Book Review: Haunted Ever After (Boneyard Key #1) by Jen DeLuca

November 3, 2024August 18, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Jen DeLuca
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: August 13th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It’s love at first haunting in a seaside town that raises everyone’s spirits from USA Today bestselling author Jen DeLuca.

Small Florida coastal towns often find themselves scrambling for the tourism dollars that the Orlando theme parks leave behind. And within the town limits of Boneyard Key, the residents decided long ago to lean into its ghostliness. Nick Royer, owner of the Hallowed Grounds coffee shop, embraces the ghost tourism that keeps the local economy afloat, as well as his spectral roommate. At least he doesn’t have to run air-conditioning.

Cassie Rutherford possibly overreacted to all her friends getting married and having kids by leaving Orlando and buying a flipped historic cottage in Boneyard Key. Though there’s something unusual with her new home (her laptop won’t charge in any outlets, and the poetry magnets on her fridge definitely didn’t read “WRONG” and “MY HOUSE” when she put them up), she’s charmed by the colorful history surrounding her. And she’s catching a certain vibe from the grumpy coffee shop owner whenever he slips her a free slice of banana bread along with her coffee order.

As Nick takes her on a ghost tour, sharing town gossip that tourists don’t get to hear, and they spend nights side-by-side looking into the former owners of her haunted cottage, their connection solidifies into something very real and enticing. But Cassie’s worried she’s in too deep with this whole (haunted) home ownership thing… and Nick’s afraid to get too close in case Cassie gets scared away for good.

Thank you LibroFM for the gifted audiobook.

CHARMING & HAUNTING.

I love Jen DeLuca romances but didn’t know what I was specifically getting into when I went into this one. I think the paranormal/ghost aspects worked genuinely well. It was woven seamlessly into the plot and I thought it was a charming piece to the overall story. It kind of has that cozy mystery vibe but with a little more of a romance focus.

I loved the small town setting and the smoothness of the audiobook was an easy listen. The romance was sweet. I liked that Nick owned a coffee shop and Cassie was the girl from the big city. I thought there was a great set-up for future books in this series. The side characters (including the ghosts) were such good addition. The moody vibes of this book were exactly what I was after and I can’t wait for more.

Overall audience notes:

Paranormal Contemporary Romance
Language: moderate, scattered throughout
Romance: 2 open door
Content Warnings: mentions of infertility, exorcism/seance scenes

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

ARC Book Review: Well Traveled (Well Met #4) by Jen DeLuca

December 1, 2022August 5, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Jen DeLuca
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: December 6th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The Renaissance Faire is on the move, and Lulu and Dex are along for the ride, in the next utterly charming rom-com from Jen DeLuca.

A high-powered attorney from a success-oriented family, Louisa “Lulu” Malone lives to work, and everything seems to be going right, until the day she realizes it’s all wrong. Lulu’s cousin Mitch introduced her to the world of Renaissance Faires, and when she spies one at a time just when she needs an escape, she leaps into the welcoming environment of turkey legs, taverns, and tarot readers. The only drawback? Dex MacLean: a guitarist with a killer smile, the Casanova of the Faire… and her traveling companion for the summer.

Dex has never had to work for much in his life, and why should he? Touring with his brothers as The Dueling Kilts is going great, and he always finds a woman at every Faire. But when Lulu proves indifferent to his many plaid charms and a shake-up threatens the fate of the band, Dex must confront something he never has before: his future.

Forced to spend days and nights together on the road, Lulu’s interest in the kilted bad boy grows as he shows her a side of himself no one else has seen. The stresses of her old lifestyle fade away as she learns to trust her intuition and follow her heart instead of her head. But when her time on the road is over, will Lulu go with her gut, or are she and Dex destined for separate paths?

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for an eARC.

ADORED.

Good heavens, I LOVE THIS SERIES. I flipped out when my ARC approval came in and it did NOT disappoint.

I looooooved Dex. He was a rake with a soft side. There were perfectly well written moments of the way he looks at Lulu. The many times he leaned in to give her little forehead/hair kisses. How he pulled her into him anytime Lulu was near just to have her close. I CAN’T HANDLE THESE SITUATIONS. I am a puddle. It was the SWEETEST. What really makes a romance for me are all of those subtle moments. The moments where a character is saying you’re mine, I’m yours in that tender, loving way that encompasses all they’re feeling.

My tiny tidbit would be that there wasn’t very much romantic development until the halfway point. I would have even been cool with some good flirting and banter. But I gotta give it up to that second half. It really sealed the deal on this relationship.

I also really liked the journey that Louisa went on. From a mental breakdown at a Ren Faire, to finding a balance between work she was actually happy about doing and life around her, it was everything I love in a female main character. Going off the grid was a fun concept and I love how she just went for it. Lulu was all in for her summer fling and everything it came with.

I’m realizing I could just keep going with everything I loved, so I’ll say it again now, READ THIS SERIES [note*: not necessary to read the others, but it does help you get good background because all previous couples make an appearance here!!]. This book had it all and gave me the best feelings.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: some strong
Romance: 1-2 open door; low explicit, light innuendo
Trigger/Content Warnings: anxiety depiction

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

ARC Book Review: Well Matched (Well Met #3) by Jen DeLuca

October 14, 2021July 18, 2021 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Jen DeLuca
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: October 19th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

An accidentally in-love rom-com filled with Renaissance Faire flower crowns, kilts, corsets, and sword fights.

