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12

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Books to Try If You Enjoyed Emily Henry’s Book Lovers

March 28, 2023/19 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 Books for People Who Liked Author X.  I decided to go with Emily Henry and to share some books I think fans of her most recent novel Book Lovers would also enjoy.  Book Lovers was a enemies/rivals to lovers romance that featured a small town setting, wonderfully complex and bookish characters, family relationships, and loads of witty banter.  The books I’m sharing today each have one or more of those wonderful elements.

10 Books to Try If You Enjoyed Emily Henry’s Book Lovers

 

 

1. THE BODYGUARD by Katherine Center  –  “Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener. Or a ballpoint pen. Or a dinner napkin. But the truth is, she’s an Executive Protection Agent (aka “bodyguard”), and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi-breeding stalker.” This book is such a delight. It’s got the wonderfully complex characters, an idyllic farm setting, and hilarious banter that will have you laughing your way through the pages.

2. THINGS WE NEVER GOT OVER by Lucy Score  – “There’s a reason Knox doesn’t do complications or high-maintenance women, especially not the romantic ones. But since Naomi’s life imploded right in front of him, the least he can do is help this runaway bride out of her jam. And just as soon as she stops getting into new trouble he can leave her alone and get back to his peaceful, solitary life.  At least, that’s the plan until the trouble turns to real danger.”  This book has a fabulous small town setting and is an opposites attract, grumpy-sunshine romance, that also has a fair share of family drama and relationships.

3. EVERY SUMMER AFTER by Carly Fortune – “For six summers, through hazy afternoons on the water and warm summer nights working in his family’s restaurant and curling up together with books—medical textbooks for him and work-in-progress horror short stories for her—Percy and Sam had been inseparable. Eventually that friendship turned into something breathtakingly more, before it fell spectacularly apart. When Percy returns to the lake for Sam’s mother’s funeral, their connection is as undeniable as it had always been. But until Percy can confront the decisions she made and the years she’s spent punishing herself for them, they’ll never know whether their love might be bigger than the biggest mistakes of their past. Told over the course of six years and one weekend, Every Summer After is a big, sweeping nostalgic look at love and the people and choices that mark us forever.” This book is a bit more of an emotional story than some of my other selections, but it also features a small town setting, complex and flawed characters, and a second chance romance.

4. THE SIMPLE WILD by K.A. Tucker  – “City girl Calla Fletcher attempts to reconnect with her estranged father, and unwittingly finds herself torn between her desire to return to the bustle of Toronto and a budding relationship with a rugged Alaskan pilot.”  This one features a remote Alaskan setting, family drama galore, and an enemies to lovers romance.

5. MUCH ADO ABOUT YOU by Samantha Young – “The cozy comforts of an English village bookstore open up a world of new possibilities for Evie Starling in this charming new romantic comedy.” This one features a small town setting, a bookish protagonist, as well as some town rivalries and fractured relationships.

6. THE EX TALK by Rachel Lynn Solomon – “Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade, and she can’t imagine working anywhere else. But lately it’s been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who’s fresh off a journalism master’s program and convinced he knows everything about public radio. When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it’s this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it’s not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts. As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers.”  This is an enemies to lovers that is packed with hilarious banter.

7. ONE NIGHT ON THE ISLAND by Josie Silver  –  “Spending her thirtieth birthday alone is the last thing that dating columnist Cleo wanted, but she is going on a self-coupling quasi-sabbatical–at the insistence of her boss–in the name of re-energizing herself and adding a new perspective to her column. The remote Irish island she’s booked is a far cry from London, but at least it’s a chance to hunker down in a luxury cabin and indulge in some quiet, solitary self-care while she figures out her next steps in her love life and her career.  Mac is also looking forward to some time to himself. With his life in Boston deteriorating in ways he can’t bring himself to acknowledge, his soul searching has brought him to the same Irish island in search of his roots and some clarity. Unfortunately, a mix-up with the bookings means both solitude seekers have reserved the same one-bedroom hideaway on exactly the same dates.  Instantly at odds with each other, Cleo and Mac don’t know how they’re going to manage until the next weekly ferry arrives. But as the days go by, they no longer seem to mind each other’s company quite as much as they thought they would…”  Like Every Summer After, this one is a bit more emotional at times than some of the other stories I’ve chosen.  But still it features a remote setting, a wonderful community, an enemies to lovers romance, and an intimate personal journey for its characters.

8. WHEN IN ROME by Sarah Adams – “Opposites certainly attract for the stranded pop star and small-town baker in this charming slice of romance.”  This one is a heartwarming small-town, opposites attract romance that is filled with lovable quirky characters and also features close-knit family vibes which I adored.

9. THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL by Abbi Waxman  –  “The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book.  When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They’re all—or mostly all—excited to meet her! She’ll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It’s a disaster! And as if that wasn’t enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn’t he realize what a terrible idea that is? It’s time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn’t convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It’s going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.”  Obviously this one features a bookish protagonist, and it’s just full of heart and humor.

