stephsbooktalk's Reviews (915)

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for the copy of the eARC!
Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the complimentary audio!

This book is OUT NOW.

I knew the moment I started reading Alicia's first book that she was going to be an auto buy author. And now we are into her 3rd book and the feeling is still the same!

Alicia is a baseball fan and you could tell by reading that she loves baseball. I also have to point out that I am a Chris Kepler fan simply for the fact that HE IS FROM PHILADELPHIA (don't think I gasped at the mention of Dorney Park) and in my head he would play for Phillies but I will settle for the Carolina Battery.

Listen, I know miscommunication is not a favorite trope amongst romance readers and with this I have so many realistic questions but I can suspend reality for the sake of the book. I just would like to think in today's society and someone who is a public figure phone numbers and conversations would not be with someone who doesn't have any profile picture on their Instagram. That was probably my only ick with the book but like I said I can suspend the reality for the sake of romance.

"If you knew me in real life, you wouldn't say that."
"I want to know you in real life. You have no idea how badly."

I love the relationship between Chris and Daphne and the book really takes off when they begin to have a constant texting relationship. I love seeing texting conversations in books especially because it's such a common thing that happens in today's culture. Most relationships of all kinds develop through messaging in some way.

I felt bad for Daphne because she was struggling on trying to decide if she should tell Chris the truth or not. There was so much at stake and she knew she was falling further and further for him only making it worse. I love their moments when it would be just the two of them after she started working for the team. Chris was so far gone for Daphne/Duckie and you could tell that he desperately wanted more from her on so many occasions. I just really love the two of these characters and I was rooting for them the whole time and possibly also was screaming in my house for them.

Side note: I thought the conversation between of Chris and his dad was beautiful. I felt Chris's pain of grieving his brother's death and trying to connect with his father and not avoid the topic of his brother.

I primarily listened to this book and thought the narrator Kristen Sieh did a great job with her narration. She made me fall for Chris with his voice and I just loved listening to the book!

Alicia's writing makes me believe in love and I love how she makes her characters fall for one another. I need her to write more baseball romances - please and thank you!

PS - I will say this in every review I do for Alicia but if you do not follow or subscribe to Alicia's newsletter - YOU ARE MISSING OUT!

Mini Audiobook Review: I read my first Dolly book earlier this year and really loved her style of writing. I had heard good things about this book and figured why not now check it out. This was her debut and just like with her latest book, I would classify this as a literary romance novel.

The concept of this book was so unique and I feel like very of recent times. I think we all have experienced ghosting or were the ghoster and honestly it is a sucky feeling all around. I really love the trajectory of the story. We meet Nina who is dipping her feet into dating again, feeling the societal pressures of being in a relationship and just the trials of dating. I felt that Alderton portrayed such a realistic view of dating in your 30s. In addition to her dating life, Nina is also dealing with her aging parents specifically her father's whose health is deteriorating. It just felt relatable as I am getting to the age where I need to start keeping tabs on my parents. And then you have her relationship with friends and sometimes when your friends have children that becomes their life and as a childless adult need to find a place in their life.

I thought the narrator Holliday Grainger did a great job throughout the whole book. She sounded like a young, 30 year old going through real adult things. It made the listening experiencing really easy.

I do not want to give too much away with what happens with Nina but I can say that I empathize with her so much. Alderton had this great quote, “It’s easier, being heartbroken in your thirties, because no matter how painful it is, you know it will pass.” Now I haven't been heartbroken from a romantic relationship in my 30s but I think I would have better tools to get through it as oppose to in my early 20s when it was just heartbreak after heartbreak.

Alderton is a quote worthy writer and this book had a bunch of gems but these were two of my favorites that I grabbed:
“I prefer to live with a half alive version of him than admit that he was gone for good"

"Do you really want that from these men, their attention?"
"No"
"What do you want"
"Their love"

Thank you so much to Simon Books for the free copy of the book!
Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Audio for the complimentary audio!

This book is out now.

Lucha libre became my religion, the wrestlers were my gods.

I decided to read this book for two reasons (and you can laugh at them because I know its ridiculous): 1) The gorgeous pink/orange ombre color and 2) Jason Kelce wore a luchador mask at his brother's Super Bowl celebration party. What can I say! And let me tell you, I made the right decision. Seriously though, I did read the synopsis because I had not heard of this book before and was immediately drawn to the description.

This book is told from multiple point of views: Ernesto Vega (the patriarch), his wife Elena, their son Freddy Vega, grandson Julian (son to Freddy) along with brief glimpses of Ernesto's luchador character El Rey Coyote.