Single mother April Parker has lived in Willow Creek for twelve years with a wall around her heart. On the verge of being an empty nester, she’s decided to move on from her quaint little town, and asks her friend Mitch for his help with some home improvement projects to get her house ready to sell.

Mitch Malone is known for being the life of every party, but mostly for the attire he wears to the local Renaissance Faire–a kilt (and not much else) that shows off his muscled form to perfection. While he agrees to help April, he needs a favor too: she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend at an upcoming family dinner, so that he can avoid the lectures about settling down and having a more “serious” career than high school coach and gym teacher. April reluctantly agrees, but when dinner turns into a weekend trip, it becomes hard to tell what’s real and what’s been just for show. But when the weekend ends, so must their fake relationship.

As summer begins, Faire returns to Willow Creek, and April volunteers for the first time. When Mitch’s family shows up unexpectedly, April pretends to be Mitch’s girlfriend again…something that doesn’t feel so fake anymore. Despite their obvious connection, April insists they’ve just been putting on an act. But when there’s the chance for something real, she has to decide whether to change her plans–and open her heart–for the kilt-wearing hunk who might just be the love of her life.

Thank you the Berkley and Netgalley for an eARC. All opinions are my own!

AAAAAAPRIL.

Someone please tell me they read that in Andy Dwyer’s voice?

After that brief intro, let me voice my thoughts on this book.

BECAUSE I LOOOOOOVED IT.

All I could want for Mitch and April’s storyline was in here. I have been waiting for this book since Well Met. It wrapped me up and filled me with so many emotions throughout. I finished it in a day because I was so enraptured by this love story.

I love that there was a deeper story for Mitch. I really got to see all of his layers pulled back and see the insecurities that he struggles with. Watching April stand up for him and be by his side brought all the warm fuzzies and fist pumps because I was behind her back saying YEAH TELL ‘EM. The united front brought on by fake-dating (YUP THAT TROPE Y’ALL!!!) gave way to the clear emotional pull between them. [And let’s face it, I’m a total sucker for the fact he wore a kilt for a good portion of this book.]

April frustrated me, but not in an overly annoying way. More of a, I get it, kind of way. She had to work through a lot of feelings. Coping with becoming an empty nester after being a single-mom, seeing her ex again and learning that plans change. And that all of that is okay. But that it’s also okay to have moments of pure doubt and freak out a little because change is scary. Even when I felt exasperated, I still sat in April’s corner cheering her on to her, much deserved, happy ending.

There’s many a trope abound in here. And I love a good mash-up. Fake-dating was already mentioned, but there’s also single bed, age gap, and more. I was wrapped up in all the Ren Fest related and this series always makes me want to pull out a corset and dive into the fray. I ADORED a moment that reminded me of a scene in Grease (and I’m sure many other books/movies, IYKYK because I don’t want to spoil). There was layer upon layer of story here that had me swooning, begging for reconciliation, and rallying for that final push to my favorite kind of HEA.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: some strong
Romance: kisses to a few open door scenes
Trigger/Content Warnings: divorce (husband abandons April), family tension/bullying, abandonment of a child (side character)

Instagram || Goodreads

ARC Book Review: Well Played (Well Met #2) by Jen DeLuca

September 17, 2020July 14, 2020 GoodeyReads3 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Jen DeLuca
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 22nd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Another laugh-out-loud romantic comedy featuring kilted musicians, Renaissance Faire tavern wenches, and an unlikely love story.

Stacey is jolted when her friends Simon and Emily get engaged. She knew she was putting her life on hold when she stayed in Willow Creek to care for her sick mother, but it’s been years now, and even though Stacey loves spending her summers pouring drinks and flirting with patrons at the local Renaissance Faire, she wants more out of life. Stacey vows to have her life figured out by the time her friends get hitched at Faire next summer. Maybe she’ll even find The One.

When Stacey imagined “The One,” it never occurred to her that her summertime Faire fling, Dex MacLean, might fit the bill. While Dex is easy on the eyes onstage with his band The Dueling Kilts, Stacey has never felt an emotional connection with him. So when she receives a tender email from the typically monosyllabic hunk, she’s not sure what to make of it.

Faire returns to Willow Creek, and Stacey comes face-to-face with the man with whom she’s exchanged hundreds of online messages over the past nine months. To Stacey’s shock, it isn’t Dex—she’s been falling in love with a man she barely knows.

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own!

SO SWEET.

I am all over this series by Jen DeLuca. They’re adorable and easy to enjoy and get a few smiles out of me.

In differentiating from Well Met, this book follows Stacey as she goes through a lot of big life decisions. Some cards were handed to her unplanned and now she’s found herself stuck in a slump, wondering what to do next. I struggled with the way Stacey talked about herself at times. I liked that she had a good evolution over the book about finding her way. Learning to take those leaps of faith and following something you know you love.

Okay, Daniel? TOTES ADORBS. I mean, from the get go. Absolutely loved him. So flippin’ cute. He warmed my heart 100x over and was such a match for Stacey. I liked the way the initial conflict (trying to avoid spoilers) happened between them. The communication and understanding that went into seeing both sides of the story really set me up for loving this ship. And this was a continual theme that helped

Another magical setting at a Ren Fest and I am once again wishing I could go to one this year! I love the writing and magic I feel between everyone. Getting to see Simon and Emily again was also absolutely amazing. I did like Well Met more, ONLY because it had more of an enemies to lovers vibe (which is my favorite trope ever). This is more friends to lovers and I found it very sweet watching Daniel and Stacey fall in love.

And low-key, STOKED for the next book in this series and the fact it’s about Mitch and April.

Overall audience notes: