A Trace of Hares - Sarah Yarwood-Lovett

 "Dr Nell Ward is in the lush, emerald-green hills of Ireland to attend the wedding of two dear friends at a picture-perfect farmhouse. But family tensions are running high in the days before the happy couple tie the knot. And when Nell hears a fox kill a hare in the early morning, the bad omen sends shivers down her spine. Almost like it is a sign of something to come. Then one of the locals makes a gruesome discovery in a nearby peat bog. The habitats are famous for the ancient bodies they can preserve for thousands of years. This woman, however, died much more recently and was clearly a victim of foul play. Nell and her friends are suddenly in the middle of another murder case. Can they trace the truth to unmask a long-hidden killer and save the wedding, before it's too late?"

We are back with another great installment of the Dr Nell Ward Mystery series. Yarwood-Lovett really seems to be finding her groove with these mysteries and each one is more intricate than the last.  I loved that this book is centered around one of the side characters fro the previous books and not Nell herself.  We are in a new setting, with some fresh characters, and there are new secrets to be revealed. 

Yarwood-Lovett does a fantastic job at large group murder mysteries.  She has a real knack for being able to introduce the reader to a large cast of characters in such a way that I have no trouble remembering who is who and how they are all connected.  Being able to keep track of characters is a frequent issue I run across in books with large casts and I know it is primarily a me-problem.  However, there is something about the way Yarwood-Lovett writes that really works with my brain and helps me remember which makes the reading experience so much more smooth.  We have a good mix of characters we know and love as well as some new ones mixed in.  There is a good amount of family tension due to some secrets of the past and Nell and her group, as newcomers, had a bit of catching up to do which allowed the details to be given to the reader without feeling overly info-dumpy.

The mystery itself was expertly plotted and we get a good amount of ecology/science coming into play to crack the mystery which is a main draw of the series for me. I loved that we started with just some family tension and animosity and this wasn't a murder mystery from the get-go.  Instead, thanks to the build up and background info, when the body does drop, the reader already knows the stakes and what this body means to our characters. Solving the mystery was half hard science, half behavioral analysis which I liked very much and found it to be a good balance.  Since we were in a new location, it was interesting to see the group be more on the outside of the investigation than in previous books in the series but they sure didn't let that stop them from investigating anyway. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Embla Books for the ARC.  Publication was March 27, 2024.

The Sharp County Slasher - Andrew Alman

 

"If you like Dexter, you'll love this! In the quiet backwoods of Sharp County, retired detective Hilrey Higgins has spent years burying his past—both as a lawman and as something far darker. But when a new killer emerges, mimicking the gruesome precision of his own long-buried crimes, Hilrey is forced back into the game."

So like any good comp title, the Dexter comparison really drew me in to pick up this book.  I was a bit on the fence because while I love the Dexter TV show, I had some significant issues with the book (review here, if you're interested).  So I was pleased when the comparison was more on the subject matter in the book and not so much on the tone of the writing. I do think the description above makes the book seem like it will have a darker tone than what we actually get on page.  I overall had a good time and found the characters as well as the mystery plot to be well developed.

Hilrey's character is obviously the center of this read and I think he was a really interesting character to follow.  I did find the first chapter or two to be a big info-dumpy with his history - both professionally as well as his past crimes.  After those first few pages, however, we get right into the current narrative and it was smooth sailing from there. I loved that we got the details of Hilrey right from the beginning so this is one of those reads where it wasn't so much of a mystery of what happened in his past, but more so of when the other characters will find out.  Hilrey's character was well developed and had a very distinct voice which I always like in these type of reads.  While Hilrey was retired, he obviously hasn't lost his detective instincts and so following him for this investigation was interesting and I loved seeing the contrast between his history and the newer methods that are used now.  The other characters in this read are also well developed and I got a really good sense of all of their characters.  Since this is book 1 in a series, I hope we get to see more from these side characters in future books.

The mystery of the current murder that Hilrey and Dakota are investigating was really interesting and well plotted.  We get a lot of bodies dropping and a lot of different leads for our investigation team to follow.  We get a lot of leads especially when connecting the current murders with crimes in the past and I think Alman does a great job of leading the reader through these investigation points without anything feeling overly dry or repetitive. Because we had so many victims in only a little over 300 pages, I did find myself not remembering the names of each victim.  So by the end of the book, when they are going over each of the crimes and how they are connected, I couldn't really remember specifically which one they were talking about unless they noted specific details of the kill or something specific to each victim (like their job). I know that the character name issue is something I have and might not be an issue for all readers.  

Alman does not shy away from the kills in this book - both in number and severity.  The horror aspect comes in mostly from the brutality of the kills but the actual descriptions and certainly leans into a body horror sort of descriptions.  The kills reminded me a lot of the kills in the Hannibal TV show where the bodies are mutilated and displayed in certain ways.  The descriptions of these scenes is given in a sort of clinical way and not overly drawn out. 

This is being listed as book 1 in The Campfire Murders series, I wasn't sure how it would end.  There are a couple ending options that this sort of story would naturally conclude with and it somehow manages to touch on each of them.  This does not end up in a cliff hanger, which is one of the ending options I was worried it would be.  It ends in a similar way to most police procedural series where the case is solved but there are other plot points that are left open for the next book in the series. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ARC.  

Publication date was February 26, 2025.

March 2025 Romance Wrap-Up

 

A Five Letter Word for Love - Amy James

So I may have picked this up mostly due to the Wordle aspect but I was still pleasantly surprised at how much Wordle was integrated into the romance. This was James's debut romance and I overall enjoyed it.  I did find at parts that it focused more on the FMC's life in a way that read more like a woman's fiction and less a category romance read.  I did find our FMC a little grating at the beginning, but I liked that we quickly saw her starting to change some of her attitude about this small town.  We also get some good challenging of the beliefs of both MCs so those more cringe moments are addressed.  This was a single POV read and I desperately wanted to have chapters from our MMC because he was so quiet during their scenes together.  He is really the strong and silent type and while he shows how much he cares through his actions and our FMC does point out when she notices little changes but I would have loved chapters where we could understand just how he felt.  I think James did a fantastic job on the small town aspect and I would love if we get more books set in this town.

 Tropes: Small Town, Opposites Attract, Single POV

Standalone

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.  Publication date was December 3, 2024.

 

 

My Big Fat Fake Marriage - Charlotte Stein

I couldn't find anywhere where this was specifically noted as being part of a series, but it is in the same universe as Stein's When Grumpy Met Sunshine and we do get some cameos from those characters in this book.  If the first book was based off Roy Kent, then this one is 100% giving Ted Lasso vibes.  We have an overly adorkable and mustachioed MMC who was so polite and easily flustered.  Now listen, I love me an alphahole MMC at times but Beck (the MMC) was *chef's kiss* perfection. I absolutely adored the chemistry between our two MCs and how their opposite personalities actually worked together perfectly. There's something about their dynamic that most opposite attract trope books don't quite get to where they really feel like puzzle pieces snapping together. The fake marriage portion of the plot was fantastic and just the right amount of ridiculous for this sort of rom-com. This is the third book I've read from Stein, and she is quickly becoming a must-read author for me.

Tropes: Fake Marriage, Forced Proximity, Opposites Attract

Standalone

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.   Publication date was March 11, 2025.

 

 

 If You Give a Single Dad a Nanny - Ann Einerson

This was a really solid single parent/nanny romance but I think that trope just isn't hitting for me much any more.  I liked how our MCs knew each other before the nanny stuff came up (they are neighbors) so they had a history before the romance started.  I loved how different they both were and how they both compromised in order to work out issues.  The small town setting was great and I loved the amount of meddling that happened from the people in their lives.  We get all the typical parts of a parent/nanny romance - the adorable kid, the 'we shouldn't be doing this', the sneaking around so the kid doesn't find out, etc.  It was a well done read and I think if you like the parent/nanny romance dynamic then you will like this one.

Tropes: Small Town, Single Parent, Nanny, Age Gap

Series: Aspen Grove #1

Dom - S.J. Tilly

I absolutely loved books 1 and 2 in this series, mostly due to the interestingly light tone despite them being mafia romances.  This book, which I still enjoyed, felt very much more like a typical mafia romance read.  The tone was more serious, the relationship between our MCs was darker and they had the captor/captive thing to get over before getting their HEA. I loved that we got to see more of the Alliance and the characters from the previous books.  I think the dynamic between our MCs was really interesting but did find some of their continued miscommunication or actively deciding to not talk about their feelings to be a little juvenile.  I wanted these two to talk it out and draw some lines in the sand given the situation but instead it felt like they were playing mind games and just trying to get under the other's skin.  Once they got past all of the annoying parts and actually started working together and trusting each other again, then I found myself being reinvested in the story and their HEA.  It felt like this book was supposed to raise the stakes on the overall plot across the series but it ended up feeling a little out of place.  I think it would have worked better if it matched  

Tropes: Mafia, Captor/Captive, Forced Marriage

Series: Alliance #3

Hans - S.J. Tilly

This was the final book in the Alliance series and we finally get to meet Hans - who was a boogeyman of sorts in the previous books. I absolutely loved that we are back to the sort of unhinged sweetness of books 1 and 2 of the series.  Hans is an absolute weirdo who is crushing on his neighbor across the street but Tilly manages to get the tone just right that he comes off swoon-worthy and not restraining order-worthy.  It helps that our FMC is crushing just as hard on Hans and that the two of them just work so well together. This is a bit more of a romantic suspense read than the previous entries in the series and I really enjoyed every bit of it. As this is the last book in the series, we do get resolutions to some on-going plot points and some cameos from the other couples.

Tropes: Mafia, Obsessed Hero, Romantic Suspense

Series: Alliance #4

Married to the Devil - Lillian Lark

This is the 5th book in the series and while it is technically a standalone, it is recommended that you read book #4 in the series first (Hoarded by the Dragon).  I did not read #4 before reading this one and while I could tell I was missing out on some of the finer details, I was never completely lost without reading that previous book - it just took me a little longer to get my bearings.  This also had a pretty significant tone change from books 2 and 3 in the series.  The previous books in the series were more removed from the political/mafia aspects that this book (and from what I could tell, probably book 4 as well) were steeped very much in.  Not that I minded it at all, I do love me some mafia romances, it was just more serious than I was expecting based on my previous experience in the series.  As in the previous books, I think Lark does a fantastic job with her multi-partner romances to show the reader each of the individual relationships between all parties.  I loved how complex the relationships in this read were and how each character had something to overcome.  The chemistry was off the charts but there was such a heaviness with the emotional stakes that I wasn't  expecting. 

Tropes: FMM, Monster, Marriage of Convenience, Mafia

Series: Monstrous Matches #5

False Comeback - Lily Mayne

I adore this series and loved how this book introduced a bit of a darker tone compared to the previous entries.  The first three books in the series were overall light and pretty fun in both the romantic and non-romantic plots.  However, our MCs in this read were so viscerally at each other's throats that I found Mayne having a lot of ground to cover to make their relationship believable.  But she did it handily and this might be my new favorite of the series.  I don't know if I've ever read anything that could be describes as hate fucking before, but the first few interactions between our MCs certainly fit that description.  But thanks to the expert character development and dual POV, we get to see just how many emotions these interactions brought out in both MCs.  I also loved the amount of backstory we got from both characters - but especially High Lord Crossbody. This is a longer romance read at 515 pages, but I think each and every page was needed in order for the relationship to feel natural and real between these two.  We also get introduced to some new wrestlers which I can't wait to see those characters more in future books in this series.

