Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC of Bride by Ali Hazelwood. All opinions are my own. 

If Ali Hazelwood writes it, I’ll read it. I’ve read all of her books, but this is her first attempt at the fantasy genre. 

This was such a fun book! If you like witty dialogue, rival creatures, and paranormal spice, then this book is for you! 

While I don’t necessarily think this book is a standout in this genre, I do think it was a fun and enjoyable story that I found entertaining and relaxing. 

Many fantasy stories can be stressful because of the plots and never knowing who might die, but this is not that type of fantasy. I would describe it more as an urban fantasy. It didn’t really feel like a fantasy because the characters had regular jobs, and it felt very real life (except for the paranormal creatures). 

I liked the friendship that formed between Misery and Lowe, and I loved the conversations they had. I found a lot of this book to be funny and lighthearted, and I really appreciated that aspect. 

I listened to the audiobook of this narrated by Thérèse Plummer & Will Damron and appreciated the different narrators (even if Lowe’s chapters were super short). The voices fit the characters, and I thought they added to the story. 

My biggest issue with this book was the spice. I’m not a big fan of spice anyways, but the werewolf smut was very weird. 

Overall, I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a lighthearted and spicy romantasy. 

Thank you to the author and Sunrise Publishing for the eARC of Finally His Bride by Jody Hedlund. All opinions are my own. 

Jody Hedlund has quickly become one of my favorite authors because her books are just so easy to love. This book was no exception. I loved every bit of it. 

One of the things that I love so much about Jody’s writing is that she is able to create romance scenes with so much sexual tension and chemistry without being crass or explicit. The romantic scenes in this book were so good, especially since the tension had been building for such a long time. 

Childhood friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes because of the pining, so watching Caleb and Willow change from best friends to lovers was so adorable, and it made me feel giddy. The friendship between Caleb and Willow was so sweet, and I loved reading Caleb’s poetry. 

Before reading this book, I knew very little about Bride Ships, so the setting and historical background of the story was very interesting, and I’m excited to read more books about it. 

I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series and reading Jody’s previous Bride Ships series because I just loved everything about this book. 

I can’t recommend this book enough! Go read it and fall in love with these characters as much as I did. 

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for my ARC of Chasing the Horizon by Mary Connealy. All opinions are my own. 

This was my second book by this author, and I just think this author’s writing style isn’t for me. That being said, this isn’t a bad book at all. It just isn’t my preference. 

I think you would like this story if you enjoy slower paced books with a strong focus on characters and their experiences during their historical period. The author does a great job researching the time period for her stories, and I like the added faith elements that she includes. 

While there is a bit of a romance in this book, that is definitely not the focus of the book. It’s more about overcoming hardships and the importance of looking out for each other. 

The last few chapters were a bit weird to me, but I guess the author was trying to set up the reader for the next book in the series. It just felt like it was too open-ended. 

Overall, I appreciate what the author was trying to do, but it just wasn’t for me. 

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein. All opinions are my own. 

After seeing that this book had some of my favorite romance tropes in it (grumpy/sunshine, fake dating, and slow burn romance), I was very excited to read it. That being said, I have very mixed feelings about it. 

Here are the things I liked best about this book: 

First, I loved both Alfie and Mabel as main characters. They were both so sweet and lovable, and it was easy to root for them. Also, Alfie was just so adorably awkward and said the sweetest things to Mabel. I also loved how technology-challenged he was because it made him even more endearing. 

Second, I loved all the British-isms. While there were a lot of references to British culture that I did not understand, I still loved all the hilarious phrases they would use. 

Third, I loved the banter between Mabel and Alfie. They just got along so well, and they had such great conversations and chemistry. 

Lastly, I really enjoyed the whole first half of the book. The friendship that was formed, Alfie’s awkward moments, and just the cute moments together really had me loving it. 

With all that in mind, here is why this book ultimately fell flat for me: 

The explicitness of the sexual content, the crassness of language, and the ending really ruined this book for me. 

While I expected there to be some open door romance scenes in this book, the fact that the second half of the book was just mostly smut was disappointing to me. It went from barely anything in the first half of the book to the exact opposite in the latter half. Also, the amount of crude language between Mabel and Alfie was just way too much for me, and I feel like the first half of the book did not build up well to that. 

The other major issue I had was how the book ended. Without spoiling anything, there were definitely miscommunication and immaturity involved that made me angry (especially when considering the ages of these characters). It was unnecessary and could have been handled differently. I will say that Alfie’s grand gesture was so sweet and romantic and redeemed it a tiny amount. 

Overall, I might recommend this book to some people, but only those who really like spice in their romance books and ones that don’t mind miscommunication. 

Thank you to the author for my gifted copy of this ARC of Phishing for Love by Lara Martin. All opinions are my own. 

This is this author’s second novel. I read her first novel and enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to this book. 

These were the things I liked best about this book: 

·        The supportive friend group 

·        The secretary who seemed to know everything 

·        Aaron as the love interest 

·        Tess’s grandma and her hatred for Google 

Things that I didn’t enjoy about this book: 

·        The fact that infidelity played a big role in this story 

·        The weird and rushed ending 

·        Some of the quirks like the dolphin analogy and the weird boot fetish 

·        The random phobia that seemed thrown into the story 

Overall, this wasn’t a bad book, but I just don’t think some of the aspects of this story worked for me. A lot of it might have been the personality of the main character because I didn’t find her to be particularly lovable. Others might enjoy her character, so I would recommend giving it a try. 

Thank you to NetGalley and to Libro.fm for the ARC and ALC of Double Take by Lynette Eason. All opinions are my own. 

Before reading this book, I had heard of Lynette Eason but had never read any of her books, but now I would love to read more. 

I don’t typically read thrillers, but the premise that included a romance and the fact that the author writes Christian fiction intrigued me enough to give it a try. 

I really ended up enjoying this book so much that I listened to the whole book in one day. 

It’s the kind of story that you just can’t put down because you want to know what happens next. I also couldn’t guess the mystery aspect at all, so the reveal at the end was great. 

The faith elements really added to the story, and I found them to be realistic and relatable. 

The audiobook was excellent, and I definitely recommend it if you like audiobooks. 

Overall, I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a fast-paced book with an unpredictable plot, lovable characters, and a sweet romance. 

I was just too bored.