Tag: macmillan audio

ALC Book Review: We Met Like This by Kasie West

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 363 pages
Author: Kasie West
Publisher: Saturday Books
Release Date: September 16th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Beloved author Kasie West’s sparkling adult rom-com debut about a hopeless romantic falling for the one man she never expected

Can a swipe right turn into swept away?

Margot Hart is a hopeless romantic. That’s why she wants to be a literary agent—to help bring romance books to the world. It’s also why she hates dating apps with all her romance loving soul. She wants her own love story to be just as much fun as the books she reads—a mixed up coffee order, a mistaken identity. She’s not going to tell the story that she swiped right on future husband’s shirtless pic for the rest of her life.

The problem is that her most consistent relationship over the last several years is with Oliver, a guy she keeps rematching with on the apps. They’ve only been on one date and it was a disaster…well, until the make out session in the car before parting ways. But, she keeps reminding herself, a make out session does not a relationship make. And so there will not be a date two regardless of how witty their app banter is.

When Margot gets fired from her job on the same day she meets Oliver again, her life becomes a veritable shit show. Her dream career is dying right before her eyes, and Oliver thinks she’s interested in only one a repeat of the hot make out session they had three years ago so she can get him out of her system. And maybe that is all she wants from him, because she and Oliver are definitely not compatible—he doesn’t hit the snooze button, he runs five miles every morning, he reads nonfiction, and worst of all, she didn’t meet him in cute way! But in her scramble to keep her dream career alive, by opening her own agency, Oliver is there with his golden retriever energy, more steady and helpful than any man she’s ever dated. Just when she thinks she’s overcome her app bias, she realizes that maybe it’s not her who’s holding back, but him. And his reasons are more than she bargained for.

Kasie West’s romantic and sexy adult debut is full of witty banter, meet cutes gone awry and, ultimately, true love.

IT GOT BETTER.

I stand firm on the fact that this book could have (and should have) been started in different manner. I think it was unnecessary, but I digress. I’m grateful the rest of the book went much better.

There were a handful of nuanced things I didn’t like in this [adult] debut but I think the bones were there and I’d read another KW romance. I’ve loved her young adult books for years and this was a decent jump into another category.

I liked Oliver the most and thought he was charming with some good golden retriever energy. He kept showing up (in a good way) and proved to Margot a lot of things she was missing out on. And I loved the family dynamics too. They were complicated and had plenty of squabbling but I think it felt realistic and I enjoyed seeing that side of the story too.

Margot was fine. Occasionally frustrating, but in the end, she had a good arc and got to where she deserved to be. I did like her inner dialogue and the banter between her and Oliver.

Overall audience notes:

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

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ALC/ARC Book Review: For the Record by Emma Lord

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Rating: ★★★.75ish
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Emma Lord
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: August 12th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

An electrifying rom com of rivalry and redemption, perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Daisy Jones and the Six, from New York Times bestselling author Emma Lord.

Once the most notorious rivals in the music scene, pop princess Mackenzie Waters and punk rockstar Sam Blaze electrified audiences as their bands clashed on stage. But behind the scenes, their simmering tension grew into something more — until suddenly both bands fell apart, and the idea of Mackenzie and Sam did, too.

Two years later, Sam has traded the rockstar lifestyle for a quiet life raising the son he didn’t know about. Meanwhile, Mackenzie is dealing with a postoperative change in her voice by only singing under a pseudonym. The only way to revive their public careers? A joint comeback album.

With fans over the moon and their futures on the line, Sam and Mackenzie face their biggest challenge yet: giving up the old rivalry and learning to work together. But as old sparks fly and new secrets emerge, they set off a chain reaction neither of them could have anticipated — one that proves that sometimes, the greatest hits are the ones yet to be written.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook and SMP Romance for the eARC.

I THINK I LIKED IT?

Here we are with the second adult romance from Emma Lord and I still enjoy her YA/NA books more. This wasn’t bad, but there’s some kind of imbalance still between the plot and romance that bugged me.

What I will say is the banter and flirting was TOP NOTCH between Sam and Mackenzie. It was perfectly heated and the audiobook narrator nailed it. I was in love from the get go with Sam’s persona. WE LOVE A MAN DOWN BAD FOR YEARS.

