A one, or rather, two night stand with a gorgeous Australian man leads to an unexpected event in Lizzie Blake’s life. Lizzie has always been a little bit chaotic, but dealing with her ADHD and RSD (rejection sensitive dysphoria) has always been difficult for her, it’s lead to her having a hard time just getting by day by day and has on more than one occasion lead to her being fired from her job. After a particularly bad day in which she is fired from her recent job she goes to a bar to get some steam off and then she runs into the most gorgeous Australian man ever, Rake ( he even sounds like he came out of a romance novel). What was suppose to be a one night stand leads to another night before Rake leaves for Australian... and two weeks later when Lizzie feels like something is off she realizes that the condoms she had in her bag were expired and she now is pregnant. Lizzie is determined to make it on her own and just wants to inform Rake that she is pregnant but she won’t need any of his help but Rake surprises her by saying that he wants to be involved and wants to have a relationship with the child. The only thing is Rake himself is emotionally closed off and has sworn off relationships. The only issue is that he can’t seem to get Lizzie off of his mind and now that he’s moving in with her and they start sharing a bed things are going to get much more difficult. Lizzie and Rake start to get to know one another and both of them just want to be loved for their flaws and all, but the journey to love is never easy and they’ll both have to be vulnerable and ready to open themselves up to each other. This is the second book in the series and we do get a few cameos of the couple from the first book ( which I really liked). Sadly this one missed the mark for me, while I sympathized with Lizzie, I also found that I couldn’t connect to her and that despite everything she was dealing with she really was kind of scattered. I don’t have AHDH nor do I have RSD so i think that might have played into why i just wasn’t as sympathetic to a lot of her circumstances and that’s completely on me, but I just didn’t exactly like Lizzie. The overall couple just didn’t connect with me as much as the first couple did, however definitely give this one a try. This story does have representation and a sweet romance overall.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

She’s an art forger and he’s an art critic out to find her forgeries, when their paths cross, romance begins to bloom. Nina Finch never meant to have a life of crime but now has found herself deeply seated in one thanks to her brother. She’s a talented art forger but when her brother’s carelessness lands her and her forgeries in the direct path of a renown art critic who can spot her forgeries, she knows she has to get out fast. Alan De’Ath has an eye for art, particularly when its fake. He has been trying to find the art forger but when he runs into a made that is fired from his brother’s house... he can’t help but want to give her a job... and that maid just happens to be Nina. Nina knows she will be working for the man who is hunting down her forgeries, yet there are sparks between them. But how can they have a real relationship when Nina is lying about so much and that if Alan found out... he would definitely send her to jail. Nina knows her loyalties are divided between her brother who raised her, despite being the person who forced her into a life of crime, constantly bullies and abuses her, and only uses her for his own needs, or the man who see’s her but she has lied to and who could destroy her life. Nina wants nothing more than to retire to a little cottage and open up her own bakery, but with her life as a criminal close to being exposed and her heart on the line, can she decide what path she will take and who she will choose? This one was an okay read for me, I didn’t particularly feel satisfied with how both Alan and Nina resolved their issues with their perspective sibling but I mean, everyone deals with family in their own way and I guess thats how they decided to resolve that. The romance was nice and the overall resolution to Nina’s issue didn’t really feel like it was that big of a deal despite the entire book being based off said issue. Overall, if you are interested in a regency romance with some art forgeries then give this one a go.