Tropes: MM, Supernatural, Enemies to Lovers

Series: Goliaths of Wrestling #4

Voyeur Cafe - Jasmine Grace

I read book 3 in this series last month and am now going back to read the other books.  Despite knowing how these two MCs end up together, I absolutely adored this read.  Grace does a fantastic job of giving us really clear characters right from the beginning.  We know exactly who these characters are along with their wants and their potential issues.  I find when you have character development that solid, the relationships almost always feel so much more natural.  I also think Grace does a great job at slowly changing the tone of the relationship overtime.  They certainly start out at a pretty antagonistic point but slowly they develop a more teasing and flirtatious relationship which just blossoms from there.

Tropes: Rivals to Lovers, Age Gap, Coworkers

Series: Heartbeats in the Heat #1

Every Move You Make - Sloan Spencer

 This read exemplifies everything I love about poly romances - everyone has a crush on everyone else and it just works out perfectly in the end.  This is a read for everyone who (like me) discovered rugby through the Olympics and Ilona Maher.  Rugby is integral to the plot but Spencer does a good job of giving a glossary of terms up front as well as working in some pretty good explanations into the book itself.  I loved how the dynamic between all of the character pairings are so different but just work together so well.  I do wish it was a little longer so we could see some more scenes of the different dynamics between our three MCs. 

Tropes: FMM, Sports (Rugby), Virgin MMC, Friends to Lovers

Series: The Rugby Lovers #1

  

Riley Thorn and the Blast from the Past - Lucy Score

We're back with Riley, Nick, and the whole crew for another great installment in this series.  I really enjoyed that the mystery in this one hit closer to home and we get some answers to questions that have been brought up over the past 2 books.  I love a lot of Lucy Score's romances, but I think she could 100% branch off into full cozy mysteries and I think she has really hit her stride with this one.  I loved being back with this wacky cast of characters and since this mystery was so close to home, I really feel like we got some good character details and development from our main cast. We also got a good amount of information and development on Riley's psychic powers and how the overall psychic abilities in this world work. I can't wait to read on in the series!

Tropes: Cozy Mystery, Supernatural

Series: Riley Thorn #3

 

Keep Me - Sara Cate

 

I absolutely loved Cate's Salacious Player's Club series and I love the marriage of convenience trope so I thought this read was going to be a slam dunk.  However, the hate to love aspect of it was just not my jam.  I thought this was going to be more of a grumpy enemies to lovers sort where our grumpy MMC didn't want the FMC there and I absolutely love that.  But I did not expect them to spend so much time absolutely screaming at each other and it really felt like they legitimately hated each other for like months.  I don't like bully romances or full hate to love because I need to see so much character growth over time in order for me to believe that these two even get back to neutral ground about each other, much less love each other. I thought both of our MCs were wonderfully complex characters and we get some great "my wife" energy going on but I couldn't reconcile the flip flopping of that with the screaming names at each other. I will absolutely be continuing on in the series and hope this was just a not for me blip.

Tropes: Marriage of Convenience, Hate to Love

Series: Sinful Manor #1

 

Beef Cake - Jiffy Kate

This was a fun read and I always love being back in the Green Valley universe.  Like many of these 'extended universe' books, there are multiple references that new readers might not immediately get but Kate does a good job of giving any new readers a quick run down.  I loved that this one explored the nuances and intricacies of fighting sports and how they can be similar or different to other types of violence.  Our MCs have very different reactions to seeing violence, for their own reasons, and for a while I was worried these differences would end up getting waved away.   However, I was pleased when they did get taken seriously and discussed in a healthy way. This read had a good mix of fluff and heavier topics that I think Kate balanced well.

Tropes: Sports (Fighting), Small Town, Opposites Attract

Series: Fighting for Love #2

 

American Traditional - E.M. Lindsey

 Another great installment in this series.  We get introduced to Sage and Will's friendship in the previous book in this series so it was nice to get to follow them now.  Lindsey does a good job tackling a difficult or sensitive topic in each of the previous books, but this one felt extra heavy.  We have multiple deaths, abusive relationships, and trauma on all sides.  However, I think that Lindsey does a great job of navigating these topics in a realistic way and since it is a romance, the reader knows it will all work out by the end.  I liked that this one was a bit more of a slower paced romance so it gave both of our MMCs time to find their new normal and decide what they want for themselves and a potential relationship. 

Tropes: MM, Single Parent, Love After Loss, Friends to Lovers

Series: Irons and Works #3

 

Mated to the Monster - Sarah Spade 

This was a solid monster romance and a good first entry into the series.  We get a lot of interesting world building and I loved how Spade was able to give the reader details without it feeling overly info-dumpy.  I wanted more time with our FMC before she summoned the MMC to really get a good sense of her character and what she wants.  This book was pretty fast paced I think due to the fated mates mechanic.  I haven't read a lot of fated mates/instalove sort of romances because I do enjoy following as the feelings evolve over time.  Spade does a great job of setting up the world and leaving the door open for the next books in the series so if book 1 is your jam, I think the whole series would be.  For me, this was more of a one and done situation, but I still enjoyed it.

