I loved all of these books, let’s get started. 

First up…the newest book release, Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco is book two in the Kingdom of the Wicked series. Book one was terrific, book two…even better!! I listened to both books. The narrator is excellent and it even features some spooky effects and music at key moments, too. They’re both a lot of fun! The romance between Wrath and Emilia is taken up several notches with the latest installment. Emilia is now in the underworld, bonded to Wrath (but not married), and still searching for her sister’s killer. This book took over my life from the beginning. I was grabbing my AirPods and folding laundry, doing dishes, avoiding zoom calls, you name it. Wrath has a BIG secret and it’s driving Emilia nuts. His demon brother princes are delightfully wicked, the underworld’s horses, dogs, enchanted lakes, talking skulls, and court dynamics is enthralling. Grab it and go on a long walk listening to the slow burn romance of book one turn into a full-on fire. 

Runaway Girl by Tessa Bailey is the second book in the Girl series. Getaway Girl is first and helpful to read, but I think you can go into this book without reading it. Naomi is a sweet, seemingly perfect Southern belle full of charm and grace. She’s set to marry the hometown hero and current mayoral candidate from book one. On her wedding day she gets cold feet and leaves her intended at the altar with just a short sorry note from her bridesmaid delivering the news. Naomi takes off to Florida without a plan and very little money. She meets special forces diver and local hottie, Jason, when she applies to be Jason’s sister’s pageant coach. Naomi is hilarious, Jason is a controlling alpha with a skill for dirty talk. Jason’s sister is not your typical pageant girl. Every character is engaging, funny and the story kept me glued to my kindle from beginning to end. 

Now for The Idea of You by Robinne Lee. Be perfectly silent for just a moment and you can probably still hear me screaming in angst as this book left me in pain and longing. Like Runaway Girl, this one has been out for several years. It is not a romance. There is no HEA…so go in knowing that right now. I put it off because I heard what a tearjerker it was and wanted to be in the right mindset to read it. It started to gain traction again over the last few months. A lot of us are trapped at home, because the pandemic, gave it new and more well-deserved attention. This features an age gap- with the h, Solène, 20 years older than the H, Hayes. She’s an art gallery owner and divorced mom of a tween daughter. Solène takes her daughter and her friends to a concert by a world-famous boy band and meets Hayes at the backstage meet and greet. He is one of the gorgeous young members of the band. There is an attraction, with flirty follow-up from Hayes, but she fights it because of the age gap and her very serious circle of wealthy art people vs his boy band-ness. Eventually, they give in and Hayes is wonderful. We should all have a Hayes in our life!! He’s generous, charming, kind and so talented. He absolutely adores Solène. But, life isn’t perfect for them and people are full of judgment. Fans can be cruel, dangerous, and scary. Solène’s own family and friends don’t make it easy either. I really enjoyed taking a break from my normal under 35-year-old main characters. Truth be told, I think most of my books are about older teenagers or adults in their early twenties. This was refreshing and relatable. I desperately want a sequel!!! I need more of this story. I am praying to the book gods and have appealed to the author’s Twitter account, please give us more. The author is an actress and she narrated the book. It was such a good listen!!!