Reviews by bookrecsbyjess | The StoryGraph

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bookrecsbyjess

Waiting for the Rancher

Jody Hedlund

5.0

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Thank you to the author for the ARC of Waiting for the Rancher by Jody Hedlund. All opinions are my own.

Jody Hedlund quickly became one of my favorite authors last year, and her books never disappoint! I was so excited to be able to read this book early because her books are always so good and make me feel so happy.

This is the first book in a new series, and I’m excited to read each book after loving this so much.

Waiting for the Rancher had everything I could’ve wanted in a romance: chemistry, sizzling kisses, amazing characters, and love interests that care about each other so much.

Maverick was such a swoony character. I loved how he flirted with Hazel and gave her a cute nickname. His chemistry with Hazel was amazing!

Hazel was such a strong character, and I loved how she didn’t let her brother influence her in keeping away from Maverick.

There were so many cute moments that made me smile. I loved how Maverick and Hazel kept finding themselves alone even though Maverick was trying to stay away from her.

Hazel’s brother Sterling was irritating and irrational at first, but he did redeem himself in the end.

Overall, this was an easy five star read for me, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good, closed-door romance with amazing chemistry and swoony kisses.

Content Warnings

Aurora's End

Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman

5.0

adventurous emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

All's Fair in Love and War

Virginia Heath

4.0

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

✨ RE-READ REVIEW ✨

I previously read this book in 2024 as an ARC. I wanted to re-read it before I started reading the sequel that comes out June 24, 2025.

Thank you to PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook. All opinions are my own.

What it’s about:

Harry’s sister unexpectantly leaves her children with him while she goes away on a trip. Busy with his work, Harry hires a governess to take care of the children and to teach them. He’s not expecting a woman he’s attracted to and who doesn’t care about keeping things in order like he’s used to.

What I thought:

I really enjoyed my re-read. It was fun to be back with these characters and read about all the entertaining events in this book. I still liked these characters a lot and the growth they show over the course of the story.

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I loved these narrators so much, and I thought they were great at showing emotion with their voices.

⚠️ swearing, injury, animal cruelty (brief mention), death of a parent (past), & infidelity (past)

🌶️ multiple open door scenes & a lot of lustful thoughts throughout the book

———————————-

✨ FIRST READ REVIEW ✨

4.5⭐️ (2024)

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press Romance for the ARC of All’s Fair in Love and War by Virginia Heath. All opinions are my own.

This is the second book that I’ve read by this author. Previously, I read Never Fall for Your Fiancée. While I enjoyed that book, I loved this book!

All’s Fair in Love and War was funny, witty, romantic, and had such lovable characters in it.

Harry and Georgie had amazing chemistry from the very beginning. I loved how clueless Georgie was to Harry’s attraction to her. He was pining after her so bad, and she thought that he found her ugly.

As someone in the education field, I really enjoyed reading about Georgie as a teacher and governess to the Pendleton children. She was a great teacher, and I loved how she used hands-on experiences to encourage the kids’ interests and talents.

Norbert the dog was a lot of fun. It was so sweet how he stuck to Felix’s side and was very protective of him.

Harry’s feelings towards his job felt very realistic to me, and I enjoyed learning about his work with the royal navy. It was also nice to see his character growth personally and professionally.

Georgie was such a fun protagonist. I loved her sass and that she didn’t let Harry push her around. She was also such a good role model to the Pendleton children. I loved that she grew as a character but didn’t change the best parts about herself but instead learned to love them.

The story had lots of memorable moments and scenes that made me laugh out loud. This book was very entertaining but also heartfelt.

Overall, I would recommend this book! It does have some open-door romance scenes, but they can be skipped if necessary.

Content Warnings

Savor It

Tarah DeWitt

4.5

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: Yes

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC and to SMP Romance for the ARC of Savor It by Tarah DeWitt. All opinions are my own.

I previously read The Co-Op by Tarah DeWitt and enjoyed it so much! When I saw that she was coming out with this book and I saw the cover, I knew that I wanted to read it.

Savor It is a heartfelt, spicy, and uplifting romance that was full of love, growth, and tenderness.

In this small-town romance, there was a fun community, a menagerie of lovable animals, and an ex-boyfriend who’s moved on. I thought the setting was perfect, and I loved seeing Fisher (the main male character) and his niece become a part of this close-knit community.

Sage was a darling protagonist. She was so sweet and welcoming. I loved how she wore her heart on her sleeve and how well she took care of the people she loved.

Fisher was charming and a complete goner for Sage. I loved how he called her by her last name, and I appreciated that he didn’t hold back his emotions from her.

While I am not a fan of spice in romances, those scenes were easy enough to skim over that I think closed door readers could enjoy this story as well.

I listened to this book on audio, and the narrators were perfect for these characters! This story is told using dual points of view, and I loved that there were two narrators for these characters. Karissa Vacker and Zachary Webber are some of my favorite narrators, and they did not disappoint.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves romances. It will make you smile and possibly even tear up.

Content Warnings

When Among Crows

Veronica Roth

3.0

dark medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC of When Among Crows by Veronica Roth. All opinions are my own.