Tropes: Monster, Size Difference, Supernatural, Fated Mates

Series: Sombra Demons #1

Nowhere - Allison Gunn

"After losing her young son in an accident, Rachel Kennan throws herself into her career as police chief of a small Virginia town to avoid focusing on her grief. Meanwhile, her husband, Finn, a washed-up writer whose alcoholism led to the devastating tragedy that changed everything, struggles to redeem himself before his family completely falls apart. Their two daughters are the only things keeping Rachel and Finn together, but the girls have demons of their own.  At the same time, a disturbing crime rocks their tightknit, religious community, sending Rachel chasing leads in a place that does not take kindly to outsiders. When an ominous force in the forest starts calling to the children, fear spawns hate among the townspeople, placing the Kennan family directly in the line of fire. Left with no choice but to rely on each other, Rachel and Finn must come together to face threats inside and out. A haunting family saga and a disquieting horror debut, Nowhere draws from Appalachian folklore to caution us that true terror is what we bury in our own hearts."

This was absolutely a sleeper hit of a horror read.  I didn't expect to get sucked into this book as much as I did and I loved every minute of it.  Folk horror is my favorite horror subgenre but I do usually find it to be quieter and slower paced than some other subgenres.  However, this read really had the pacing on point and we get right into the mess of horror taking over this small town.  We spend the first 25% or so setting up the character relations and the start of the horror mystery but even this set up portion is full of emotional highs and lows and some great reveals into the lives of these characters. I could not read the last 25% of the book fast enough because there was so much happening and so much at stake.  I can't believe this is a debut and I look forward to reading more books from Gunn in the future. 

Our main character - Chief Rachel Kennen - falls squarely in the 'unlikable main character' trope and I loved it.  And to be clear, all of the characters in this read are flawed in various ways but having our main character be a woman who is grieving the death of her son be so angry, brash, rude, and straight up unhinged at times was fantastic.  Rachel is the kind of character who is doing the right things but with little regard to the feelings or opinions of the other characters and I always find that sort of dynamic super interesting.  The cherry on top is that this is a small town and Rachel and her family are viewed as outsiders.  Even more so after some significant information is found out in the aftermath of their loss.  Religion and religious judgement come into play a few times throughout the read which is another layer to Rachel being unliked by the locals.  The other characters we see are all similarly complex and through the horror elements, we get to learn about their own dark pasts. 

The horror elements are fantastic and so visceral.  A lot of the horror centers around the children of this town and I think it would hit even harder for readers with kids of their own. I loved that we get into the horror so quickly.  As I said before, I expected this to be more of a slow burn sort of read but it really kicks off quickly.  Despite the horror elements getting introduced early on, I still couldn't guess the severity of where we would end up by the finish of the book.  There were a number of times where I thought to myself that it couldn't get any worse.  That from here on out, the rest of the book would be the characters overcoming the horror.  But the horror just kept escalating or twisting in new ways so that by the end, I was holding my breath to see what could possibly happen to make this worse.  I liked that even when we were following characters who had been directly impacted by the horror, that the exact details weren't revealed until later in the book.  It was like the reader was investigating right along side Rachel and we learned most details when she did.  This meant that by the end, the reader and the characters understood the full scope and weight of what the horror in this read was and could turn into.

Overall, this was an incredible read and I absolutely loved it from start to finish. Fantastic use of horror, very complex characters, and perfect pacing. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.  Expected publication date is March 25, 2025. 

She Doesn't Have a Clue - Jenny Elder Moke

 

"A high-end wedding on a private island off the coast of Seattle sounds like something out of a magazine. But for bestselling mystery author Kate Valentine, it’s more like a nightmare. Why Kate agreed to attend her ex-fiancé’s wedding is its own enigma, but she’ll plaster on a fake smile for two nights, with the aid of free champagne, naturally. And because the groom happens to be her editor, she’ll try to finish a draft of her latest Loretta Starling mystery as a wedding gift. But when the bride is poisoned and Kate stumbles across a dead body, she finds herself in a real-life mystery that eerily echoes the plot of her latest novel. And the only person who seems willing to help Kate catch the killer is Jake Hawkins, aka: the Hostralian; aka: Kate’s biggest romantic regret. As the wine flows and the weather threatens to hold every guest hostage, bitter resentments and long-held grudges surface amongst the colorful crowd. Anyone could be capable of murder, it seems. What would Loretta do? Unfortunately, Kate doesn’t have a clue."

I had a really fun time with this read, but I do think that it may be victim to a slight mis-marketing issue.  I've seen it marketed as half romance/half mystery and I think that is a little misleading.  I love both romance and mystery as genres so I was all-in on this read. However, I do think that if you are going to try and blend genres, then you need to make sure both sides are equally well-developed and well-executed and in the case of this read, I think it fell a little short.  This read, to me, like a cozy mystery with a heavy romance subplot.

The mystery elements were fantastic.  It is squarely in the cozy mystery category and Moke captures the vibes perfectly.  We have a cast of colorful characters stuck on an island together when the bodies start dropping. I love that the characters all have different levels of connection with each other which leads to various different theories for motives which makes for a fun mystery.  I found the different investigation paths to be well thought out and fun to see the characters explore.  However, I did find that when we get to the ending reveal, so much had happened in the book that I and the characters were just a bit tired out.  I wanted the reveal just a little bit earlier or maybe to have a bit of a break before the reveal in order to catch our breath.  I enjoyed the actual reveal but the pacing was just a little off.

The romance elements were a bit of a miss for me only in that I felt we needed more time to develop them.  On paper, we hit all the usual romance plot points, but I felt like we missed out on a lot of the emotional development parts of the relationship because our MCs were too busy solving the mystery.  Also, the transitions between the mystery plot and the romance plot were more jarring than I think they should have been.  At times, it felt like there were two distinct drafts of this plot - one pure mystery and one pure romance - and the final draft was just trading off on chapters between each of them.  I think this would have been more successful if the romance was focused on a little less and instead of trying for it to be a dual plot line with the mystery, that it took a step back to become a subplot.  I think Moke did a great job hitting the romance beats and I would be interested in reading a full adult romance from her in the future.

