Taryn Landry blames herself for her sister's death. Taryn was there the night of the Long Acre High School shooting, but no one knows her real role.

Fourteen years later, and Taryn is now a psychologist and trying to secure funding for the program she's spent her entire career creating, a program she hopes will help prevent future kids from becoming like the ones who shot up her high school. Taryn has no time for anything else, but she's increasingly distracted by a the sexy fitness trainer at the new gym her best friend has convinced her to join.

Shaw Miller is also hiding from the scars of his childhood, blaming himself for the monster his little brother became. Shaw's brother was one of the gunmen and it has ruined Shaw's Olympic career, his life, and the lives of so many others.

Shaw has become a recluse, refusing to have relationships with anyone but his best friend, the friend who's convinced him to return to his hometown to help open new extreme sporting gym. Shaw only agreed if he could be someone else, and if he could be out in a year.

What Shaw wasn't counting on was the beautiful Taryn coming into his life, a woman he met out one evening and had immediate sparks with. A woman he gave a fake name to, a woman who has no idea that her sister was killed by his brother.

This romance has all the warning lights going for - how could these two EVER find a happily ever after?

Well, Loren does it, and with aplomb. You'll find yourself rooting for both Shaw and Taryn, both damaged, both needing to forgive themselves, and both absolutely perfect for each other.

This book avoids being a cliche and is a wonderful example of how to use a terrible, highly charged plot point in a respectful and meaningful way. Loren never digresses into grand standing or politics, but keeps the focus on the victims, giving them names.

So far, one of the best series I've ever read that uses a school shooting as its impetus. Bravo!

Also, love the cover of this book. Taryn is Black and her identity informs and drives the story, but isn't the central conflict.

Jenn Bennett writes my favorite YA Contemporary romances, hands down. While [b:The Anatomical Shape of a Heart|23310763|The Anatomical Shape of a Heart|Jenn Bennett|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1426127809s/23310763.jpg|40336167] is still my absolute favorite, Serious Moonlight is yet another a quirky and fabulous tale from this author.

Featuring a mystery loving amateur sleuth with a case of narcolepsy and the street magician/hotel driver hottie she had an instant connection with that was ruined by an awkward hookup, this is a story perfect for those looking for a little suspense (quiet, non-scary) in their YA romance.

I loved Birdie and Daniel's adorkable and tense dance around their real feelings for each other. You want them to JUST KISS ALREADY but understand why they each have real fear about whether or not a relationship is in the cards for them.

I also loved the fantastic cast of adult secondary characters, as they are more than just stumbling blocks to the teens (older teens, 18 and 19) adventures in hooking up.

Super fab!

Finn is one of my favs, a big, quiet grump with a heart of gold and some mad skills with rope. Listening to this book was a true delight and I loved Sebastian York's voice for Finn. Harlow is also a fab heroine. I love that she knows she's hot, knows her worth, and is not afraid to let her light shine and to go for what she wants.

Wow, I treated you wrong with that old review book. You can see a huge change in my attitude towards romance as I've come to terms with the fact I LOVE ROMANCE and I'm not afraid to shout my love from the rooftops anymore. It is not trash, it is amazing, fun, and totally worth every minute I spend reading it. Sorry book. I really do love you and your sexy fisherman (and the rope).


While I usually detest the "we met and married after one wild night in Vegas" trope, I have to say this series is having fun (super steamy fun) with it. Also, since this is book #2, we don't dwell too much on those events, and instead dwell in the aftermath, namely that they married, quickly got it annulled despite the obvious sexual chemistry, but can't deny they still want each other even though they hate each other too. I love when characters have a past they are struggling against.

Again, with most of these, escapist trash at it's funnest.

Alas, while I appreciate being given the chance to review an early copy of this book, it was not really for me.

I love family dramedys, but I've read others I've enjoyed more. I liked the first half of the book focusing on the four siblings growing up on their own during a time period they call referred to as "the pause," a time when there mother was bed bound due to mental health issues and grief.

But, the second half when everyone goes their separate ways felt uneven. I didn't care about Fiona's poetry, her sex blog, or really anything about her. I didn't care about golden boy Joe's fall into disgrace, nor did I find the "betrayal" as shocking as I guess was intended? I was also distracted by the changes in narrative structure for each character. Fiona was in first person (as she is the main character) and then it would switch to third for the other characters. I guess I understand why, but usually I don't notice and here I wasn't clicking with the book so I did.

That said readers, of which I'm sure there will be many as the marketing push on this is HUGE, will definitely be flocking to pick this one up from libraries.

Thank you to the publisher and LibraryReads for the ARC.