10. BY ANY OTHER NAME by Lauren Kate  –  “An enemies-to-lovers romance about an editor, her bestselling author, and one life-changing secret.” Bookish characters, enemies to lovers romance, and lots of personal growth for the main characters as well.

 

* * * * * *

Question:  Have you read any of these or are you planning to read any of them?

https://thebookishlibra.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/TTT-Big2.png 203 500 Suzanne http://thebookishlibra.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/trimmed-Copy-of-Bookish-Logo-copy.png Suzanne2023-03-28 05:35:522023-03-27 22:33:04Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Books to Try If You Enjoyed Emily Henry’s Book Lovers

Thriller Thursday Reviews: Lying Beside You & The Angel Maker

March 23, 2023/9 Comments/by Sharon

 

It’s Thursday so you know what that means. Another Sharon edition of Thriller Thursday!   This week I am reviewing the latest books by two must read authors for me.  Michael Robotham’s, Lying Beside You and  Alex North’s, The Angel Maker. Both of these books were in my top anticipated reads for  2023, so I was very excited to read them and happy that they lived up to the hype I had set for them.

 

Thriller Thursday Reviews: Lying Beside You & The Angel MakerLying Beside You Goodreads

Author: Michael Robotham

Publication Date: February 14, 2023

Publisher: Scribner

Lying Beside You is the third book in Michael Robotham’s Cyrus Haven series.  I fell in love with Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac in the first book Good Girl, Bad Girl and my love for them grew in the second book When She was Good, so I could not wait to reunite with them. In this third installment, a man is murdered, and his daughter, Maya Kirk, is missing.  Cyrus is called in to help profile the killer and piece together Maya’s last hours. Not long after Maya’s body is found, another woman goes missing and Evie is the only person to get a glimpse of the man that has taken her. Can Cyrus find this man before it is too late for this other woman, as well as Evie?

There is so much I loved about this book. I will start with the mystery of who killed Maya. Robotham did an excellent job of creating suspense as we follow the police and Cyrus as they try and solve this mystery. He gives us just enough breadcrumbs to follow without giving anything away until the very end. I loved watching as the police and Cyrus tried to piece together the evidence they had. There were a lot of layers to unravel to find the killer and what his motive was. It was not until the end that I started to piece things together, and I never figured out who the killer. I was on the edge of my seat when everything came to a head.

While I love the mystery Michael Robotham created, my favorite part of the book was seeing Cyrus and Evie again. I love these characters so much. They are both still flawed and broken characters, and I loved watching them try to navigate their lives. Evie is still trying to find her way in the world and interact with people. At Cyrus’ insistence she gets a job and she had me smiling as she stumbles along. I love the relationship between Cyrus and Evie, they have a father-daughter/brother-sister relationship, and I loved watching them try and navigate this.

Cyrus is also dealing with the fact that his brother, who killed their parents and twin sisters nineteen years ago, is about to be released from the psychiatric hospital and will be coming to stay with him and Evie. Cyrus loves his brother and has forgiven him, but he is still dealing with all the pain his brother caused him. He wants to help his brother reenter society. Evie on the other hand cannot understand how Cyrus could be so forgiving and does not trust his brother at all and lets him know it.  This just created another layer to a well written story.

Robotham does a great job of giving the backstory on both Cyrus and Evie, so this book could be read as a standalone, but I would really recommend reading the first two books in the series first as I think that would give more depth and feelings to this book.

Lying Beside You was everything I hoped it would be and more. I really hope we get more books in this series as I am not ready to let Cyrus and Evie go.  4 ½ stars

 

Thriller Thursday Reviews: Lying Beside You & The Angel MakerThe Angel Maker Goodreads

Author: Alex North

Publication Date: February 28, 2023

Publisher: Celadon Books

Alex North’s latest novel The Angel Maker is a dark thriller that follows Katie Shaw as she searches for her estranged brother, Chris, who has gone missing and Detective Laurence Page as he searches for the killer of a distinguished professor who was brutally murdered. As evidence is uncovered, it leads to two old cases, an attack that happened to Chris when he was fifteen and a serial killer that could see the future.

Katie Shaw was always expected to watch out for her brother Chris, and she always did, except for one day when she was seventeen years old, and that will be a day she regrets for the rest of her life. Instead of walking her brother home from school, Katie went off with her boyfriend, and Chris was brutally attacked. Years later Katie is happily married with a child of her own. Chris had a hard life after the attack and turned to drugs and living on the street. Katie has not seen Chris in two years, but when she gets a call from their mother saying that Chris had turned his life around but is now missing, Katie knows that she has to be his big sister once again and this time she is determined to keep Chris safe.

I really liked the parts with Katie as she searches for Chris. She is carrying a heavy burden when it comes to Chris. The last time she saw him he stole money from her, and she called the police on him. But even still, when her mother calls and tells her that Chris is missing, that sister/brother love is there, and she will do anything to protect him this time. I loved her determination and mother bear persona that came out.

