A perfect combination of writing talent and theme, I adored this anthology.

The authors include the pertinent content warnings before each story.

"Appassionata" by Emma Barry
The passionate prose describing the characters' love of the piano was lush and made me almost hear notes despite having absolutely no knowledge of music besides appreciation. I need to read more of her work!

"Unraveled" by Olivia Dade
Gosh this selection just made me smile so hard. I loved watching art teacher Poppy "unravel" math teacher Simon despite his very best effort to remain professional and aloof. Plus, murder dioramas? Turpentine has never smelled so sexy.

"Caught Looking" by Adriana Herrera
Best friends contend with their pants and hearts feelings in Herrera's selection, and wow I was kept on the edge of my seat as Hatuey tried to convince Yariel that he's always loved him and is willing to take the risk, if they can do it together.

"Yes, And..." by Ruby Lang
Lang perfectly captures the horror and unease of a rule follower being stuck in the wrong classroom and the fear/anxiety that comes with tending to an ailing parent. Darren is such a wonderful caretaker and gives Joan the space she needs. So tender and lovely.

"Tommy Cabot Was Here" by Cat Sebastian
God my heart. Setting this romance in 1959 was phenomenal, the little details echoing the characters' heart ache and feelings as they rediscover their boyhood lust and turn it into something more.

I received a free copy in exchange for a fair review.

Ooof. I was drawn in by the "let's pretend to be married so we can spy on this evil corporation and take it down" FBI romance premise but was completely let down by the lack of chemistry between the two love interests. The main brunt of the page count is on the mystery about who is poisoning natural medicine tabs and setting bombs to blow up at a factory that just keeps functioning despite HAVING BOMBS BLOWING PEOPLE UP and not much is developed on the actual romance. Sure they share a trailer and pretend to be married but that is about it. I was glad the heroine was rather growly.

Thank you to Harlequin for the free review copy.

Big city doctor Nora Walsh relocates to Paradise Cove after discovering her boyfriend is cheating on her, with a much younger resident. Thinking a couple years break from the massively busy ER AND dating will refresh her, Nora isn't counting on stoic, size of a mountain local Jake Ramsay to become both her best friend and eventually her lover. But they both agree, it will never be anything more.

A deeply poignant romance with a current of extreme grief running underneath it all, Paradise Cove is much more than a light beach read.

I was absolutely loving this one until

Spoiler

Nora misses a few days of her birth control after her grandmother's death/funeral and becomes pregnant. She, a physician, thinks her five minute best orgasm of her life might also be why. She decides to keep the baby, abortion is on the table and I'm glad it is discussed and is a viable option and her friends support her, but it made my heart hurt to see Jake getting told, him reacting badly because well, his baby died, and then they have to come back from that. It was a lot after a quiet and slow build of their romance. I'm personally finding pregnancy plot lines hard to deal with right now so this is my personal bias/issue

CW cancer, death of a family member (on page), death of a child (in the past), pregnancy issues, on page medical descriptions

Library Journal Review

l liked this romance, just not as much as I adored Not the Girl You Marry. While you can read this one as a standalone, I think readers would most enjoy having read the first book.

Bridget Nolan has my whole heart however, and I know Matt Kido will work really hard to deserve her, I was just super frustrated she had any doubts about herself because she's awesome. I also want to throat punch her ex, he is the worst, and I'm sorry Bridget has to be around him ever. I can't believe he

Spoiler

told all of Bridget's friends and family that she "murdered" their baby by having an abortion. What. The. Fuck.

. I'm proud of Bridget and how this was handled throughout the story.

CW: drinking, parent problems, discussion of abortion

I was ecstatic to see someone awesome in my county library system must have requested Xeni for print purchase! I was going to do it but they beat me to the punch!

A lovely examination of a contemporary "arranged marriage" between a grieving woman who recently lost her beloved aunt and also finds out her family has been hiding major secrets, and the sweet and burly Scotsman who she must marry for a month in order for her to secure them both a large inheritance.

Sweet as pie and kinky too, this is a perfect read for these hard times.

CW for death of loved ones (off page)

Rival moonshine distillers Hannah Hawkins and Javier Meza get married to present a united front against their common enemy, a band of vicious new players on the scene in their hometown of Harlan, Kentucky.

Hannah found herself at the helm of her recently deceased mother's empire and this is really the last thing she needs, but Javier is the heir to his father's business and could prove to be an amazing partner in the fight to come, and perhaps for a future neither of them dared dream of.

So absolutely delicious. The setting of Black Appalachia is a character in its own right and has opened up a whole new world to me (a white reviewer). The drama comes not from the romance, as it is pretty clear both Hannah and Javier are very much into their "fake" marriage from the start, but from their actions to ensure their family legacies and business. I loved the slow-burn but absolutely steamy development of Hannah and Javier's physical relationship while they teamed up to take down their enemy. The scene on the hood of Javier's car is FIRE.

