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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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