Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston was on my TBR and loaded on my Kindle FOR YEARS. I just kept putting off reading it, finding shiny new things to try. But with the movie coming out, it crept closer to my must read pile. Then, I saw the trailer for the movie (it’s on Amazon Prime) and swooned a bit. Really, I found it to be utterly charming. I made it my mission to read the book so I could watch the movie. No cheating and watching the movie first. Not me. I thought it would Continue Reading
Review: Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
Hello Stranger by Katherine CenterRomantic ComedyJuly 11, 2023St. Martin's Press Review by Jen It was maybe two years ago when Brad Pitt started talking about how he suffered from face blindness. Do you remember that? It’s a rare neurological disorder called, prosopagnosia. I had never heard of it before then. It’s when a person struggles to recognize people’s faces. Not like you can’t remember people…but you literally can’t see their face organized like a face. What does that have to Continue Reading
Review: Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller
Hotel of Secrets by Diana BillerHistorical RomanceMarch 28, 2023- St. Martin'sARC Review by Angela I really like this author's words, and how she weaves history, romance, and mystery together seamlessly. Hotel of Secrets is set in Vienna in 1877 and primarily takes place in Hotel Wallner. The Wallner family consists of strong women, who have run the hotel for decades, always only having one daughter, never marrying, and living life on their terms. But, it's also interwoven with the Continue Reading
Review: Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner
Mistakes Were Made by Meryl WilsnerContemporary RomanceOctober 11, 2022, by St. Martin's GriffinARC Review by Melinda Mistakes Were Made is Meryl Wilsner’s sophomore novel, which can be a difficult book to get right, There are expectations from readers, especially after having a successful debut, which Wilsner did with 2020s Something to Talk About. I tried to go into it just expecting a good book, but I got so much more. When Cassie is out with her friends during Parents Weekend, she Continue Reading
Review: The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe
The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. HoweContemporary RomanceSeptember 13, 2022 by St. Martin's Griffin Review by Melanie Let me just state for the record, that I will die on the hill that romance novels need to end with a HEA (or a HFN, at the very least). I will also state that I love a second chance romance, especially when it comes with a side of grovel novel. This is why it pains me to say I really did not like this book, despite it being second chance romance, and when the end of the book Continue Reading
Review: Bend Toward the Sun by Jen Devon
Bend Toward the Sun by Jen DevonContemporary Romance August, 9, 2022, by St. Martin's Griffin Review by Melanie Don’t let the phrase “A Novel” on the cover fool you. Lush, evocative, poignant, Bend Toward the Sun is one of those books that stays with you long after you’ve finished it. It also happens to be one of the most romantic books I’ve read in a long time, with a HEA so perfectly sweet and tender. This book will definitely show up in my top reads of 2022 list at the end of the year. Continue Reading
Review: The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
The Bodyguard by Katherine CenterContemporary RomancePublished July 19, 2022 by St. Martin's PressARC Review by Angela This was SUCH a fun surprise. I, like so many readers, am skeptical when presented with a contemporary romance with a cutesy cover and a blurb that sounds like it could possibly be a romantic comedy. But nonetheless, I grabbed a copy and dove in with high hopes. And was rewarded with an amusing, sweet romance that kept me reading into the early hours of the Continue Reading
Review: A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings
A Brush with Love by Mazey EddingsContemporary Romance March 1, 2022, by St. Martin’s GriffinARC Review by Melanie When I first saw the premise of A Brush with Love being floated around social media, I will admit, I was more than a little curious. I’d read many a romance with law students and med students and art students and here, finally, was this untapped market where two people met and fell in love while…scraping plaque off someone’s teeth. Ok, well, when put like that, one does Continue Reading
Jen’s Mini’s: Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco, Runaway Girl by Tessa Bailey, and The Idea of You by Robinne Lee
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 Continue Reading
Review: The Brightest Star in Paris by Diana Biller
The Brightest Star in Paris by Diana BillerHistorical RomanceOctober 12, 2021, by St, Martin's ARC Review by Angela I am a big fan of historical romance when it's mixed with some mystery and suspense, I'm an even bigger fan of historical romances with mysteries when they have some gothic, ghostly elements. I'm happy to report that The Brightest Star in Paris gave me all that and more. This is a follow-up to the very popular The Widow of Rose House. If you enjoyed the love story Continue Reading