BI-PARTISAN
Dallas Smith

Looking for a soft, sweet romance with a good amount of spice? Well, here it is! No angst, no third act breakup, fake dating, genuine characters— it’s all here. Jamie and Adrian are both real and relatable. 
I zipped right through this one, couldn’t put it down! If there was anything I missed was a little more personal interaction between the characters, but their growing relationship is perfectly evident through text messaging. I also love that Smith used songs as chapter titles, creating a playlist of their story. I listen to music while I read so it was nice to have that. 

RIYL:
Politician X Veteranarian
Spice early on 
Mental & physical health rep (anxiety/GERD) 
Epistolary writing
Cats 

So happy to have GUP back!! The Guncle is one of my favorite characters of all time and I was so excited to find out about the sequel. 
It was wonderful but the beginning could have been condensed some as it felt like it was dragging. Once we got to Italy the story took hold. Catching up with the kids and seeing how their personalities have developed, watching Patrick move forward with his life, and the getting more flashbacks of Patrick and Sarah were exactly what I was hoping for. 

Thank you Penguin Group Putman and Steven Rowley for the early review copy. 

This was a great romantic suspense. It had all the perfect elements of a suspenseful mystery, the love story was beautiful, and the spice was off the charts. 

Quinn is an interesting character. I enjoyed seeing things through her viewpoint because she was intelligent and sensitive but strong af. Iverson is this ball of mystery but he oozes passion and care. 

The twists shocked me at every turn. Such a creative concept! 

I will definitely be checking out more from LA Ferro. Thank you Hambright PR and LA Ferro for my early review copy. These thoughts are my own. 

Thank you to Brittainy and ValentinePR for the early review copy. 

Brittainy Cherry is a new author for me but I will quickly devour her books. This is the second in the Problems series which follows the Kingsley sisters. Told in dual POV, with epistolary elements, the story revolves around Avery, oldest sister of the Kingsleys, and Nathan, oldest of the Pierce brothers. These two were each other’s first loves in high school and things ended on a sour note when Nathan left to pursue his Major League Baseball career. Avery is coach of their small town’s high school team and is also a teacher there. When Nathan’s career is ended early he returns home to help on the family farm and is hired as Co-Coach of the team. 

Both of them have lost a parent and suffer grief from that, as well as suffering from OSS (oldest sibling syndrome). These and their love of baseball keep the two intertwined. But, will that be enough to give their love a second chance? 

Avery also suffers from debilitating depression. The way Brittainy writes this is as if she’s been in my head. It’s so spot on. Perfect mental health rep. 

I adored this and will be waiting to read the next one. 

Features:
Second chance romance
Sports romance (baseball)
Mental Health rep
Workplace romance
Grief / parental loss
Small town
He falls first
Slow burn 

IF WE EVER GET THERE
Laura Barrow

After reading CALL THE CANARIES HOME last year I was expectantly waiting Laura Barrow’s sophomore novel. I adored Canaries (and it was my fave post/photo I’ve done) so as soon as I heard about IF WE EVER GET THERE I was thrilled. I try to only skim blurbs so I have something to look for and seeing that this was not only the title of a Patsy Cline song but that Patsy herself was a part of the book… well, I was sold. Thanks to Laura and Brilliance Publishing I was also able to read this immersively. 

The themes of this book hit home for me. I went through a VERY similar journey as Effie (minus the vision of Patsy.) So I related strongly to the book. Inhaled is the only proper word to describe my reading of this. I couldn’t put it down. 

Written in dual pov, Effie and her grandmother Lolly’s lives are woven seamlessly. The side characters had depth and one in particular put a huge smile on my face. (Won’t spoil anything, I’ll just say the spirit moved me.) The audio narration by Megan Tusing fully encapsulated Effie and Lolly. My reading was enriched by the audio. 

Thank you to @katerockbooktours for including me in this tour and @brilliancepublishing for the audiobook. Also, thanks so much Laura, for helping me through your work. These thoughts are my own. 

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY WITH MURDER
Trish Lundy @trishlundy 

This was an incredibly enjoyable read. I identified with the experiences the kids were going through… I mean aside from murder and all. 
 
Although I’m a multi-book reader I found myself grabbing this one more often because I was fully engrossed with the storyline. Then while creating the playlist I reread it. (I’m not a rereader.) Definitely recommend. 

Thank you to Henry Holt and Turn the Page Tours for including me and my gifted copy. All thoughts are my own. 

Took me time to decide if I was going to give this a half a star or a whole star. Eventually I decided the cover is worth a star on its own. The rest… well, you can do the math. 

THE SUIT - Book 2: Tuesday Club
Lulu Moore

Rafe and Beulah are academic rivals from their days in Harvard Law, now working on the opposite sides of the table in a nasty divorce. 

If you’re looking for sexual tension and chemistry in the workplace, this is the one. 
Rafe is a Billionaire with tattoos under his perfectly altered suit. Beulah had a tough upbringing as is a bit tough to read. 

I enjoyed this very much. The found family, opposite sides of the track storyline, and just a bit of suspense and intrigue worked. 

Tim Paige and Mia Madison narrated in this dual POV telling. Tim brought home Rafe’s wit and humor and Mia showed Beulah’s vulnerability and strength. 

This is open door with a medium level of spice but it’s got heat. 

Thank you Valentine PR and Lulu Moore for the gifted ALC. 
These are my thoughts. 

I love memoirs and Rossi’s is a prime example of why. I’m of the same generation as her (8 years difference) so I related to much of the background content. But nothing in my 80s upbringing could compare to Rossi’s. The strength of character, determination, and resilience that she has is astonishing. She’s the GenX standard. 

I don’t rate memoirs, but I cannot recommend Rossi’s memoir enough.

Thank to Books Forward for both the digital and print copies.