Mini Reviews – The Co-op, Perfect Fit, & Holding the Reins
Hey everyone! I just finished up my last week of work for the year, so now in addition to getting ready for the upcoming holidays, I’m spending my downtime getting caught up some reviews that I’ve gotten behind on writing. Today I’m sharing three recent romance releases that I really enjoyed, including a debut from Paisley Hope. Last year Elsie Silver started me in my cowboy romance era with her Chestnut Springs series and I think Paisley Hope is going to keep me firmly in it with her new series!
The Co-op Goodreads
Author: Tarah DeWitt
Publication Date: November 12, 2024 (First published, October 20, 2022)
Publisher: St Martin’s Griffin
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
LaRynn and Deacon haven’t seen each other since a decade before when they were teenagers in the midst of a summer fling and Deacon broke LaRynn’s heart. Now they have been awkwardly reunited as co-owners of their married grandmothers’ home. The home is completely run-down and in need of major renovations before they can even begin to sell it. While Deacon has the construction skills to complete the renovations, he has no money to do so, and while LaRynn has a trust fund with plenty of money, the only way she can gain access to the funds is to get married. LaRynn and Deacon agree to a marriage of convenience in order to gain access to the money they need and thus start working on the house together, living in the house while they work.
I do love a good second chance romance, and in this one, I love how DeWitt uses the backdrop of working on this renovation project as a way for LaRynn and Deacon 1) to realize they really do still have feelings for one another that are way more than just a teen summer fling, and 2) to really confront what happened in the past and what is happening between them now. There were both some emotional moments as they explored their past, as well as some more rom-com worthy moments courtesy of the home renovation scenes.
This was my second read from DeWitt this year and I look forward to reading more from her! 4 STARS
Perfect Fit Goodreads
Author: Clare Gilmore
Publication Date: October 29, 2024
Publisher: St Martin’s Griffin
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Josie has spent most of her twenties building her unique fashion brand Revenant, headquartered in Austin, Texas. When her biggest investor tells her she needs to hire a consultant, the last person she expects to end up working with is Will Grant, her ex best friend’s brother and the guy she mistakenly shared a kiss with one night nine years earlier. Will and Josie are both much too busy focusing on their careers and have no interest in romance, especially with one another, and yet, somehow they still can’t seem to stay away from one another.
What I really enjoyed about this one is that both characters and their day-to-day struggles felt very relatable, particular the work-life balance struggles and the fear of burnout if you don’t slow down and take care of yourself. I also just really enjoyed the chemistry between Will and Josie. They were fun and flirty together, but also just really supportive of one another and whatever choices they made with respect to their lives, careers, etc. Not to sound cheesy, but they really were a perfect fit. 4 STARS
Holding the Reins (Silver Pines Ranch, #1) Goodreads
Author: Paisley Hope
Publication Date: October 22, 2024
Publisher: Dell Romance
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
CeCe Ashby has returned to her family’s ranch in Laurel Creek, Kentucky, after breaking her engagement and leaving what had become a toxic relationship. Almost as soon as she returns, she runs into her brother’s sexy best friend, Nash Carter, the newly retired superstar of the Dallas Stars hockey team. Nash is a hometown hero, local business owner, and a notorious bachelor. He and CeCe immediately hit it off and when he learns she is back for good and in need of a job, he hires her.
This was a super spicy western romance! It was a lot of fun watching CeCe and Nash get to know each other as something more than the brother’s best friend dynamic that they had both grown up with, and oh boy, the spice was definitely spicing the more they got reacquainted! I also loved the small town vibes, the secret dating, and of course, that there’s my favorite trope of all, found family, and that it’s so well done.
Holding the Reins is the first installment in the Silver Pines Ranch series and it’s Paisley Hope’s debut. I look forward to reading more from her. 4 STARS
Romance Review – FRAGILE SANCTUARY by Catherine Cowles
Fragile Sanctuary by Catherine Cowles 
Series: Sparrow Falls #1
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on November 12, 2024
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 384
Source: the Publisher
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via the Publisher. All opinions are my own.
Fragile Sanctuary is the first book in Catherine Cowles’ new romantic Sparrow Falls series, and if this first book is any indication, this is going to be a phenomenal series!
The story opens with a heartbreaking prologue that immediately hooked me and had me fully invested in the well being of Rhodes (Rho), the female main character. Her life has just been filled with pain and loss, and my heart just hurt for her. I also truly admired her though even after all she has been through, she’s just so upbeat, resilient, and determined.
I’m a sucker for a good grumpy-sunshine romance and when Anson, a gruff and broody former FBI profiler, crosses paths with Rho, and the two of them exchange a few witty barbs, I was sold on the possibility of them as a couple. I love some snarky banter, and I also love chemistry that feels authentic, and Rho and Anson have exactly that. Rho gets under Anson’s skin from the moment they meet, and slowly but surely, she breaks through his walls to the kind, caring, and very protective man underneath. I really enjoyed watching them grow closer.