Alan Hobbes is a wealthy and distinguished philosophy professor who has been brutally murdered, but before he was murdered he let his staff go and got all of his affairs in order. Almost like he knew he was going to die. As detective Laurence Page investigates the death of Alan, he discovers that this case is somehow connected to the attack on Chris as well as a serial killer named Jack Lock, who is long since dead but was known as “The Angel Maker”.  These chapters were very dark, especially as we learn more about who Jack Lock was and what he did.

This book had a lot going on in it, with multiple characters and timelines and it did get a bit confusing at times, but I loved the mystery of how everything was connected. This was definitely a book that needs to be read slow to take in all the information and keep things straight.  While I did like North’s other two books, The Whisper Man and The Shadows better, I still enjoyed The Angel Maker.  3 ½ stars

https://thebookishlibra.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Thriller-Thursday.jpg 800 800 Sharon http://thebookishlibra.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/trimmed-Copy-of-Bookish-Logo-copy.png Sharon2023-03-23 05:45:062023-03-22 11:07:10Thriller Thursday Reviews: Lying Beside You & The Angel Maker

Top Ten Tuesday – Books By My Favorite Authors That I Still Need to Read

March 21, 2023/45 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 TTT Rewind (Pick a previous topic that you missed or would like to re-do/update.).  I decided to take this opportunity to share Books By My Favorite Authors That I Still Need to Read. Even though I’ve been making a major effort to read more of the books I own and specifically to tackle the backlists of my favorite authors, somehow I still have books by my favorites that I haven’t gotten to yet.  The ten I’m sharing today are ones I really hope to get to this year.

Books By My Favorite Authors That I Still Need to Read

 

 

1. NIGHT ROAD by Kristin Hannah  –  “Vivid, universal, and emotionally complex, Night Road raises profound questions about motherhood, identity, love, and forgiveness. It is a luminous, heartbreaking novel that captures both the exquisite pain of loss and the stunning power of hope. This is Kristin Hannah at her very best, telling an unforgettable story about the longing for family, the resilience of the human heart, and the courage it takes to forgive the people we love.”

2. GET LUCKY by Katherine Center  – “How do you change your luck? Katherine Center’s marvelously entertaining and poignant novel is about choosing to look for happiness—and maybe getting lucky enough to find it.”

3. THE DARK VAULT by V.E. Schwab – “Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.  Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive. Mackenzie Bishop’s grandfather first brought her here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now her grandfather is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.  Follow Mackenzie as she explores the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking, through these two timeless novels, now bound together in this thrilling collection. With stunning prose and a captivating mixture of action, romance, and horror, The Dark Vault delves into a richly imagined world where no choice is easy and love and loss feel like two sides of the same coin..”

4. CONFESS by Colleen Hoover  – “Auburn Reed is determined to rebuild her shattered life and she has no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to become deeply attracted to the studio’s enigmatic artist, Owen Gentry. For once, Auburn takes a chance and puts her heart in control, only to discover that Owen is hiding a huge secret. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything Auburn loves most, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it—but can she do it?.”

5. WAITING FOR TOM HANKS by Kerry Winfrey – “Can a romcom-obsessed romantic finally experience the meet-cute she always dreamed of or will reality never compare to fiction, in this charming debut adult novel from Kerry Winfrey. Annie Cassidy dreams of being the next Nora Ephron. She spends her days writing screenplays, rewatching Sleepless in Seattle, and waiting for her movie-perfect meet-cute. If she could just find her own Tom Hanks—a man who’s sweet, sensitive, and possibly owns a houseboat—her problems would disappear and her life would be perfect. But Tom Hanks is nowhere in sight. When a movie starts filming in her neighborhood and Annie gets a job on set, it seems like a sign. Then Annie meets the lead actor, Drew Danforth, a cocky prankster who couldn’t be less like Tom Hanks if he tried. Their meet-cute is more of a meet-fail, but soon Annie finds herself sharing some classic rom-com moments with Drew. Her Tom Hanks can’t be an actor who’s leaving town in a matter of days…can he?”

6. WOLFSONG by T.J. Klune – “Ox was twelve when his daddy taught him a very valuable lesson. He said that Ox wasn’t worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left.  Ox was sixteen when he met the boy on the road. The little boy who talked and talked and talked. Ox found out later the little boy hadn’t spoken in almost two years before that day, and that the little boy belonged to a family who had moved into the house at the end of the lane. Ox was seventeen when he found out the little boy’s secret and it painted the world around him in colors of red and orange and violet, of Alpha and Beta and Omega. Ox was twenty-three when murder came to town and tore a hole in his head and heart. The boy chased after the monster with revenge in his bloodred eyes, leaving Ox behind to pick up the pieces. It’s been three years since that fateful day—and the boy is back. Except now he’s a man, and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.”