The cast of characters was by far the best part of this read.  We get some messy relationships, complex family dynamics, rich people problems, and a lot of scheming.  I loved that our MC is a mystery writer who is at this wedding as a sort of outsider so we get a lot of the character reveals through her investigation.  While some of the characters were a little over the top, I found all of them to feel realistic and not too caricature-y.  There is a fairly large cast of characters, but Moke does a great job of really honing in on a detail that makes each individual character stand out which makes it easier for the reader to keep them straight.  I also liked that we get introduced to the characters pretty steadily at the beginning, but with enough of a gap between them to give us that time to let the details sink in.

Overall, this was a really fun cozy mystery with a strong romance plot.  Great cast of characters with a fast paced mystery investigation. I would have liked to see the two genres blended together a little bit more. 

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.  Publication date was January 21, 2025

February 2025 Romance Wrap-up

Spring Fling - Annie England Noblin

This was such a fun read!  I loved the setting being in Arkansas as most small town romances I've read have been set in the northern parts of the US.  We get a good amount of small town antics and gossip along with our characters trying to figure out their relationship.  I did find the conflict to be a little bit over-done or rather the characters specifically stated that they would try to ignore the conflict until later and then when later comes, it turns into a big deal.  It is the sort of conflict that you can see coming from a mile away and I just wanted our MCs to get out of their own ways and sit down and talk about things for once.  I do think we get a good amount of characterization that helps explain why both of them end up acting like this, but it wasn't quite enough to make me un-annoyed at them.  Our MCs did have great chemistry both as friends and as lovers which is always a great time.  I wanted more time of just them interacting together and found that there were some scenes where we would have gotten that, but then the book flashes forward a few hours to them leaving the place and going back home, which was frustrating.  

 

Tropes: Childhood Friends to Lovers, Small Town, Second Chance

Standalone

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.  Expected publication date is March 18, 2025.

  

Till There Was You - Lindsay Hameroff

This was a fine read - but it ended up falling into the 'not for me' category.  Over the past year, I've really honed in on my personal reading tastes regarding celebrity and this book just didn't hit the mark for my personal preferences.  I remember almost not requesting this ARC due to the fact that the MMC is a celebrity but I ended up giving in since I do generally enjoy chef/cooking romance books.  I also found the timeline to be a bit too much to try and fit into one book.  Our MCs meet one night and have a 'perfect weekend' together before they end up not speaking for a year.  Then, they are reunited and the book continues from there to have a full-blast romance plot arc.  It felt like the first section was meant to be a prologue but grew and ended up being the first 20% of the book.  I loved the 'perfect weekend' set up but I think there was too much time between that and the romance rekindling that it made the book feel like it was dragging on and on.  I did really enjoy both characters exploring their relationship with the reality of their dream jobs and familial expectations and I would read from this author again.

Tropes: Celebrity, Second Chance, One Night Stand to More

Standalone

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.  Publication date was February 20, 2024.  

 

King - S.J. Tilly

SJ Tilly might just be my new favorite mafia-romance author because I love the way she injects humor into these absolutely crazy circumstances. In this case, Savannah gets kidnapped by King after accidentally walking into him murdering her ex boyfriend who was cheating on King's sister with Savannah - an absolutely bonkers start to any romance book.  But where other mafia books might stick with a very dark tone, which we get with Savannah's POV chapters as she doesn't know what is going to happen to her, King's POV is much less serious and more humorous.  We get all the good mafia tropes we know and love (forced marriage, touch her and die, etc) but with a certain charm that I've only really gotten with Tilly's work.  I can't wait to continue on in this series as well as other series by this author.

Tropes: Mafia, Kidnapping,  Age Gap

Series: Alliance #2

Revved Up and Ready - Jasmine Grace

This was 100% an impulse KU download after seeing someone talk about it and boy was I not disappointed.  This was a great read with some really fun characters.  As this was book 3 in the series (and I didn't read the others first), there was obviously some references to the events of the previous 2 books that I didn't quite get.  However, these weren't anything that took away from my enjoyment or understanding of the current read - I could get the gist even if I didn't connect with the exact details.  The specific details and backgrounds of our MCs could have made this into a very angsty read but the author states in the synopsis of the book that there is no 3rd act breakup which only made me want to pick this up even faster.  But just because there is no breakup doesn't mean these characters don't overcome some pretty big obstacles in their relationship.  But they face the issues together and communicate which is something I always love to see.  I loved this read so much, I went back to read the rest of the books in the series.

Tropes: Fake Dating, Roommates, Anxiety Rep, Sports (motorcycle)

Series: Heartbeats in the Heat #3

Star-Crossed - Kerrigan Byrne and Cynthia St Aubin

I've really enjoyed this series so far and I was excited to read the next installment.  I enjoyed this read a lot for the majority of the read - we get more small town antics, some visits from the couples in the previous books, and I loved the tension between our MCs.  Lyra was such a prickly FMC and I absolutely loved seeing her back in Townsend Harbor when she seems the exact opposite of most townspeople.  Her history with Cy was also very interesting to explore how they both have changed over the years. There was one sore spot for me where Lyra specifically says she is almost certain she doesn't want X but by the end of the book, she has X and is very happy about it.  I understand that she could have changed her mind over the course of the book but I didn't really feel any of that happening.  And as someone who doesn't want X, anytime I read a FMC in a book who has those same feelings, I get really excited so it felt like a bit of a let down when the ending came around and I lost that connection.  It was a bit of a bummer, but I still enjoyed the rest of the read and am looking forward to continuing in the series.