My only experience with Veronica Roth’s writing was reading the Divergent series years ago. I absolutely loved Divergent, so I wanted to give this book a try. Plus, the synopsis for this story sounded super interesting!

That being said, this book just wasn’t memorable for me. The only parts that stand out to me a few days after finishing the book are the parts where there was gore. I remember these because they made me feel a bit queasy.

This isn’t a bad book, but I feel like there’s a reason that most fantasy books are not novellas unless they’re part of a series. I just didn’t get attached to these characters. They were fine, and maybe I would’ve loved them more if they were part of a longer book or series.

The setting was interesting, and I do feel like I could picture the world considering that this book didn’t have the length for elaborate world-building.

Overall, this book was okay. I think some people may really love it, but I don’t think I would really recommend it to a lot of people.

Content Warnings

Finding Mr. Write

Kelley Armstrong

3.5

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Thank you to Forever for the ARC of Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong. All opinions are my own.

The premise of this book is great, and I think I could really picture an author doing this in real life (although maybe not to that extent).

I enjoyed the first half of this book a lot more than the second half. Chris was funny, and I loved reading about him and Daphne in her home territory.

The second half of the story wasn’t bad, but I didn’t like how spicy it got, and I thought the conflict was kind of stupid. Considering that they were both adults, they both acted kind of immature. I also just really don’t like it when characters jump to conclusions.

My favorite character was Chris because he was just really sweet and awkward.

Overall, I enjoyed a lot of the story, but I would only recommend it to certain people.

Content Warnings

One Last Shot

Betty Cayouette

4.0

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for the ALC and ARC of One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette. All opinions are my own.

I would’ve never known that this was a debut novel had I not looked it up. It was written so well and had such a unique premise. I don’t think I’ve read many stories about modeling, and I loved the setting as well.

Second chance romance is one of my favorite genres, and I especially enjoy when authors include flashbacks to the previous relationship. In this story, the flashbacks were so cute. I loved seeing Emerson and Theo when they were teenagers. Their friendship was so wholesome and envious.

I also liked the present-day chapters because the characters were still great and hadn’t let fame or life circumstances change them too much. I also appreciated the dual POVs because I could see how much each character cared about the other.

The setting was beautiful, and I would definitely love reading more books set there. It was also interesting to read about the behind-the-scenes aspects of modeling and photoshoots since I knew very little about them.

My only issue with this book was the miscommunication. If Emerson and Theo would’ve talked things through early on, they would’ve avoided so much heartache.

Overall, I think this was a great debut, and I would definitely be interested in reading another book by this author.

Content Warnings

Fall of Ruin and Wrath

Jennifer L. Armentrout

DID NOT FINISH: 49%

This book has been more smut than plot so far. It’s just too spicy for me.

Content Warnings

Secondary Target

Angela Carlisle

4.0

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Thank you to Bethany House Fiction for the ARC and gifted copy of Secondary Target by Angela Carlisle. All opinions are my own.

This was an excellent debut novel!

Thrillers are not my typical genre because I can’t handle really scary stories. While there were a few scenes that freaked me out a bit, this book was thrilling without being gory.

The author did a great job of making me care about the characters and want the best for them. I felt so bad for them as they just had one bad thing after another happen to them.

I loved having the point of view of Carina and Bryce. It was so nice to know what both were thinking throughout the story. The POV of the killer was really hard to read from because it was so disturbing.

I thought the author executed the topic of grief well, and I loved seeing the characters grow (including the spiritual growth).

Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone looking to read a mystery thriller that has an interesting premise and a hard to guess mystery.

Content Warnings

The Roads We Follow

Nicole Deese

4.0

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for the ARC and physical copy of The Roads We Follow by Nicole Deese. All opinions are my own.

Last year, I read my first Nicole Deese book, which was The Words We Lost, the first Fog Harbor book. I knew after enjoying that book that I would want to read the next book in the series.

While this book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, I did really enjoy it.

The Roads We Follow is marketed as a contemporary romance, but I would say that the romance isn’t the focus of the book. With family being the main focus, I would classify it more along the lines of contemporary fiction or women’s fiction.

This story follows Raegan and Micah and is told using dual points of view. I enjoyed reading from both perspectives, and I think that added to the meaningfulness of the story.

One thing that Deese does well is to tell stories in such a beautiful and heartfelt way. I loved how she talked about family, faith, communication, and learning to accept yourself in the way that God sees you instead of focusing on what others want from you.

The Farrow sisters had such an unhealthy relationship with each other, so it was nice to see each sister grow and realize that they didn’t have to be stuck in the choices they had made.

Micah was such a sweet character. I loved how he and Raegan connected quickly and formed a strong friendship. I also liked that Micah helped reconnect the Farrow family members and taught them how to communicate better while also dealing with his own issues. He was so calm and thoughtful, and I liked how he brought out the best in other people.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a slower paced story that’s more about character growth and reuniting with family.

This is a story of redemption and growth. It shows that it’s never too late to change the path you have chosen in life.

Content Warnings

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