CUTE & FAST-PACED.

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I’ve been enjoying the Showmen series! I still think New Orleans Rush is my favorite, but I really had a good time with this story and loved how quickly I flew through it. There’s something about the way Siskind writes her characters that make the books hard to put down for long.

I thought Annie and Wes were pretty adorable. A long time friends to lovers situation where it was total opposites attract. Kind of a grump and sunshine situation. They both stumbled a bit and how to find their footing within the relationship and I liked watching this growth and maturity that occurred.

Sometimes the plot went a little too dramatic or that it some pieces just weren’t necessary? I did like the exploration of grief and how it’s different for everyone involved. No two people experience a situation the same way and this was clearly shown.

What kind of sealed the deal on the adorableness of these two was that epilogue. OH I LOVE A GOOD EPILOGUE. It was absolutely precious and I just became completely smitten with Wes all over again. A charming addition to the Showmen series!

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance
- Language: some strong throughout
- Kisses to open door scenes
- Trigger/Content Warnings: depictions of grief, mentions of going to therapy, homelessness, loss of loved ones, gun violence

I FEEL LIKE I NEED TO GO TO A REN FEST NOW.

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No? Just me? I’ve never been to one, but now I feel like it’s a need (and hopefully by the time this posts I found a way to go to one!).

Now, back to your regularly scheduled review:

This was cute! I wouldn’t say it’s on par with a handful of contemporary romances I’ve read this year though. I enjoyed it, brought me out of a tiny reading slump I was in, just wasn’t WHOA STELLAR.

I thought that the enemies to lovers trope felt forced at times and wasn’t really all that necessary. Emily and Simon could have easily bantered there way to a relationship without throwing in how much Emily did not like him. There was never anything to truly base her disinterest on.

Emily as a character was pretty great. I loved watching her grow and adapt to her life situation. She was in a crappy break-up that left her stranded and by moving in to help with her sister it allowed Emily to take a step back and figure out what direction her like needed to take next. She was open to a new town, a new job and I need to work on flowing with the change rather than struggling against the current. I loved the example Emily set.

Enter Simon. Put him in a pirate costume, YAAS GIRL. Otherwise, he took a bit to grow on me. Once again, this was that forced aspect I’ve been referring to. His personality seemed to strong and some of his choices weren’t fantastic so I had hard time loving him. The further into the book really had me singing a different tune. I thought he was a bit cheesy at times, but hot dang. Okay. I get it, I like Simon. He and Emily really did have a connection I was shipping all day.

The setting was totally amazing. I haven’t read any books with a Ren Fest as the main plot and YES. Costumes, Medieval Times, The Renaissance? Please and thank you all day. It was fun and inventive and allowed the plot to flow. Not going to lie, was also into it because a character had the same name as me (AND SPELLED THE SAME) which is clearly a sign I was meant to enjoy this book. A quick light-hearted (though there are some tough moments) read, that will give you warm fuzzies and a happy ending.

Also, epilogue? PRECIOUS.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance
- Language: strong language
- Romance: kisses make-outs, a chapter love scene (detailed, did not need to be a chapter long at all)
- Trigger warnings: loss of a loved one

DIVING INTO COZY MYSTERIES.

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I’m not sure if anything I’ve ever read has qualified as a cozy mystery. This I believe does! And I found it to be something I’d love to read more of.

This was funny, short, and so very quirky. I liked Wanda as the main character and found her likable and someone I wanted to be friends with. I snickered and found myself smiling multiple times over the ridiculousness of the story, but also realizing how much I was enjoying it.

A very fast read (200ish) pages and plenty was packed in! There’s quite a few books so I’m definitely interested in seeing how these continue. I spied the beginnings of a budding romance, and many more mysteries to solve. I love how quick this opener was and how easy it made me want to know more about the Wayfair Witches.

Overall audience notes:
- Paranormal cozy mystery
- Language: very little, light
- Romance: hugs
- Violence: murder; nothing overly bloody/gory; kidnapping

I WANT A DOUGHNUT NOW.

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I wasn’t originally planning on reading this because I didn’t love the first one in this series. A few friends reviews convinced me this was better, and they were RIGHT. I loved this one so much more and I’m happy that I read it. I may have enjoyed it enough to read it in one day. I was that smitten with Ryan.