7. DEAR CAROLINA by Kristy Woodson Harvey  –  “One baby girl. Two strong Southern women. And the most difficult decision they’ll ever make. Frances “Khaki” Mason has it all: a thriving interior design career, a loving husband and son, homes in North Carolina and Manhattan—everything except the second child she has always wanted. Jodi, her husband’s nineteen-year-old cousin, is fresh out of rehab, pregnant, and alone. Although the two women couldn’t seem more different, they forge a lifelong connection as Khaki reaches out to Jodi, encouraging her to have her baby. But as Jodi struggles to be the mother she knows her daughter deserves, she will ask Khaki the ultimate favor…Written to baby Carolina, by both her birth mother and her adoptive one, this is a story that proves that life circumstances shape us but don’t define us—and that families aren’t born, they’re made….“

8. DAUGHTERS OF ROME by Kate Quinn – “A.D. 69. Nero is dead. The Roman Empire is up for the taking. With bloodshed spilling out of the palace and into the streets of Rome, chaos has become the status quo. The Year of Four Emperors will change everything—especially the lives of two sisters with a very personal stake in the outcome….Elegant and ambitious, Cornelia embodies the essence of the perfect Roman wife. She lives to one day see her loyal husband as Emperor. Her sister, Marcella, is more withdrawn, content to witness history rather than make it. Even so, Marcella has her share of distinguished suitors, from a cutthroat contender for the throne to a politician’s son who swears that someday he will be Emperor.  But when a bloody coup turns their world upside down, Cornelia and Marcella—along with their cousins, one a collector of husbands and lovers, the other a horse-mad beauty with no interest in romance—must maneuver carefully just to stay alive. As Cornelia tries to pick up the pieces of her shattered dreams, Marcella discovers a hidden talent for influencing the most powerful men in Rome. In the end, though, there can only be one Emperor … and one Empress.”

9. I FOUND YOU by Lisa Jewell  –  “‘How long have you been sitting out here?’ ‘I got here yesterday.’ ‘Where did you come from?’ ‘I have no idea.’  In East Yorkshire, single mum Alice Lake finds a man on the beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, no idea what he is doing there. Against her better judgement she invites him in to her home.  In Surrey, twenty-one-year-old Lily Monrose has only been married for three weeks. When her new husband fails to come home from work one night she is left stranded in a new country where she knows no one. Then the police tell her that her husband never existed. Two women, twenty years of secrets and a man who can’t remember lie at the heart of Lisa Jewell’s brilliant new novel.”

10. OTHER PEOPLE’S HOUSES by Abbi Waxman  –  “A hilarious and poignant new novel about four families, their neighborhood carpool, and the affair that changes everything. At any given moment in other people’s houses, you can find…repressed hopes and dreams…moments of unexpected joy…someone making love on the floor to a man who is most definitely not her husband.”

 

* * * * * *

Question:  Have you read any of these or are you planning to read any of them?

https://thebookishlibra.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/TTT-Big2.png 203 500 Suzanne http://thebookishlibra.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/trimmed-Copy-of-Bookish-Logo-copy.png Suzanne2023-03-21 05:35:092023-03-21 06:01:17Top Ten Tuesday – Books By My Favorite Authors That I Still Need to Read
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me

Hi, I'm Suzanne. Proofreader by day, book blogger by night, devourer of books 24/7. My reading tastes: Basically you name it, I probably like it. I read a lot of contemporary and historical, both adult and YA, and I've also been enjoying more and more fantasy lately. Hobbies include: buying and hoarding of books, rambling about books to anyone who will listen, and trying to recommend books to my family and friends whether they are readers or not - because seriously, how can you not love to read books?

BOOKSTAGRAM

🩷 PINK WEDNESDAY 🩷 Sometimes you just need a stac 🩷 PINK WEDNESDAY 🩷

Sometimes you just need a stack of beautiful pink book spines in your feed to brighten up your day. Well, I do anyway 😆 so I hit up my collection of romance books to put together this book stack of pink favorites.  Several of these were gifted to me by @berkkeyromance and @acebookspub, so thank you so much to those publishers. 

Books Featured:

Uncharmed by Lucy Jane Wood
The Lust Crusade by Jo Segura
Wild Goose Chase by Sarah Adler
Romantic Hero by Kirsty Greenwood
The Final Score by Lana Ferguson
What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Dust Storm by Maggie Gates
Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady
Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe
In What World by Bridget Morrissey

❓QOTD - Have you read any of these or are any on your TBR?  Or mid-week check in, how’s your week going so far?

AOTD - My week is going pretty well. I just saw that we have some slightly cooler weather coming in the next few days so I’m excited for that.

#pinkwednesday #pinkbookstack #bookspines #pinkvibes #pinkaesthetics
Thanks for the free book @berkleyromance #BerkleyP Thanks for the free book @berkleyromance #BerkleyPartner #Berkley 

🌸 Review - MUTUAL DISCORD 🌸

Author - Liana De la Rosa

Pub Date - 8/18//2026

This was such an addictive read! I loved following Sofia, who is let go from her job when she dares to complain about a male coworker taking credit for her work. Sofia then drunkenly posts a rant on TikTok about a woman from history whose work and ideas were stolen by a man. 

Her video goes viral and she turns it into a series called The Matildas, where she can shine the spotlight on many women from history who have been victims of what is known as The Matilda Effect, where they are forgotten or overshadowed by their male counterparts. 

