Can’t Wait Wednesday – WELL MATCHED by Jen DeLuca
/24 Comments/by Suzanne
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about. It is a meme that I have loved participating in since I first started blogging, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.
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My selection for this week is Well Matched by Jen DeLuca. I’ve enjoyed this series so much and can’t wait to get Mitch and April’s story, especially since it sounds like fake dating is involved.
WELL MATCHED by Jen DeLuca
Publication Date: October 19, 2021 by Berkley
From Goodreads:
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.
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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂
Top Ten Tuesday – My Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2021
/34 Comments/by Suzanne
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2021. This is always an easy topic just because, of course, there are always so many books that I’m excited to get my hands on. I don’t have ARCs for most of these so I’ll be waiting to read them when they’re actually out in the world, but I fully expect several of these to make my best of 2021 list. 🙂
My Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2021
1. HEARD IT IN A LOVE SONG by Tracey Garvis Graves – “From the bestselling author of The Girl He Used to Know comes a love song of a story about starting over and second chances.”
2. ISN’T IT BROMANTIC? by Lyssa Kay Adams – I adore this series and I’m so excited that we’re finally getting a book with the Russian, who is my favorite character from the series.
3. THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS by Ali Hazelwood – “When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman’s carefully calculated theories on love into chaos.”
4. THE BOOK OF MAGIC by Alice Hoffman – Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite authors so her books will always make my most anticipated lists, especially if it’s a new book in my favorites series. 🙂
5. THE HEART PRINCIPLE by Helen Hoang – This is another favorite series of mine and this time around we’re getting a book about Quan, who is a favorite character from earlier books.
6. ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART by Stephanie Garber – This is obviously a trend with my list but here is yet another new book that features a beloved character from a previous series, this time it’s Jacks from Caraval.
7. WAIT FOR IT by Jenn McKinlay – “A woman looking for a new lease on life moves to Arizona where she rents a guest house on a gorgeous property with a mysterious owner–a man who teaches her about resilience, courage, and ultimately true love, in this funny, bighearted novel about hope and healing from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay.”
8. THE EX HEX by Erin Sterling – “New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling, casts a spell with a spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and hexes gone wrong.” I read somewhere that this is like Hocus Pocus but with sex, which sounds pretty irresistible to me.
9. FERAL CREATURES by Kira Jane Buxton – “In this stunning follow-up to Hollow Kingdom, the animal kingdom’s “favorite apocalyptic hero”is back with a renewed sense of hope for humanity, ready to take on a world ravaged by a viral pandemic.” Hollow Kingdom turned out to be such a gem of a book that I can’t wait to revisit this world and see what S.T. is up to.
10. SURVIVE THE NIGHT by Riley Sager – “It’s November 1991. George H. W. Bush is in the White House, Nirvana’s in the tape deck, and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer…” I’ve had really good luck with Sager’s thrillers so far, so I’m pretty excited to get my hands on a copy of his latest.
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Question: Are you planning to read any of these?
Romance Reviews: TO SIR, WITH LOVE & ONCE UPON A ROYAL SUMMER
/24 Comments/by SuzanneHappy Monday! Today I’m sharing my thoughts on two fantastic contemporary romances that I devoured this weekend. This was my first time reading a novel from Lauren Layne even though I’ve wanted to for ages, and this was my second novel from Teri Wilson, whose novel The Accidental Beauty Queen I fell in love with a couple of years ago. Also, how cute are these covers together? I just noticed they’re color-coordinated as I was putting this post together, lol.
To Sir, with Love Goodreads
Author: Lauren Layne
Publication Date: June 29, 2021
Publisher: Gallery Books
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I’ve been wanting to read one of Lauren Layne’s contemporary romances for a while now, and when I saw her latest book, To Sir, With Love, being compared to You’ve Got Mail, one of my favorite films, I knew this was the book for me.
The premise of the story is a fun one. Main characters, Gracie Cooper and Sebastian Andrews, meet on a dating app and really hit it off. They haven’t exchanged real names, only referring to themselves as Sir and Lady, and have not met in person, but they regularly correspond through the app and it’s clear they have great chemistry. There’s just one catch. Gracie and Sebastian do know each other in real life, and Gracie can’t stand Sebastian. She thinks he’s nothing more than a greedy corporate big shot who is trying to force her to sell her family’s struggling champagne business.
