Well Met
by Jen DeLucaSeries: Well Met #1
Published by Berkley on September 3, 2019
SubGenres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy
Format: AudioBook
Pages: 335
Narrator: Brittany Pressley
Length: 9 Hours And 45 Minutes
Source: Library - Libby
Audience: 18+/Adult
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All's faire in love and war for two sworn enemies who indulge in a harmless flirtation in a laugh-out-loud rom-com from debut author, Jen DeLuca.
Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?
The faire is Simon's family legacy and from the start he makes clear he doesn't have time for Emily's lighthearted approach to life, her oddball Shakespeare conspiracy theories, or her endless suggestions for new acts to shake things up. Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she's in her revealing wench's costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they're portraying?
This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can't seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon, or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from Netgalley, the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Prime Time Romance
by Kate RobbPublished by The Dial Press on September 3, 2024
SubGenres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eArc
Pages: 321
Source: Netgalley, the publisher
Audience: 18+/Adult
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Is love on the small screen better than the real thing?
A young divorcée finds herself in the ideal world of her favorite 2000s teen soap in this “gleefully nostalgic and completely fresh”* romance from the author of This Spells Love.
*Jessica Joyce, bestselling author of You, with a View
Newly divorced on the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Brynn is sick of heartbreak. She thought she had found her happy ending, but now she’s living with a roommate, Josh, to afford her mortgage, and she’s trying to adjust to her new single life. At least she’s got Carson’s Cove to binge, her beloved 2000s teenage soap. The show ended unexpectantly on a cliffhanger after five seasons, and the two main characters, Sloan and Spencer, never got to declare their love for each other. The show is still perfect in Brynn’s eyes; despite all the drama that goes down, things always have a way of working out in Carson’s Cove . . . unlike her own life.
So when a birthday cake surprisingly shows up on her and Josh’s doorstep, Brynn makes a wish for the one thing she’s always wanted (but has failed to achieve herself): a happily-ever-after.
The next morning, she doesn’t wake up in her apartment. She’s in Carson’s Cove . . . and Josh is there too. Everyone seems to know them, except they’re not Brynn and Josh; they’re Sloan, the sweetheart of Carson’s Cove, and Fletch, the town’s bad boy. And to get home, they have to make Brynn’s wish come true by ensuring Sloan and Spencer, the hometown heartthrob, end up together at last. But as they spend more time together, Brynn and Josh realize that Carson’s Cove might not be as perfect as seen on television . . . especially when they start developing feelings for each other in a plot twist no one has expected. Will they stick to the script, or will real love change the story forever?
I received a complimentary copy of the book from Netgalley, the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
City of Secrets
by P.J. TracySeries: Detective Margaret Nolan #4
Published by Minotaur on August 20, 2024
SubGenres: Mystery
Format: eArc
Pages: 304
Source: Netgalley, the publisher
Audience: 18+/Adult
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LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan returns in P. J. Tracy’s City of Secrets, the next book in the series praised by the New York Times Book Review: “Tracy seems to have found her literary sweet spot.”
Los Angeles Police Detective Margaret Nolan and her partner have worked a lot of different cases, ones where things aren’t always as they appear. And it’s Nolan’s job to find the truth in the darkness around her. When they’re called to the scene of what looks like a fatal car-jacking, Nolan soon realizes her victim was a founder of a company about to sell for millions, and within a day of his death, his partner’s wife is abducted. As Nolan learns more about the victim and his life, she gets pulled into a disturbing world of sex, violence, and big business; and an even darker world, where whispers of an "Angel of Death" are beginning to surface.
One of today's finest crime writers, P. J. Tracy has created a series that is a rich and authentic portrait of LA, filled with the tragedy and optimism of her multi-layered characters and a story guaranteed to keep readers enthralled.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Heartbreaker
by Sara CateSeries: The Goode Brothers #3
Published by Self-Published on August 30, 2024
SubGenres: BDSM, Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance
Format: eArc
Pages: 362
Source: the author
Audience: 18+/Adult
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I’ve been quiet long enough.I’m nothing like my brothers. I’ve devoted my life to my work, and I don’t care about God or family.I live alone, and I like it that way. Soon, I’ll have the job of my dreams far away from this place, and that’s all that matters. Everything is going perfectly.That is until Sadie Green walks into my class.She is brilliant and funny and infuriating, and she’s ruining everything I have planned for my life.When she gets the news that she’s pregnant, and the baby’s father isn't going to help her, I step in. She needs guidance, control, and discipline.Moving her into my house is a risk. If I’m caught living with my pregnant student, I will lose my job and everything I have planned.But the first time she asks me to punish her, I know it won’t be so easy to walk away—because I love it.Being with her would risk everything, but God help me, I can’t seem to stop.Before long, I don’t recognize the good teacher I used to be.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from Valentine PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Devil Himself
by BB EastonSeries: Devil of Dublin #2
Published by Self-Published on August 29, 2024
SubGenres: Dark Romance
Format: eArc
Pages: 467
Source: Valentine PR
Audience: 18+/Adult
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Growing up, I spent every night tucked under my mother’s arm, dreamily listening to tales from her favorite book series—Legend Has It by Darby Donovan, a collection of spooky folklore about a town called Glenshire and the lonely, gray-eyed fairy prince who haunted the woods there. I knew they were just stories, but when my mother died and left me in the care of my cold, abusive father, that fictional fairy prince suddenly became very, very real to me. It was as if he was always there, hiding in the shadows, offering me his silent comfort. I turned him into an imaginary friend when I needed one most.
And thirteen years later, I’m doing it again.
When my coastal Irish town is bombed by the new Russian president, a Bratva leader seeking revenge on the United Irish Brotherhood, those missiles destroy everything I’ve ever known—my home, my family, and evidently my sanity—because when I pull an injured Russian Navy officer out of the sea, a man who led the charge against my town, I can’t bring myself to let him die.
Secluded together in my secret hiding spot, we’re safe from the Mafia war raging outside, but the overwhelming connection I feel to this stranger is a battle I fight every single day. I hate him with everything that I am, but when he looks at me with those smoky gray eyes, all I see is my friend. When he touches me, all I feel is desire. And when he wraps his lips around the sustenance I offer him, all I want is to feel them pressed against mine, loving me, putting me back together.
But no one can live in a fantasy world forever, and when reality finally finds us, the truth about him is worse than anything I could have imagined.
The man I rescued is no fairy prince.
He’s the goddamn Devil himself.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Devil Himself is a continuation of Devil of Dublinand is not intended to be read as a standalone. It contains the same dark themes, graphic violence, and explicit content as Book 1, but if you have questions about specific subject matter, a comprehensive content warning can be found on my website. Thank you, and enjoy!