Tropes: Small Town, Second Chance, Disability Rep

Series: Townsend Harbor #4

Audiophile - Emerie Hart

This read was a lot - but in the best way possible.  It deals with some very heavy topics of trauma, loss, abuse but in such a loving and healing way.  Both of our MCs have their own past traumas and neither think they are at a place where they are ready for any sort of romantic relationship.  However, they find comfort in each other and as friends first.  I'm not personally an enjoyer of romantic or erotic audios so I didn't really have a personal connection with that portion of the book but I can absolutely see how those types of audio can be enjoyable or healing for certain people.  The characters in this read - both the MCs as well as side characters - are really well fleshed out and I loved that we get to see so many different forms of healing.  There is a full list of trigger warnings on the author's website here. 

Tropes: Small Town, Love after Divorce, Healing/Trauma

Standalone

 Cheap Heat - Lily Mayne

Another absolutely great read in this series!  I love this whole world and the dynamics between all the wrestlers.  The first two installments have been between folks on the management side of the business so we didn't get as much of the interpersonal dynamics of the wrestlers before this book.  I was so excited to see more of the behind the scenes as well as how much of a 'real job' being a professional wrestler really is. I loved the loathing/lusting tension between our two MCs and the way their relationship is simmering before eventually boiling over.  Also, the promise of Dan doing all sorts of weird stuff with his head pays off 100%.  My favorite part was the Frank and Beans plot which had me cracking up. 10/10 can't wait to read the next book in this series.

Tropes: MM, Supernatural, Enemies to Lovers

Series: Goliaths of Wrestling #3

Whirlwind - Kayla Grosse

Overall, this read was fine, but it felt like it was rushed to get out and take advantage of any hype around the new Twisters movie.  On paper, I thought I would really enjoy this read as I generally like taboo romances (teacher/student).  However, it wasn't really executed to my personal taste so it just left me feeling 'meh'.  The relationship/flirting between our MCs was building up all year as Finley was in Professor West's classes for both semesters.  But now that finals are over and she has a spot on a storm-chasing trip with him, they give into the tension.  Only issue is that we don't see that year worth of build up.  We get one or two flash backs but not enough for this to have the sort of build up that these taboo romances usually have.  Plus, we are told over and over again about the rules and potential ramifications of them getting together which means that without all the emotional building, it just seems like these characters are giving into their lust for one another. I did find the actual twister hunting/science portion to be really interesting and I think Grosse does a great job of capturing the awe and fear mixture when it comes to studying these forces of nature. 

Tropes: Age Gap, Professor/Student, Twisters

Standalone

Crota - Owl Goingback

 

 

 "Sheriff Skip Harding is investigating a double murder that has shaken the quiet town of Logan, Missouri. A slaughter that seems too brutal for a human perpetrator. A bear, maybe? But there are no bears in the area…Bodies begin to pile up, and Skip soon discovers that bullets are useless against this foe. Only with the help of Cherokee game warden Jay Little Hawk, and the wisdom of Lakota medicine man George Strong Eagle, can Skip hope to stop the monster before it’s too late."

This book was originally published in 1996 but I first heard about it a few years ago on a book recommendation list of creature horror by Native American authors when The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones was making the rounds on bookish social media.  I was instantly intrigued by the synopsis and it 1000% does not disappoint. This is a fantastic creature slasher with a ton of kills, fast pacing, and world building.  It does not read like an almost 30 year old story and will be one I recommend over and over again going forward.

The horror aspects of this story are fantastic.  I think calling it a creature-slasher is the most accurate because we have a lot of on-page kills from the creature and the small town local police force are trying to catch up as the bodies keep dropping.  There is a good amount of gore - of both the people and animal variety - and Goingback does such a good job of giving us fantastic descriptions without this feeling overly gruesome.  We also get some great suspense and stalking moments with the creature that had me holding my breath.  We get some supernatural/otherworldly elements in regards to the Crota legend as well as the Native American characters working to find a way to defeat the creature.  These elements weren't horrific, in the typical horror book sense, but they were unsettling and atmospheric and really helped build the overall tension and vibe of the read.

The characters were typical slasher characters where we know just enough about them to make them feel real, but never really have a whole lot of time to see much character development.  This is also a multi-POV read so we are jumping between multiple characters.  This is a small town so everyone knows everyone which again limits the sort of more natural character exposition that we might get in other reads.  Given all of that, I still had a really good sense for the three main characters we end up following and they all had very distinct voices from each other so I didn't get confused over which character we were following.  

The pacing for this was fast, but in the best way.  The whole story takes place over about a week or so and it is really non-stop.  We get multiple deaths, revelations, and action scenes during the 320 pages. Goingback manages to put in a few quieter moments in the book to give the reader a little bit of a rest, but other than that it is pretty much go-time.  The pacing really made this a great page-turner read and once I got to the halfway point, I didn't want to put it down until I was finished.  The pacing along with the multiple POV switches helped to build the tension by not letting the reader really relax or forget about the constant threat of the Crota and when it will strike next.

Overall, this was a fantastic creature-slasher horror with great pacing and tension.  Highly recommend!

The Lying Game - Ruth Ware

 

 "On a cool June morning, a woman is walking her dog in the idyllic coastal village of Salten along a tidal estuary known as the Reach. Before she can stop him, the dog charges into the water to retrieve what first appears to be a wayward stick, but to her horror, turns out to be something much more sinister... The next morning, three women in and around London—Fatima, Thea, and Isabel—receive the text they had always hoped would NEVER come, from the fourth in their formerly inseparable clique, Kate, that says only, “I need you.” The four girls were best friends at Salten, a second rate boarding school set near the cliffs of the English Channel. Each different in their own way, the four became inseparable and were notorious for playing the Lying Game, telling lies at every turn to both fellow boarders and faculty, with varying states of serious and flippant nature that were disturbing enough to ensure that everyone steered clear of them. The myriad and complicated rules of the game are strict: no lying to each other—ever. Bail on the lie when it becomes clear it is about to be found out. But their little game had consequences, and the girls were all expelled in their final year of school under mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the school’s eccentric art teacher, Ambrose (who also happens to be Kate’s father)."

