Before I Let Go by Kennedy RyanSkyland #1Contemporary RomanceNov 15, 2022 by ForeverARC Review by Melinda Kennedy Ryan has covered heavy topics in her books before, like domestic violence, racism, and rape. The reason I love her writing is because she writes everything, including those heavy topics, with such depth. Her characters are always nuanced and fully fleshed out, and whatever topic she’s writing on it’s clear she’s done her research. At this point, I trust her to take care with Continue Reading
Review: Just Another Love Song by Kerry Winfrey
Just Another Love Song by Kerry WinfreyContemporary RomanceAugust 2, 2022, by BerkeleyARCReview by Iby Kerry Winfrey writes romcoms with small town, Hallmark-movie vibes. Even when she writes about cities, they seem to be written in the style of Gilmore Girls - there are lots of props, quirky secondary characters, and a twisty way to a happily ever after. This latest book is no exception to the rule. Sandy has spent her whole life in Baileyville, a small town in Ohio. She knows Continue Reading
Review: Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
Funny You Should Ask by Elissa SussmanContemporary RomanceApril 12, 2022 by Random House - Ballantine, DellARC Review by Kate H. Chana Horowitz is a busy writer in LA, in her thirties and newly divorced. Her successful career as an essayist and interviewer was launched by an interview with Hollywood movie star, Gabe Parker. A decade ago she was given unprecedented access to the actor, and she spends much of a weekend learning about the heart-throb who has been controversially cast as Continue Reading
Review: Foolish Hearts by Synithia Williams
Foolish Hearts by Synithia WilliamsJackson Falls #4Contemporary RomanceAugust 24, 2021, by HarlequinARC Reviewer: Melinda Foolish Hearts is the 4th in the Jackson Falls series, it’s loosely tied to the previous books but it can stand alone without any issues. I’ve loved this series because it’s just been incredibly soapy with messy characters and complex family drama. I love that Synithia Williams has allowed her characters to be dramatic or troubled or overly angry because those kinds of 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
Guest Post: Second Chances Romances by Amanda Weaver
Amanda Weaver's new novel, Love Around the Corner, is out now, Amanda is here to talk about one of my favorite tropes- Second Chance. I think people love reading second chance romances because most of us have someone in our past we still wonder about, some relationship that didn’t end the way we wanted it to. Don’t we all secretly google that one who got away to see how their life has worked out? Gemma, the heroine in Love Around the Corner has definitely googled her ex, although she’d die Continue Reading
Guest Post: Tropes at Work in ONE LAST CHANCE by Therese Beharrie
I’ve published fourteen books in my career so far. Of those fourteen, six have been second chance romances. ONE LAST CHANCE, the third book in my ONE DAY TO FOREVER series, will be the seventh. I’m clearly a fan of the trope, partly because there are so many ways of exploring it, and partly because I only need the chance of a romance the first time around not to work out to define it as a second chance romance. But the one thing all of my second chance romances have in common is that Continue Reading
Guest Post: Romance Take Two by Sabrina Sol
Second Chance romance is one of my absolute favorite tropes. When I saw that Sabrina is part of an anthology, Do It Again, featuring 5 novellas about second chance, I asked her to write a post about the trope and the anthology. Take it away Sabrina- Is love sweeter the second time around? According to the popular trope known as Second Chance Romance, the answer is a resounding “Yes!” I love a Second Chance Romance because I think the stakes are higher and the main characters have Continue Reading
Once Upon a Wedding- Guest Post by Barbara Samuel
Author Barbara Samuel stopped by to give us some info on her contribution to the Once Upon a Wedding anthology, out June 11th. I LOVE second chance romance and can't wait to read this. I love reunion romances. I mean, really. Who doesn’t wonder what if about some old sweetheart? Awhile back, I read a statistic that said that if a pair of former boyfriend/girlfriends meet many years later and both are single, they have a very high probability of getting Continue Reading
Mandi’s Mini Reviews
Surprise Baby, Second Chance by Therese Beharrie Released: July 26, 2018 Contemporary Romance Mills & Boon Reviewed by Mandi I love to read marriage in trouble tropes. To explore a couple already committed to one another, yet having emotional issues always sucks me in. But this one was a little too slow for me. Rosa left her husband four months before the book starts, without a single explanation. She has her reason (I don't want to spoil it since it doesn't mention specifics in the Continue Reading