What another great month of reading!!
It’s been a month. How is that so much and so little can happen in the same month?
Well, so much reading was obviously done. Let’s get right into it!
It’s Only Love by Alexandra Grace
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rating explained:
It’s only love…. between best friends.
I didn’t even take any notes on this one! Shame.
This one was sweet. I enjoyed Archer and Libby’s easy relationship, even though it was pretty obvious from the beginning they were meant for each other.
There was brief talk or implications that Archer had been with women? But unsure.
This is clean and closed door with one steamy kissing scene.
Smoke and Ash by Savannah Scott
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rating explained:
The amount of YEARNING, good gravy! A solid read that you can’t judge by the time of a month it took me to read this.
Cody, Cody, Cody…
Carli, Carli, Carli…
Yes, I loved them!
Cody is Carli’s best friend’s older brother (one of them anyway, LOL) and Carli is Cody’s best friend’s little sister! What a time for them. Carli and Cody both have to deal with promotions and work life balance. Their families both have ranches close to each other, so they are always helping one another out with things that need to be done.
With all of that, they don’t want to immediately announce their attraction or that they’re dating to everyone so they do have to do some sneaking around.
I didn’t really have any notes on this one (other than Cody Lawson is 28 and Carli Buckner is 26, because numbers are important) and then only singled out (pun intended) one quote that’s not super helpful. LOL
Quotes:
Single people should be gifted overnight stays in bomb shelters on Valentine’s Day.
(Cody)
This is book three in the Firemen of Waterford series.
Love Undercover by Mandi Blake
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rating explained:
The redemption arc of Zach in this book!!! God is good.
I read the ebook of this but I feel like everytime I go back to a book I’ve already read on Kindle, it thinks I want to read it again. Um, no. Been there done that. So I don’t have my highlights for quotes.
Anywayysssss, I have a few noted things but man! Lauren was brave. We find out more about Lauren as the story goes on. I believe she was in other books, but we knew more about Zach because he was a known criminal in the other books in the series.
I loved that Mandi wrote about a criminal finding his way to God. This guy had grown up on the wrong side of the tracks and stayed there. Seeing him work through things and find light through Lauren over the several months they worked together was great.
Notes:
- Zach Wilson – 32
- Lauren Vincent – unknown age – 3 masters degrees!
- Asa Scott (Lyric’s husband) took the bullet meant for Lauren years ago
- Anthony – 37
This is book six in the Love in Blackwater series.
The Big Dink by Cynthia Gunderson
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rating explained:
Enjoyable, but not my favorite.
I enjoyed the whole workplace romance (or the attempt anyway, LOL) and the whole pickleball competition actually cracks me up more than anything. It just doesn’t seem like something that would be hyped but it is.
The interactions between Alecia and Calder were so funny. He was always there for her even though he was grumpy and she didn’t understand why he’d care if he would barely talk to her. Her wanting to be with Garrett (at her work) was the central focus for most of the book, but ultimately, Garrett was a loser in my humble opinion and Calder was it.
There wasn’t much substance it felt like to the story? But if you want a light and fun romance, I think this delivers. Or if you want a pickleball romcom.
I found this one as a suggested book and the reviews I seen before actually picking it out (thanks to rewards) said it was closed door, which it wassssss. I just think if you’re looking for no or low innuendo, this may not be for you? There were some curses, quite a bit of innuendo like I said and implied intimacy between characters.
This is book one in the Smash Point Social Club series.
Lily of the Tower by Marie Soleil
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rating explained:
The length of time it took me to read this is no indication of my love for this book.
I love Rapunzel. I love Tangled. I love everything…. JK.
Marie Soleil has a note at the beginning of the book that this is not a new version of Tangled. It doesn’t really follow that plot line, but Lily is locked away in a tower and there are evil villains lurking!
Ryder discovers Lily in the tower and befriends her. He keeps coming back to spend time with her and they kinda sorta fall in love???? But that comes later. Anyway, super cute!! Like everything. They’re so young, especially Lily. I loved her innocence and how she wanted to be treated like an adult. Ryder helps her feel seen and understood.
AND THE ENDING. Be still my Tangled heart.
Notes:
- Lily is like 19-20
- Ryder is about 24
- Peter is 3yrs older than Ryder (best friends)
- Ryder is 5 yrs older than Lily
Quotes:
“Excuse me. I didn’t know I’d be coming over for a music lesson.”
“Here we are. Deal with it.”
I shake my head with a big grin. Feisty. But it’s all in good fun, and I know she’s having a good time, even I’m annoying her.
