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adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
What it’s about:
Vera has been living in the modern world unaware that she’s actually from 7th century Camelot. When Merlin shows up to take her back in time, she has to relearn her place in the past and create new relationships.
What I thought:
I thought this book was a lot of fun and had an interesting premise. The characters were lovable, and I especially thought Lancelot was funny. I loved how hard Vera worked to fix her mistakes from the past even if she couldn’t remember them.
🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I love Julia as a narrator. I’ve listened to her narrate books before, and she always does such a good job. Her voice is very expressive, and I thought she fit the character well.
⚠️ lots of swearing, death of a boyfriend (past), grief, cancer, fatal car accident (past), violence, blood, injuries & attempted rape
🌶️ 1 short open door scene with some details
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content
Minor: Cancer, Car accident
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Thank you to PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook. All opinions are my own.
What it’s about:
After finding a picture of her late grandma with a man that was not her grandpa, Noelle takes to the internet for answers about who the mystery man might be. Then she finds herself on a road trip with this mystery man and his grandson, her high school nemesis.
What I thought:
I really liked the emotional depth of this story. The main character was grieving throughout, and I liked how she was able to find joy amidst the pain. I also liked how she and the main male character grew stronger throughout the book.
🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I liked this narrator a lot and thought she fit the character’s voice well.
⚠️ death of grandparent (off page), grief, & swearing
🌶️ multiple open door scenes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Grief
Moderate: Death
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
What it’s about:
It’s been five years since Ridley’s sister went missing. She’s become a true crime podcaster to help other people facing similar situations and to help solve cold cases. She visits the town of one case in hopes it will bring closure to her own situation. What she isn’t expecting is to spend time with the broody sheriff.
What I thought:
I loved this book! It had the perfect amount of romance with an excellent suspenseful mystery plot. I loved these characters and how strong they were after tragedy. Ridley was such a good main character too.
🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I loved these narrators and thought they did a great job with their POVs.
⚠️ considering the topic of this book, there could potentially be a lot of triggering content in regards to missing persons and the violence associated with that.
🌶️ multiple open door scenes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
emotional
funny
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Thank you to Shadow Mountain Pub. for the ARC of The Rules of Matrimony by Anneka R. Walker. All opinions are my own.
While this book can be read as a standalone, I think it would be best read in series order. It is book four in the Matchmaking Mamas romance series, and while each book follows a different couple, the main character in this book has a lot of character development that started within the other books in this series.
The Rules of Matrimony is a book about a guy that has never planned to get married. All Ian cares about is helping other people by using the power he was born into. Amie is poor and in need of someone to marry so that she isn’t forced to marry her awful cousin. When Ian and Amie’s mothers meet, they set into motion their own matchmaking plan to help both of their children.
This book is definitely a slow burn romance. I sometimes wished the pace would pick up a little, but I did really enjoy getting to see Ian and Amie become friends. There were a lot of sweet moments between them where they cared for each other and learned to lean on one another.
I also thought the historical setting was interesting, and I learned a lot about the laws of the time in regards to punishments for crimes. It was clear the author did research about this setting, and I liked seeing how Ian was a part of that history.
I think this was a great conclusion to this series. I liked getting glimpses of the previous characters, and it was nice to see the character arc for Ian over the course of these four books.
Overall, I would recommend this book and the entire series if you like historical romances that are funny, emotional, and educational.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Thank you to the author for the ARC of The Double Play by Annah Conwell. All opinions are my own.
While this is the fourth book in the More Than a Game series, it can be read as a standalone.
This story follows a single dad doing his best to protect and care for his daughter while he also juggles his career as a professional baseball player. When he reluctantly hires a nanny to care for his daughter, he never expects to develop feelings for her.
I absolutely loved this book! The romance was so sweet, but I also loved the parent/child relationship formed in this book. I loved how Hazel quickly bonded with June, especially because June really needed a mother figure in her life after her own mother abandoned her. After Emmett saw how good Hazel was with June, it was easy to see why he could fall for her so quickly.
I also enjoyed that the conflict seemed natural and not drawn out. While this book is mostly lighthearted, I did like how the characters experienced realistic problems that couldn’t be resolved completely.
There were some moments in the story (especially the second half) that made me a little emotional with how sweet and wholesome they were. I loved how June would say things that would make Hazel feel so loved and wanted.