Content warning for discussion of addiction and an eating disorder.

Bennett Buchanan has a bad impression of model Gia Gallo from the moment he meets her at the airport, where they are both stranded after a snow storm makes it impossible to fly out of NYC to make it to their best friends' wedding in Florida. She's crabby, she's causing a fuss, but she also tells Bennett she's hungry.
The Southern gentleman in Bennett won't allow him to leave a lady in a lurch, so he offers to take her to his restaurant for dinner and if her reaction to his food is any indication, maybe Gia is more than her beautiful exterior after all.
Gia is immediately attracted to Bennett and considers adding him to her "one and done, two and through" list. But, Bennett rejects her advance, embarrassing Gia who is coming to realize she has bigger problems to worry about. Namely, her 30th birthday, her growing fear she has a "problem" with food, and whether or not she has anything to offer the world but a pretty face.
But a decision to drive to Florida forces these two together, making both of them question the strict rules they've learned to manage their lives and feelings.

AH. There's nothing I love more than a good roadtrip romance, and this hits all of the high points for me with the added bonus of being a perfect end to an excellent series. Gia and Bennett are FIRE, and I loved how deftly Jenny Holiday handled their various issues. The reasons for Gia and Bennett being afraid to be together are realistic, and seeing Gia's best friends gather to give her strength just gave me so many feels. So good.

Get this one preordered stat.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC!

Content warning for discussion of fat-shaming.

A grumpy, bearded sculptor meets his match when his meddling grandmother hires a professional organizer to help sort out his studio.

I loved the way Max helped how Lettie how attractive he found her, and I totally bought their sexual chemistry. I also adored the secondary characters but felt Max and Lettie didn't have enough time together on page to make me believe they were truly in love, not just wanting to bang all the time.

Lettie is described as "plus-size" and has developed huge issues regarding her weight and how she looks because her mother was terrible and her previous sex partner and boss often told her how fat she was. She also has a sister who is much thinner and is a model. I was glad her sister was not a caricature "model-type" villain but instead also helped Lettie to embrace her body and her self. I always love seeing a "plus-size" heroine especially when losing weight is not the solution to her "problems." That said, readers, including myself, may become a bit tired of the continuous reminder that Lettie is insecure about her weight.

That said, this was fun and I'll definitely be reading more from this author.

Maya is a cam girl, a profession she didn't set out to have but one she is awesome at and one she loves. She loves her body and she loves letting others see that. It pays the bills and supports herself and her family and she has no regrets.

Kenny is Maya's favorite client, a client she knows only by his user name. Kenny has good reasons for never showing Maya his face, even in their private chats. Kenny is a spy and he also kind of knows Maya in real life. She was once a surveillance subject of his and is the friend and roommate of his bosses' girlfriend.

When Kenny gets the chance to work and train under his boss Monica, he has to come clean to Maya as they need her to help catch a notorious arms dealer. Maya is outraged by his deception, but agrees to help him because she does need the money.

But, as they work together to take down the criminal, including having to pretend Kenny is Maya's boyfriend both on and off camera, their feelings cannot be denied. Maya sees Kenny is all in and she'll risk it all for him too.

I loved this story! Super sexy and hot, not a kink I'm usually into (voyeurism) but one I enjoyed reading about. I loved how supportive Kenny was. He didn't shame Maya's career, didn't force her to change careers even at the end (I'm assuming he continued on participating), and is just H-O-T hot and also the sweetest. I loved Maya as well, especially her confidence and love of her body. She's fat, she's Black, and her size was never an issue beyond being mentioned as how she looked. She's also a proud sex worker.

While you most definitely can read this as a standalone, you should really just also read Jackson's The Spies who Loved Her, as those characters do have a role in this story. Also it is just as fun and hot, so why not?!

Lauren Halstead is a teacher on her way to running her own school in the heart of Boston. She is completely focused on her goals and has no time for anything not related to her school, especially men.

Matthew Walsh is a huge distraction, even if his architectural firm finally found her a building she can afford to rehab.

Their intense and immediate attraction sees them banging their way around Boston, but Lauren is intent on keeping things casual and keeping Matthew at arms length, which to his dismay he realizes isn't enough. Now he just needs to convince her that giving him some room in her life doesn't mean she also can't realize her dreams.

Super hot sex scenes and dirty talk, with a few problematic things I found a little distracting. Matthew exhibits a bit too much intrusive, possessive behavior especially for someone who can't seem to vocalize his real feelings. JUST SAY WHAT YOU WANT MATTHEW.

That said, I loved the two narrators and found the Walsh clan of siblings very intriguing. I'll definitely be continuing on in the series.