Cowles really excels when it comes to writing romantic suspense. There were several unpredictable twists and turns that had me just as engaged in the suspense plot as I was in the romance, especially since the suspense angle not only impacts the present day events in the books, but it also draws on Anson’s former career and gives us some insight into his painful past.
Lastly, I absolutely loved the whole Colson family and can’t wait to get to know them better in future installments in the series. Grandma, in particular, was just cracking me up!
If you love romantic suspense, or even if you are new to it and would like a good starting point, you can’t go wrong with Fragile Sanctuary.
About Catherine Cowles
Writer of words. Drinker of Diet Cokes. Lover of all things cute and furry, especially her dog. Catherine has had her nose in a book since the time she could read and finally decided to write down some of her own stories. When she’s not writing she can be found exploring her home state of Oregon, listening to true crime podcasts, or searching for her next book boyfriend.
Thriller Thursday Reviews: A Very Bad Thing & The Hitchcock Hotel
Hey Everyone! Yes, Sharon here and I am back with a Thriller Thursday edition. Sorry for the hiatus, but life got in my way. I cannot believe it is already December and in just a few weeks it will be 2025. Where has the year gone? But today I am happy to share my thoughts on A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison and The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel.
A Very Bad Thing Goodreads Author: J.T. Ellison
Publication Date: November 1, 2024
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Columbia Jones is a best-selling author, at the top of her game. She is on a book tour for her latest novel, but on the final night of the tour, a face in the audience makes Columbia collapse on stage and by the next morning she is found dead in her hotel room. Who would want Columbia dead? Turns out there are a few people who would. And that is the premise of J.T. Ellison’s, A Very Bad Thing.
Riley Carrington is a reporter that Columbia hired to accompany her on tour and write an article on Columbia and then possibly help her write her memoir. Riley was supposed to meet with Columbia the morning after the final night tour and she is the one who found her body.
Columbia’s daughter and assistant, Darian, had an argument with her mother the night before. When she walked into the hotel room and saw Riley standing over her mother, she immediately accused her of murder.
Kira Hutchinson is Columbia’s biggest fan and she had won a meet and greet with her on the last day of the tour. Kira is devastated to find out the Columbia has been murdered.
The story is told from the POV’s of Riley, Darian, and Kira. Ellison did a great job of creating these characters and bringing them to life. I really liked getting to know each one and try and figure out how they are connected. The secondary characters are also just as fully developed.
We also get chapters on a draft that Columbia had written years ago but was never published. In this draft we find out about Columbia’s secret past and possibly who would want to see her dead. I really like getting to know Columbia through these chapters.
I know I have not said anything about what goes on in the book, but if I did then I would be spoiling things. And I think this book is best to go into blind. I will say that I loved following the investigation and trying to make sense of the clues that came out. I really thought I had things figured out, but then a twist would come to prove me wrong. I pretty much ended up suspecting everyone in the story at one point.
A very Bad Thing was a fast paced read, that never had a dull moment and was full of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. The suspense and tension really picked up at the end and I could not read fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. 4 Stars
The Hitchcock Hotel Goodreads Author: Stephanie Wrobel
Publication Date: September 24, 2024
Publisher: Berkley
I have never read anything by Stephanie Wrobel before, but when I came across The Hitchcock Hotel, I had to read it as I am a fan of Alfred Hitchcock.
Alfred Smettle has been a fan of Alfred Hitchcock since he was a child, thanks to his mother. Alfred knows everything there is to know about Hitch, as he calls Alfred Hitchcock. In college he was the head of the Film Club, and it was here that he met his friends: Zoe, Samira, TJ, Julius, and Grace. But an event happened in their senior year and Alfred has not spoken to any of them in Sixteen years. Alfred is now the owner of a Victorian house high on a hill in the White Mountains. Alfred has turned this house into the Hitchcock Hotel, complete with a screening room, movie props and even an aviary filled with black crows. To celebrate the hotel’s first anniversary, Alfred invites his college friends to spend the weekend. And in true Hitchcock fashion, before the weekend is over someone will be dead.
I am a Hitchcock fan, though not to the extent as Alfred was. LOL! So, I really loved all the references to his movies and the props that Alfred has acquired for his hotel. I learned a thing or two about Hitchcock that I did not know. So not only was this a mystery but also a learning experience for me. Hahaha
I will say that I did not like any of the characters very much. With friends like these, you really don’t need enemies. They each had secrets they were keeping, some more severe than others. And when the events of what happened their senior year of college came out, I was like “Go get them Alfred.” Then I learned more and was like “Oh Alfred, you are no innocent party here.”
When we find out who dies, I immediately thought I knew exactly what was going on. I was so sure I was right and then came a twist that blew that theory out of the water. I so did not see that twist coming at all.
The Hitchcock Hotel was a good read. It didn’t knock my socks off but kept me entertained throughout. 3 ½ stars