Overall, I would recommend this book!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Abandonment
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC of Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt. All opinions are my own.
Left of Forever is the second book in an interconnected standalone series. Book one was Savor It, which followed the sister to the main character of this book. While you don’t have to read them in order, there are a few minor spoilers from book one in this book. I really enjoyed Savor It, so I would recommend reading it too.
This romance was a lot spicier than I normally read or enjoy, but I still loved the story. I was able to skip over the explicit scenes pretty easily without missing out on much of the story.
The emotional intimacy in this book was so well done. I loved how Ellis and Wren gave each other a second chance after they gave up on their marriage the first time around.
I haven’t read many stories with the dynamics of this book. I think I really appreciated the romance and emotional aspects of this story even more because I could tell how much history these two characters had with each other. They knew each other so intimately, and it was beautiful to see them remember the things they loved about each other from before but also discover knew aspects they could appreciate about each other.
It was obvious how much effort these characters were putting into their relationship, and I really appreciated that character growth. It was also nice to see how they worked through past problems with maturity and communication.
I also really liked getting to spend more time with the Byrd family because they were such a fun group of people. I hope to get to read more about them in future books.
Overall, I would say that if you are intimidated by the spiciness of this book, you should still give it a try because it’s such a beautiful story. If you enjoy spice, then I think you’ll love not only the physical intimacy but also the beautifully romantic story of reconciliation.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and I absolutely loved it! These narrators were amazing and conveyed emotions so naturally. I definitely recommend this format!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content
Moderate: Infertility
DNF @ 6%
Why I chose to read this book:
I’ve read most of this author’s books, and I’ve enjoyed a lot of them. From the synopsis, it sounded like it would be a good book.
My thoughts:
I feel like the synopsis hides what this book is really about in a way that’s unhelpful for potential readers. I would’ve never picked up this book had I known that it was a book primarily about kinky sex. Also, from the set up at the beginning, it sounded like the main relationship was going to happen while one of the characters was still with someone else, which I'm not a fan of. I think the right audience would like this book because Ali is a great writer. However, I was disappointed that the synopsis didn’t mention what this book was really about.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for the ARC of Lady Maybe by Julie Klassen. All opinions are my own.
I had been wanting to read a book by this author for some time now, so I was excited to have the opportunity to read this tenth anniversary edition early. I definitely plan to read more books by this author in the future because I really liked this writing style.
Lady Maybe was different than I expected it to be, but I really liked it. I was expecting romance and danger, and while there was some danger, there’s a bigger focus on romance and on drama (which was a lot of fun to read).
One thing that stood out to me about this book was how unpredictable it was. I even found this to be true with the romance, and that is rare for me to see in the books I usually read. I enjoyed how the story kept me guessing, and I could never figure out what would happen next or even how it would end.
I also enjoyed that the characters were lovable while also being very much flawed. I could understand the choices they made even if they weren’t exactly good choices in the end.
The different points of view were helpful for moving the story along, and I enjoyed reading from each perspective.
Overall, I would recommend this book and actually encourage people to go into this book without knowing much about it because I think it will be even more enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Car accident
Moderate: Child death, Death
Minor: Miscarriage, Death of parent
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
What it’s about:
Miles and Jemma have been friends since childhood. Jemma’s grandmother’s dying wish is for Jemma to get married, so Jemma agrees to let the matchmaking mamas set her up with a suitor without realizing that Miles has been in love with her for years.
What I thought:
This book was so sweet, and I liked seeing the friendship between Miles and Jemma. It was also entertaining to see all of the funny situations they found themselves in, especially regarding all of the ladies interested in Miles.
🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: the narration was good when the narrators were doing the voices for their POV. I didn’t like when they were doing the voices for the love interest though because it didn’t sound very good.
⚠️ death of a grandparent, injury, blood & grief
🌶️ just kisses
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Grief
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Thank you Simon Teen for the gifted copy and to Simon Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own.
What it's about:
This book picks up right where book two left off. It's full of secrets, betrayals, and heartbreaking moments. There's also a new POV added to this story. Backstories are explored as well.
What I thought:
Wow, this book had my emotions all over the place. I loved it, but I also had to stop reading sometimes because of how upset the story would make me. I loved that it wasn't predictable, and I enjoyed the romance.
🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I loved these narrators and thought this format worked well for this book.
⚠️ swearing, violence, blood, death, & grief
🌶️ fade to black
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Sexual content