One of my most anticipated romance reads of 2020, Chaos Reigning was the PERFECT book to launch me out of the atmosphere and into space, far away from my worries here on Earth.

Catarina von Hasenberg, youngest and hiding a secret, must try to leverage the socialite, insipid image she's honed over the years to find evidence framing those responsible for her brother's kidnapping while attending a swanky house party. Her sister Bianca has thrown a wrench into her plans by sending two bodyguards to "help" Cat, including one who is supposed to be Cat's new boyfriend. Alex is mysterious, large, quiet, and devastatingly attractive. So much so Cat worries pretending might turn in to something more.

As with the other books in this series, reader's will enjoy a firm focus on the heroine as she defies expectations and protects those she loves, while falling in love with a delicious cinnamon roll along the way.

I only wish we got to know Alex a little bit more, he is very much a side character to Cat's magnificence and is instantly in love with her.

CW for violence, guns, medical experimentation, explicit war scenes

I received a free copy from Edelweiss+ for review.

I'd have typically DNFed this mafia romance after the heroine gloated in her head that she was pleased she could eat all the tacos she wants but her work nemesis could only eat salads. Gross. But I wasn't wanting to read anything else anyway so here we are. Definitely not my sub-genre.

I was also feeling a little lost as the love interests in this book must have had sex and met for the first time in the first book of the series, but I caught up pretty quickly. I'm not compelled to keep reading this series.

And alas, the sexy times were surprisingly tame, boo, and there was some fat phobia and some eye-brow raising alphahole behavior.

Part of a series, I am going to be releasing this one to the little free library in my neighborhood.

I received a free copy from @harlequinpublicityteam for review. Thank you.

Clio was the talk of the ton after securing a proposal at her debut, but after waiting 8 years for her erstwhile fiancee to come home, she and the rest of society doubt the marriage will ever take place. Deciding that she is through with waiting, and ready to build her own life (and her own brewery!!) after inheriting a castle, Clio just needs the missing fiancee's brother to sign a nullification of the marriage contract. Too bad for Clio, the wild, prizefighting brother she has always been attracted to is not going to let her off so easily.

This was so much fun. Tessa Dare imbues her characters with a great sense of self, and a great sense of humor. There was cake, beer, and even a farty old bulldog. Rafe was a great hero, and the strife between the characters was not about resisting love for silly reasons, but for the real issue of Clio's engagement to Rafe's brother. Also, the sex scenes were super steamy and had wonderful tension building. Loved it!

2017 - Listened to this on audio book and it was just as enjoyable a romp as the first time. Clio is a great heroine who genuinely cares for herself, her family, and the man she loves. She wants her brewery and she'll have it just like when she decides she wants Rafe and she WILL have him as well. I adored how Rafe only wanted the best for her and his qualms about being with her stemmed from his fears of alienating his last family member. Also, when we finally meet the missing fiancee, we find out Piers isn't really an asshole, he just wasn't really in love with Clio. Of course he could have handled things better, but he had his reasons.

And let's not forget Bruiser the trainer and Ellingworth the bulldog! Such great secondary characters in Tessa Dare's novels. <3

2020 -Basically this book is one of my all-time favorite romances. You know who gives me a mighty thirst? One of my all-time favorite romance heroes, Rafe Brandon. This prizefighter gave my heart a TKO when he tried to plan the best ever wedding for his one true love, Lady Clio Whitmore, and her intended, HIS BROTHER.

Read this for my graduate class on Nationalism and all I remember is that if the peasants had fresh bread things were pretty damn bad. Moldy bread = had enough to store and keep = times are good!

I was utterly delighted with this new series from Britton! A vengeful, yet sad young man who is now the presumptive heir of the Duke of the Isle of Synne returns only to exact his revenge (NO HEIRS FOR YOU). He isn't expecting to find the beautiful and also sad society miss who's been jilted three times living with the woman who helped him and his dead mother all those years ago.

Fun Norse inspired mythology paired with a gorgeous setting I felt MUST be like the Isle of Skye, this was so much fun.
Stay tuned for my full review on Library Journal.

Thank you to LJ and Netgalley for the ARC.

Lady Hero Batten meets Griffin Remmington, Lord Reading's bare rump first, and only realizes he's soon to become her BROTHER-IN-LAW after she's already interrupted his tryst with a married woman AND thrown her diamond earring at said butt.

What follows is an angsty, hormone filled tale that was a wild ride from start to finish. Lady Hero struggles against being perceived as "Lady Perfect" and fighting her desire to do what is right and expected and her passion for Griffin.

There are many recurring characters from the 1st book, and we do get chapters in their POVs. I'm very excited to read Silence's romance with this dastardly "Darling Mickey."

Overall though, Griffin does many things I can't quite forgive. He quite likes shoving his penis into Hero in a fit of anger, which felt slightly icky, AND he ends up blowing up his illegal gin still to murder the other gang's men for revenge...and Hero's just like sure that's fine. WOW.