And I also loved the blended family, co-parent situation. It was wholesome and for the good of the child and I appreciated seeing a healthy dynamic like this in a book.

One of the sub-plots kind of overtook Mackenzie and Sam’s story in the last quarter of the book. And while it was great to see Mackenzie reconnect with her friend and finally get some details that had been withheld the entire book I thought it could have been a lesser plot point (alongside that third act, booooooooo).

I am still a fan of Emma Lord and will continue reading her books. Definitely try the audiobook if you plan to read this one!! It’s dual POV so there are two narrators!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 3+ open door
  • Violence: mild
  • Content notes: parental abandonment, life-threatening illness

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ARC/ALC Book Review: Total Dreamboat by Katelyn Doyle

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Katelyn Doyle
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: June 24th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the beloved author of Just Some Stupid Love Story, an irresistible rom-com about what happens when a cruise ship romance goes…overboard

Hope Lanover needs a vacation. Her relationship has imploded, her creative ambitions have flatlined, and she can’t seem to locate the badass girl she used to be. So when her best friend—a lifestyle influencer looking for a rich husband—invites her along a luxury cruise, Hope goes along with it…despite hating cruises, and having no interest in a fling with their elderly clientele.

Felix Segrave can’t imagine anything worse than a cruise. Sober, determinedly single and a workaholic chef, he hates leaving his restaurant and routine. But when his parents surprise him and his sisters with tickets to celebrate their anniversary, he can’t say no—he’s disappointed them too many times in his troubled past.

Hope and Felix are prepared to grin and bear it—until they lock eyes at check in. Suddenly, a ten-day fling in the Caribbean with a sexy stranger doesn’t seem so bad, despite all the ballroom dancing lessons and cheesy karaoke nights. That is, until Hope’s romantic demons catch up to her, Felix learns that the woman he’s falling for has not been entirely honest with him, and they find themselves stranded together—and at each other’s throats—in paradise. Forced to work together, not to mention share a bed, they must either navigate the stormy seas of love, or face romantic shipwreck.

Thank you Flatiron Books for the gifted ARC and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook.

KIND OF A MISS.

I did like the audiobook and thought the narrator’s did a good job. The story just didn’t roll out in the best way for me.

Initially interested I enjoyed the idea of a cruise ship romance. There’s some good flirty banter and other moments that I were fine. I think my favorite part was the friendship between Hope and her best friend. There relationship and communication was better than the romantic one.

BECAUSE SO HELP ME THE THIRD ACT. And there was a fourth act too?? I’ll admit the fourth one made a little more sense but the third one had me exclaiming out loud my displeasure. I’m also really tired of ex-boyfriends showing up unannounced?? Repeatedly???? GO AWAY.

I think the chemistry was lacking, the spice came on too soon, and the lack of both of those things made them both immature and inopportune moments.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 3-4 open door
  • Content warnings: alcohol addiction (recovery and sobriety discussions)

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ALC Book Review: The Love Haters by Katherine Center

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Katherine Center
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: May 20th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It’s a thin line between love and love-hating.

Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past—now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West.

The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim—but fakes it that she can.

Plus: Cole is Hutch’s brother. And they don’t get along. Next stop paradise!

But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good looking man she has ever seen . . . but also a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful Aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets trapped in a lie. Or two.

Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses ensue—along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears, and to be truly brave at last.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

HIT ME IN THE FEELS.

The body image content and themes in this book found their way to the depths of my soul. It was hard to read at times but gosh I loved the truths explored and the conversations that were had. This felt like more than a romance and truly impacted the way I think about myself.

But don’t worry, I was obsessed with the romance too. And the fact that this is about the Coast Guard?? Give me more stories with them!!! I loved Hutch’s demeanor and quirks. The goodness radiated from him and it was just the sweetest romance.

And I loved the quirky nature of Katie. She’s spunky and lacking in some self-awareness and I loved her journey. Her quips made me laugh out loud multiple times and she was an easy character to love and support. There were man y side characters that earned my love and strong friendships that I appreciated seeing too.

If you’re curious about my 1/2 star deduction. I think Hutch’s storyline with his brother took over a bit too much in the second half (with some specific moments that had me flustered). The closing scenes and moments were great though and I had a good time listening to this book today.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: mild
  • Content warnings: themes surrounding body image (with mentions of disordered eating), loss of loved ones (recounted)

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