ARC Review: thank you so much to Wren Wiloughby and The Naughty Nook PR for sending me a copy to read and review

Wren Wiloughby is a new to me author. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book. All I can say is that It didn’t disappoint. This was such a good age gap romance. The main characters actually talked to each other and communicated. 

Willow is such a strong FMC. She went through a lot, and she took time to accept that she had been through something, but it wasn’t her whole personality. She stood up for herself and made strives to heal. 

Jack Lambert is Willow’s boss and he’s 18 years her senior. He was there to get her out of a bad situation and he helped her pick up the pieces. Even though there had been an instant connection to her on his end, he never thought she would feel the same way. Jack was so swoon worthy taking care of Willow and building her back up. It doesn’t hurt that he’s the ultimate silver fox daddy. 

Haven is a slow burn that is totally worth it in the end. Jack and Willow’s relationship is beautiful. Be sure to abide by the trigger warnings. I think that the author handled writing about difficult very well. The scenes were realistic and not over the top.

ARC Review: Thank you so much to M.A. Wardell and Grey’s Promotions for sending me a copy to read and review. 

This book was so cute and funny. This may have been Boone and Wiley’s book, but Dennis the miniature horse stole the show! 

I love a good grumpy/sunshine cowboy romance! Wiley had his guard up when he arrived at Rainbow Ranch. It was so fun to watch his character development right alongside Noodles the horse. 

Boone takes care of everyone on the Ranch. It was about time he had someone take care of him. This book had the perfect amount of tension between the main characters, and for it being a shorter read the tension wasn’t too drawn out.The spicy scenes between these two characters were so good! This was my first spicy romance written my a male author, and it was so well done

ARC Review: thank you to Alexis Gorgun and The Smuthood for sending me a copy to read and review.

This was described as an interconnected stand alone, but it reads more like a duet. You almost have to read the first one to really have the context behind Evren and Nina’s relationship. 

Crossing Lines is a frenemies to lovers, age gap book. Evren is a rich, Turkish football team owner. He’s perpetually single and his mom keeps trying to set him on dates. Nina is the woman who had made a viral jacket with his team’s logo on it the previous year . He’s attracted to her, she gives him attitude at every turn. 

Nina is a poor seamstress. Her friends are friends with Evren, so they’re often in the same company. While house sitting/ decorating for her friend Evren’s house floods and he comes to live with her at her friend’s house. 

Even though she has her reasons, she keeps refusing every one of Evren’s offers to make a deal for her to sell her jacket. She’s a total black cat FMC. It was nice to see the progression of her letting her walls down. 
I really liked the friend group in the book as well as Evren’s brother Zeki. 

ARC Review: Thank you to Daisy Jane and The Smuthood for sending me a copy to read and review.

If you liked Jake Turner in Please, Sir you’re going to love coach Dean! Dean has BDE and he has the equipment to back it up. He is my favorite Daisy Jane MMC.

Dean McAllister is the history teacher and head football coach at Blue Bell High. The sophomore starting QB is Tanner, Clara June’s son. Dean instantly sees how hard Clara June works as a single mom to give her three boys the best life. When Tanner gets injured Dean makes it his mission to make life easier for her. When he calls her Mama- raw: next question! 

I really liked how Clara June’s character was written. After her husband left right after her youngest son was born she had convinced herself that she was broken in more ways than one. Count on Coach Dean to swoop in and show her that she is worthy of love and most definitely not broken. 

Archie was killing me! Especially with the peaches and the beef with Mrs. Salinger and her peach tree. Archie had so many great moments in this book. There were so many Easter eggs from the Daisy Jane universe and it was so fun spotting them all throughout the book. This book, in my opinion, had the perfect ratio of plot to spice along with so many swoon worthy moments courtesy of Dean. 

ARC Review: Thank you to Bonnie Poirier and Luna Literary Management for sending me a copy to read and review. 

This book had it all: Romantic Suspense, Mental Health Rep, found family, adoption rep, infertility rep, and a beautiful second chance. This book had me feeling all the feelings. 