I had so much fun reading this story. I loved the contrast between the friendly and flirty messages Sir and Lady send to one another versus the outright sparks that fly between Gracie and Sebastian every time they interact. I also loved watching Gracie’s feelings toward Sebastian evolve as she gradually starts to realize he isn’t the monster she had made him out to be in her head. I love a good enemies to lovers story so I was completely invested in the changing status of their very entertaining relationship.
In addition to the relationship between Gracie and Sebastian and their alter egos, Sir and Lady, there’s also a big focus on family that I loved. Gracie’s two siblings feature prominently as they are also part owners of the family business, even though they’ve pretty much abandoned Gracie to run it alone while they live their own lives. There’s a bit of family drama around that, but I did love the bond between these siblings and how they’re able to come together and have an honest and supportive discussion about what to do when it becomes clear the store may not make it. There’s also a wonderful cast of secondary characters who work in the shop with them, as well as Gracie’s neighbor Keva, a quirky chef who pops in at all hours. They all add an extra layer of fun and humor to the story.
There’s also a very important message about the importance of living your own life and following your dreams and passions. Gracie didn’t want to let her father down since it was his dying wish that they keep the business in the family, but it was his passion, not hers. Gracie’s struggle with that is a struggle I think many readers will relate to.
I truly loved everything about To Sir, With Love, from its Manhattan setting to waiting with anticipation to see what would happen once Gracie and Sebastian realized their connection through the dating app. The reading experience was everything I hoped it would be and more and I look forward to reading more from Lauren Layne. 5 STARS
Once Upon a Royal Summer: A delightful royal romance from Hallmark Publishing Goodreads
Author: Teri Wilson
Publication Date: June 15, 2021
Publisher: Hallmark Publishing
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
The tagline on the cover of Teri Wilson’s new contemporary romance, Once Upon a Royal Summer, describes it as “A theme park princess. A real-life prince.” As a Disney fanatic and a romantic at heart, I couldn’t resist the story’s premise and its promise of a modern-day fairy tale. And boy does it deliver!
Wilson grabbed my attention and my heartstrings from the opening pages when we meet Lacey, who works at Once Upon a Time theme park in Florida as Princess Sweetpea. We learn that Lacey’s mom passed away when Lacey was seven and that one of the few joys she had during her mom’s many hospital stays were princesses who would come around and visit the children to keep their spirits up. Lacey remembers how special they made her feel and now she wants to pay that forward by doing her best to make special moments for as many children as she can. I had tremendous sympathy for her for losing her mom so young and I just loved how big-hearted she is.
Our real-life Prince Charming, Prince Henry of Bella-Moritz, is also a lovable character. Henry has brought his young daughter, Princess Rose, to Florida to celebrate her birthday and to let her have a few days where she can just be a normal little girl, without all the pressures of being a Royal, which have already started to bear down on her. When Lacey first meets Henry and Rose, she has no idea who they are. All she sees is a girl who loves princesses and a single dad doing his best to give his daughter the time of her life. Henry’s devotion to his daughter just melted my heart and I just knew from the moment we met him that he would be perfect for Lacey. I was so happy to see sparks between them as soon as they met.
After their initial meeting, Lacey is informed who Henry and Rose are and is charged with giving these VIP guests a magical vacation. I adored watching Lacey spend time with Rose. She brings out the best in her and also makes her happy in a way Henry hasn’t seen since Rose’s mom died. And she does the same with Henry. Henry and Lacey share so many sweet, romantic and flirty moments. At first neither of them can tell if it’s just the magic of the theme park or if there’s really something between them, but the answer soon becomes clear and I was loving every minute of it because I’m just such a sucker for the royal falling for a commoner trope!
There’s so much to love about this story beyond just Lacey, Rose, and Henry. I also really enjoyed the magical, romantic setting, which is split between the theme park and Henry’s charming kingdom of Bella-Moritz. It’s a picture-perfect backdrop for romance. I also loved the fabulous secondary characters, including Ava, Lacey’s best friend who works as Little Red Riding Hood at the theme park, and Ian, Prince Henry’s bodyguard, who is like an uncle to Princess Rose and who according to Ava, looks like a long-lost Hemsworth brother. The Queen is also a pretty great character as she struggles between what is “right and proper” for royals, but is also a caring mother and grandmother who just wants her son and granddaughter to be happy and loved.
If you’re into modern-day fairytales that will warm your heart and leave a smile on your face, I highly recommend Once Upon a Royal Summer. I devoured the story in less than a day so it’s a perfect choice to throw in your bag for a weekend at the beach or to read poolside. 4.5 STARS