Slaughter is a new to me author, and I cannot wait to read more!

CW for gun violence, parental death (off page), cancer death of a minor character, kidnapping (of adults).

I appreciate when romance novels give you the pregnancy plot right in the title and description. I don't tend to read many of these but I adore Jackie Lau and will read whatever she sends my way.

This novel starts with a bang, including a delicious and voyeuristic meet HOT hookup at a party where everyone is getting it on in the open and ending with a wild weekend of sex resulting in the the unintended pregnancy (it is stated the characters are using condoms).

Marissa has had an abortion in the past but is now in her late 30s and wants to have a baby. She's also the only child of a single mother and has no extended family and she knows Vince Fong, rich, smart, and from a huge family, would make a great father. She's not interested in having him as anything more than a parenting partner, but Vince has decided he wants to be all in and is determined to show Marissa he is so much more than the party play boy she thinks he is.

Seeing Vince as the one trying to court Marissa, bringing her food, tending to her needs, and bringing her family and comfort, was super sweet.

If you enjoy this trope I think you'll love this story!

Thank you to the author for the ARC!

Bumping my review up a star after our deep read in the #ButDoTheyBang Discord. While I still find McKenna to be a man baby, the work the author does to showcase Aline & McKenna versus Shaw & Livia is so fascinating, as is the deep allusions and connection to Wuthering Heights. I felt more apologetic to McKenna this second read, and feel he and Livia are a good match for each other, even if they display toxic behavior to my modern, nonfictional lens.

I participated in a Twitter read-a-long for Again the Magic, you can see all the tweets by search #ATMLKRead!

My Kleypas reading history is spotty. Her work is not part of my formative romance reading history and thus I find myself struggling with her earlier work, especially the male "heroes." I always enjoy my reading experience though as she is a master of angst and language.

This is more a review/synopsis and is QUITE spoilery so stop here if you don't want to know.

CW: medical trauma, death of parents/loved ones (off page), addiction (drinking), mention of miscarriage

Aline and McKenna have grown up together, but conveniently don't have those pesky sibling feelings for each other, but instead have all the throbbing hormone pants feelings that come with young adulthood. They know their class difference means they can never be, and McKenna appears to be the realist, pursuing other girls and having sex with them while poor Aline pines and tries to tempt him into kissing her and more.

They are of course caught, but Aline ensures McKenna will have some sort of future by promising to send him away so harshly he'll never return. Her father is a JERK. McKenna immediately believes Aline was using him for a play thing and leaves in anger. Aline is distraught, and wastes away until a kitchen accident burns her legs. She eventually recovers but will forever bear the scars.

Cue 12 years later and Aline is still living at home but her brother is now in charge of the estate, her father is dead. A group of Americans is coming to stay and she is in charge of making sure they are comfortable and entertained. There is some sort of train business because is this a Kleypas novel without train business, and ope turns out McKenna is now a very rich man and is back for REVENGE.

He will bone Aline and leave her behind him, finally free of her ghost, because he absolutely is NOT still in love with her. No way, despite clinging to her hanky for 12 years.

Aline is on to his intent, but hey, maybe let's just go for it as long as we do it in the dark so he'll never know about MY LEGS. She's very concerned about her scars and thus has never married. She may also marry her best friend, a peer who is also gay. I'm not sure how I feel about this rep. She also uses this friend to make McKenna jealous.

SO much angst and so much good banter between these two. Both make terrible choices. There's a ton of YOU WILL BE MINE I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY chest thumping.

While all this is going on, we also get a delicious secondary romance between Livia, Aline's sister who was ruined after it was found out she was having sex with her fiancee. He died in a tragic accident and she miscarried their baby. So sad. She's also been in mourning for years but now has met an intriguing American who inspires her to seek pleasure and happiness. Shaw has his own demons, and is an alcoholic, which is a big problem. I appreciate how Kleypas handled his addiction. Livia was not a magic lover, who cured all his ills. She in fact tells him she loves him, but she cannot be the reason he tries to get sober. There love story deserved a whole book IMO.

Of course Aline and McKenna have a big break, again Livia breaks McKenna's heart, he starts to leave and she runs after him. Not enough grovel for me. And then the book basically ends. We do get to see that Livia and Shaw get their HEA after spending months and months apart so Shaw can work on his addiction.

So overall a highly entertaining read, but I'm not swooning over McKenna anytime soon! Shaw's my guy in this story.

May I introduce you to the only Sarah MacLean book I've never read?

That all ends today! I'm about 1/2 way through and I'm thoroughly enchanted by this sparkling YA Regency romance.
If you've never read a historical set in this time period I'd say this is an great way to be introduced to the society, vocabulary, and common tropes of this romance staple!

Thank you to @bookish.kelly and @toallthenerdygirls for launching #summerofsarahmaclean with such style AND for giving me a reason to finally read this gem!