Her anger was so relatable, snd I was thrilled that her series, which is so empowering to women, becomes a way for her to earn a living while she decides what she wants to do next.  I also loved that I got to learn about so many women from history and about the Matilda Effect, which I hadn’t heard of before. Also, very relatable was how conflicted Sofia was about whether or not to tell her family she was an influencer. 

The romance of course was also a huge highlight. Sofia and Alex start out as anonymous online friends but end up meeting in person when it turns out he’s apparently dating Sofia’s best friend and therefore off limits for anything more than friendship. I didn’t agree with some of Sofia’s choices in this area, but I do love a good forbidden romance and this one has so much tension and yearning as Sofia tries to fight her growing feelings for Alex. It’s a delicious slow burn!

Lastly, both Sofia and Alex have Puerto Rican roots, and I really enjoyed getting to experience so much of this culture as Sofia helped Alex to better connect with his heritage.  There are so many fun scenes with him bonding with Sofia’s parents as he experiences various Puerto Rican traditions. 

This was another wonderful read from Liana De la Rosa and I can’t wait to read more from her.  Highly recommend this one and her Luna Sisters trilogy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

❓QOTD - Do your family & friends know you have a bookstagram acct? Do they follow you?

AOTD - A few f
🫶🏻 FRIENDS TO LOVERS ROMANCE BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS 🫶🏻 FRIENDS TO LOVERS ROMANCE BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS 🫶🏻

Hey book friends! I hope your week is off to a great start and that you had a relaxing weekend with lots of reading time.  Today I’m sharing some of my favorite romance books that feature the friends to lovers trope.  My favorite thing about this trope is that fear that getting together romantically could ruin a wonderful friendship and all of the ensuing pining as the characters work through that fear.  I also love the shared history and the respect that these characters typically have for one another since they are such good friends. 

The books featured below are a mix of new releases and some that are a few years old but are still favorites.  They are also mostly spicy romances since that’s what I tend to gravitate toward.

BOOK RECS:

If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia
First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
Lost and Found by Tarah DeWitt
The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams
Funny Story by Emily Henry
The People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Embrace by Bal Khabra
Powerless by Elsie Silver
It’s Different This Time by Joss Richard
The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune
Exes & O’s by Amy Lea
Unloved by Peyton Corinne
Wyatt by Jessica Peterson
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun
A Love Like the Sun by Riss M. Neilson
The Right Move by Liz Tomforde
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
Ready or Not by Cara Bastone
Next to You by Hannah Bonam-Young
Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

❓QOTD - Have you read any of these or are any on your TBR?  Do you have any other friends to lovers rec that you would add to my list?  If not, how was your weekend?
Thanks for the free book @berkleyromance #BerkleyP Thanks for the free book @berkleyromance #BerkleyPartner #Berkley 

🍁 Review - THE MATCHMAKER’S COTTAGE 🍁

Author - Kat Sloane

Pub Date - 8/11//2026

The Matchmaker’s Cottage is a great choice for anyone who is ready for cozy fall vibes and a setting filled with New England small town charm!

Julia owns a secluded lakeside B&B in upstate New York. She loves what she does but it’s a struggle to make ends meet.  Ethan is Julia’s estranged childhood best friend and he now works in PR, playing matchmaker for celebrities in need of good press. Julia and Ethan haven’t seen each other in years, but after a disastrous matchmaking incident that has his career in danger, Ethan desperately needs a remote Hallmark-style picturesque setting for his next project so he reaches out to Julia, who reluctantly agrees to let him use the B&B.

Something I always love about a second chance romance is the history between the two main characters, those nostalgic glimpses into their shared history, what was so good between them, and then ultimately what tears them apart. I thought the author did a wonderful job bringing this aspect of Julia and Ethan’s past to light. Feelings ran deep between them, probably deeper than they ever realize, and now that they are reluctantly reunited, old wounds are being reopened while those deep feelings start to bubble to the surface. 

I really enjoyed the author’s writing, especially the vibrant descriptions of the B&B and the small town setting.  I felt like I had been transported there. I also really enjoyed that the story is presented in a dual POV so that we get to know what both Julia and Ethan are feeling at any given moment. 

These are flawed, messy characters with equally messy emotions and being in their heads really made what they were feeling that much more relatable. I also thought that made the tension between them feel realistic, as well as the moments they start to realize their true feelings for one another. 

Recommend for fans of:

🍁Second Chances
🍂Small Town Charm
🍁Forced Proximity

❓QOTD - Are you ready for fall or are you clinging to summer?

AOTD - I’m almost ready. I pulled out my fall books
Happy Friday! Today I’m just thinking about some Happy Friday!  Today I’m just thinking about some things that always make my days better. Reading books of course, drinking coffee especially that life-giving cup first thing in the morning, and cuddling with my sweet pets. 

What makes your days better? 

#readbooks #drinkcoffee #petcuddles #behappy
Thanks to @macmillan.audio for the gifted ALC #mac Thanks to @macmillan.audio for the gifted ALC #macaudio2026.

