I LOVED THIS.

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I think this might be my new favorite Courtney Walsh book. I adored this entire read and found every spare moment to continue reading. I loved how Gray’s grumpy nature was portrayed and watching him sincerely work on himself and learning to let love in. Let people help, build a community and space that can motivate and support him through the ups and downs. There’s many super sweet moments too that you’ll have to read to see!!

I loved Eloise too. She spoke something to my soul about her life aspirations and where she wanted to be. I’ve often felt the same way and seeing a character with these attributions healed something in me. I thought Eloise and Gray had fantastic chemistry and some AMAZING sizzling kissing scenes. The push and pull tension had me shaking my kindle and I loved how life came together for them.

This whole book was an absolute gem. Loved the hockey content, all of the teammates, the themes and the sisterhood. An incredible read.

Overall audience notes:
- Sports Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: low review to come!

Thank you to Orbit Books for the ARC.

LOTS OF THOUGHTS.

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I honestly don’t know what quite to do with this one. I almost DNF after the first 30 pages because good heavens this was slowww. And not in a way you can skim, this is a, read every word, kind of mystery. After being convinced to try again, I admittedly found myself liking the book more. The writing is all in letters and heavily academic. Once you’ve found your footing with it, things seem to flow a bit better.

I was intrigued by the world and how it was set-up. I thought it was interesting and the concept of living underwater was something I rarely read. The scholars and researchers and fanatics all kind of coalesce into a myriad of sub-plots that fill the larger story. I have a very hard time calling this a romance. Honestly I wouldn’t (so nobody sets themselves up right off the bat for disappointment). There’s a sweet little love story that’s woven in, it just doesn’t have everything I was expecting/hoping for when I picked this up.

The ending has me wanting to read book two. I am genuinely curious where people ended up, what the Structure is and why we care about it.

It appears that the audiobook has a full cast and I think that will make this book more enjoyable to those curious about trying it.

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy + some romance
- Language: none
- Romance: flirting
- Violence: low 

Thank you to Berkley (Berkley Partner) for the free book and PRH Audio (PRH Partner) for the free audiobook.

NEW FAV.

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This book captivated me in all the best ways. I adored the plot and seeing Christa find her way through a lot of things thrown at her. This leans a little more fiction, but there’s definitely a romance present throughout.

And to go deeper into the romance, I loved the reconnection she had with Nate. They were starry eyed from the moment they found each other again. I loved the way Nate took care of Christa and also allowed her to be who she needed to be and where she needed to be. There was unconditional support and love woven throughout.

I also loved all of the dynamics between Christa and her Mom and sisters. It felt like an authentic family trying to move through some unimaginable happenings and looking for the best path together. There were fantastic conversations throughout and I loved the themes of forgiveness and healing.

The audiobook is stellar and I highly recommend that format. There are footnotes in the print copy that are added in flawlessly to the audio edition and I didn’t feel like the book was stilted in any way. They ended up being delightful anecdotes that made me laugh.

Overall audience notes:
- Fiction + Romance
- Language: moderate – strong
- Romance: 1-2 open door
- Violence: low
- Trigger/Content Warnings: sexual assault and non-consensual drugging (recounted), cheating/affair (side character)

 

HOLY CLIFFHANGER.

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Illegal cliffhanger alert, GOOD HEAVENS. I love it. I love it so much.

Another delightful read in this series that left me smiling, chuckling and shaking my kindle shouting KISS KISS KISS ALREADY. Because this is who I am as a person.

I love the more I read, the more I fall in love with these characters. The plot is a meandering of life happenings that slowly showcase how Emma is learning and growing. I love the journal style and I can’t wait to have my hands on the next book.

Overall audience notes:
- Historical Fiction
- Language: none
- Romance: kiss 

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC and SMP for the eARC.

THIS FILLED MY SOUL.

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Audiobook thoughts: The narrator was incredible. I mostly listened to this and I looove the way Patti Murin brought Emma to life. I felt like I was a part of this story in all the best ways. Highly recommend listening to the audiobook!

I needed an automatic win kind of read and I just knew this would deliver, and it did that and so much more. Gosh I loved this book. It speaks to the soul of every lover of romance everywhere. The themes are woven in with care and love and EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK OKAY?

I adored Emma and Charlie. From the moment they met you could see the connection between them. I looooved the banter and humor. I laughed so many times and could not stop smiling. Even had some teary eyed moments because the story was as deep as it was light. The perfect combination of both was balanced throughout this book.