Fresh out of turning down a proposal from her boyfriend Sunny has decided to stop hiding from her true self. Sunny has spent her life just chipping away at who she truly is but now she has had enough and is ready to embrace her true desires. But whats a girl to do when you don’t know where to start? At the suggestion from a friend, Sunny decides to test out her desires by paying for an experience, a five day experience that would let her run through all her fantasies and desires. Sunny decides to book an appointment at the Monster Smash Agency and be partnered with an orc. Khell'ar “Khell” loves his job at the Monster Smash Agency, in fact he can’t ever see himself giving up his job and settling down with a mate. Yet from the moment he met the inexperienced Sunny he knows she’s a danger to him because what is only suppose to be a set schedule soon goes out the window as Khell finds himself completely captured by Sunny. But what starts off as just a experience soon turns into something more... but is any of it real or is it all just part of the experience? Has Khell finally found the one person absolutely perfect for him and if so, can he convince her that all of this is more than just a fantasy and what they have is real? This was SPICY AND HOT AF. Seriously. Also the care and gentleness between these two was perfection. I adored this one so much. I can’t wait to read the next one in the series!

She hunts monsters but now she’s entered into a demon deal to get the one thing she’s ever wanted: answers for her mother’s disappearance and death... but in making her bargain she finds herself with a gargoyle who has her questioning everything. Grace is a monster hunter, it’s her entire family’s legacy and as the last surviving member it’s her legacy. After her mother’s disappearance and death, all Grace wants now is to find out what happened and why. All Grace knows is that her mother went to get her own demon deal and never returned, in order to find her answers she’ll have to enter into one herself.... and now here she is making a deal for seven years of her servitude to a ruler in exchange for the answers she seeks at the end of it. Yet Grace was not expecting Bram to be a mirror of herself, steeped in pain, loneliness, and loss. Bram is the ruler of the gargoyle territory and is the sole survivor of his family’s massacre... all because he hid. Everyone in his region now believes he is cursed and don’t know what actually occurred on the day that his family was killed. Bram entered into the demon deal in order to secure a bride and get a heir in order to disprove the belief that he is cursed by his people.... yet the moment he laid eyes on Grace he can’t seem to look away. Grace and Bram have both suffered great losses and pains, yet when they are with each other, they find mirror, someone who understands them to the core of who they are. But with so many secrets and bargains, when the truth finally is revealed, will their relationship last or was it doomed from the beginning? I ABSOLUTELY LOVED GRACE AND BRAM SO MUCH, and don’t even get me started on the fact that Grace was the Dom in their relationship. 10/10 MISS KATEE ROBERT!!! Seriously Bram is so nurturing and sweet and caring while Grace is fierce and protective and honestly they were fantastic, I ABSOLUTELY NEED MORE OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP!

*Advanced Reader’s Copy was received from Katee Robert and this is a review done with my own opinions*

After the death of her grandmother, Annie and her best friend Pete decide to embark on a wilderness backpacking trip that will have devastating consequences for them. Annie and Pete are no strangers to death, both having lost their mothers, but they are best friends, and best friends who share their emotions and recklessness together. They’ve been best friends since they were little and had gone on countless reckless and dangerous adventures together. Now they’ve decided to go on a ten-day backpacking trip through the mountains of Washington State, ending at Fire Camp where they’ll learn to fight the area’s growing wildfire problem. Yet their recklessness will have consequences as they purposefully choose to put themselves sin danger and neglect to prepare and actually take precautions to make sure their trip will be safe. They are all about the wild and throwing caution to the wind... but this decision to continue to make one horrible decision after another leads to a devastating end for one of them. This book really was irritating to read because at first you think its going to be an emotional journey for two people who are soul mates and experiences death but what you get is a reckless journey done by two friends who are in love with each other but really have no clue how to actually prep or take the proper measures to ensure their own safety. Decision after decision, you see them make terrible ones and you are just sitting there thinking “WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?” from the car crash to not checking supplies or even prepping for stuff to be sufficiently charged and food prepped to not be expired, so no one is really surprise when they get lost, Pete gets injured and they dont have enough bandages or antibiotics that lead to well... you know....and then it just ends with Annie deciding to HITCHHIKE despite what happened, and throw caution to the wind again. She literally has a death wish at this point. This book was frustrating because Annie doesn’t learn anything and she doesn’t really change after the events that happened, the book romanticizes recklessness and it honestly just is a tragic. Honestly, I did not have a great time with it and couldn’t really recommend it for anyone.