🗝️ REVIEW - ALCHEMY OF SOULS 🗝️

Author - Adriana Mather

Pub Date - 8/4/2026

If you’re in the mood for a read that features an atmospheric, dark academia setting, you’re going to want to check out Adriana Mather’s latest YA romantasy, Alchemy of Souls!

Eloise and Graydon come from the opposite social classes and have nothing in common aside from magical abilities. He’s elite, while she’s from the working class. When they are taking their entrance exams to the magical academy they both hope to attend, something goes wrong and they somehow end up bound together and to an elusive ancient magical key.  Since it seems Eloise and Graydon together are the only ones who can make the key appear, they are forced by the school’s administration to team up to try to locate the key again. 

This was such an entertaining story! I always enjoy a dark academia setting and thought the author did a wonderful job with both the world building and the magic system. I thought the magic system was unique but also very easy to understand, and the worldbuilding was so vivid I felt like I was at the school following the key’s clues along with Eloise and Graydon.

I love the forced proximity trope and thought it was used well here, along with the fake dating trope, as Eloise and Graydon pretend to be dating as a cover for why they’re spending so much time together.  It was also great fun watching the two of them grow closer as they work together.  There’s a lot of tension between them that ultimately gives way to attraction.  My only gripe was that the story takes place over just a few weeks and I would have loved more time with these characters to get to know them better.  I loved them both but just wanted a little more. 

Stacy Carolan and Caitlan Kelly narrate the audiobook and both turn in wonderful performances. Sometimes I struggle to listen to fantasy books on audio, but I thought this one was so easy to follow and I binged it in a couple of sittings. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

❓QOTD - Are you a fan of dark academia?  If so, do you have any recs?  If not, what’s your current read and
Thanks for the free book @berkleyromance #BerkleyP Thanks for the free book @berkleyromance #BerkleyPartner #Berkley 

🎭 Review - IN WHAT WORLD 🎭

Author - Bridget Morrissey

Pub Date - 8/11//2026

I’m not usually much of a sci-fi/speculative fiction reader, but there’s something about time travel and the multiverse that always calls to me. So when I read that In What World is a sapphic, multiverse romance novel, I knew I had to read it.  I wasn’t disappointed either. This was such a fun read!

When they were in high school together, Marlowe and Priscilla were theater kids who couldn’t stand one another. Priscilla went on to become a famous actress, while Marlowe actually works at their old school alongside their beloved former drama teacher, Dallas.  Marlowe and Priscilla haven’t spoken since high school but when Dallas goes missing, the two of them are forced to work together to find him.  It’s a tall order because the only real clue as to what might have happened to him is that his cell phone is sitting on top of the mysterious Memory Machine that has been backstage since Marlowe and Priscilla were students.  What soon becomes clear is that Dallas for some reason has figured out how to enter the multiverse and Marlowe and Priscilla set out to find him.

I love an enemies/rivals to lovers romance and in this one, I especially enjoyed watching Marlowe and Priscilla work together to find Dallas. They may think they dislike each other, but it’s pretty obvious that there’s some mutual attraction there. It was also a great time watching them travel to various alternate realities where they encounter different versions of themselves.  The more they time travel together, the closer they get and the better they work together.  I also really enjoyed the high school flashback scenes so that we could see their shared history.

I thought this was such a good time as well as a heartfelt story, wrapped up in such a unique premise! 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

❓QOTD - What’s your favorite genre to read? Do you like to read books out of your comfort zone?
🩷 PINK WEDNESDAY 🩷 Hey book friends! I hope you’ 🩷 PINK WEDNESDAY 🩷

Hey book friends!  I hope you’re all having a great week. It has been a busy one for me, so I’m definitely looking forward to the weekend.  It has way too long since I’ve done a Pink Wednesday post so today I’m sharing some light pink romance favorites and a couple of new additions to my TBR. 

Several of these books were gifted from @BerkleyRomance so thanks so much for those, Berkley! 

Books Featured:

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison
Love in Plane Sight by Lauren Connolly
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
Keeping Score by Brittany Kelley
Mutual Discord by Liana de La Rosa

❓QOTD - Have you read any of these?  Or mid-week check in, how’s your week going so far?
🐶 ONE More Chapter 🐶 Thanks so much to @purinaone 🐶 ONE More Chapter 🐶

Thanks so much to @purinaone_us for sending me this package of fun bookish goodies #gifted and inviting me to share my ONE More Chapter moment with my favorite furry reading buddy! 

While I am definitely a booklover, one of my other loves is my golden retriever, Winston.  Winston is seven years old, and he’s almost always by my side when I sit down to read.  Well, based on one of my photos, he might just be there in hopes that I spill my snacks. 😂 

He’s also probably one of the reasons why I read so much because, honestly, who can bear to disturb their reading buddy when he comes and lays on your lap, like the 75 pound lapdog that he is? 🩷

Thanks again, Purina One! 

❓QOTD - Do you have any furry reading buddies? 

