Tempt - Melanie Harlow
This is the 4th book in the Cloverleigh Farms Next Generation series and we're following Millie and Zach. Millie is a wedding planner and at the opening, finds herself stuck an extra night in Manhattan. When Zach rescues her from a creep at the hotel bar, their chemistry is explosive but have to go back to their very different lives after a steamy one night together. Weeks later, they run into each other again at Millie's ex-boyfriend's wedding that she's planning ... and Zach is her ex's dad. I absolutely loved this story from beginning to end and I always love being back in Cloverleigh Farms. This story had a few key parts that really could have gone badly - but Harlow pulled them all off expertly. From the age gap, to the ex-boyfriend aspect, to the question of kids - I really thought Harlow was able to craft a genuine and authentic character growth on all sides. This was also a lust to love sort of situation and that type of scenario can be really hit or miss with me. Often times, those reads end up feeling like there wasn't enough time for the characters to actually develop a deeper connection before the end of the book happens. In this case, the story takes place over the course of months and we're able to see that progression on page. Of course, we get a good number of scenes with other Cloverleigh Farms characters who we know and love which is always a plus. I loved Millie's relationship with her sisters and Zach's relationship with his friends. It felt like Harlow wanted to make sure these were extremely well developed and whole characters so that we'd understand how they end up overcoming these pretty big speedbumps in their relationship. They both had fully developed lives outside of the relationship and those other friendships/work goals/etc did not get diminished by the romance. All around, Harlow hit it out of the park again.
Thanks to the author and SocialButterflyPR for the ARC
Publication date was November 21, 2022
Mistakes Were Made - Meryl Wilsner
This age-gap, forbidden, FF romance follows Cassie and Erin. The two women meet one evening at a bar away from Cassie's college. They have an instant connection and after getting hot and heavy in the car, both are ready to leave it as a one-night stand. However, when Cassie shows up at breakfast the next day as Erin's daughter's guest, things only begin to get complicated. Both women agree they shouldn't continue to see each other, given the circumstances, but their connection is impossible to ignore. As they spend more time together when Cassie comes to visit over winter break, they'll both have to decide if they want to have something more and if their relationship is worth the fallout that will inevitably come. I really enjoyed this read and I loved Cassie and Erin together as well as their own characters. I was also not expecting this book to have as many sex scenes as it does - but they had a really great variety of situations so I'm not complaining. While I generally enjoy forbidden romances, I often have the same problem where I get some pretty strong secondhand embarrassment from all the awkward situations that arise. I did feel like we had some fantastic character development as well as relationship development and I could really see proof that their romance was moving beyond the purely physical - although it did take a little longer than I normally like to get there so I was a bit worried around the middle that the emotional connection wasn't ramping up as quickly. I also enjoyed that the inevitable conflict with Erin's daughter (who is also Cassie's best friend) was handled in a bit of a different way than we normally see with these 'forbidden' romance stories. Overall, this was a really fun and steamy read.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC
Publication date was October 11, 2022
Built to Last - Erin Hahn
TW/CW: abusive/neglectful parents, alcohol abuse, infidelity (not MCs),
This second chance, friends to lovers romance follows Shelby and Cameron. The two were child actor co-stars on a TV show but when outside pressures killed their clandestine romance, they go their separate ways for 10 years. Shelby now works for her dad's business restoring and flipping old homes and Cameron is a documentary film maker for National Geographic. Neither plan to return in front of the camera, but when their other co-star (and Shelby's ex), Lyle, comes to them with a plan for a home restoration TV show Shelby and Cameron agree to try a pilot episode. Working together again bring back a lot of old feelings and history but Shelby and Cameron are both different people than when they were 18 and their new friendship turns into something more - despite Lyle's best attempts at sabotage. This was a fantastic read and I absolutely loved it from beginning to end. It feels like Hahn reached into my brain and wrote this book specifically to hit everything I love in a romance. Shelby and Cameron are interesting, complex, and sincere characters with great support side characters. The set up of the story and past history between them feels so natural that I could be 100% on board with their second-chance romance. Shelby and Cameron have sizzling hot chemistry but they could never quite figure out how to actually be together. I thought this was going to be the main conflict in the relationship - complete with multiple misunderstandings. However, I was so excited when they actually talked to each other very early on in the story and continued to have good communication throughout the story. The main source of conflict comes from outside of the relationship, which I always prefer because it usually makes for a low-angst read (and I would categorize this as low angst). I really loved the side characters and how they were all very well developed and the friendships between them and our main couple felt very fleshed out. For anyone who really loves these HGTV-esque romances, I think this one will really hit the spot as well - I loved how much behind the scenes we get and since Shelby and Cameron grew up as child actors, they have a pretty interesting view of the whole process that I don't see very often.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC
Publication date was October 18, 2022
The Wrong Bridesmaid - Lauren Landish
This opposites-attract romance follows Wyatt and Hazel. Wyatt left his hometown of Cold Springs years ago to get away from his influential family and the pressures that came with the last name Ford. Now he's back in town for his younger brother's wedding and not all is well in Cold Springs. Hazel has lived in Cold Springs her whole life and as a result, she doesn't easily trust anyone with the last name Ford. The chemistry between them is undeniable, however, they come from two very different sides of Cold Springs. But as Wyatt discovers what his scheming uncle has been up to in the last few years, he realizes that he can't leave this town - or the people - behind again. I overall really enjoyed this romance and I liked the twists we got on the usual small town corruption plot. I loved Wyatt and Hazel on their own, but even better as a duo. They have great chemistry but my favorite scenes were them working together to solve a problem. There are a ton of great side characters also and the town itself has a ton of personality which I always love in a small town setting. I had some minor issues with the set-up of how, exactly, the Ford family and Cold Springs were intertwined. There were some moments that felt conflicting and made me pause for a moment. I also felt some of the wording in the sex scenes just felt awkward and the phrases chosen for certain acts or bodily fluids I just don't think work for me in a serious and romantic setting. But overall, this was really fun and I always seem to enjoy Landish's stories.
Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC
Publication date was October 25, 2022
Ship Wrecked - Olivia Dade
This is the third book in the Spoiler Alert series and follows actors Maria and Peter. After a one night stand, the two find themselves filming together on an isolated island for 6 years. Despite their chemistry, they agree to stay friends only while filming. However, once those 6 years are over, they finally have the chance to deepen their friendship into something more. But adjusting to life together off of the little island may be more difficult than they both expect. Dade does a fantastic job closing out this series and I really enjoyed this romance. It ended up being more emotionally charged than the first 2 in the series and I think that was due to this book taking place over 6 years so we see a lot of character development. I loved Maria and Peter and found them both such interesting characters and they had so many layers to work through to finally be together. I loved that we got a few cameos from the characters in the other books and the epilogue was absolutely fabulous. As always, I loved the fat rep in this book, even more so that both of our main characters are fat and the amount of lusty descriptions from both of them about the other are fantastic. This is a longer romance at 413 pages, but considering we had 6 years to cover and a whole lot of character growth to get through I think all of that length is needed. That being said, the pacing was a little hit and miss for me. There were times where it felt like it dragged and then times where it felt way too fast. I do think Dade did a great job giving the reader glimpses of Peter and Maria over that 6 year period to help with this, but I think having that big of a time jump is just hard all around. I did like how we see their first year together and then we time-jump and the story moves forward from there so we have pretty solid footing with these characters before the jump.
TW/CW: death of a parent, adoption, forced dieting (attempted)
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC
Publication date was November 15, 2022
Marlowe Banks, Redesigned - Jacqueline Firkins
This celebrity romance follows Marlowe and Angus. Marlowe is a production assistant on a popular TV show starring Angus. Marlowe ended up in LA after her latest costume show in NYC was shredded by critics and she ended her engagement. She's now content to exist behind the scenes as she tries to figure out her next move. But when a wardrobe mix-up causes Marlowe to be in a scene of the show, the cameras (and audience) catch something between Marlowe and Angus. As the two work together more, they both realize they have more to offer than what you first see. Overall, I liked this read but it didn't quite hit the spot for me. On NetGalley, it is listed as romance/women's fiction and I do think that is an appropriate listing. This is a story with a full romance plot arc and there is 100% a HEA for the couple. However, it felt to me more like Marlowe's story of finding herself again and that just so happened to include a romance with Angus rather than this being a story about Marlowe and Angus's romance. This is also only told through Marlowe's POV which, again, makes it feel more like her story. All that aside, I did enjoy the building of Angus and Marlowe's relationship and how much fun they were together. I'm a bit of a hard sell on celebrity romances because of the inevitable conflict of one person being more ok with being in the public eye than the other but I think this one really worked that balance out well. The conflict, as well as the resolution, felt natural to the characters and that made all the difference. Angus was such an interesting character, I really wish we would have gotten his POV more. I loved Marlowe's character and think Firkins finds the balance well between quirky character and over-the-top caricature.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC
Publication date was October 25, 2022
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