thoughts on books

Category: Romance

  • shapes of love by lv penalba

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    “I’ve always hated the expression More than friends, as if romantic love were one step above friendship.”

    A deep, meaningful and funny “romance” book that has so much to tell us about identity and love. A YA book that is very true to the voice of Gen Alpha. Shapes of Love challenges our assumptions about romantic love and partnership.

    Sasha (stage name Sassy) is just at the crux of stardom and she has found a solid audience. Her campaign year for Best New Artist Grammy, the world is very interested in her love life. She accidentally likes a post potentially outing her as aroace. Although her closest friends know, her producer Shirley and studio does not. As a PR stunt, her manager decides to hire her ex boyfriend and ex best friend Kai for fake dating for 6 months. She also gets a guest role on her favorite show and they meet Asher, a nepo baby with a penchant for partying.

    Young Adult books can sometimes be heavy handed in their messaging, but I found this to be very meaningful and plot driven. The characters are wonderful. As a cis middle aged lady, I picked this up to educate myself so I can be a better and more educated ally to our aroace friends. I definitely found myself reading and realizing I have a lot to learn about the aroace community. Shapes of Love is the perfect title to describe all the ways we experience love, connection and partnership. And romantic love is not the only path, just like there’s not only one way into the ocean.

    If you enjoy queer YA romance, don’t miss this one!

    Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC. Book to be published May 18, 2026.

  • BRIGHTER than before by courtney walsh

    Claire is figuring out what the second half of her life is going to look like after heartbreak. Her husband of 23 years, John, cheated on her and is now getting married to the sidepiece, Misty. She can’t bear the humiliation of living in Colorado where her whole community is, and needs to find out who she is apart from a wife and mother. Her divorce newly finalized, she moves to Chicago and makes a list of things she wants to do- get a dog, get real friends, and download a dating app. Her neighbor Miles owns the apartment building she gets and apartment in, and he helps her along the way as she tries dating for the first time, kind of ever.

    This book really made me feel seen. Being humiliated by John was only her first embarrassment, but later when Claire makes mistakes she learns how to pick herself back up and try again. If you like a clean/closed-door romcom with a FMC in her 40’s, friends-to-lovers please pick this up. It is not the complicated and dramatic and sad plot in many lovely books. This one is a lot more like a Hallmark movie, it is perfect in its pure simplicity. The characters do have some tragic back story, but this is not the story, it is more about the every day, the inner dialogue that is perfect for a character learning who they are.

    I loved the text message exchanges between Claire and her adult daughter Minnie, her quirky first dates that go nowhere, and her tiny triumphs. This book was honestly a real joy to read.

    I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ARC. Book to be published June 8, 2026.

  • ideal life by evelyn skye

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    Lightly magical, this is a romcom tech industry with a wristwatch that works exactly like the time turners from the Harry Potter universe. A few different POV, ideal life is a company owned by Talia Morgan, a Stanford grad with the ability to quickly rewind time. Her lifelong best friend Sam is in love with her. He makes Talia promise to only use it in case of an emergency. As time goes on, she finds herself becoming perfectionists and controlling.

    A blend of magical realism, romance and tech boom culture, I would have liked a bit more character development and a
    Deeper dive into the Ideal Life products and how they work. I saw infinite possibilities and I wish it had been explored a bit more. A clever premise! For me, this one was a like, not necessarily a “love.”

    Recommend? Sure. It was harmless and cute.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC. Book to be published August 18, 2026.

  • skate it till you make it by rufaro faith mazarura

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    I am so grateful that we have a female POC author in closed-door romance! 💘

    Ari and Drew meet on New years as she is about to be the captain the British women’s hockey team in the Winter Olympics. He is a photographer and little does Ari know, he is the brother of one of her rivals from the US team. It becomes mutually beneficial to fake date him to avoid her narcissistic Olympian ex, Harrison.

    I am shocked at the amount of fake dating tropes that have arisen in 2026 romcoms. It is by far the most common trope that I am seeing for this year, despite the fact that fake dating almost never happens in real life. That aside, I enjoyed this very sweet story and loved the Olympic setting. I don’t know much about hockey, but I loved the storyline about female athletes, how they work together as a team, and the interpersonal relationships. Some really fun and inspiring minor characters. I also love a good kiss cam scene, and I really enjoyed the banter between Drew and Ari.

    Audiobook review – I thought that the performance was well acted and easy to follow. Great narrator and the pacing is perfect for audio. This is the perfect winter romcom if you are looking for something lighthearted in the new year.

    I might even watch Olympic women’s hockey instead of just figure skating and skiing this year!

    Thanks to NetGalley and McMillan audio for the arc. Book to be published 2/2/26

    macaudio2025

  • summer of second chances by kl walther

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    Olivia is floundering a bit. Well, at least she is according to her stepmother. At 19, she deferred her first year in college at Northwestern in order to work part time at a bookstore and to spins lots of time with her grandmother, Annie, who is deteriorating with dementia. Annie is Olivia’s favorite person in the world, and while sometimes she greets her as her believed granddaughter, sometimes she honks Olivia is an aide at the assisted living facility. Sometimes she says things that don’t make sense, but Olivia is doing her best at loving Annie the best way she can.

    After she finds some photos of Annie on Martha’s Vineyard that raise a lot of questions, Olivia is determined to find out what her grandmother was like before her dad was born. She doesn’t count on reconnecting with Connor, who she went to camp with, nor does she count on getting sidetracked by love.

    I am grateful for the chance to early read this book- I loved KL Walter’s While We’re Young and find her YA work to be very effervescent and positively uplifting. I loved this book’s first 20% as we got to know Olivia and Annie, and the portrayal of caring for a loved one in dementia was very touching.