After being dumped by her bestfriend/girlfriend, Quinn finds herself falling for her new crush, Ruby Ocampo, a gorgeous and rich lead singer of a band but then the question is, is she really over her ex? The story follows Quinn Ryan, she’s in love with her bestfriend/girlfriend Jamie Rudawski, however suddenly Jamie just dumps her one day and now Quinn is left reeling. Then she actually starts talking to Ruby Ocampo, the gorgeous and rich lead singer of a high school band called Sweets who just so happened to have broken up with her boyfriend. As Quinn and Ruby begin to get. loser, Quinn begins to question where her feelings are, between the past relationship with her ex or the potentially new one with Ruby? Unfortunately this one did not work for me, especially with the portrayal and discussion of bi-characters. As a bisexual individual myself, this was just so disheartening to read. The story itself was meh, and honestly, I don’t get what was even going for. Seriously, why would you make a book where bisexuals are seen as less and are seen as flaky, unable to commit, can’t love anyone, not really emotional, and so much more, seriously, not cool at all. Honestly I did not have a great time with the book and I didn’t really care for the ending at all.

*Thanks Knopf Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

An interior designer finds herself facing off against the lead carpenter of her new project and that project might just involve falling in love. Astrid Parker is still fresh from her broken engagement and trying to just focus on her career. She is determined to be successful because being a failure is unacceptable. When she gets the opportunity to be a designer on the Everwood Inn’s renovation that will be televised, she knows this is her opportunity to not only distract from her failed love life but please her mom and save her own dying company. The one hiccup is that she did not plan for Jordan Everwood, the granddaughter of the Inn’s owner and the lead carpentor for the inn’s renovation who just happened to have spilled coffee all over Astrid earlier that day and whom Astrid proceeded to yell at.... and who just hates every modern design decision Astrid has made. Jordan wants to preserve the history of her family’s inn, even if the rest of her life is in shambles. Jordan is still dealing with the horrible breakup with her ex, she’s been a disaster trying to cling on to the past relationship and kind of failing at all her projects. Jordan is determined to prove to her family that she can fix Everwood Inn to be exactly what her family needs but that means going up against the very gorgeous but uptight designer who makes Jordan feel like she might be having a crush on her. Jordan and Astrid are constantly at each other’s throat but what starts off as tension soon turns into something more as the chemistry and heat between them only grows. Astrid and Jordan both have their own pasts but together they find that they just might be perfect for each other. This was such a fun and amazing read, I loved the chemistry between Astrid and Jordan and just how much they both want the best for the other. They’re both working on themselves and honestly, they were a really great pair and I can’t wait to see where the author goe

A dragon who just wants to spend his days baking but is suddenly stuck (literally) with a hunter who wants his hoard... but the real treasure might be right in front of them. Milo is a dragon who is living a peaceful life, protecting the small town he lives in and running his own bakery. One day a new stranger, or rather hunter appears in town and suddenly before Milo knows it he is handcuffed to said stranger. Xander is a hunter, Xander wants and needs this dragon’s treasure because its what hunters do and what their family expects them to do. Xander needs to secure the treasure but the charming dragon accidentally makes them lose the key and now Xander and Milo are handcuffed together and things are about to get complicated. Xander has only ever wanted to fit in and their family is the only one that has accepted that they are a nonbinary individual, but then there comes Milo, who instantly accepts them, who is sweet, and pretty, and kind... and now Xander doesn’t know what to do with their feelings. Milo has always loved collecting treasures... but now he can’t help himself with wanting this very hot hunter despite everything. Both Milo and Xander were never really meant to fall for each other but the more time they spend together the more they are beginning to realize that the only treasure there is, is each other. This was seriously such a cute story!!! I absolutely adored the couple and how sweet Milo and Xander were for each other. I have adored this series and I can’t wait to see what couple Lana does next!!

**Arc was received from Lana Kole and all my opinions are my own**