This was one of those reads that had a mix of elements that I liked and ones that I was disappointed by so it ends up overall as a bit underwhelming and just a 'fine' read.  I would absolutely recommend this as a travel or vacation read because it does have an interesting enough plot, but it isn't so intriguing as to make you want to skip other plans to keep reading. A lot of my gripes with this read end up in the 'not for me' column instead of more substantial issues like plot holes so I could see someone else liking this. Also, a lot of my issues were with some plot reveals and character choices which I would consider spoilers if talked about in detail, so this review may seem a bit vague.

The one part of the read I didn't have any issue with is the friend group and the dynamic between these four women.  We only get Isabel's POV, but the characterization is so strong with all 4 women that I still got a good feel for their personalities and opinions.  The current plot takes place over a decade after these women met as girls at school but there are plot reasons why these women haven't kept in frequent contact in the recent years.  I think Ware was able to capture the odd dynamic of having been friends through such formative experiences while also growing apart during the recent years.  There was such a good mix of love and familiarity between all 4 women while we also got some great tension at times. I personally love a multi-POV story, especially when there seems to be so much being unsaid between these characters, but I think that having is be a single POV read was probably the less-messy option. 

I liked the plot reveal when we finally found out what happened all those years ago at the school and how that impacted all of the characters.  We get that reveal around the 50% mark, so I knew there was going to be more revealed later about something, but it wasn't clear what else was still up in the air.  Because of this, I did find the plot to calm down after that reveal and it almost felt like the reveal was a 'that's it?' type of moment. I didn't find any plot-reason to keep reading really and I wanted that tension to be built up more.  I wanted to walk away from that reveal feeling dread at what could happen next.  Instead, it didn't feel like it had the weight for me that it obviously had on the characters.  And we do get a number of times where the characters are saying 'this is a big deal because of X, Y, Z implications' and I just wasn't meeting them there.

The last 20% of the read really picked up the pacing, but I found myself having to re-read sections or flip back a few pages to re-read because we were getting just so much information so quickly.  This is also the time where we were getting reveals that I felt didn't quite work with the information we already had.  Now obviously, the whole point of a mystery read is that you find out reveals that you didn't already know.  However, these reveals, in my opinion, should snap into place like a puzzle piece and make the overall picture more clear.  In this case, these reveals weren't adding puzzle pieces, they were more like starting a whole new puzzle and having someone telling you that you should have been working on this puzzle all along.   I love big twists and reveals in my mystery reads but only when they come with a side of fitting better than the theory that was originally posed.  In this case, I don't feel like the actual reveal fit better than the theory.

Overall, this was a fine read with interesting character dynamics and plot reveals. There were details that didn't land for me or that I didn't quite believe the book's explanation of and these details took me out of the reading experience a bit.

January 2025 Romance Wrap-up

  Act Your Age - Eve Dangerfield

I have yet to read an Eve Dangerfield book that I didn't like but this one I was a little wary of.  "Daddy" kink books aren't generally my thing so I wasn't rushing to pick this one up.  However, there was an excerpt in the back of another Dangerfield book I read and that little bit convinced me to read the full book.  This had so much more character development than I was expecting - especially with our FMC outside of the kinky aspects of her life.  This really felt like her story about discovering her true self and not worrying about anyone else.  The MMC also does have some growth, but it felt more along the lines of he just needed to decide to not be such a grump any more and then it was better. I adored the side characters and friendships that developed in this read.  I think Dangerfield does a great job of transitioning these characters from basically FWB/kink partners to an actual relationship and showing how that transition can be tough.

Tropes: Boss/Employee, Taboo, Age Gap

Series: Act Your Age #1

In A Jam - Kate Canterbary

I can absolutely see why this book took over the book-social media sphere when it came out.  The small town setting was fantastic, both MCs were well-developed, and their chemistry was off the charts. I also liked the inclusion of a single parent where the kid is not the stereotypical perfectly adorable kid that we see in a lot of romances.  Instead, there were some realistic challenges and highs/lows throughout the read that felt more authentic. I was expecting the combo of childhood friends + marriage of convenience to be an absolute smash hit, however it didn't quite come together in the way I was expecting.  This was more of a slow burn and there were times where I completely forgot about the marriage situation.  I think this could have been the same book if the marriage was taken out and instead if Shay had just taken a year to re-find herself.  

Tropes: Small Town, Single Parent, Marriage of Convenience, Childhood Friends to Lovers

Standalone

In His Hands - Hannah Murray

I knew I had to read this as soon as I read the description.  I've read a handful of books with CNC elements in them in the past but this is certainly a level-up in terms of intensity of the scenes and there were times when I forgot, momentarily, that these scenes were all 100% consensual.  Murray does a fantastic job establishing consent early and frequently throughout these scenes both between the MCs as well as with other people who are involved. Cade and Olivia had great chemistry even before they got down to the kinky side of things.  I adore how much communication we get in Murray's books - both between the MCs as well as their friends or support system they turn to for help. 

Tropes: BDSM, Friends to Lovers, Taboo (CNC)

Series: Perfect Taboo #5

Truly, Madly, Deeply - Alexandria Bellefleur

I'm so glad my hold in the library finally came through so I could finally see why a ton of people on social media loved this read. I absolutely adored Bellefleur's previous books and I'm so glad this one was a hit out of the park as well.  Bellefleur writes the type of romantic tension that has me absolutely grinning and kicking my feet and this read had so many of those moments since these two characters can't help but run into each other throughout the story.  I adored how gentle Colin was with Truly while being upfront with his feelings.  Both Truly and Colin were such interesting characters and went through their own growth - Truly especially.  I liked that this read addressed some of the more long-term outcomes that even a 'perfect' romance could run into and that gave some more gravity to Truly and Colin's relationship. 