AOTD - Aside from Winston, I also have a black & white tuxedo cat named Ninja.  He wouldn’t cooperate for photos today. 😆

#onemorechapter #purinaone #goldenretriever #doglover
Thanks for the gifted e-arc @dellromance #partner Thanks for the gifted e-arc @dellromance #partner

💋 Review - LET’S KISS AND TELL 💋

Author - Joss Richard

Pub Date - 8/11/2026

As soon as I saw that Joss Richard’s latest book Let’s Kiss and Tell was about two writers falling for each other, I knew I was going to love it and I was right!

Lucy writes a sex and relationship column for a popular online magazine. The relationship aspect is tricky for Lucy because she doesn’t actually do relationships. When her viewership starts to drop and it’s reveals that her readers want more relationship columns, Lucy knows she has to make a change.  She meets Marsh at a bar and really hits it off with him, and when she later realizes that Marsh is also a writer for her magazine’s parent company and that he needs a date to his ex’s wedding, Lucy convinces him to fake date her so she has reference material for her column.

What I really enjoy about Richard’s writing is how her characters always feel so authentic.  They’re messy and vulnerable, and sometimes they make choices I don’t agree with, but they’re still just so relatable that I’m cheering them on anyway. As soon as Marsh and Lucy met, their connection was just so right. Marsh knew right away that what he felt for his ex was not real love. She was the family friend he was expected to get together with, but there was never the spark he instantly felt with Lucy.  Lucy has never been with a guy that she wanted to go on more than 3 dates with, so she can barely wrap her head around the fact that she wants more with Marsh.  Their chemistry, the banter, and their yearning while they were trying to figure their feelings out were all just so good and I loved that we got it all through a dual POV so we see what they’re both thinking. 

I love the fake dating trope and thought this was such an interesting way to incorporate it into a romance.  I also love a forbidden romance and Lucy and Marsh dating, fake or not, is strictly against company policy so there was also some suspense as to whether or not they would get caught. 

Highly recommend! 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

❓QOTD - This book has 90s romcom film vibes. What’s one of your favo
💙 MESSY MONDAY BLUES 💙 Hey book friends! This wee 💙 MESSY MONDAY BLUES 💙

Hey book friends! This week has started off on a chaotic note and I’m just not feeling it, so I thought it would be fitting to throw a pile of books in the floor and do a Messy Monday Blues post. 😆

Today I’m sharing a mix of some favorites with blue covers, as well as a few blue books on my TBR. 

Books Featured:

Chase Me If You Can by Heather Frances
Against All Odds by Corinne Michaels
Just for the Plot by Meghan Quinn
Duke by Jessica Peterson
Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan
The Lodge by Kayla Olson
Technically Yours by Denise Williams
Into the Fading Twilight by Catherine Cowles
Where It All Began by Lucy Score
Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood
Winging It With You by Chip Pons

❓QOTD - How was your Monday?  Or what are you starting out the week reading? Have you read any of these books?
Thanks so much to @stmartinspress #partner for the Thanks so much to @stmartinspress #partner for the gifted finished copy and to @macmillan.audio for the gifted ALC #macaudio2026

✨REVIEW - THE WOMEN IN WHITE ✨

Author - Sarah Pekkanen

Pub Date - 8/4/26

Sarah Pekkanen has quickly become one of my go-to authors when I’m in the mood for a suspenseful thriller.  Her latest, The Women in White, delivers exactly that, along with a historical twist as some of what happens in the story is based on actual events from decades ago. 

Riley is recently divorced and living out of her car. She takes a job as a live-in caretaker for 81-year old Betty and is shocked to walk in and find that the house lacks internet and most other modern conveniences.  Both Betty and her house appear to be living in the past.  We soon learn that Betty was one of five women who were subjects in some parapsychological experiements decades earlier. Is Betty just an eccentric old lady or is the way she lives now somehow tied to whatever happened with those experiments all those years ago? The idea of ESP has always fascinated me, so I found this aspect of the story especially intriguing. 

I really enjoyed how this story unfolds in a dual timeline. The past timeline basically reads like historical fiction as it reveals the questionable nature of these experiments and how the women were impacted by them.  I thought those chapters contrasted nicely with the most suspenseful, twisty nature of the present timeline and was eager to watch them come together to reveal the truth about what was going on.

The writing is so atmospheric and the short chapters keep things moving a fast pace, making it very hard to put the book down. 

I read with my eyes and ears and thought the audiobook narration was outstanding. Saskia Maarleveld was the perfect narrator to capture the suspenseful and atmospheric nature of the story, and I loved how she brought Betty and Riley to life. Highly recommend!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

❓QOTD -  Do you read thrillers? Who are some of your favorite thriller authors? Or, current read?
🏒 REVIEW - DEFEND HER HEART 🏒 Author - Jillian Ar 🏒 REVIEW - DEFEND HER HEART 🏒

Author - Jillian Arly

Pub Date - 8/6/2026

Happy Pub Day and thanks so much to @jillianarlyauthor for the gifted e-arc! I adored the first two books in her Green Bay Bobcats hockey romance series and have been eagerly awaiting this third installment.  I’m thrilled to say it does not disappoint! 