I felt that the stories of all the characters kept me engaged and I was anxious to get to certain characters stories the more we went on. I am not sure if it was because he was the youngest but I was drawn to Julian's storyline the most. As he was making certain choices, I was finding myself saying out loud "Oh no Julian."

I also was drawn to Ernesto's storyline as well. We were on the journey of how he started his life as a luchador and the strain it caused on his marriage. There was this great paragraph from Julian's point of view talking about his father and grandfather lucha libre life, "When they dressed for a bout, my father and grandfather were transformed....My father and Abuelo walked differently. Their voices carried a different tone, and every word they uttered - even simple commands - took on an air of reverence and respect."

My heart broke for Elena in some ways because she just wanted love from her husband but that was not something he could give to her. She has her suspicions as to why and we as readers also learn the reason why and let me tell you I did not see the one reveal coming.

I paired my reading with the audio and I was so happy that we got a full cast narration! Gisela Chípe, Tony Chiroldes, Lee Osorio and André Santana were our narrators and I loved all their voices! I thought they all played their respected characters really well. I thought the audio was well done and would be an good listen.

This book was made for book clubs. I highly recommend this for your book club. I think you could get a lot of discussion from it as well as learning about the culture and life of being a luchador.

I am so glad I picked this book up & was throw into the drama of the Vega family.

Reread July 2024: I knew after I read this book with my eyes that I would be going back to do the audio because I had heard the audio was good. And my goodness that was probably the best dual narration I have listened to!! It makes me excited to listen to the next one to see if it does the same thing. 

I just love both Sloane and Rowan and doing the audio really brought them more to life. 

Mini Audiobook Review: Thank you so much to Berkley Romance & Berkley for the free copy of the book & eARC!
Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the complimentary audio!

This book is out now.

It pains me so much to have given this book such a mid rating. I am not sure if it was because the bar was set so high after <i>The Seven Year Slip</i> which to me is a perfect book or perhaps I was just expecting something different from the premise. Something about this book just didn't work for me.  

I absolutely love the concept and the idea of a book within a book was just so cool especially in a romance setting. But I don't know. I just didn't feel connected to any of the characters and the book wasn't super memorable.  I did love how there was an area of town like a cemetary where the author's deleted files were. 

I think I would have rooted for her and the MMC Anders more if we were not reminded of her ex so often. I felt like he was brought up a lot for then to her just to have feelings for this new guy. 

I did my reading through audio and I thought the narrator Dorothy Dillingham Blue was fine. She had this Southern twang to her voice which helped make Elsy feel more real. 

A lot of my book friends loved this one so it very well could be a wrong book at the wrong time situation. With that being said, I will continue to read whatever Ashley writes and I am looking forward to seeing what she does next! 

Thank you so much to Scribner for the advance eARC!
Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Audio for the complimentary audio!

This book is out now!


"Nothing matters, as long as you have love."

Ethan has become one of my favorite authors and humans and when he announced his next book was going to be taking place in Delaware, I was super excited! It is very common from those in Pennsylvania to escape to the beaches of Delaware specifically Rehoboth. I am very connected to the town as I have been spending my birthdays there for the last 6 years and I just love the whole vibe of the town.

Ethan has a way with his words that puts you there in the setting and really paints the town for you. This I believe was the first time Ethan strayed away from the multi point of view to single point of view. And honestly I am so happy that we stayed in Jack's point of view because I was just so drawn to his story. He has this opportunity to sell his family's restaurant and retire after working hard for many years and you really see the complicated feelings he has towards this decision. We get to meet the folks who help make up Schmidts and how Jack is involved in their life and how they are involved in his. And it really goes to show how much your co workers and place of business really can become a second home.

"He thinks we are all just small things, each person just a sum of days."

I do love the layers that Ethan put throughout this book with the different characters. Jack himself has all these dimensions and you see him even as a grown man still work through things that made such a big impact from when he was younger. He still is grieving his mother whom he lost as a teen, past relationships, his friendships everything that makes a person. I was actually surprised we got so much of him reflecting and coming to peace with his mother's passing as an older man. He learns some unexpected news that really changed his life from that moment on. There are some heavy topics within Jack's story and I hate to use the word refreshing but it has a topic that we don't always see the male side of it and I feel like that is very important to have out there.

I paired my reading with the audio and the narrator Chris Henry Coffey was SO good! I really felt like he became Jack throughout the book. His voice sounded like an everyday man you would encounter. I highly recommend listening by audio if you are an audiobook listener.

The writing is such beautiful and I have seen other reviews say this is a slow build and I have to agree. But it was the best slow build because when that moment happened (and you'll know), I wanted to keep going just to see what was going to happen. And one thing I always praise Ethan for is, he doesn't overdo things by dragging situations out longer than they need. His books are on the shorter side and I always feel like they are the perfect length and they pack a punch. With that being said, him and I will be having a discussion on that ending because this may be the first time where I wanted more. And once you read, you'll know what I mean and I think you will feel the same.