You know a romance is good when you love BOTH characters. And while there’s a good moment or two where you want to shake some one, it doesn’t matter because every thing felt authentic. The build up of decision making and past issues made the entire book feel real and a true nod to taking the lemons life gives you and squeezing out whatever lemonade you can.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance
- Language: low
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: low
- Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of divorce, mentions of cancer, loss of a parent (recounted) 

 GREAT AUDIO.

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I have suddenly made it a quest of mine to read Nichole Van’s backlist so here we are! I liked this one quite a bit and thought the audio production was great.

The time travel worked well for me (and I’m usually meh about it) and I loved that Sebastian fell first and that man fell hard.

Georgiana, the FMC, bugged me a bit though. She was incredibly stubborn about Sebastian. The ignorance was astounding and her odd thrill of wanting things to be “dangerous” wasn’t working well for me either. When Georgiana finally allowed things to click I enjoyed her more and I got to see the great chemistry between her and Sebastian in full.

It was a good book, definitely plan to continue the series!

Overall audience notes:
- Time Travel Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: low 

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

THIS WAS EVERYTHING.

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I don’t even know how to write this in a way to convince y’all that this is one of my new favorite sports romance, BUT JUST TRUST ME. If you get nothing else from this review, know that this is my new favorite Leah Brunner book.

I ADORED Ford. I can’t wrap it up into once concise sentence. I just loved him. His personality and how he handled situations, the way he communicated and the fiery blushes he could not control. The absolute way he was GONE for Amber and Nella. The heated looks and longing glances, the caretaking and family relationships. He’s everything I could have dreamed up and more.

I also loved Amber. Dual POV romances always hit better. Amber was filled with strength and hope that each day was going to be a step in the direction and life she’s longed for. I loved how she realized her connection with Ford was deeper than she expected and how everything was handled between them. The fade to black scenes only enhance the story and showed how tender and passionate these two are. It had the soulmate level chemistry.

And I appreciated how many of the side situations were handled too. A lot could have been blown out of proportion and instead things were nicely wrapped up in a satisfying way. There’s so many moments I could pick out that I loved and I already can’t wait to reread this.

……the way I need the next book after surmising who it’s about…….

Overall audience notes:
- Hockey Romance
- Language: low
- Romance: fade to black
- Violence: low
- Trigger/Content Warnings: minor heart surgery, broken engagement, difficult parent relationships 

 I DON’T KNOW.

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This was one of those books I struggled with. I felt like I never got INTO it. Things happened and the time was going by and I was missing something to bring in that emotional connection needed for me to enjoy a story.

The book itself is not bad by any means and might be more of a me thing. I liked the mystery aspects and the very quirky cast. The main character was interesting to follow along and I liked seeing the journey he took. And how I felt like I was reading from the side kick’s point of view.

I thought the audio production was good. And I don’t know, this is kind of all I have. It just didn’t stick for me.

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy Mystery
- Language: moderate
- Romance: none
- Violence: moderate 

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

SUCH GROWTH.

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I had the chance to beta read this book and seeing it in its final glory was something special. I love the way K. Sinko writes the complexities of growing up and how messy things can be in high school. I loved that Rory is kind of an unlikeable FMC but you get to see how she makes those mistakes, learns to apologize and find where her passion for the future lies. It’s a beautiful story of hope in the future and the road ahead.

The love triangle will bring the angst and tension. I love kind of knowing where things are leading (or I often get frustrated) and seeing who we all know Rory was going to end up with melted my heart. I loved their relationship and the push and pull. Not to mention the fiery kissing scenes.

And I adored getting to see the whole Scoops family again. I loved the side characters as always and especially seeing more of Calvin and Melanie. They have a special place in my heart and wove into Rory’s story well too.

I liked seeing Rory struggle with her Mom in realistic and honest ways. And how much Rory didn’t know what she wanted to do after high school (because I still feel that way). The pressures of life can feel especially heavy and chaotic at this coming of age time and I loved the way K. Sinko approached it all.

Overall audience notes:
- YA Contemporary Romance
- Language: low-moderate
- Romance: Steamy kisses
- Violence: low 

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

NOT QUITE.

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Well, I was hopeful, but unfortunately this book didn’t work for me. Things started off fine, that typical oh no I have unknown powers in a small town mood, and I rolled with it. I liked having the multiple POV and getting a feel for the town and the history that is currently causing chaos.

The struggles came apparent fairly quickly after that though. There were odd timeline jumps that disrupted the flow of the story which kept throwing me off. The romance was FAST and I wish there had been more exploration of their relationship and connection rather than racing to kisses and confessions. I also didn’t feel that deeply for anyone and the plot itself was incredibly predictable to any supernatural show I’ve seen.

Bummed this one didn’t work out.

Overall audience notes:
- New adult paranormal
- Language: moderate
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: moderat