Romance Wrap-up November 2023

 One Night in Hartswood - Emma Denny

This MM historical romance follows Penn and Raff in 1360's Oxford.  Penn is arranged to be married to Raff's sister, but runs away the night before the wedding.  Raff is sent out into Hartswood to find the soon-to-be groom and restore his family's honor.  Only problem is that he has never met William de Foucart and doesn't know he goes by the nickname Penn.  So when Raff makes the assumption that Penn is simply a palace worker, Penn doesn't correct him.  As the two travel the countryside together, they grow closer.  But when their true identities are revealed, it could spell disaster for them both.  I really enjoyed this read and am finding that while I'm not a huge historical romance reader, I do really love the LGBTQ+ ones.  The set up for this was really intriguing and I loved how it let us get right into Penn and Raff's journey.  The travel element did get a little repetitive, but Denny was able to keep inching the tension between the two men as they traveled so I didn't mind too much. Both characters were really well developed and we got such a great sense of their personalities so quickly in the book.  The slow burn chemistry between Penn and Raff was superb and I loved how we got to see each of their inner monologues about how they were feeling about the romance as well as their own secret identities.  I wasn't expecting it to get as dark as it did in the third act with abusive family members and near death situations, but I loved seeing Penn get to use his strength of political machinations to try and solve some big problems. 

Thanks to Harper Collins for the ARC.  

Publication date was November 7, 2023.

Keep this Between Us - Albany Archer

This small town romance follows Tuesday and Bond.  Tuesday's family has sent her away on a forced restart after a scandal.  She's determined to make it work, but wasn't expecting to fall in love with the town or Bond.  The two meet on Tuesday's first night in town at the local bar and have an instant connection.  After a few days of getting to know each other and falling quickly, the two find out that Tuesday is the new employee at Bond's family business that was quickly and unexpectedly bought out from under him. But when the past comes back to threaten Tuesday's new life, the two of them will have to figure out if their new romance is worth fighting for.  This was a spectacular small town romance.  It had everything I was hoping for - great side characters, charming banter, and a lot of heart.  This did lean a bit too far into the insta-love side of things for my personal preference, but I think Albany did a great job fleshing out both characters so I did believe that they had a real connection.  I loved the different 'versions' of Tuesday that we saw as she was working through her trauma and figuring out what she wants out of her own life.  Bond was such a solid rock in her life as well as the lives of the other characters we meet.  Their connection was electric and I loved how they supported each other.  I hope there are more books set in this small town because I would absolutely read on in the series. 

Thanks to the author for the ARC. 

Expected publication date is December 5, 2023.

From the Start - Katie Duggan 

This romance follows childhood enemies Nic and Josh. After unexpectedly crashing his birthday party, Nic overhears some people discussing Josh's prowess in the bedroom.  This inspires Nic to ask Josh to help her learn how she can communicate and enjoy her time with partnered sex.  The two embark on sex lessons that turn out more explosive than either of them expected.  I loved this read and Josh is a new favorite MMC.  Both Nic and Josh are such complex characters that really came together in a very realistic way.  They didn't magically 'fix' each other, but they both made an effort to understand and support the other when they needed it and it absolutely melted my heart. The sex lessons were off the chart hot but there was also so much heart in this story.  Nic's autism felt very realistic and came up consistently throughout the story, so it wasn't used as just a plot device.  Josh's feelings about his body was really refreshing and was something I don't see often, even when reading other books with bigger MMCs. There were great side characters - especially Nic's whole family.  I really hope we get more books in this series. 

Thanks to the author for the ARC.  

Publication date was November 21, 2023

Friends Don't Fall in Love - Erin Hahn

This is the second book in the county music romance follows Lorelai and Craig.  Long time friends, Craig was the only one who stayed by Lorelai's side after she sang a protest song - even her fiance left her.  After a one night stand, Lorelai left the industry for five years until she felt the itch again.  She calls up the one friend she has left in the industry - Craig.  Craig has always had a crush on Lorelai, even when she was engaged to his former bandmate.  But now he owns his own indie record label and he's convinced him and Lorelai might finally come together as more than friends.  This was such a great read and I loved Lorelai and Craig.  Famous people romances aren't usually a go-to for me, but Hahn does a great job of really focusing the story on the characters so it felt very grounded.  There is a good amount of country music inside baseball going on in this book, but Hahn integrates it very well into the overall story so it never felt too heavy.  I loved Lorelai and Craig as characters and their different journeys of their careers.  They had great chemistry but I wanted to see more of the friends side of things.  We see some flashbacks of them back in the day as well as a few scenes of them being friends in the current day but I wanted more on page to really feel their friendship.  

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.