I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a warm hug, set in a beach town centered around a restaurant with characters you feel like you know!

Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for the eARC of this book!
Thank you so much to RB Media for a copy of the audio!

This book is out now!

Last year a book friend kept raving about The Prince & The Apocalypse so I thought let's give it a try and I absolutely loved it! I am fairly certain I finished the audio in a day because I was so enthralled into the fun story. So when Kara announced that we were getting a sequel (which it made total sense with how it ended).

This book picks off just about right after the last book ended. And let me tell you, if you didn't already love Wren in the first book, this book would make you a fan of her! I absolutely loved Wren in this. Her personality comes off as the average girl next door who ironically went through a not so average event.

Honestly this book was just such a good time from start to finish. There was a lot happening but I did not care, it worked for the story! I love that we got to see Wren back home trying to have some sort of normal life while possibly being married to the newly dubbed King of England? The world was ending in 8 days and in that time was enough to have forge a connection with Prince Theo and make a lasting impression on her. In the words of Wren, "So this is how I die. Not from a world-ending comet but from the excruciating anticipation of waiting to see a boy."

Somehow they are always cursed when they are with one another and instead of a comet, this time it was a plane crash. But this time they have a whole crew with them! Which honestly added to the fun of the book. Everyone had such different personalities and them all working together on how to survive this crash. Henry was a surprising favorite of mine by the end. Poor guy! He was that annoying younger brother but he provided some entertainment moments.

I was about to throw my kindle at the tension between Wren and Theo once they reconnected. It was becoming too much for me. There was a moment when Henry is being extra friendly with Wren and Wren asks Theo if it bothers him that his brother is flirting with him and he looks at her and says, "yes." THE GASP I GASPED. My heart was so happy for Wren in that moment because it was kind of confirmation that perhaps Theo did have something for her. I was so happy when they finally had a conversation and kissed! "I choose you anyway, every day, forever." SWOOOOON I wish we got more time with them together just them two but I understood why we didn't aka they were stranded on an island with real life problems.

I paired my reading with the audio and Laura Knight Keating is reprising her role as Wren and Theo. But as I mentioned above we had a whole cast of characters and Laura did such a great job with the different voices to help distinguish the characters. It made the listening experience so easy and mixed with Kara's writing kept me very engaged.

I am sad to see this duology come to an end but I thought the ending was very satisfying and I only want the best for all the characters! If you are looking for a quick 2 book series that is a good time - consider checking this one out!

I can't wait to see what direction Kara goes to next with her next book

Thank you so much to Mary Warren for a copy of this book!

This book is out now.

"When all the dust settles from the troubles of life, I want you by my side. I have never been more sure."

I know this is only the 2nd book in the series but I am LOVING the inclusion of hockey into her universe. I am still not over Reclaiming Kate and I'm barely over Connor before we move right into the latest in the series, Cash.

I love how Warren was incorporating timelines from the prior book into this to set the stage on how Cash and Evie meet. I have read a couple of "one night hook up" only tropes and I must say I do enjoy them because you get that spice early and then it simmers for a bit. Cash was head over heels for Evie as soon as they met. He knew that there was something special about her. Evie was a little more hesitant to start anything with him. She was okay for just a quick hook up but that was really it.

I do like that since we were in the off season for hockey that Cash had his own small storyline happening. I would have loved to have learned more about the relationship between River and his mom and what caused their conflict to have him going across the country. I wish there was more heart to heart of the reasonings. Cash was such a good sport with having him stay with him. I am glad River was able to make a friend and start a new life in Glendale.

I think this was the first FMC that Warren has written that really irked me. Early on I was having issues with Evie and her jumping to conclusions and then blocking Cash when he would do nothing wrong. She never would bothered to ask for explanations. I don't like it when people shut down like that in real life and my feelings carried over towards Evie in the book. Cash was much more forgiven towards her about it. I did love that as much as Evie was secure with her body and her looks, she also had that normal feeling of comparing herself to others and thinking Cash could do better than her. She had this great quote while talking to her sister Ellie where she says "I've had to be confident to navigate the world we live in in this body." Heck I know if I was dating a NHL player my anxiety of other females would be sky high.

Evie's mother was the true villain of the book. I am not used to my family meddling in my life so reading about it truly makes my blood boil. I just can't imagine just forcing your daughter to be with someone for the sake of being with someone. And the fact that neither her mother or her ex could understand boundaries and the power of the word "no."