Lexi is a black cat FMC. She had divorced Ryder three years previous because she was convinced she knew what was best for him. After the death of their friends, she and Ryder and forced back together with an instant family. Her character development was so good! I love how she softened as more layers of Ryder’s love for her had been peeled back. 

Ryder, this strong rancher loved Lexi even when she left him. His character is committed to taking care of his mental health and I love to see that. He is the ultimate German shepherd MMC. He is unwilling to take this second chance for granted. He’s also 100% always meant to be a father no matter what that looks like. I loved how he won Lexi over again. There a “my wife” moment that is so good! 

ARC Review: Thank you to Darlene Rodriguez and Luna Literary Management for sending me a copy to read and review. 

Desmond is a man who holds many secrets. He’s the black sheep of his powerful family and he’s a single dad to his daughter Emilia. When his grandmother requests that he rejoin the family and claim his inheritance his brother is there to try to steal everything from him. 

Josie is Emilia’s nanny. When Desmond tells her that he needs to prove he’s not afraid of commitment he asks her to be his fake fiancé. At first she’s not interested in being involved with her boss, but when she discovers that his brother is the man who ghosted her, she’s all in. 

This book had great potential. I felt no connection between the characters. The second half of the book did pick up. 

ARC Review: Thank you to Mari Carr and the Author Agency for sending me a copy to read and review. 

To start I always thought I didn’t like Romance written in the first person… turns out I like when it’s done right. Shelter From the Storm was done right. 

Oh my. This book had plot, spice, suspense, the best little small town, and found family. I love the Storm family lore of love at first touch. This book had a twist at the end that had me on the edge of my seat. I definitely want to go back sometime and read Levi and Kasi’s book. 

I loved watching Gretchen’s growth as a character. She went from meek and scared to an absolute badass. Her relationship with Edith was one of the hi-lights of the book. 

Theo is total hottie! Protective, determined to make Gretchen feel happy and loved, a gentleman, and a man who knows what he wants.

ARC Review: Thank you so much to Daisy Wren and Luna Literary Management for sending me a copy of this novella to read and review 

First off, this book should come with a warning that you’ll need a cold shower! 

Ava is a divorced single mom who not only separated from her husband in the divorce, but also the Mormon religion. In the two years since her divorce she’s been going to therapy. In the process she comes to the realization that she’s a lesbian and always had been. Growing up in the Mormon church had caused her to repress that. 

Skylar is Ava’s best friend. She’s had a crush on Ava since they were teenagers. When Ava comes out to her, she asks Skylar to “teach her”. Skylar is the ultimate golden retriever girlfriend. Skylar shows Ava that she doesn’t have to do it alone and that it’s ok to ask for help. Skylar also 100% had Ava’s back when it comes to her jerk ex-husband and we love to see it. 

This book does deal with religious trauma and homophobia. 

ARC Review: Thank you so much to Melanie Moreland and The Author Agency for sending me a copy to read and review.

Niall is the second part of the Irishmen duet. This is Niall and Anna’s story. I’m a fan of insta love when it’s done right, and in my opinion it was done correctly.

After saving Anna, Niall feels this overwhelming need to protect her. He’s a man who doesn’t think he’s capable of loving anyone, but his mother. I really liked how Anna broke down his walls. I also liked how Finn helped him to see what was right and hm. Such good character development for this morally grey man. 

Anna is such a sweet character. She takes Niall’s overprotectiveness with stride. I loved her friendship with Una. I love the banter between Anna and Niall. 

I thought I had the plot twist figured out, and for the most part I did. There was definitely a piece of it that still surprised me. 

ARC Review: thank you to Stefani Castro and The Author Agency for sending me a copy to read and review. 

I read this book in one day. This was my first Stefani Castro book and I genuinely enjoyed it. The characters have a 10 year age gap and grew up next to each other. He’s a firefighter and she’s an undergrad student.

I loved Tucker’s character and how he was just a big teddy bear. This book had the right amount of angst and attention. The spice in this book was spicing! 

I felt for Baylee. She overheard something concerning Tucker that led her to seek a relationship that ended badly. I loved that Tucker was her first call and he dropped everything to get to her. The scenes with Baylee and her therapist were realistic. 

I loved Baylee’s relationship with Tucker’s mom. The other side characters were hilarious. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.