Thank you to the author for an ebook!

CHARMED.

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I love bodyguard romances, but rarely find any that I’m intrigued to pick up. I loved the way the trope was used here and Chloe and Frederick were insanely sweet and I couldn’t get enough of the mutual pining.

While the third act did make me a little cranky (I’m never a fan of, I’m doing this for you, without actually listening to the other person). BUT. I will say the way it was handled after made me moderately less cranky. There were some good and very needed conversations that I loved seeing.

The small town was sweet, everything you expect in a cute beachside town. I loved the fake dating and wedding planning and the late night conversations. The unrequited nature of the whole book was a vibe I was loving. This was just a charming read that put a smile on my face.

This was my first book by the author and I have plans to read more!

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a sibling (recounted) 

Thank you Wednesday Books for the gifted copy.

HAUNTED.

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I don’t know why this has such a low Goodreads rating?? I thoroughly enjoyed this one and can’t wait for book two. I LOVED how creepy it was with all of the dark twists on the fairytale characters.

The romance was even sweet too. I thought there was pretty good pacing involved and I was very much invested in Clara and Axel finding their way to each other. The only character I didn’t like was Henni. She kind of became this third wheel that got in trouble too often (and was a debbie downer all the time).

I think the world and magic was fleshed out, for the most part. There’s a few key things I’d love more answers on, but with book two I’m hopeful that’s where those answers lie. I had a good time and thought it was an accurate young adult book (content wise) too.

Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy Romance
- Language: very little
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: moderate
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, blood/gore depiction, loss of loved ones, near death experiences 

ALL THE DOGS.

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It’s been a low state of affairs for trying to find some 2023 holiday romance releases, but this was a good one!!! I thought it was really charming, had a little bit of spice, all of the dog content and some good holiday cheer.

I liked the journey that Chelsea went on. She was holding on to a lot of pent up emotions surrounding her father and a lot of misconceptions about Andrew. I loved Andrew’s views on his career and thank heavens Chelsea started to realize how much she had missed. There’s some good second chance romance vibes too. The only thing I couldn’t quite understand was the text situation?? That seemed far fetched.

The dogs (and goats) were super cute. I liked the holiday aspects and it’s a quick audiobook. I’d recommend this for the holidays if you need something great to read by the fire.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Holiday Romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: 2-3 open door
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent (cancer, recounted) 

THIS WAS INCREDIBLE.

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I had no idea what I was going to get when I started this and within an hour of starting the audiobook I was already obsessed. YESSSSS.

**A note: While I don’t think NECESSARY, I would recommend reading A Darker Shade of Magic series first.**

I absolutely LOVED seeing all of my favorite characters again, I loved that this was multiple POV and seeing all of the London’s and the magic system and gahhhh every little thing. This book had incredible pacing. I never for not one second thought this was slow. The ups and downs with the soft and loud moments. All the things. I’m still in love with every aspect of this world. I loved seeing how the other London’s are fairing, who’s in charge, and what the rebellion is up too. This opened up a whole new series and I am intrigued by the new characters and what chaos they will cause too.

I’m really a flailing mess over how much I loved this one. ALL THE STARS.

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy
- Language: some strong
- Romance: closed door
- Violence: high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: physical/magical altercations, loss of life, weapons violence 

Thank you Dreamscape Media for the audiobook.

THE BONES WERE GOOD.

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I wanted to love this more than I did but a few things kept holding me back. What it does have is a really good general fantasy romance set-up. I love hidden identities, some enemies to lovers and warring lands. I just wish the execution was a bit less…repetitive. The same ideas kept continually rotating through the story, they kind of kept doing the same things over and over and even the romance lost some steam too.

I didn’t mind Lorian and Prisca as main characters. They were perfectly fine. I liked the banter that they had and wanted to see them together more often to really feel that chemistry igniting. I did love that it was dual POV and that I saw both sides of the story.

There’s some good plot lines but I am on the fence about continuing the series. Might do the audiobook route again.

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy Romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: 2-3 open door
- Violence: high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life/loved ones, attempted murder, executions 

 2.5 stars

WAS THIS A ROMANCE?

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I don’t feel like I had too high of expectations when I picked this up. I was just looking for a cute romance to entertain myself for an evening. And I feel like that romance was missing.

Most of this book was dedicated to Katie trying to stop a resort being built her in her small town. And while I was behind her trying to do so, it took over any other plot points and I got bored. I wasn’t interested in the multiple side scenes and kept waiting for things to actually happen.

Maybe in the second half there were a few good moments, but when you’re already feeling meh I wasn’t connecting to much at all.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: 2-3 low explicit open door
- Violence: low
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of parents (recounted) 

DIDN’T HOLD UP.

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I know there’s some suspension of belief sometimes in a romance, but y’all. I just couldn’t get past this plot set up. With her boss coming over?? And faking who she was?? And then of course it snowed and they all had to stay together for multiple days?? I don’t know, the holiday magic wasn’t charming me this time.

Neither was the romance. For a short book I was hoping to see more connection, flirting, tension, something. That came in late in the second half when I was thinking these two were waaaay too different to ever find common ground and a love story.

It gets the three stars because I was never hate reading it, I just wasn’t that invested. A bit of a lackluster holiday read.

Overall audience notes:
- Holiday Romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: kissing 

Full review to come!

PLEASANTLY SURPRISED.

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Y’all know I rarely read anything that doesn’t have some kind of heavier romantic plot, and I picked this up on a whim thinking it did. While it did NOT (there was still a little romance here and there) it was an absolutely charming holiday read and I would easily recommend it to those looking for something less romantic but full of siblings, holiday shenanigans and reconnection.

I loved how different each sister was and getting to see their changes throughout. There’s ups and downs and that messy middle where you know you love your sibling, but also, WHY ARE YOU ACTING THIS WAY. I loved that authentic nature and how real everything felt. I was emotionally invested in Maggie, Simone and Star working things out and finding that place where they could be the sisters they wanted to be again.

Each separate POV was easy to distinguish and I liked how seamlessly the larger plot wove into each sister’s dynamic. An enjoyable audiobook and a great heartfelt read.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Holiday Fiction
- Language: light
- Romance: closed door
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent, loss of a spouse (recounted), discussions of infertility and miscarriages, abortion (recounted) 

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

LOVED SO MUCH.

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I was smitten from start to finish with this book y’all. There were so many little things I could pick out that I just ADORED. From the bumbling flirting, to taking care of each other, and my absolute favorite: that it felt adult.

Adult in the sense that there were actual important conversations Felix and Gracie had together and when things got shaky, there wasn’t wild miscommunication either. I love heartfelt apologies, acknowledging feelings and truly trying to create a relationship and a life together.

I loved Felix and Gracie together and apart. Both showed some layers of character growth and depth. I thought the apartment situation was perfect. The kissing scenes had that great balance of steam without the spice and I LOVED getting to see more of the hockey team (and maybe a future book with a certain best friend???).

It’s a short read, fast paced and full of heart warming goodness. There’s plenty of hockey aspects to actually call it a sports romance and the grand gesture was exactly where it needed to be.

Another Jenny Proctor GEM.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Sports Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: heated kisses
- Violence: low
- Trigger/Content Warnings: social anxiety, strained parent relationships