Review - The Love Haters by Katherine Center

"If a story is really working, if the writer is really crushing it- you don't just step into that story and watch the characters from afar. In the best stories, you're in it. You're a part of it. It's happening all around you - and to you." So says Katherine Center in the author's note for The Love Haters, and I can't think of a better way to state the way this book made me feel. I wasn't just reading about Katie going to Key West, I was on a vacation/work trip in Key West, wearing outlandish caftans, getting knocked into by giant dogs, taking swim lessons from a ridiculously gorgeous instructor.

Those are the things that happen to Katie, a corporate film producer who gets sent to Key West to make a recruitment video for the US Coast Guard, mainly featuring one heroic, hunky, all-around good guy Hutch. Small problem- Katie doesn't swim, and has to pass a training in case the helicopter crashes into the ocean while she's in it. No big deal, right?

I recently had the opportunity to attend an event with Katherine Center and hear her talk about this book, (Side note-if you ever get the opportunity to hear an author talk about their work - take it! It's always worth it, I promise.) and what struck me the most is how much joy she exudes, and how clearly it comes through in her work. She doesn't try to pretend that bad or difficult or tragic things don't happen, just that we don't have to let that define us. That it's ok to have a life that is full of fun and love and color. That joy is a goal and a reward and a process all on its own. And honestly, what more could you possibly want from a book?

5 enthusiastic stars from me on this one, and I can't wait to read what she's got up her sleeves next!

Review - Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams

Beg, Borrow, or Steal is the third book in Sarah Adams' Rome, Kentucky series. This (and the two previous books) are set in fictional small-town Kentucky, and follow the Walker siblings as they find love. I've loved all of these so far, and Beg, Borrow, or Steal was no exception.

Emily Walker is the prickly, always put-together eldest sister. She takes everything she does seriously, including her rivalry with her arch-nemesis: fellow second-grade teacher Jack Bennett. When Jack moves back to Rome after he was supposed to be getting married in Nebraska, both he and Emily are surprised to find that maybe they don't hate each other after all. When Emily mistakenly sends the manuscript for her secret romance novel to the wrong person, Jack is the best ally she can think of for getting it back. Along the way sparks fly.

I really enjoyed this novel. I would recommend this as a small-town, cozy romance, and it's beautiful. Adams does a great job of showing how sometimes falling in love with another person helps us to love ourselves more authentically as well. Her characters here experience real, organic growth that doesn't feel forced or contrived. She uses historical epistles as epigraphs as well, enhancing the narrative. Overall I loved this book and can't wait to read the next (last?) Rome Kentucky story!

Review - Bombshell by Sarah MacLean

Bombshell by Sarah MacLean
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

No one writes a book quite like Sarah MacLean. Bombshell is a heavy hitter of a historical romance, and has all of the best MacLean hallmarks. Deeply broken characters who fit together like puzzle pieces, angst, steam and the best hard-won happily-ever-afters. This new series - Hell's Belles - promises to be such a wild adventure exploring London outside of Mayfair.

Sesily Talbot does what she wants without regard for Society's rules - after all, they've never worked for her. She doesn't care if she's labeled as scandalous, and doesn't let anything bother her - except, that is, Caleb Calhoun, her sister's business partner, who seems to want her, then runs away to America whenever she gets too close. Sesily and her friends, the Hell's Belles, make it a point to help women who have been wronged and serve up their own brand of justice, however their latest target is a little too close to Caleb's own secrets, and he has to try to keep Sesily from getting too close to danger (or so he thinks).

It's hard to understate just how thoroughly MacLean's books are able to grab your attention and keep you hooked. Bombshell is a wonderful novel, and I am so glad to have read it.