I know we heard a lot about Cash's womanizing times and it was brought up in this book but I do wish there were more of a conflict for Cash. And what I mean by that, I wanted us to see him with other woman and realize that Evie was the one he wants to be with. Don't get me wrong I love insta love and him being completely head over heels but just knowing his past, I just would have liked to have him feel conflicted a bit more.

Overall I really loved this book and Warren's writing and dialogue continued to keep me wanting more. I did miss seeing hockey in this one but I guess the players need a season off. I am very excited to see what is the next in the series.

PS - Mary is killing it with her covers! This series especially have just been so amazing! She really knows how to showcase the female main characters.

Thank you so much to Simon Book Buddy for the physical copy of the book! #Partner

First off, one thing I was not expecting but pleasantly surprised by was that the main character Diamond was a fat teenager. This immediately piqued my interest. The way the author wrote how Diamond viewed herself as well as other adults around her -"She's like a wise person from the future, come to tell me things I'll need to know, give me things I'll need to fight my way out of here. 'Here' being this town and my body." We really get to see Diamond through a lot in this book including her first time with a boy and navigating friendships and more importantly her relationship with her mother.  Diamond is biracial (white mother, black father) and just doesn't know where she belongs.

I was really into the whole mystery of her dad disappearance 7 years prior and honestly thought we would get more of that? But it seemed like we did not get a resolution on where his whereabouts truly were. Could I have missed it? That is very likely.  I was very confused through most of this book. I did not think the letters from the relatives that Diamond didn't know about were relevant as I was more interested in the coming of age aspect of Diamond and the mystery of her dad.

I did solely audio for this one and perhaps if I had read along with the physical book, I may have picked up on things that got missed just by listening. It was narrated by three females: Shayna Small, Janina Edwards, Robin Miles who all did a great job with their characters. Two of the narrators were tackling on the letters from her dad's side - Aunt Lena & Great-Aunt Clara.

These two quotes stuck out to me while listening & made me say wow:
"I didn't know there could be such a lonely laugh. I got to wondering, who is this person without their people? How am I Clumsy Clara, silly and stubborn Clara, Clara with her head in the clouds - how am I that girl without anyone who loves me saying it, seeing me. I think, maybe I am a ghost. Maybe I died with the others."

"Being here in Woodville makes me uneasy, like I'm in between places, waiting to start my life again. Your hometown makes you and breaks you and makes you again. Daddy said that to me. I wonder if that's how you'll feel about Swift River if you ever leave it?"

Even though there was a lot that confused me while reading, I did enjoy the book and will check out this author's future work. 

Check this book out if you like multi-generational stories, set in the Northeast in the late 80s, coming of age!

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for the eArc of this book!
Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook!

This book is out now.

Listen. If Ali Hazelwood writes it, I will read it.

"Let me take you to dinner."
"Why?"
"Because. I haven't seen you in two weeks and -- I actually do like this. Being with you. You can tell me more stories. The awful secret ones. I'll listen and tell you mine."

There were things I really liked about this book but honestly the part that confused me the most was all the work/science stuff. I tried really hard to follow along with all the technical stuff but it just was lost on me. Luckily the romance of it all was just so good. I love how this was different in the sense that this was purely supposed to be a one time hookup but naturally circumstances happen and they end up being around each other way more than intended.

This is the first time Ali has dabbled into the dual POV (Rue being first person & Eli in third person) and Ms. Hazelwood if you are for whatever reason reading this, please continue to do so!!! She did such a great job with both characters and I felt like we got a healthy dose of each of them. Ali warns us in the beginning of the book that this is a erotic romance but I just felt like it was an extra spicy romance compared to her others. And boy does Ali know how to write a sex scene. WHEWWW!

Rue and Eli were just so hot together and I felt like their chemistry was believable to me. And I think because of their tension & secrecy with work and trying so hard to resist each other once they were working together made it all hotter. Eli was incredible smitten from the very beginning and I feel like he knew she was changing him. I love that Rue knew what she wanted and opened herself up to Eli. And Eli was just so laser focus on pleasing Rue and doing whatever it took to make him hers - "I like you when you laugh. I like you when you're serious. I like you all the damn time." I mean come on!

All the other stuff in between the romance was fine. I mostly just invested in the couple even though all that other stuff was important to the book and the plot of the story.

I paired my reading with the audio and I thought both narrators Callie Dalton and Jason Clarke were fantastic! I had done a little bit of dual narration in other romances but they were not like this one. This one was a true dual narration. It didn't matter which POV we were under, if the other person was speaking it was that narrator's voice. So it truly felt like you were listening to their dialogue. It took a bit to get used to as I'm so used to hearing the male do the female voice and vice versa but eventually it felt normal.

If you are a fan of steamy STEM romances, dual pov/narration, in a workplace setting - give this one a try!