio read and another charming story. I adore this entire cast and seeing how things came around for everyone. I enjoyed the plot of this book and watching the growth in spirit of both Neville and Clara.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Romance
  • Langauge: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: mentions of previous child abuse

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Book Review: Truly Medley Deeply (Sweet as Sugar Maple #5) by Kate Watson

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 374 pages
Author: Kate Watson
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: April 3rd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lucy Jane

The first rule of touring? Don’t fall for your crew.

Especially not the grumpy, emotionally caged, impossible-to-read sound guy who acts like tolerating pop-country singers is pure torture.

Patrick “Patty” O’Shannan clearly doesn’t want to be here. He does his job and barely looks at me unless it’s to scowl. But my last sound engineer quit days before the start of my first tour, and Patty? Well, he was my only option.

The deal is simple: he helps me survive the tour, I help him save his family’s bar, and then we go our separate ways. No complications. No getting attached. No wondering why a small-town bartender is so impossibly good at music.

Only, things get complicated fast.

Like when a rowdy fan gets too close, and Patty steps in before security can. Like when I struggle writing a new song, and he mumbles the perfect lyrics. Like when a booking mix-up leaves us with only one bed, and suddenly, the space between us isn’t enough. Like when I admit I’ve never been kissed, and the label wants me to kiss the famous Connor Nash—and Patty looks at me like it might just break him.

Now, every glance is charged, and every accidental touch lingers. But Patty has secrets, and the closer we grow, the riskier things get.

Can I really fight for the man who refuses to fight for himself? Or should I walk away before I lose everything—including my heart? Truly Medley Deeply is a swoony closed-door rom-com full of delicious banter and crackling chemistry but no explicit scenes or cursing. Books in the Sweet as Sugar Maple Series can be read in any order.

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

THIS WAS SWEET.

I’d like to note first off that I haven’t read any of the previous books in this series and didn’t have any issues. There are many moments with the characters from the other stories and I think that would have meant even more to me had I read them though.

The sweet and satisfying moments woven throughout brought some swoony moments. What really sealed the deal for me was the communication. Before things got wildly out of hand both Lucy and Patty would take a beat and actually lean on the trust they had been building throughout the book. It was sincere and well written and gosh I love when couples talk!!

I have some minor quibbles with a few plot points that didn’t quite work for me. Which is fine. I did like the little touch of mystery because hidden identity is one of my favorite tropes. The sass and banter between Patty and Lou worked well and I did feel the chemistry between them.

I don’t think I’ll go back and read the previous books from this series but I do want to continue reading Watson’s new releases.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: parental abandonment, car accident (recounted)

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