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Review - A Wicked Game by Kate Bateman

A Wicked Game by Kate Bateman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am really loving Kate Bateman's Ruthless Rivals series. The tension between the Davies and Montgomerys is so much fun, especially when they keep pairing up! Every book in this series has been a true adventure, and this third installment, A Wicked Game, is no different. Harriet Montgomery (cousin to the landed Montgomerys) has taken over her father's mapmaking business. When a seemingly faulty map leads Captain Morgan Davies to be captured, he sets out to make the cartographer pay, not knowing it is in fact the woman who has captivated and infuriated him for years.

This was such a fun book, Morgan and Harriet are both enamored of each other from the start but neither wants to say anything, so they frame everything as bets and games. There is plenty of adventure and craziness in this historical romance, and was a joy to read. I can't wait for the next book in this series!

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Review - Every Duke Has His Day by Suzanne Enoch

 

I really enjoyed this book - Every Duke Has His Day by Suzanne Enoch. This is a sweet historical romance featuring a scientist duke with no time for frivolities (i.e. everyone and everything outside his lab) and a debutante who has perfected the art of seeming airheaded (after all, that's what women should be). When their paths - and dogs - cross, they both find that they are more than what they'd previously thought.

I thought that this was a very interesting book - there are at least five point-of-view characters, which is unusual. There is also a secondary romance subplot featuring a dog-napper and a circus performer!

This is a clean romance - the main couple embraces at the end. I usually like books with higher heat, but I didn't even notice the lack until nearly the end of the book. The chemistry feels very authentic between the main couple, as well as their reluctances.

I would recommend this book and will read more from Suzanne Enoch!

Review - The Return of the Duke by Lorraine Heath

The Return of the Duke by Lorraine Heath
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent book by Lorraine Heath, as always! The Return of the Duke is the third book in this series, centered around the sons of the former Duke of Wolfford who was hanged for treason. Marcus Stanwick was the heir, and had spent his life preparing to be a duke. For the past year he’s been trying to find the people who led to that future being taken. That search leads to his father’s former mistress, Esme Lancaster, who he quickly realizes is much more than what he assumed.

I really enjoyed this book; Marcus and Esme are both very well written characters who just can’t keep their hands off each other. Esme is a spy, so if spy romances aren’t your thing you might want to skim this one, but honestly I didn’t feel like she got much in the weeds. One thing this definitely has is competence-both Marcus and Esme are extremely capable, and each admires that in the other. This wasn’t quite a tear-jerker for me the way some of the others have been, but I still really liked it and will definitely read whatever she writes next!

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Review - Built to Last by Erin Hahn

Built to Last by Erin Hahn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this second-chance celebrity romance, Built to Last by Erin Hahn. Shelby and Cameron were child stars together, growing up in the bright lights of LA. Now, the nearly-thirty year old Shelby refinished furniture with her house-flipping dad and loves being out of the spotlight. A reality show, though, could ensure his early retirement, as well as show everyone she’s no longer the party-girl she was. The only catch is that the studio wants to bring in Cameron as her co-star. Her first love who has twice abandoned her-how can that possibly work?

Hahn does a great job making these two feel like real people. This book is pretty low-angst, they’re basically gone for each other from the start (in the best way). Very sweet with some spice, definitely recommend. Hahn is also (I hope) tee-ing up Shelby’s best friend’s story and I can’t wait to read it!

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Review-Hook Line and Sinker by Tessa Bailey

Tessa Bailey know just how to tear my heart out, rip it up, stitch it together and put it back in again. Fox and Hannah’s story was just amazing from start to finish. This is friends-to-lovers on crack, for real. Hannah’s job brings her to town and she ends up staying in Fox’s spare room. The close quarters force both of them to face what their long-distance friendship really means. 

Hannah has so much moxie, she’s goals for sure, but Bailey made her so nuanced and layered and vulnerable. She’s every girl who’s been afraid of speaking up for herself, and when she forces herself out of her comfort zone it’s just too perfect. 

Honestly, though, this felt like Fox’s book to me. Through him, Bailey takes a magnifying glass to toxic masculinity and what growing up hearing only one thing about yourself can do to a person. Of course he’s a romance hero, so he works on his shit and figures it out, but a lot of his narrative hit close to home with comments you hear all the time. 