This is the third book in the Once Upon a RomCom series. Peter Pan is up next!!
Holly and Nick Hate Christmas by Betsy St Amant
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rating explained:
Don’t let the length of time it took me to read this fool you on this one, either!
Holly and Nick, y’all. You’d think with names like that they’d enjoy the season!
If you love the crazy chaotic family dynamics of the holiday season, I think this book is for you!! It delivered tenfold.
Holly Sinclair and Nick Kinsley have their own reasons to despise the holiday, but when family and circumstances push them together and misunderstandings happen among all the half truths flying around, Holly turns the Christmas cheer up full blast, much to the shock of Nick.
Poor Nick didn’t have a chance, LOL.
Holly is turning 30 at Christmas (and the ending is so worth the read) and Nick is 31. He works with her older brother, but he’s also coming along on Ryan’s family Christmas gathering because he’s looking to buy their parents’ house and land. See what I mean?
While I thought they could have all just been open and honest from the beginning, that’s what made the story and also, I see why they didn’t because it could have put a real damper on the holiday before everything blew up on its own. Oops.
I related to Holly and Nick for different reasons, so maybe that also helped me enjoy this one. The dash of faith and hope were touching as well.
Quotes:
I wasn’t nearly tiny enough to apply for the role of a Disney Princess, but Nick’s strong hands wrapped around my middle gave me enough Beauty and the Beast vibes to swoon. But I couldn’t. This was Nick. This was the enemy.
Smokey Bear always said only I could prevent forest fires, and if I didn’t get out of this man’s proximity, I was going to fail.
hard not to fail big when you are terrified of failure your entire life.
This is a standalone novel.
A Bewildered Bachelor by Holli Jo Monroe
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rating explained:
He was bewildered, indeed. 😂
I loved this one, y’all. Ambrose Hartley is racing to the altar, or so he hopes, to not lose the wager. He has a list and he just needs to find the bride that fits the bill.
He’s 26 and Susanna Fenton is 2 yrs older, best friends with Ambrose’s sister Grace. They grew up together basically and she teases him. She has nothing to lose because she’ll still have a fortune whether or not she marries.
Ambrose doesn’t believe her to be the woman for him at all, but she shows up everywhere, thwarting his plans, stealing his notebook and ending up in close proximity.
Notes:
- “Rosie”
- Susie
- all the antics
- she’s older
- he’s very serious
- the boat ride
- she supports his dreams
Quotes:
He needed to get married. Why must love play any part in it?
This is book five in this amazing series!
How to Fake Date Your Grumpy Boss by Camilla Evergreen
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rating explained:
Enjoyable with mixed feelings.
I relate to the awkwardness in this book, but sometimes it felt unbelievable? Could be me though.
The book starts off in the prologue where they meet when Rose Briars is 17 and at the university for a girl’s trip for school. She runs off from the dorm for some reason, finds abandoned kittens in a box, but then it starts raining. She’s stuck out there on campus in the rain, soaked through, until this college guy comes and gives her his coat. She tells him to take the kittens and take care of them because he’s an adult, but she never got his name.
She fantasizes about him for years and writes stories about him even (because she wants to be an author). The story picks up 5 yrs later when she’s at the university and Levi Danner is 30. She ends up working for him, but she doesn’t know that its him. They have an interesting incident right after her interview which turns into them fake dating. We know how it goes.
Her parents are overprotective and have sheltered her from almost everything. I get it but also at the same time, they didn’t allow her to make her own decisions about things. She can think for herself with the values they instilled in her. I enjoyed how her parents even came around and admitted they didn’t see the full picture on some things (like clean romance books).
Notes:
- nicknames
- tension
- the library
- bookish things
- the banter between them (the serious flirting from him)
- slow burn (they don’t kiss til near the very end)
- billionaire MMC
- it’s always been you vibe
This is the first book in the How to Rom-Com series.
All That Glitters by Annah Conwell
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rating explained:
This is one of my favorite Annah Conwell books. Big fave!
This series makes me wish I had a different college experience! LOL
This wasn’t anywhere close to what I experienced in college, but I was very focused on school and working.
The book! I can’t articulate just how much this hit the absolute spot in my life. The betrayal from Jameson Sinclair hit harder for Marigold Belmore due to her own parents’ tumultuous marriage and the things that got into her head.
Because I loved it so much, I have plenty of quotes!
Notes:
- he takes care of her
- she shows she cares even though she doesn’t want to
- they’re both reporters for the school paper
- he plays hockey
- she’s a writer
- nicknames
- banter and tension
- former best friends
- it’s always been you
Quotes:
I focus on my laptop, pretending to work when I know that Marigold is staring me down across the aisle. Ten years from now, I’m convinced I’ll still feel her hazel gaze. Even if we stay enemies or whatever it is we are in her eyes. This sort of instinct doesn’t go away. It’s as much a part of me as my DNA.
