Tag: sweet romance

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: February 2023

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I’ve been focusing hard this year to try to pick books (and accepts ARCs) I legitimately think I will enjoy. Out of 80+ books, I’ve only had TWO two stars. And that to me is really impressive. I’ve also been doing a lot of rereading and I’m here for that era too.

FAVORITES OF THE MONTH:

  • First to Fall
  • A Game of Hearts
  • Final Offer
  • Into the Churn
  • All Rhodes Lead Here
  • A Waltz with Traitors
  • Edenbrooke
  • Wing and a Miss
  • Exes and O’s
  • The Bluff
  • The Work of Art
  • A Dawn of Onyx
  • Sensibly Wed
  • Running Barefoot
  • Royal Gone Rogue

LEAST FAVORITES OF THE MONTH:

  • Falling Hard for the Royal Guard
  • First to Fall (Lost Story Bookshop #2) by Jenny B. Jones
  • [Reread/ALC] Game of Hearts by Joanna Barker
  • Final Offer (Dreamland Billionaires #3) by Lauren Asher
  • The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
  • [ARC] Into the Churn by Hayley Reese Chow
  • Well of Eida (The Fallen Kingdoms #1) by KB Benson
  • [Reread] All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata
  • The Curse of Ophelia (The Curse of Ophelia #1) by Nicole Platania
  • Lord of Chaos (The Wheel of Time #6) by Robert Jordan
  • My Phony Valentine (Holidays With Hart #1) by Courtney Walsh
  • The Shattered City (The Last Magician #4) by Lisa Maxwell
  • [ARC] A Waltz with Traitors by A.L. Sowards
  • [Reread] Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson
  • Wing and a Miss (Deadlights Cove #3) by B. Perkins and Aimee Vance
  • Spice Road (The Spice Road Trilogy #1) by Maiya Ibrahim
  • [Novella] Mysteries of Thorn Manor (Sorcery of Thorns #1.5) by Margaret Rogerson
  • [Reread] Exes and O’s (The Influencer #2) by Amy Lea
  • [Gifted] Lovely Dark and Deep (Fallow Creek #1) by Claudia Cain
  • [Reread/ALC] The Bluff (Graham Brothers #2) by Emma St. Clair
  • These Infinite Threads (This Woven Kingdom #2) by Tahereh Mafi
  • [ARC] Happy Place by Emily Henry
  • Spare by Prince Harry
  • [Gifted] Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes
  • [ARC] Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by Megan Clawson
  • [Novella] Coming Home by Kennedy Ryan
  • Blood & Steel (The Legends of Thezmarr #1) by Helen Scheuerer
  • The Work of Art (Somerset Stories #1) by Mimi Matthews
  • A Dawn of Onyx (The Sacred Stones #1) by Kate Golden
  • In Spotlight and Shadow (Doors to the Past #11) by Rachel Scott McDaniel
  • The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (The Unselected Journals #1) by Beth Brower
  • Sensibly Wed (Bradwell Brothers #1) by Kasey Stockton
  • [ARC] Love Buzz by Neely Tubati Alexander
  • Running Barefoot by Amy Harmon
  • Beauty and the Blade by S.C. Grayson
  • Mr. Gardiner and the Governess (Clairvoir Castle Romances #1) by Sally Britton
  • [ARC] The Enchanted Hacienda by J.C. Cervantes
  • Stardust in Their Veins (Castles in Their Bones #2) by Laura Sebastian
  • [ARC] Royal Gone Rogue (Sweet Royal RomComs #2) by Emma St. Clair
  • Chain of Thorns (The Last Hours #3) by Cassandra Clare
  • A Tournament of Crowns (A Trial of Sorcerers #3) by Elise Kova

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Book Review: My Phony Valentine (Holidays with Hart #1) by Courtney Walsh

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 373 pages
Author: Courtney Walsh
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 8th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A chance meeting. A hunky hockey player. A fake romance.
Hardly an ordinary day in the life of Poppy Hart.

My days usually consist of agonizing over my failing restaurant, worrying about my mountain of debt and nursing my broken heart.

Everything changes when I bump into a man in the coffee shop and claim him as my new boyfriend. To my absolute horror, he turns out to be hockey’s most renowned bad boy, Dallas Burke. To my absolute delight, he goes along with my story.

When his no-nonsense manager and meddling grandmother jump in the picture, they see a win-win solution for my failing restaurant and Dallas’s less-than-stellar reputation.

A full-fledged fake romance complete with contract negotiations, pretend dates and phony PDA.

But as I get to know the real Dallas Burke, who is not the man the press says he is, it becomes clear that if this isn’t real. . . someone better tell it to my heart.

PERFECT FOR THE HOLIDAY.

Well this was just real dang sweet. If you’re looking for low angst, closed door, reformed bad boys and hockey? Read this. Easy.

