Thirsty - Lucy Lehane
I really enjoyed this paranormal read, especially the characters and world building. Currently, I don't see that this is part of a series, but I hope we do get more books in this universe some day. Lehane does an absolutely fantastic job of fleshing out this world where humans have fairly recently become aware of supernatural creatures. While our one MMC is a vampire, we get to see a whole host of other creatures in this read and I would love to see more. We get some fantastic banter between the MCs as well as with side characters and everyone feels so incredibly well-developed. I think the journey from enemies to lovers was also well developed and I liked that the reason they were enemies was something they could realistically get over. The main conflict didn't quite work for me and I found that I often forgot about it for large pieces of the book until the one MC would mention it. It felt like something that would be more pervasive in the overall relationship and friendships with the other supernatural characters in the book.
Tropes: MM, Paranormal (human x vampire), Secret Identity, Enemies to Lovers
Standalone
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC. Publication date was October 14, 2025.
The Home Wrecker - Sara Cate
This was absolute perfection. I loved how different all of the characters were and how they each were working through their own things but all three came together so perfectly. This really balanced the spice with the emotional so well for my tastes. I haven't read a lot of the marriage in trouble trope, so I don't have a lot to compare this to, but I think Cate did a great job of showing the reader the connection between Caleb and Briar so we could see where they came from and how far they'd grown apart. I think the different dynamics between the different character pairings as well as when they were all together were a great way to show off the different character developments. While book #1 in the series is not necessarily needed to read before this one as each one centers around a different Goode brother, I think book 1 lays a lot of ground work for the relationships and history of the Goode family that I would recommend reading it first.
Tropes: MMF, Queer Awakening, Marriage in Trouble, Sex Worker MMC, Kinky
Series: The Goode Brothers #2
Disciplinary Action - Onley James
This wasn't quite it for me. There were parts that really worked well, but I think the whole thing went a little off the rails at the end. This is very much a sort of 'if you can suspend your disbelief enough, you'll have a good time' sort of read, which I generally don't mind. And I was able to forgive a lot in the name of a fun romance read such as the reason our MCs end up meeting in the first place. But it really stopped working for me when it came to the main conflict and how our MCs ended up resolving it. It felt very much like James had written the characters into a corner and devised the most outrageous plot twist to get them out of it.
I want to mention that, based on reviews I was reading on Goodreads from when the book was first released in 2020, the book I read was different so it seems like James made some updates in the past 5 years.
Tropes: MM, Age Gap, Kinky, Student/Headmaster, Hurt/Comfort
Standalone
Spicy or Sweet - Sophie Snow
This was a super fun read and I loved being back in this series. We get great banter between our MCs as well as the rest of the characters and some of that great small town pushy busy-bodiness that I love. Snow does a great job of giving her characters realistic depth often with conflicts outside of the main relationship which I really appreciate. I did keep forgetting about the age gap (30/46) until the characters mentioned it, but I think overall it was handled well. I especially liked how the younger MC was the more aggressive of the two which made it feel more equal and less predatory like some age gaps can get.
Tropes: FF, Enemies to Lovers, Small Town, Age Gap
Series: Wintermore #2
Mountain Boss - S.J. Tilly
There is something about Tilly's writing that my brain just absolutely loves and this was no exception. We get a ton of short chapters and frequent POV changes which could absolutely feel like whiplash, but it was like potato chip reading where I just wanted to keep reading long past my bedtime. I completely adored both our MCs and their personal journeys and loved that our FMC was not a pushover or bad at her job. She was a very resourceful person who was proud to do a good job which I loved to see in a male-dominated industry. Tilly writes the best unhinged heroes and Sterling is the perfect mix of unhinged obsessed with absolutely adoring. We get a little touch of romantic suspense/danger as well which I loved.
Tropes: Boss/Employee, Age Gap, Forced Proximity, Hurt/Comfort
Series: Mountain Men #1
Hammered - Jasinda Wilder
This was another one that didn't quite work for me. I found our FMC to be incredibly annoying and the main conflict very repetitive despite it feeling resolved time after time. Our FMC recently finalized her divorce and has some personal body image issues and overall confidence issues from the marriage that she's still working through. I loved the sort of meet cute aspect of her needing a last minute handyman to fix her window and the connection the two had from the start was really great. However, our FMC was very hot/cold on the MMC as well as on her own body despite him constantly telling her how attractive she was and how much he wanted to be with her. I could believe this coming up once or twice, but the way it seemed like it came up every other interaction was just exhausting to read. This is one of those times where I think it is more 'realistic' that these issues don't disappear after just one time of the MMC telling her that he likes her, but it wasn't doing the flow of the story any favors to be 'realistic' like this. I do think I'll read on in the series as I am interested to see how the couple in the next book plays out.
Tropes: Handyman MMC, Love After Divorce, Older MCs
Series: Dad Bod Contracting #1
Silent Vows - Jill Ramsower
This was a pretty solid mafia romance read but I wasn't overly wowed by it. I did find the FMC deciding to be mute to be an interesting aspect that I think was used well in the overall narrative. This hits all the usual mafia romance tropes - arranged marriage, possessive MMC, etc - but I found that it focused mostly on the main couple and we didn't get a whole lot of 'mafia business' on-page. While our MCs were pretty well developed, any side characters felt very one dimensional and the overall world didn't feel developed enough for my liking.
Tropes: Mafia, Arranged Marriage, Possessive MMC
Series: The Byrne Brothers #1
A Forbidden Arrangement - J Wilder
I picked this book up because I saw a video where it was described as a "dark romance with a walking red flag MMC" and that was all I needed to hear. I love my MMCs in dark romances to be basically unhinged obsessed with the FMC and in this case, she disappears after a one night stand and when he finds her, he forces (or forges?) her into a marriage with him so it completely fits the bill. This is the 4th book in the series and I didn't read the first three (but I will probably go back and read them at some point) so it was pretty glazed over what the brothers do but it seemed like some sort of secret society but not quite mafia (but I could be wrong about that). I loved our FMC and how smart she was when it came to figuring out the MMC.
Tropes: Dark Romance, One Night Stand, Forced Marriage, Red Flag MMC
Series: Twisted Vows #4
Most Likely to Deny Love - Mary Waterford
This was a super fun read that was unexpectedly sweet. Our FMC needs a date to her sister's wedding, ideally someone who can help her shake off her sister and mother's constant comments about her weight. Good thing her boss is already obsessed with her and offers to step in, I loved their chemistry both in the office as well as outside of it. Both have complicated family relationships and I loved how the FMC gets her chance to help the MMC as well. We get a lot of heat along with a lot of heart in this read. The fake dating was fun - complete with a practice kiss so it looks real when we do it in front of your family.
Tropes: Fake Dating, Boss/Employee, Age Gap, Plus Sized FMC
Series: The Yearbook Series #2
Zomromcom - Olivia Dade
This was a fun read and a good first entry in a new series. I loved the banter between our MCs and absolutely cackled anytime our FMC would break out into song. We have some great side characters and moments of action as well. Dade gives us some great world building and character development as our MCs work to discover the truth behind the zombie breakout. I did struggle with the tone of the read for the first half of the book. I think Dade was going for heavy real world stuff with moments of levity between the MCs but instead it sort of felt like they couldn't decide if they wanted to take the zombie breakout seriously or not. I think the second half of the book balanced that tone much better.
Tropes: Paranormal (human + vampire), Romantic Suspense, Zombies
Series: Supernatural Entanglements #1
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