Tropes: Opposites Attract, Bi 4 Bi, Enemies to Lovers

Standalone

Barbarian - Onley James

This was such a fun friends to lovers read because the relationship between Nico and Mal was so oddly close but with very clear lines drawn.  Once those lines start getting crossed, it was so fun to see both characters finally realizing/acknowledging what the other characters have known for so long. I liked that this also broke the trend where one of the MCs is escaping from a horrible situation through the events of the book.  We do see Mal escape his situation in the previous book in this series but this read takes place a year later so everyone is pretty well established. I also liked the romantic suspense investigation portion and found it to be more of a mystery investigation than in other of James's books. I always enjoy being back in this universe and if you also liked James's previous books - this is another read you'll enjoy.  

Tropes: MM, Friends to Lovers, Romantic Suspense, Psychopath, 

Series: Jericho's Boys #3

Madame - Sara Cate

This is the final installment in the Salacious Players Club series and it felt like such a perfect closure to this world and these characters.  Eden has played a role in each of the previous books and I was so excited to finally get to her book and learn more about her. We do get a few cameos from each of the previous couples so it was almost like having a little goodbye tour.  I have read a good amount of MMF books but I think this is my first FFM and I really enjoyed seeing how the dynamic between these characters developed. There was a good mix of pairings as well as all three characters together both in spicy scenes but also outside of the bedroom.  I liked that all of the characters were figuring out their identities both in a kinky-sense as well as in other areas of their lives. 

Tropes: FFM, BDSM, Second Chance, Single Parent

Series: Salacious Players Club #6

The Pilot and the Puck-up - Pippa Grant

I've read a good amount from Pippa Grant before and I normally enjoy her very fun, a little over the top cutesy type of romances.  However, this was just wasn't hitting for me like they normally do.  I liked the set up and I liked both of our MCs on their own.  But for some reason, whenever the MCs were together, they seemed to turn into caricatures of themselves and lost all of the nuance that Grant built while they were separate.  I did like parts of their relationship toward the end and I loved the fun cast of characters introduced so I probably will continue on in the series.

Tropes: Sports (hockey), Virgin FMC,  Banter

Series: The Copper Valley Thrusters #1

Get Lost With You - Sophie Sullivan

I loved a lot of things about this read but I wanted more from the main couple.  It felt like the small town, side characters, and self-discovery journey for both of our MCs outweighed the actual romance elements.  I loved the first book in this series and was so excited to be back in this world.  I did like our MCs together and thought it was so cute seeing that they both had a crush on the other when they were younger.  However, I didn't get as much of the initial relationship building that I wanted and instead it felt like the "childhood crush" aspect was used to jump over that part.  But since the MCs have been out of touch for so long and both have gone through significant personal change, I think more time in that initial getting-to-know-you-again phase would have gone a long way.

Tropes: Small Town, Childhood Crush, Love After Divorce

Series: Rock Bottom Love #2

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.  Expected publication is February 11, 2025.

The Final Scene - Steph Nelson

 

"The cabin is unlocked, but there’s no escape. When Brooke was kidnapped on her way home from work, she thought her life was over. That was ten years ago. She’s been held captive in an isolated cabin on the Oregon coast ever since, scrambling to follow her kidnappers’ twisted instructions to the letter. Because the price of a mistake is death. But when a new victim shows up, everything changes. Including the rules. And this time, the only way to survive is to break them."

 This is a bit of a shorter read (around 250 pages) and Nelson wastes no time getting us right into the middle of the plot.  By chapter 2 we are in the cabin with Brooke and getting the rundown of the situation she's lived in for the past 10 years.  I loved that the explanation for the reader never felt super heavy handed or unrealistic exposition dump. It helps that the kidnappers have a pretty straightforward set up for their captives and it isn't overly complex.  This also helped me settle into the plot more quickly and focus on the actual current events on the plot rather than trying to figure out the overall world for these characters. The pacing was pretty fast but never felt rushed.  I liked that we have an external force kicking these characters into action which felt very authentic, especially for Brooke who has been here a long time.

For the characters, I think Nelson does a good job of giving us very quick character details and having each of them be so distinct from the others.  However, since the actual plot of this read happens over the course of only a few weeks, it doesn't feel like we have a ton of development on page and instead we are more told that the character used to behave like X but now are more like Y.  We do get multi-POVs between the kidnapping victims and I do think they had distinctive enough voices that I never really got confused.  We get a good amount of conflict due to the high-stress situation along with the very small living quarters and these higher emotional moments were fantastic.

There is a second plot line introduced about halfway through that I was very confused about at first.  Of course, I knew that this new plot must converge with the established plot eventually but I didn't love the way the two came together. This is where I could feel the author coming in and forcing some of the plot reveals to happen more quickly than maybe they would have naturally done. I liked the ending results, but I wanted more time with this second plot.  I think maybe if it was added earlier and developed a little more on its own, then it would have felt a little more important and the connection between the two would be more monumental.  I also think maybe some readers might guess the connection reveal early, but for me I didn't have enough time to really even try to connect the dots myself so the reveal was less of an OMG moment and more of a "oh, ok" moment.

Overall, this was a fast paced read that lived up to the premise.  We get some great characters and the tension is well-built.  I didn't love the way the ending reveal was integrated into the main plot, but I think it still worked overall.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ticking Clock Press, LLC for the ARC.  

Publication date was February 27, 2024