I liked a lot of this book, more-so the second half. There was good chemistry between Poppy and Dallas and there were some prime moments that I am ALWAYS here for (protective heroes are my jam). I truly thought they got along well and I liked the fake dating aspects too. AND that they both were vocal about their wants and needs as well. There’s a very light hearted vibe to this that made me feel good and I love books that do that.

There’s some tiny tidbits here and there I didn’t love. I don’t love gossip-type magazine chapters. I really can’t stand mean girl side characters. And the grand gesture at the end left me with a little bit of second hand embarrassment (and didn’t fit the MMC’s character throughout the book).

Besides those small things I like the fluttery butterfly feeling this book gives. They’re some GREAT kissing scenes and I officially want to go on a binge read of all things sports romance. I loooove when I can find a closed door sports romance.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: incarcerated parent, car accident

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Book Review: Love Off-Limits (Some Kind of Love #3) by Jenny Proctor

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 293 pages
Author: Jenny Proctor
Publisher: Four Petal Press
Release Date: October 21st, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Tyler is hard enough to resist. Put a baby goat in his arms? Oh, I’m a goner.

Romance is the last thing on my mind when I meet Tyler at a wedding.

Yes, he’s gorgeous. Yes, we have instant chemistry.

But I can’t go there with him. I’m too busy convincing my skeptical parents I’m ready to run our family farm to give Tyler’s smoldering smile a passing glance.

Fine. I glanced. And possibly . . . kissed.

But then I went home all the way in a different state. See? Crisis averted.

Until Tyler shows up in North Carolina looking for a job. Of course, I give him one. We’ve already established I’m terrible at resisting his charm.

It’s a disaster waiting to happen, really. Tyler doing manual labor within easy sight of my office window. Me trying NOT to randomly tumble into his arms. But no matter how cute he looks holding a baby goat (or how much I wish I was that baby goat), he’s off-limits until I earn my dad’s trust.

The trouble is, there’s always a risk when you push away something good. If you push too hard, you just might lose it forever.

Love Off-Limits is a stand-alone novel in a connected series. Enjoy the charming small-town appeal of a mountain farm, characters with closed-door but still sizzling chemistry, and of course, a baby goat named Penelope to tug on all your heartstrings. 

GREAT READ.

I was in the midst of trying to find a sweet romance to read in-between some fantasies and this one delivered!! Adored and read it in a day.

It was incredible that I found myself enjoying an insta-connection. That’s generally not my favorite trope, but the writing had me drawn in from the get-go. I really liked Tyler and Olivia. Fantastic chemistry and swoony kisses.

The setting was fun. I love a good farm background and this place sounded absolutely gorgeous. I found myself laughing out loud at some of the antics like chasing chickens and falling into manure. The comedic humor was on point and the ADORABLE GOAT? Oh my goodness, heart eyes.

I didn’t necessarily see this as a forbidden romance? It didn’t have the sense that they actually couldn’t be together. Besides that, no complaints. It was everything I was looking for and made me want to continue the series.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: parent who had a stroke

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ARC Book Review: Scrooge and the Girls Next Door by Melanie Jacobson

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Melanie Jacobson
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: November 8th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When the sunniest woman in Creekville buys the house next to the grumpiest man on the street, sparks fly . . . and not just because she keep blowing his fuses…

Paige Redmond has done everything the hard way, from her wild child past to being a single mother raising her own delightful wild child now. But since landing in Creekville, she’s turned it all around. With her newly-inked college degree and her shiny new job title, nothing can get in her way, not even the fixer upper cottage she bought on a whim. It’s the worst house on the best street in town, and she can’t wait to give Evie the Christmas of her dreams in their very own home.

Paige tackles the holiday with a Clark Griswold-level of Christmas spirit, amusing the entire town who cheer her on–everyone except for her humbug neighbor, the reclusive, grumpy, and deliciously handsome professor next door.

Can Paige and Ellie win over the town’s biggest Scrooge? Or will he pull the plug on their first solo Christmas?

Experience the laughter and magic of a Creekville Christmas from USA Today bestselling author Melanie Jacobson today!

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

THOUGHTS.

I started out really enjoying this. Easily a holiday read, I liked the grump and sunshine set up (with easy nods to The Christmas Carol). Single mom trope is here too and I love a great kid in a book too.

There’s some good humor and I loved the slow burn romance. It was a well accomplished age gap and I was head over heels for Henry. He reminded me of Temperance Brennan (Bones from Bones). A very dry sense of humor and the way he viewed the world. I thought this was spot on and his growth was solid too.

Paige grew on me but we had some learning curves too. I struggled with her absolute inability to let others help her even though they’ve literally been helping her for years. It was a stubborn clash that made me shrug my shoulders a bunch.

Some of the trauma felt like it was approached with a bit of insensitivity. I think I got what the author was trying to do, but it was a miss for me.

It does have the perfect amount of holiday cheer and I thought the ending was really sweet. There’s a good combination of things here even if some of the stuff wasn’t clicking for me.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a grandparent (recounted), brief mentions of substance abuse, grief

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