As always, I had to force myself not to stare. She’s beautiful in a way that makes my chest ache.
“First, we’ve never dated. Second, if we did, I would never cheat on her. I love her.”
The words come as easy as breathing. Marigold is my person. I know it the same way I know my name. It was taught to me-though I can’t pinpoint when or where-and it’s so ingrained in my soul that when I hear her name I turn as if it’s my own.
If my heart was a house, every photo on the walls would have Jameson in them.
“That’s ridiculous. Why would you see her again anyway?”
“When you and Red get married, I’m sure she’ll be in the wedding. As will I. So I need to be prepared.”
“That was one of the most presumptuous statements I’ve heard.”
He grins. “I prefer optimistic. Now, tell me what happened with your future wife.”
“It’s like you’re trying to make me fall in love with you or something.”
He hums. “You’re only just now catching on?”
This is the second book in the RomCom Univerisity series.
The Merry Mishap by Ruth Pendleton
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rating explained:
Super short and super sweet, though rushed novella.
Lucy ends up at the wrong house to decorate. She’s inside when Joseph comes home and he’s like what are you doing in my house but then helps her leave and then just a while later, rescues her when she’s in a pinch.
Their evening soon turns into a first date and then the realization via the media that he’s a billionaire, not just a guy who travels for work.
Clean and wholesome Christmas romance.
The Mistletoe Makeover by Grace Worthington
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rating explained:
Absolutely LOVED THIS. Oh my goodness. From the FIRST CHAPTER.
This was a celebrity romance done well. I have so many notes on this one!
Jace is a country rock singer and Mia is in need of work but has reasons to not return home. She does anyway to help her mom out and attempt to save a festival, if she can get Jace to agree to sing. Through spending all this time together, they grow close and there’s so much chemsitry to explore.
Notes:
- Mia MacPherson – 31
- Jace Knight – unknown age, 30 something
- He’s tall, dark and handsome
- “Mr. Smolder” & “the Dark Knight”
- Dimpled smirk
- THE MEET CUTE (was it cute??? I mean… the unknown identity was well played, LOL)
- Mia’s younger twin brothers: Brax & Vale (2yrs younger & they get books later on) – they both play hockey
- She’s never been kissed
- He falls fast and hard
- Brax & Jaz have a moment together spotted by Mia which starts a discussion where Mia says her friends dating her brother is off limits (sets up next book in series)
- Mia has glasses in the book but not on the cover
Quotes:
“I mean, they won’t even let you smile for your license these days, so we all look like a bunch of murderers.” When I’m nervous, I turn into my mother and can’t stop talking.
“After traveling by tour bus and plane for weeks on end, this place is my shalom.”
“Your what?”
“It means peace in Hebrew.”
I’m obsessed with her scent the way my cats are obsessed with catnip.
This is book three in the Renovation Romance series.
An Honorable Love by Audra Wells
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rating explained:
Wow! This was a different book just because Honora is a thief at the beginning, LOL. All the antics between Honora and Leonard cracked me up. He was so frustrated! I loved his character so much.
Notes:
- Leonard Stanton – 26
- Honora Gillingham – about 23-24?
- The way he stands up for her and her honor
- Leonard’s brother is relatable: “It becomes easier to believe them than to fight them.”
Quotes:
And Leonard had tried to find a wife-though, admittedly, half-heartedly. It was rather humbling when a woman took a passing glance, then chose someone with a cheerier disposition to converse with. Humbling, but understandable.
“Why?” she sputtered out. “I gave you your freedom. You have your great-grandmother’s ring.”
“Is it freedom if I can only seem to think about you?”
This is the sixth and final book in the Gentlemen’s Gamble multi-author series.
Between the Shelves by Kasey Stockton
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rating explained:
Piper Monroe and Dorian McConkie went to college together but didn’t stay in any kind of contact. I loved their secret identity trope and all the interactions related to books. I mean, come onnnnn.
I feel like it would give too much away to say anything more. LOL
Poor Dorian for most of the book, though!
Don’t have to read previous book to enjoy this one.
This is the second book in a two book (so far) Nashville Romantics series.
The Roommate Remodel by Grace Worthington
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rating explained:
I loved this one! Obvi.
In the book previous, we see Jazlyn Summers and Brax MacPherson interact and flirt. Chapter one is Jace and Mia’s wedding, which is more of a prologue for this book, not chapter one. BUT WHATEVER. Chapter two picks up 9 months later.