I love a second chance romance. There’s just something so special when the characters already have a history together and are reconnecting after many years apart. Connor plays hockey for the Green Bay Bobcats and is shocked to see that Avery, his ex, has joined the teams as a play-by-play commentator.  He’s immediately drawn to her, just as he has always been, but even more so now when he can tell that she is clearly having some health issues.  When he learns that Avery won’t have health insurance for months because her job is on a trial basis, he offers to marry her so that she can be on his insurance plan.  Avery is hesitant but desperate so she agrees. 

Can I just say how much I loved these two?  Avery is so strong, determined, and resilient, making her way in a male-dominated field, and Connor is the supportive, swoonworthy man she deserves.  I fell so hard for him when he started researching POTS so that he could understand what Avery was experiencing and do everything in his power to help her.  I thought they had such incredible chemistry and just such an intense connection.  It was a joy to watch their true feelings for one another come to light. 

I also very much appreciated learning more about POTS and thought the author did a wonderful job of portraying this rep with care and respect. 

I thorougly enjoyed everything about Connor and Avery’s story!

Defend Her Heart is perfect.for fans of:

Hockey Romance
Spicy Romance
Marriage of Convenience
Found Family
Second Chances
Slow Burn
Chronic Illness Rep (POTS)
Women in Sports

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

❓QOTD -  Do you read Indie authors?  If so, who are some of your favorites? 

AOTD - Jillian Arly is definitely one of mine.
Thanks so much to @youhadmeathea for the gifted e- Thanks so much to @youhadmeathea for the gifted e-arc and to @macmillan.audio for the gifted ALC #macaudio2026.

💙 REVIEW - LOST AND FOUND 💙

Author - Tarah DeWitt

Pub Date - 8/4/2026

As soon as I read the synopsis for Lost and Found and saw that it was a story about love and life after loss, I grabbed tissues because I knew I was going to need them, and boy, was I right! 

Lost and Found is the third book in the Spunes  series, and I really loved being back in this small town and seeing familiar faces.  In this book, we get Silas and Bea’s story and it is an emotional journey.  Bea is grieving the loss of her best friend, while Silas is still psyschologically healing after suffering a severe burn injury. 

Silas fell hard for Bea years ago and has been pining for her ever since.  When she needs a place to stay, he offers up his second floor becauase he has room and of course would love to be close to her again.  I’ve loved watching Silas grow throughout this series and seeing how much he loved Bea and wanted to be there for her just had me rooting for him so hard. 

I loved how the author had Bea and Silas’s story unfold in a dual timeline so you could see their rich history over the years. You could tell they would be perfect together but that it was never the right time for them, until perhaps now...

While this book definitely had me shedding some tears as both characters tried to find themselves and their respective paths forward, there were also some fun moments and great banter along the way. 

The book also really resonated with me because it features IVF. As someone who has been on that journey, I loved to see it represented here. The character’s reason for doing it was quite different from my own, but I thought the author did a wonderful job of handling the journey with care. 

I did an immersive read and was obsessed with the audiobook narration of Adam Gold and Samantha Brentmoor.  They both did a great job of capturing every emotion in this story & of bringing Silas & Bea to life. 

Just a beautiful, heartfelt read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

❓QOTD -  Do you ever cry when you read? Last book that made you cry?
📫 BOOK MAIL - TETHERED LOVE 📫 Thanks so much to @ 📫 BOOK MAIL - TETHERED LOVE 📫

Thanks so much to @authoranneinerson for this beautiful finished copy of Tethered Love and for the bookish goodies.  I enjoyed this book so much last month when I arc read it so I’m thrilled to have a physical copy for my collection. 

For anyone who missed my review, here’s the synopsis of this cowboy romance.

About the Book:

A single night changes everything between a grumpy cowboy and his sister’s best friend, the woman he’s secretly pined after for years, in this spicy, surprise pregnancy, age-gap, marriage-of-convenience, small-town romance.

No one plans on accidentally getting pregnant by their best friend’s grumpy older brother.

Heath is too hot, too serious, and absolutely has no business being the star of my fantasies. I thought our banter over the years was the closest to foreplay we’d ever get. Until the romance of a wedding and unexpected flirtations lead to a night tangled in the sheets together.

It was supposed to be a no-strings-attached, years-in-the-making romp that we’d forget as soon as the sun came up. And Heath delivered over and over again.

It was all going to plan until I saw those two pink lines. What I didn’t count on was Heath getting down on one knee and popping the one question I never thought I’d hear coming from his mouth. But he has something I need, so a marriage of convenience is a means to an end. Who says romance is dead?

Except Heath has a way with words and cares for me in ways I’ve never experienced. Not to mention his plans for our upcoming bundle of joy, or how every touch reminds me of that night when his name fell from my lips.

Soon, playing house starts to feel natural, and I find it hard to picture my life without him. One night might have tied us together, but will it be enough to keep us from unraveling the knot?

Perfect for fans of:

Cowboy romance
Spicy romance
Marriage of convenience
Accidental pregnancy
Small town romance
Found family

❓QOTD - What’s the last book mail you received or the last book you treated yourself to?
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