Publication date was October 17, 2023

Back Into It - Eve Dangerfield

This is the fourth book in the Playing for Love series and follows Cheryl and Patrick.  Cheryl is 9 years older than Patrick, a fact that puts him squarely in the friendzone.  Patrick doesn't mind, at first. He'd rather have Cheryl as a friend than not have her at all.  But after a party, Cheryl confesses that she wants to be more than friends only she needs him to take control.  All bets are off starting the next morning but when Cheryl tries to go back to their previous arrangements, putting Patrick back in the 'friend' box, he'll do anything to show her he can be much, much more. I loved Cheryl and Patrick as well as their love story.  Both characters are believably flawed in their own ways and those flaws do affect other parts of their lives, not just the romantic part.  While Patrick is a professional football (soccer) player, we don't get a whole lot of that side so this didn't really feel like a typical 'sports' romance. We get a lot of flashbacks to how they were as friends in the 4 years before the night of the party which helped to show just how close of friends they were.  I wanted to see more of those friendship moments once they actually got together, especially at the end after they resolved their 3rd act breakup. Dangerfield can certainly heat up a book in no time and the intimate scenes we get are top notch.  This did lean a little into the degradation side of things which isn't my personal preference, but it did feel authentic for our characters.  We get some cameos from the previous couples in the series which is always fun.  

 

Thanks to the author for the ARC.  

Expected publication date is December 5, 2023. 

Pumpkin Spice - Tagan Shepard

 This small town, FF romance follows Nicki and Carter.  After a major breakup, Nicki is ready to give up on romance and settle into her life of minimal human contact - with the exception of her sister and niece.  Carter recently moved to town after a break up of her own and is helping out on the family's pumpkin patch.  The two women instantly hit it off, and not even a series of clumsy accidents can dull the shiny new relationship blooming.  This was such a cute romance and it perfectly captured the autumn vibes I was hoping it would.  Nicki and Carter are both in their 40s and both are cautious with their hearts so they aren't going out on a limb for just any romance.  This was a bit of a shorter read at 264 pages, but it still managed to pull off a slow(ish) burn romance. I liked that the romance was a little slower so it gave Nicki and Carter more time to get to know the other.  I loved the amount of simple, little dates they went on and small conversations they had that consistently got deeper as their relationship bloomed. We get a good cast of small town characters as well and some quirky antics.  There were a few times where it felt like we skipped over scenes that I really wanted to see.  One example is when Nicki is invited to dinner with Carter's family at the end of a chapter.  She agrees, and I'm expecting the next chapter to be that dinner scene, but instead it skips to the next day.  Since this was an ARC, maybe that is different in the finalized copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC.

Publication date was October 10, 2023

On the Plus Side - Jenny L Howe

 This makeover TV show romance follow Everly and Logan. Everly has been nominated for the new series of On the Plus Side - a shows that focuses on plus-sized people and updates not only their closets, but all other aspects of their lives.  Logan is the camera man tasked with following Everly around always seems to manage to catch her most ungraceful moments.  As filming continues, Everly starts to feel like she's finally coming back into herself after years of blending into the background.  This is one of those romances that felt like the romance was the 2nd plot line and the real focus was Everly's journey.  I think the majority of the book being from Every's POV really tilted the read toward her.  I loved her story and found so many of points that resonated with me. I did love the romance we see on page and the banter between Everly and Logan from the very beginning was fantastic.  The TV show element was, of course, a very large part of the plot as well.  I don't usually gravitate toward those TV shows, so I'm not super familiar with their own tropes but Howe does a great job of giving the reader enough information in a natural way that I didn't feel lost at all.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.

Expected publication date is December 26, 2023.

Love, Naturally - Sophie Sullivan

This romance follows Presley and Beckett.  After a breakup, Presley decides to go on her planned couples trip to Get Lost Lodge by herself.  Beckett's family own the lodge and he's coming over to help them out.  He and Presley have an instant connection and the ten days they have together before Presley returns home suddenly don't seem like they'll be enough.  This was such a feel-good read for me and I really enjoyed it. We have a great cast of side characters and get some quirky small town antics.  Presley and Beckett were great characters and Sullivan does a fantastic job of really giving the reader a good sense of their character right away.  I'm not the biggest fan of insta-love stories but I could believe Presley and Beckett had that much of a connection.  We get enough scenes of them talking about their big hopes, dreams, and personal histories that I could feel their connection was more real than some other insta-love situations. I did want a little more friction in the narrative.  They just fell together so easily and then everything worked out perfectly for them and the other characters.  It left me feeling like it was all a little ~too~ perfect and I wanted just a little more of a struggle to get to those good outcomes.  I'd love if we get Beckett's siblings in future books.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.  

Expected publication date is January 16, 2024.