I’d 100% recommend this book, the writing is amazing quality, the pacing is great and the characters are phenomenal. Bailey is quickly becoming a must-buy for me and I can’t wait for whatever she writes next!

 

Review - A Daring Pursuit by Kate Bateman

A Daring Pursuit by Kate Bateman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Daring Pursuit is the second in Kate Bateman's Ruthless Rivals series, which focuses on the Montgomery and Davies families, who have been feuding for centuries. The first book, A Reckless Match, was one of my 2021 favorites, so I couldn't wait to read the second installment. Bateman didn't disappoint! This book was just as much fun as the first!

Carys Davies has been scandalizing the ton for two years, and none moreso than Tristan Montgomery, her archenemy. When Tristan finds out a secret that Carys would rather hide, however, they enter into a deliciously intriguing bargain (sex deal!!). They agree to be "enemies with benefits", the only problem is they can't seem to remember that they're supposed to be enemies.

I loved the characters of this book so much. The angst-level was just right, with both pining for the other, and it was just such a delight to read. This can definitely be read as a standalone, but I'd recommend reading the first book just because it's amazing as well. I can't wait to read the next entry in this series!

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Review - Maggie Moves On by Lucy Score

Maggie Moves On by Lucy Score
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved Maggie Moves On by Lucy Score so, so much. I wanted to go and live in this town, and I definitely want stories for all the other characters!

Maggie Nichols runs a super-successful house-flipping YouTube channel. She's seriously close to hitting 1 million subscribers, and hopes flipping a century-old Victorian mansion will push her over the edge. She has her time in tiny Kinship, Idaho planned - and it doesn't include hot, charming local landscaper Silas Wright. Silas has lived in Kinship his whole life, and knows and is known by everyone. Maggie's nomadic life couldn't possibly suit him.

*Sigh* This book was wonderful. Score did such an excellent job creating these multi-dimensional characters that just seemed to move right into my brain. The DIY-details were not over-the-top, which was nice. The best part of this book was the side characters. Silas has a huge family that is all up in everyone's business, and Maggie has a partner who was awesome.

Score served up a book about love, home, and found family that is just perfect. I can't wait to read more from this author!

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Review - Rules for Engaging the Earl by Janna MacGregor

Rules for Engaging the Earl by Janna MacGregor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second book in Janna MacGregor’s Widow Rules series, Rules for Engaging the Earl is a good read. Constance, along with two other women, found out they’d all married the same man upon his death. Heavily pregnant, Constance writes to her old friend, Jonathan, Earl of Sykeston to ask him to marry her and save her reputation.

Injured in the war and with the nebulous threat of a court martial hanging over him, Jonathan is reclusive but would do anything to help the girl who had meant so much to him.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and thought this one was good as well. MacGregor uses this book to tackle some heavy issues. Jonathan has a lot of trauma from the war and from trying to find his footing both literally and figuratively. Constance is almost unbelievably cheerful and kind-hearted. While she eventually finds her voice, there were several points that I was upset she was allowing herself to be treated in the way she was. This book felt heavy, and the HEA was very hard-won.

I did enjoy Rules for Engaging the Earl and can’t wait to read Beth and Grayson’s story!

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Review - The Duke Goes Down by Sophie Jordan

 

I finally finished Sophie Jordan’s The Duke Goes Down! I started this one a while ago, but then I had a bunch of library holds come in so I stuck it on the back burner, but it’s seriously so good!

Perry Butler was the Duke of Penning until it was discovered that he wasn’t actually legitimate. Now he’s living with his mother and trying to find an heiress to marry in Shropshire, which would be significantly easier if it weren’t for the salacious rumors circling about him. Imogen Bates is the vicar’s daughter, and can’t forget how cruel Perry has been all her life. The ladies of her father’s flock deserve better than to be married solely for their money.