This enemies to lovers romance took a bit different spin that most I’ve seen. Instead of *fighting the love* until closer to the end, Ryan especially, worked towards making things worked out sooner. With their past laid out well I love how this flowed and progressed. What made me even more happy was that the conflict (that you can always expect in a contemporary romance) fit into the story and instead of taking a turn for the ridiculousness, actually worked out beautifully. Some communication between Ryan and June turned the tables and solidified a great romance.

I struggled with June’s character for at least half the book. I understood why she was written in such a matter, but maybe it was pushed too hard? I don’t know, she just rubbed me the wrong way about how she chose to treat Ryan initially and a few other things. It was nice to see her character growth over the book.

The Enemy was entirely a different story than The Match. And one that I felt had a lot more to it. You don’t necessarily need to read The Match first, but the main characters do show up in this book and it may spoil a few things.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses / make-outs
- Violence: physical
- Trigger warnings: cheating fiance

BEAUTIFUL STORY.

Thank you to CD books and Netgalley for the eARC! All opinions are my own.

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Oh I adored this! A sports romance gem.

What I loved most was the truly real feeling of the characters. There are some raw and tender moments as over and over our main characters come to terms with the situations around them. I loved the dialogue and conversations that occurred because of this. It exponentially brought another level to the novel by creating beautifully flawed humans who saw some true growth.

Isla and Eric were such a match!! I loved their chemistry and banter. The absolutely precious moments between them. It was spicy and romantic. Even better, I did like how the conflict and resolution came out between them. It worked perfectly for the story and allowed for an adorable ending. I did think [for me] the romance was a bit heavy-handed and I did have to skip over a few scenes, but if you like higher steam, this is definitely a read for you!

I love that this was a sports romance. I found it really insightful actually to boxing. I don’t like boxing at all, but was impressed with seeing another side to it than just fighting. Even when the big match came up I wasn’t quite sure who would win. The way Siskind wrote out this narrative was on point and I’m happy it went the way it did!

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance
- Language: some strong throughout
- Romance: kisses to a few very open door scenes
- Violence: boxing matches
- Content/Trigger Warnings: depictions of anxiety and panic attacks, coping with learning a loved one has a degenerative illness

A GOOD START.

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I’ve never had this book on my radar, and have only heard of it a few times. Yet, when a Bookstagram friend decided to do a read-a-long for it, I jumped on board! The premise was enough to convince me.

I found this interesting. It was a set-up I haven’t seen before and let me curious as to how all of these characters got here. Yelena was a great main character. Her strength and bravery in-front of horrid situations was amazing. I thought some of her inner monologues became repetitive, but Yelena in general was a favorite.

The romance between her and Valek was slow-rolling and enjoyable. It didn’t come on strongly and I found myself cheering them on. I adored Valek in his own right and these two made for a good story.

I’m a bit confused by the magic system here. I can’t even describe it because it kind of came out of nowhere and I’m still figuring out the rules of the game. I’m hoping in the next book there’s more explanation as to how it fits into the world. Speaking of the world, it was intriguing too. The way the land was split up, and how it was under a type of military regime. I’d be curious how this continues to develop as well.

I may have been left with a lot of questions, but the story really did work well as a first book in a series. I’m happy to continue reading them!

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy + Romance
- Language: occasional
- Romance: kisses; one little detailed love scene
- Violence: murder, swords, physical altercations, arrows, poison
- Trigger warnings: mentions of being raped with one brief flashback scene to it; sexual assault and harassment, torture, attempted rape

These are just cute comics that make me laugh & smile. A great quick feel good read.

DELIGHTFUL AND SPOOKY.

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And a fantastic audio book!! I really enjoyed this. I haven’t read a middle grade book in a long while and this reminded me why I like adding these into the mix. This was fun in a creepy way, and had cute friendship moments that I adored.

I thought Cass was a great main character. The writing was amazing in that I felt like she was definitely younger, but it never became annoying or drew me out of the story. I wanted to be her friend, cheer her on, and keep reading this story. The dynamic between her and Jacob was so sweet. I’m curious how that relationship will grow and evolve over the books (tears coming? MAYBE).

The plot was complex in its simplicity and I feel that really sways to middle grade. You knew exactly where things were going, but because of the writing and set-up, enjoyed the ride it took you on.

I just love Schwab’s books. And this is her first middle grade book I’ve read. After this, I have plans to read more of these!

Overall audience notes:
- Middle grade paranormal contemporary
- Language: none
- Romance: none
- Violence: a little physical, nothing intense