Bold Moves by Emma BarryContemporary Romance April 22, 2025, by Montlake Review by Melanie There are second chance romances and then there’s Bold Moves, Emma Barry’s latest book, which takes the second chance romance trope and injects it with so much angst and heartache that at a certain point, I was concerned just how the two MCs would make their way back to each other. But fear not, dear readers, this is after all a romance novel and one of the best parts of our much beloved genre Continue Reading
Review: Bad Reputation by Emma Barry
Bad Reputation Contemporary RomanceOctober 1, 2024, by Montlake Review by Melanie One of the reasons I’ve taken to gorging on historical romances lately is that it’s giving me something I’ve been finding lacking in contemporaries. The pining, the longing, the actual romance, the tenderness and yes, the steam, it all seems to have dissipated to some degree in contemporaries with a few notable exceptions. One such exception is Emma Barry’s latest, Bad Reputation, which has all Continue Reading
Review: Chick Magnet by Emma Barry
Chick Magnet by Emma BarryContemporary RomanceJanuary 24, 2023, by MontlakeARC Review by Angela So, this was different from any book I've read recently. I picked it up because of this line in the blurb: From Emma Barry comes a clever romance about a hot veterinarian and a chicken-loving influencer who can’t help but ruffle each other’s feathers. Did I know what a chicken influencer was before I started to read? No. Do I know now? Why, yes. I also know more about chickens Continue Reading
Melanie’s Favorites of 2020
Contemporary: Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert - cinnamon roll heroes were what got me through 2020 and very few authors do it as well as Talia Hibbert. When security guard Zafir Ansari's rescue of PhD candidate Dani Brown during a fire drill gone wrong goes viral (#DrRugbae 4ever), the two decide to fake a public relationship for the sake of Zaf's kids' charity with a side order of sexy times in private. I love the “lets bang to get her out of my system and surely I will not Continue Reading
Kini’s Friday Kisses- Mini reviews for He’s Come Undone Romance anthology, and books by Emily Henry, Tash Skilton, and Kwana Jackson
I’ve been fortunate to get lost in some really good books lately. He’s Come Undone Romance Anthology by Adriana Herrera, Emma Barry, Olivia Dade, Ruby Lang, and Cat Sebastian. Here’s a little about each of the stories in the order they appear in the book. Appassionata by Emma Barry- This story is about a pianist and a piano tuner. It was so heavy on the piano world that I kept getting hung up on things that I didn’t understand. It was taking me days to get through this story so I decided Continue Reading
Smexy’s May TBR
Angela- Thank goodness it's May. I've been mentally done with April for like the last 2 weeks. I know y'all know what I'm talking about. LOL. There are a bunch of books releasing this month that look fabulous, I'm pretty excited to dive in to my ARC list. Tourist Attraction (Moose Springs, Alaska #1) by Sarah Morgenthaler 05/05 Contemporary Romance- Grumpy local falls in love with a spunky, kind tourist and it takes place in Alaska? Sign me up. The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Continue Reading
Smexy Rewind April 10
I have nothing fresh for y'all today so I thought I would take a look back and see what we were talking about on Smexy in years past. If I skipped a year it is because there was no post. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into the past. 2018- Review: It Happened in the Highlands by May McGoldrick 2017- Review: At Attention by Annabeth Albert 2016- Smexy Scene Sunday Hard Ball by CD Reiss 2015- Smexy’s Top Ten – April 10th 2014- Review: Special Interests by Emma Barry 2013- Ten Continue Reading
Kini’s Friday Kisses
It's been a much better reading week for me this week. And lots more kisses were read. I started One Wedding Two Brides by Heidi Betts, it had a cute blurb and I'm a sucker for a fake marriage. It quickly fell apart for me when the heroine was super drunk but the hero still thought it was okay to get married to her. The heroine also referred to another woman as a bitch and floozy. Hard pass. DNF A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole. I really did not care for this heroine when she was Continue Reading
Review: A Midnight Feast by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner
A Midnight Feast by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner (Fly Me to the Moon #6.5) Historical Romance October 30, 2017 Self Published Reviewed by Kini Favorite Quote: Falling in love with your husband once was all well and good. Falling in love with him all over again— now that was magic. I have loved every book in this series and this novella was no different. If you aren’t familiar, all the stories in this series take place somewhere in the 40’s-60’s and all have a character that is Continue Reading
Review: Rogue Desire: A Romance Anthology
Rogue Desire: A Romance Anthology The Rogue Series #1 Contemporary Romance July 20, 2017 Self Published Reviewed by Kini When all else fails, find love. Eight brand new romances for fans of the West Wing, fired-up #resistance fighters, and everyone who ever had a crush on that guy at a protest… I have read several of the authors in this anthology so I was interested to see what kind of story they would tell, especially as it related to resistance. I am pretty bad at reading Continue Reading