This is a delicious slow-burn, enemies to lovers book. Sophie Jordan does such a fantastic job of telling a story expertly, layering emotions and exposition and action seamlessly. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

5⭐️

Review - The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

 

So I know I’m a couple weeks behind on gushing about The Ex Hex, but I seriously loved it so much!

If you haven’t read it, Vivi is a witch living in a small witchy town in Georgia. Rhys is a Welsh witch whose ancestor founded the town, and nine years after he and Vivi spent a whirlwind summer together, he’s back to recharge the ley lines. Problem is, Vivi and accidentally put a curse on him in a vodka and heartbreak-fueled mishap, and now the whole town has gone haywire.

There were so many things that I loved about this book! It’s a second-chance romance, but the catalyst for the initial breakup isn’t really anything too unforgivable, in my opinion. She shows how after nine years, they have neither one ever forgotten the other, and the the chemistry is off the charts. It’s also very spooky; there were times I was a little nervous!

Overall I’d definitely recommend!!

Review - The Devil's Own Duke by Lenora Bell

Devil’s Own Duke is the latest in Lenora Bell’s Wallflowers vs Rogues series, and is so much fun! Hetty is the only child of a duke, and when a man turns up claiming to be the long-lost heir her father insists they marry. Ash Ellis is a gaming hell owner and scoundrel who wants to turn Hetty’s beloved vineyards into stables, and the two have absolutely nothing in common. Except for intoxicating attraction, of course.

I loved the repartee between the main characters, although the “falling” did seem a little fast. The inclusion of their very opposite cars was fun, as was the ‘mystery’ woven in to the plot. Overall I very much enjoyed this book, and can’t wait to read the next in the series!

Review - When You Wish Upon a Duke by Charis Michaels

When You Wish Upon a Duke is Charis Michaels' second fairy-tale inspired romance, this one featuring Tinkerbell. Isobel Tinker runs a travel company, which she is very good at. She has successfully buried her unsavory past, which is just how she likes it. When North, the Duke of Northumberland, comes seeking her assistance with rescuing a wayward cousin from Iceland, she is scared of what returning to that place might do.

This story feels almost like fantasy, which I'm sure is exactly what Michaels intended. There are pirates and plots and the northern lights. The romance plot is wonderful, and I really enjoyed the whole book. I can't wait to read what Michaels writes next!

Review - Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas

Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lisa Kleypas can do no wrong, honestly. Devil in Disguise is a fun, witty book that was a joy to read. This is the seventh book in the Ravenels series, and I really don't think you need to have read any of Kleypas' previous books to enjoy this one, it definitely helps.
Widowed Lady Merritt Sterling is happy enough running her late husband's shipping company, and is doing a fantastic job. Until, that is, she meets Keir MacRae. The big, burly Scotsman shouldn't be so darn tempting, but something about him invites Merritt in, and sparks fly. Quickly, though, they learn someone is out to kill Keir, and Merritt must do what she can to keep him safe.
I really loved this book. There is an amnesia plot done so very well, and the dynamic between Merritt and Keir is exquisite. I also loved all the Wallflowers characters that made an appearance, although I admit it felt like maybe a little too much Kingston? Overall wonderful though, and I can't wait to see what she writes next!

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Review - Exposed by Kristen Callihan

Exposed by Kristen Callihan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I listened to the first three books in this series on audiobook, and from the first time Rye and Brenna were together, sniping at each other, I knew I wanted their book. Luckily, Exposed released just weeks after I finished listening to Managed, so I didn't have long to wait!

Kristen Callihan knows these characters so well, and makes them so real that they jump off the page to yell at you. It's overwhelming and amazing and so so much joy to read.

Rye is the bassist for Kill John, the biggest rock band in the world, and Brenna is their PR manager. They've known each other for years and bickered constantly. Brenna is aloof and guarded, and Rye is the "fun guy". (Almost grumpy-sunshine, except they are both so much more nuanced than that.) When Rye overhears Brenna confessing that she is craving intimacy without strings, he knows he wants to be the one to satisfy all of her cravings.

