Call Me Crazy - Melanie Harlow
This is the third book in the Bellamy Creek series and follows long time frenemies Enzo and Bianca. Their families are close which means the two of them have grown up together and know just how to push the other's buttons. As adults, they have similar businesses and often find themselves bidding on the same jobs or properties. Now, they've found themselves in a bit of a situation. Enzo needs to be married in order to inherit the family business and Bianca wants a baby. The two bury the hatchet and agree to marry with the plan of divorcing within a specific time frame. It doesn't take long for feelings to blossom and the two find themselves in an awkward predicament of actually falling in love with their spouse. I absolutely adore this whole series and Enzo and Bianca's book was the one I was most anticipating. Throughout the previous 2 books, we see them interact and are witness to the constant button pushing and witty comebacks that seem to be their own language. We get a lot of that banter in the beginning and I was a little disappointed that it didn't permeate more of their relationship. I loved how they both were high functioning adults and pretty much had their lives together which meant that they could come together as equals to be together. Bianca does have some fertility struggles and while I personally don't have any experience in that area I thought it was handled well. It was interesting to watch Enzo learn about how getting pregnant actually works and how time sensitive it can be. I also really liked the representation of having a conception journey because I feel like way too often heroines in romances are like super fertile and will get pregnant after a single slip up of not using contraception (which I know can happen but it happens a lot in romance books). I wish we would have gotten more of their families throughout the book since they were such a big part of the engagement/wedding at the beginning. We do get a good amount of the couples from the previous 2 books since they are all friends so that is always fun to see.
Cinnamon Roll - Anna Zabo
This is the book that broke my romance reading slump! This is the 9th book in the Bold Brew series and follows Max and Tom. Max is a professor at the local university and Tom is a divorce lawyer. They are both in the kink scene and have run in the same circle for years but never interacted. Tom, after a string of bad Doms, puts a message up at the local kink-friendly coffee shop looking for a new partner. Max, initially hesitant, eventually does agree and the story progresses from there. This is a M/M queer romance that is full of kink and heat. This is the first book in this series that I read so I did feel a little lost in the world but there were enough context clues that I got along fine. It helped that anyone important to the story was pretty well introduced so I didn't feel like I was missing out too much on the main couple's romance. The BDSM kink elements were explicit and extensive throughout the story, which I really liked. Max is a sadist, Tom is a masochist, and the story does not hold back from them exploring those roles. If you don't like BDSM pain play then this book isn't for you. The dialogue at the beginning is a little stiff but it is Max and Tom working through the very important details of their kink relationship and once those details are ironed out, I felt their relationship flowed much more organically. I absolutely loved Max and Tom together. They really seemed to complement each other's personalities really well and of course their chemistry was off the charts. I also appreciated how they were older (Max is 39 and Tom is 36 I believe) so they are really well established in their lives and careers. I absolutely loved how romantic Max is with how he takes care of Tom - it made me well up with tears a few times just because Max is so sweet. I think my favorite part of this story was how emotional the BDSM scenes were. Not in a bad way, but it really came off the page how important that element is to both Max and Tom and how the two of them being together was really like finding their missing puzzle piece.
Ruthless Creatures - J.T. Geissinger
This story follows Natalie as she's trying to heal 5 years after her fiance disappeared right before their wedding. At the same time, a huge mountain of muscle named Kage moves in next door and Natalie, despite the urging from her best friend, isn't interested in using him as a rebound. However, their lives soon become intertwined in more complicated and dangerous ways than Natalie could ever imagine. This is technically a mafia romance, but is really light on the mafia elements. I do wish we would have spent more time in Kage's POV (we only get a few short chapters sprinkled here and there in the book). Kage isn't your typical mafia romance hero - he's possessive and alpha for days, sure, but he also is oddly romantic and respectful. He falls for Natalie when he first sees her (insta love for days) and is very upfront with his feelings and who he is (more or less). I thought Natalie's character arc was really interesting. She goes from this very good girl image of herself to a woman who is able to let go and love a mafia boss. I really liked Natalie and Kage together, they really balance each other well and seem much more like equals than most other mafia romance's I've read. I do wish the mafia elements were a bit more developed or at least that we spent more time in Kage's head.
The Belle and the Beard - Kate Canterbary
This modern take on Beauty and the Beast follows Jasper, a disgraced political campaign strategist, and Linden, a broody loner arborist. After a mic accident on national TV, Jasper needs a place to hide and figure her life out. The cabin in the woods left to her by her deceased aunt sounds just perfect for the job. Only trouble is her grumpy, bearded, and broody neighbor next door. The two butt heads over just about everything, but they slowly start to unravel each other and figure out that maybe the lives they had been leading were all wrong. I absolutely adored this book, it is a long slow burn romance with tension for days but pretty low angst. I really enjoyed how Jasper and Linden get to know each other slowly and how they each choose to let down their walls. Jasper wants to do everything for herself and has a real hard time letting anyone get close or see her vulnerabilities. Linden likes to be alone and after getting his heart broken years ago, is wary of letting anyone else get close so he doesn't have to lose them too. I found their characters to be deeply developed and complex and the relationship slowly grows overtime as they grow more comfortable with each other. This is my favorite sort of slow burn where the characters know they are both into each other, but don't want to get together until they have more of their personal stuff figured out. But there's lots of lingering touches, innuendos, and heavy make out sessions to bridge the gap. I really liked how the relationship didn't 'fix' the personal issues they are both working on but they do bring out the best of each other and help be sounding boards for the other person to work things through. Also, I love me a big burly lumberjack with some nerdy tattoos.
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