I have so many notes and quotes! I’ll say before those that their chemistry was off the charts. They couldn’t even deny it – even with all the secrets and misunderstandings between them at the beginning. It was so good.
Notes:
- Jaz – Brax’s sister’s best friend
- Brax – 2 yrs younger – hockey player
- Brax is labeled a commitment phobe
- Brax has green eyes and he’s over 6ft tall, chiseled
- Ch 1 is wedding between Jace & Mia from book 3. Jaz & Brax go to a supply closet to escape the festivities (bouquet & garter being thrown) and that’s where they dance & kiss (in the dark hall, not the closet because the closet is too cramped, LOL)
- Brax enters his name into her phone as “Best Kisser Ever”
- He calls her Princess ♥
- Flirtatious banter for daysssss
- Banter between teammates
Quotes:
I’m so going to lose this competition. Not because I can’t outlast her. I’ve played hockey for years. I’ve learned to develop my endurance to Olympic levels.
But when it comes to her, I’m willing to lose everything.
Like many things in life, the choices we make out of fear and but have repercussions that last for years.
Finally, Dawson brings up what’s on everyone’s mind. “TIl take Felipe out for you,” he says, sliding on his jersey.
“You’re the goalie. You need to guard the net,” Tate reminds him, stretching his calf muscles.
“That doesn’t mean that goalies don’t get into fights,” he says.
“‘m the person he least expects.”
“Not if I get to him first.” Leo gives Dawson a look. “One wrong move, and he’s mine.” Considering that Leo hated me not so long ago, this is progress.
“I like to stir up trouble.” Rourke sits on a bench. “I don’t even need a reason.”
The guys chuckle.
I shake my head. “Why am I not surprised?»
Rourke is always getting into fights, even though he never actually seems mad. He just likes the way it riles up the crowd, and the fans love him for it.
This is the fourth and final book in the Renovation Romance series! I’d say this series, or at least this book, is needed before continuing and reading Grace Worthington’s new books. It makes so much more sense to get the full picture and how everyone interacts. Like read this book and immediately jump into Perfectly Wedded!
Perfectly Wedded by Grace Worthington
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rating explained:
I was doing some serious speed reading on this one 😂😂
You’re welcome.
So many notes and quotes! Vale and Sloan always had a special connection. They were like best friends even in the previous book, so them getting married was a no brainer. I loved Vale’s devotion throughout the whole story. He never wavered. I also loved Grace’s view on marriage brought out in the story – it’s sacred and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Notes:
- Vale MacPherson – 6’4″
- Sloan Summers
- Vale’s twin, Brax, is married to Sloan’s sister, Jazlyn
- They get married in Vegas when they say they’re engaged in front of her ex-boyfriend
- Vale’s idea to get married so she could have his insurance for her health issues
- ADHD rep
- “rules” for the marriage
- He falls first & hard
- His plan to woo her ♥
- The dating
- His proposal
Quotes:
It’s not just her looks that pull me in-it’s everything about her. The way she makes people feel seen and special, the way her laugh lights up a room, and how she throws herself into everything with her whole heart. That’s what makes her one of my favorite people in the world. And it’s exactly why I’m terrified of messing this up-because losing her would mean losing the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
“First lesson in marriage: Don’t let a bunch of bachelors plan your wedding shower.” His mouth curves into a smile.
Every time I’m alone with Sloan, I want to be closer to her.
There’s so much danger in taking a trip with her. The possibility of us getting too close or her seeing how much I want her, how badly I’m drawn to her, and risking the friendship we have. She has no idea how she turns me into a weak man when I’m alone with her.
She lets out a contented sigh. “This is something I could get used to. Maybe even addicted to. Like Nutella.”
I laugh. “You’re comparing me to Nutella?”
“‘I’m very attached to it, Vale,” she says seriously. “Some might say obsessed.”
“In that case, I’ll be your addiction.”
It’s my one thing, the hill I’ll die on. I’m not leaving this marriage. That’s my endgame.
This is book one in the Perfect Crush Hockey Romance series, but reading at least the last book in the Renovation Romance series is helpful, if not reading the whole series before this one.
Did you do much reading in March? Are you springing forward with new reading goals? 🙂
Feel free to let me know what you read in March in the comments!
Books read this month: 14
Books read this year: 42
Book goal for year: 96
Don’t think anything new has been added, but I have sold a few books this past month which has been exciting because you never know when it’ll happen! LOL
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Have a great week!!
Not Your Season: Summer's Blog 