Irons & Works series by EM Lindsey Contemporary Romance Self Published Reviewed by Melinda There is almost nothing better than finding a new author to you and then loving their writing. The only thing better is when there is a whole series to binge! One of my favorite tropes in romance is found family, I gravitate to books and series that have even a hint in them, and The Irons and Works series is just teeming with found family. This series starts with Free Hand, where we're introduced Continue Reading
Melinda’s Minis: Sun of a Beach by Mia Sosa and Abel by Katee Robert
Sun of a Beach by Mia SosaContemporaryApril 8, 2021, by AudibleARC This is another audible original, which seems to be more and more of a trend with romance authors. Donovan and Naomi are given an assignment for the swimsuit edition of the magazine they work on and things are interesting since they dislike each other. Naomi began the novella in an ‘I would never date a co-worker’ frame of mind and changed to ‘I am in love’ mindset in the length of 24 hours basically. Donovan changes from Continue Reading
Review: Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle
Twice Shy by Sarah HogleContemporary RomanceApril 6, 2021 by G.P. Putnam Review by Melinda I am a huge fan of Hogle’s debut, You Deserve Each Other, to the point that I was unsure how I’d feel about her next book, which is unfair to Hogle, but I wanted to love this one just as much. But Twice Shy is completely different from YDEO - in such a wonderful way. Because YDEO has an incredibly distinctive voice and you either love it or hate it, and Twice Shy has a much quieter voice, but one Continue Reading
Review: Careless Whispers by Synithia Williams
Careless Whispers by Synithia WilliamsContemporary RomanceMarch 30, 2021 Review by Melinda First of all, this series has the most beautiful covers, I can't stop staring at the forehead touch on this one! And the colors are so gorgeous and exactly how I imagine Elaina and Alex. I've been really looking forward to getting Elaina's story because we've seen glimmers of her in the first two books of the series and it was clear that there was so much going on there. She's been so career-driven Continue Reading
Melinda’s Minis: All the Missing Pieces by Julianna Keyes and To Be With You by Jodie Slaughter
All the Missing Pieces by Julianna KeyesRomantic Suspense/Mystery ThrillerSeptember 21, 2020 Review by Melinda I've read this author before in more of a straight up contemporary romance genre so I was really interested in reading this but throughout the whole book I was unsure if this was romance or suspense so I kept thinking HEA or NO!?! Let me put your mind at ease that there *is* an HEA! Reese was a spoiled rich girl whose life got turned upside down when her father was sent to prison Continue Reading
The Psy/Changeling Channel: Caressed by Ice
Melinda: We’re back with a completely new dynamic to explore this time around with Caressed by Ice and I know that we’ve both been really excited to get into this one! The first two books of the series featured male alpha changelings with female Psy but this time we get Judd, an emotionally closed off Psy, and Brenna, a volatile and strong changeling woman. I would not have described either of these two as gentle or easygoing...and yet. Melanie: Judd!!!! I remember loving this book back when Continue Reading
Review: Yes And I Love You by Roni Loren
Yes And I Love You by Roni LorenContemporary March 2, 2021, by Sourcebooks Casablanca Review by Melinda Roni Loren's writing in the past has been extremely emotional and well done but her subject matter was dealing with the past trauma of school shooting so I only read one and couldn't read the rest. The Say Anything series has just as much emotional depth but in a completely different way. First of all, I almost completely passed this by as the cover implied that it was maybe a general Continue Reading
Review: Best Laid Plans by Roan Parrish
Best Laid Plans by Roan ParrishGarnet Run #2LGBTQ Contemporary RomanceFebruary 23, 2021 Carina Adores Review by Melinda When I want to recommend a book with great mental health representation I immediately go to Roan Parrish because she has yet to fail me in this area. Her books almost always have characters who have depression, anxiety, or panic attacks - or a combination of all three. And Best Laid Plans is no different - Charlie has a lot of anxiety, particularly around other people's Continue Reading
Joint Review: Love at First by Kate Clayborn
Love at First by Kate ClaybornContemporary Romance02/23/2021 by Kensington Joint review by Melinda and Melanie Melinda: Kate Clayborn has become one of the top contemporary authors for me that I look to for emotion and character development. I’ve come to appreciate the love and care that comes through with her writing so much. However, Love at First strikes an uneven tone for me and had flashes of that brilliance that I expect from her, but it didn’t feel like it was carried all Continue Reading
Melinda’s Minis: Just Like This by Cole McCade & The Beautiful Things Shoppe by Philip William Stover
Just Like This by Cole McCadeAlbin Academy #2LGBT Contemporary RomanceNovember 24, 2020 by Carina Adores The follow-up to Just Like That takes place at the same academy for young boys as the previous one. What I love about McCade’s writing is the emotional development between the characters. Rian and Damon are extremely different teachers with different backgrounds coming together to try to help a student in trouble. Their relationship is both steamy and a bit of slow-burn simmering Continue Reading