That said, the sex scene in the library where the lovers use the a door trying to open to power their thrusts is one I won't soon forget. That and the diamond earing butt toss!

Not my fav of the two but excited to keep reading!

Fairly spoilery review, especially if you've not read Book 1 & 2, but wow what a ride! I loved the romance arc in this one better than Griffin's book.

So far we know Mickey ruined the now widowed Mrs. Silence Hollingbrook after forcing her to spend the night in his pirate palace. Her husband never forgave her even though Silence promised all she did was sleep. This is from book 1.

And in Book 2 a baby is left at the orphanage. Silence has been rearing her as her own, but turns out the kid is Mickey's and he stole her back for protection. Silence can live with him and the baby or be done. Further ruining her. Whew.

Basically Mickey is draped sensually on ostentatious furniture or the tub in his palace or out trying to bring down the Vicar. Or acting like the Beast. He wants Silence in his home and he'll have her, consequences to her life in the future be damned. He claims he doesn't care about his baby but does everything to show this isn't actually true.

I HATE that Mickey forced Silence to unbutton her dress and "look" raped on her walk of shame. I still don't understand his motivation for this act, when her just leaving his palace would have been just as ruinous. And her husband's lack of belief just as hurtful if she had just left the joint with bedhead and looking tired. His fascination with her is a bit confusing at first but I believed it by the end of the story because seeing her stand up to his whims time and again made me pump my fist in the air. He's just so disconcerted that she won't do his bidding and he doesn't want to FORCE her to do anything.

Mickey's vendetta against the Vicar is scary and well plotted out, and I enjoyed seeing his men help him out. Mickey does care about his people and takes care of him, the big ugly dog too.

And wow what a slow burn! I loved seeing Mickey slowly seduce Silence into his bed (besides that bath tub scene which kind of made me mad). He waits for her to come to him and gets her consent.

That jail scene wedding SLAYED my emotions. Oh my god. "last chance" sex scenes are my catnip because they are just so fraught and full of emotion. Silence making love with Mickey as his wife while knowing everyone was out there giving them their time, whew. And her having to leave him to hang? *weeps* Hoyt got me good here.

The few interspersed scenes with other characters were just enough to keep updated on our other friends AND make me desperate for Winter's book. THAT ENDING JESUS. Need my book now!

CW for kidnapping, imprisonment, threats of starvation, sexual assault (Mickey grabs Silence's hand and forces it on his dick during a bath), violence, very violent death of a secondary character, child endangerment, threat of rape, stabbings, medical trauma, child abuse (in the past, described), rape (in the past, described), threats of allowing rape of a child (in the past, described), hanging by the throat (character survives), alcohol, on page sex.

Okay to be fair I finished this approximately an eon ago in Corona Virus time.

If you are looking for a very soft and super slow burn romance between two pining idiots who should JUST KISS ALREADY you will adore this story. It is also a good reflection on modern dating culture, going viral (social media wise, not sick wise), and power dynamics.

I reviewed a free copy from Edelweiss+

A recently relocated lawyer meets cute with a generically handsome white guy at her hotel bar, gushing over there love of basic desserts. She regrets not having a one night stand with him, but soon discovers via the nightly news he's the famously hot new California junior Senator. After another run in at a local board meeting, Olivia and Max agree to start dating, agreeing to keep it on the down low. Olivia's reluctance to be thrust into the spotlight and Max's tendency to jump head first into anything he believes in without though lead to struggles in their romance.

I found this romance dull. Olivia and Max spend most of the book apart and in their heads, and the times they do spend on page together are repetitive and lack any spark of real chemistry. The description of the copious amounts of cake, donuts, and food the characters eat are more exciting than the couch cunnilingus scene. DO NOT tell me this is the first time you've read a couch cunnilingus scene.

Also, I am tired of political romances refusing to name political parties. The only allusion to Max's party is that "his date should be wearing blue, not red" and Olivia looking up his stance on the "Black Lives Matter" movement. Max is a Democrat, take a stance.

I'm sure this story will be wildly popular. The cover is cute and the marketing dollars will be pushing it in this 2020 election season.

*official review for LJ will be posted after publication.

*I received a free copy for review for LJ

Librarian Lauren has the serious hots for fire captain Jake but is not ready to make a move. He's friends with her ex-husband and they basically work in the same office seeing as the library and the fire company share the same building. Jake also has a secret crush on the town's head librarian, but he too is afraid to make a move as he hasn't had a serious relationship since his wife died a few years ago. A few drinks and a girls' night out break down both their barriers, but they get caught by Jake's daughter! Embarrassing! Will their mutual spark turn into more?

Fun little novella and nice to see more mature romance!

I re-read this in honor of the FatedMates podcast about the third book in this series which I had re-read recently. Just as delightful and sexy as my first time, I really love seeing these two fall in lust and love. It was super great too because Jake loved his wife and she was a very different person than Lauren, which gives Lauren some worries, but Jake's handling of her concerns were so sweet and sexy. I also loved seeing these two makeout on the couch like teens and getting caught. Made me laugh.