    For me; the story somewhat slowed when she got to the island. Connor seemed fine and the chemistry was sweet. I was anxious to return to Annie’s storyline and the ending was just as magical.

    I definitely recommend this clean YA romance for the grandma and mostly the vibes.

    Thanks to NetGalley and sourcebooks fire for the ARC. Book to be published May 5, 2026.

  • you’ll love it here by natalie sue

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    A vibrant and purely tender hearted sophomore novel from Natalie Sue. As a big fan of her debut novel, I jumped at the chance to preview her latest and I am so glad I did. I found these characters to be very original and the ensemble cast to be delightful.

    Mona’s alcoholic father died a few months ago. They had a strained relationship and never made things right, so she didn’t think she needed any time to grieve. But when one of her biggest clients makes a rude remark, she snaps right back at him. Her boss thinks she should take her leave and all of her back PTO, so this workaholic had some time on her hands. She takes up an offer to be a stand in super at her apartment. It’s always because she has always tried hard to avoid the people in her apartment building, but suddenly she finds herself getting by to know them as she helps the owner prepare the apartment for sale.

    It’s a sad but common tale of gentrification, delayed grief, and reconciling how her workaholism is her way of avoiding her father’s alcoholism. Mona was frightfully a bit of a mess, but we learned along with her and rooted for her journey. There is also a love story with Sami at the diner, an almost obligatory storyline that is really overshadowed by the residents. It’s about how we think we know people we see every day, but how we see them is just a reflection of how we see ourselves. Just like in real life, there is more to each complicated person than meets the eye.

    Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC. Book to be published August 11, 2026

  • into the blue by emma brodie

    AJ and Noah are soul mates, for real. He comes from a Hollywood royalty family, she is a woman in comedy that dreams of writing for SNL. They connect when she is working at a video store then 7 years later they are cast in a space show called Into the Blue.

    My goodness, team, this is a very romantic, overly dramatic, “meant to be” vibes. This is like that movie “Love Story” in the 1970’s which is why every 45-50 year old woman is named Jennifer. But I digress. If you love to sob your face off at a love story this is going to be your top best number one book of 2026.

    The blurbs are treating this as a spoiler, that Noah knows he has a short life span and will die of a very rare, inherited genetic disorder called Huntington’s disease. Therefore I will mark this whole review for spoilers. I am not a book marketer, so hey, what do I know. But this is what the story is, a tragic love story about a man who doesn’t want to get close because he knows he will deteriorate and die in his 40’s. This kind of story is jarring and not for everyone, and others will really love it. I found it to be tragic, beautiful, at times maybe a bit too sad. Honestly based on the blurb I was not prepared for this kind of story and I cried a lot.

    I am sure that this book will be very popular and it will get a lot of 5 star ratings and others will feel catfished. The characters are excellent and the ending was purely beautiful

    Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for giving me the chance to read this very buzzworthy ARC. Book to be published July 14, 2026.

  • you won’t forget me by mazey eddings

    A rock-n-roll romance with a lot of ambition and a lot of heart. Cubby is the leader of a band in Iceland, they are about the make it big when their lead guitarist and her recent ex goes out on his own, steals her lyrics, and hits it big with a song about her. She is understandably furious at him. Thank God she has her best friend Darcy, the bassist, and her other friends in the band. Soon a post by Harry, Connor’s best friend, suggests that she and Harry are an item. So they, naturally, start fake dating, the Trope of 2026.

    This is a bit of a twist on fake dating, because Cubby is in love with Darcy, not Harry. She has a twin brother, Oliver. Oliver and his girlfriend Tilly are my favorite part of this book, I only wish they were on page more often. Oliver is autistic and he and Cubby have two moms. Despite this, Cubby is still ingrained in heteronormativity and is confused by her sexuality. There is a dee sadness and depression to her, and Connor treated her as if she were hard to love. This is hardest and most awful thing to hear as someone with depression.

    Stories about straight passing women dealing with wondering if they are queer are not for everyone. But that is this book, and while it is done very respectfully this is hard for some to read.

    This one grew on me over time with some of the storylines and other storylines I felt were unnecessary.

    3.5/5 stars

    Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC. Book to be published June 9, 2026.

    SMPEarlyReaders

  • the odds of you by kate dramis

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    A swoony romance for lovers of Carley Fortune and Christina Lauren. Celebrity-author romance, fake dating and a fun romp through la la land.

    Sage was once a business data analyst and has become an author. Is she a one hit wonder or does she have a second book in her? Theo is the next it-guy in Hollywood. They meet on a flight and people think they are dating because the paparazzi picked up on the chemistry. He’s Scottish. They meet in the way to comicon then they meet again when Sage travels to Scotland for writing.

    This was the perfect book on audio. It was easy to follow and the performance was excellent. I really enjoyed the Scottish accent and all of the banter. Even the internal dialogue was really engaging. I found it to be very romantic. Although parts of it were definitely a little unbelievable, overall I was able to suspend disbelief in the pursuit of a lovely story.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ALC. book to be published January 6, 2026.

  • undergrads: student union by julie murphy

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    A fake dating/marriage college kids spicy romcom. Over grew up with Bennett, a few years younger. She and her mom were “the help” and because he owes her (no spoilers, but it’s kinda a sad story) they get married so she can qualify for married student housing.

    The premise is ridiculous (I mean, if he’s so rich and he owes you, just have him chip in 5 grand for your dorm) and the back story is touching. I liked this but I didn’t love it, the chemistry felt a bit forced to me. Julie Murphy is a favorite author – I was hoping this would be less spicy since it is a YA/Childrens imprint. But definitely good for fans of Hannah Grace such as the Icebreaker series.

    If you want something more on the sweet side, I do enjoy Dumplin and If the Shoe Fits.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Balzer and Bray/McMillan Children’s for the ARC. Book to be published May 4, 2026.