However, what they both know but neither want to admit is that what's between them is so much more than physical, if they can only be brave enough to ask for it.

AAAA the pining and longing in this book tore me apart! Callihan does such a great job putting so much in to her books and unpacking such difficult themes so deftly! She doesn't pull punches, and it's wonderful.

I loved this book, would definitely recommend!

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Review - Ensnared by Innocence by Larissa Lyons

Ensnared by Innocence by Larissa Lyons
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The premise of this book, Ensnared by Innocence, was what drew me in. The heroine, Francine, needs to be betrothed for a few months until she reaches her majority and takes control of her inheritance. She asks one of the ton's biggest rakes, Lord Blakely, to pretend to be her fiance for that long. He agrees, but he has a secret - he turns in to a lion.

The story was delightfully bonkers, and for the most part I enjoyed the plot. My biggest issue with this book was the language. The author stated that she tried to keep all terminology, etc. period-appropriate, and it's obvious they did a lot of research toward that goal. My problem is that I'm not reading this book in 1812, I'm reading in 2021 and I don't know what a lot of those words mean. The phrasing really slowed down the pace of the book and made the writing feel "clunky", whereas I think if she had just written what she meant directly it would have came across a little easier.

The introduction of Blakely's brother near the end of the book felt abrupt and a little shoehorned in, and while I appreciate that the author was setting him up for his own book, it was still very unexpected, and I wish the characters had explored that a little more.

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Review - A Reckless Match by Kate Bateman

A Reckless Match by Kate Bateman is a truly fantastic historical romance book. Full of adventure, longing, and wit, it's a book that's just a joy to read from start to finish.

Madeline Montgomery and Gryff Davies' families have been enemies for centuries. Gryff has been antagonizing Maddie since they were children, and now that he's returned from the war, nothing has changed. When Gryff and Maddie stumble across a nefarious plot, however, they'll have to work together, and who ever heard of a Montgomery and a Davies working together?

Honestly this book is great, it was so much fun to read, I couldn't put it down. This is childhood enemies to lovers done perfectly right. There is a ton of action and plot in the book, but it doesn't ever feel like it overpowers the romance, which is really the story. Bateman has set up several other couples as well, and I can't wait to find out whose story we'll get next!

Review - West End Earl by Bethany Bennett

 Wow, where to even begin with West End Earl by Bethany Bennett? Bennett's first book, Any Rogue Will Do, was phenomenal and I fell in love with it immediately, but you never know if a second book will live up to a first. Let me tell you, she knocks it out of the park with West End Earl. 

Ophelia Hardwick has been masquerading as her dead twin brother for over a decade. If she can last until "Adam" comes of age, she'll receive the inheritance that is her due, but she has to steer clear of her grasping uncle until then. As Adam, Phee works as a steward/assistant to Calvin, the Earl of Carlyle, who is always having to clean up his father's messes, and must give his sister a grand debut, not to mention manage the finances of himself, his father, and several friends who come to him for investment advice. He couldn't function without Adam Hardwick, aka Puppy, who is also one of his closest friends and confidants. When Cal finds out that Puppy is actually a girl, he also realizes he's wildly attracted to her. Of course, she's been in love with him for years, so everything should be fine and dandy, except of course it isn't - between his wayward sister, her terrible uncle, and his father's meddling, it seems like they'll never find their happy-ever-after.

This book could have gone in so many ways. The main female character has been parading as a man - and continues to as well. Bennett is so careful, though, and handles this whole situation with such ease and aplomb, it's astounding. It never feels condescending or insensitive. Cal is a great character, and so is Phee. She's not afraid of telling him like it is, and is utterly unapologetic about who she is. The whole book is so matter-of-fact and it's just a joy to read.

Thank you so much to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. Bethany Bennett is one of my auto-buy authors, and I can't wait to get this one on my shelf, too.