thoughts on books

Category: Romance

  • I think they love you by julian winters

    Denz Carter is a part of a successful family enterprise, 24 Carter Magic, and his dad is getting ready to retire. But who will he choose as his successor? Denz is a moderately successful influencer on his own, @notthatdenzel, and the setting is high end Atlanta. Denz’s ex-boyfriend Braylon is the one that got away, in college they fell in love but Bray chose to move to London and did not invite Denz to move with him. Now, years later, he has a chance meeting with Bray that led to a mutually beneficial situation of fake dating- Bray is using Denz to get a better relationship and connection to the mayor, and Denz will use Bray to look more settled in life and more likely to be named as his father’s successor. 

    This is a good and typical romance, high spice level from an adult debut, with many typical tropes that are loved; second chance romance, fake dating, one bed. I was gifted the audiobook version in exchange for an honest review. For me this didn’t work as well on audio, the pacing didn’t lend itself well to it. When the book is published I will re-read the paperback. I didn’t find the spark between the characters like I usually do and the plot itself sort of fell flat. I did love the set up and the premise, and the side characters really stole the show, some of the side characters had some really funny lines. And what beautiful cover art! 

    Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape media for an ALC in exchange for an honest review. Book to be published January 28, 2025.

  • the love haters by katherine center

    Katie is good at making documentaries and business video that invokes emotion…that is, she can make people cry. Her production company is doing lay-offs, and her only hope of saving her job is doing a profile of a “hero” coast guard rescuer named Hutch. He is the only brother of her boss, Cole. Cole can’t do the assignment himself, so he sends Katie to Key West to do an in-ocean shoot via helicopter. The only problem is, she can’t swim! Cole lets her stay with his aunt Rue, a feisty fun lady in her 80’s with many friends in villas that is part retirement home, part resort. “The Gals” are a fun comic relief from Katie and Hutch’s tragic back stories. Hutch is the subject of the documentary, and also Katie’s swim instructor.

    With witty banter and interesting facts thrown in, we get to know Katie and how she interacts with the world. She has significant body image issues, but isn’t afraid to work on them and take responsibility. Katie is mature and agreeable yet likable. Hutch as a main male character is a bit too perfect. For me, what makes Katherine Center books great is that they have such a strong story beyond the romance. The dialogue is funny and engaging. The backdrop usually has some sort of life saving/accident EMT type and a tie to the entertainment industry. The balance of dialogue to description to narrative is pretty perfect.

    If you like a sweet romance with life saving themes, read any Katherine Center book, but this is one of her best. 

    Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review. Book to be published May 20, 2025.

  • totally and completely fine by elissa sussman

    Absolutely loved this book and classic Elissa Sussman telling two stories in alternating timelines. But this time it isn’t a second chance romance. It’s a wonderful story with an unforgettable protagonist you will root for.

    Lauren is a widowed single mom to teenager Lena, her husband Spencer died in an accident when Lena was only 1o. One timeline is about Lauren falling for her brother Gabe’s best friend Spencer. The second timeline is after Spencer’s death and Lauren falling for Ben, a famous movie star. The setting is the small town of Cooper, Montana.

    Falling for Spencer involves them coming to terms with his faith tradition which seems like an evangelical type of Christian upbringing. Also she unfairly has a reputation born of small town life. There is a strong theme of being against purity culture in both timelines, Lauren’s birds and bees lecture to Lena and her friend is excellent. All of the dialogue really rings true. Lauren must rationalize and understand how she can still grieve Spencer while being able to fall in love again.

    “Love is a shape shifter. It will look different at 18 than it will at 40 than will at 80. It will feel different. You don’t fall in love- it isn’t something you trip and tumble over. Love is something you need to hurtle yourself into– something you race toward heart first, even if you don’t know what will happen. Especially if you don’t know what will happen.”

    Read it. Save it. Re-read it. I can’t wait until it is published so I can highlight my favorite parts.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for the ARC. Book to be published July 8, 2025.

  • the in-between bookstore by edward underhill

    4.5 stars rounded up
    Time travel queer romance- although Darby the main character is turning 30, this reads like more of a YA romance, which is sweet and follows along with the main theme. And all of us can relate to this concept– what would you say to your younger self if you could? Would your younger self recognize you? How would it change you now to be reunited with your younger self?

    Darby is a trans man living in NYC with a vibrant community of friends, although he worked for a start up that has gone belly up. Darby is originally from a small town in the midwest, and his mom called to let him know she is moving, so Darby is going to visit…. and maybe stay… in the same small town he grew up in. His one time friend and crush Michael still lives there and goes to all the football games, in fact, a lot of the people Darby grew up with are still there. And can you go home again? The age old question?

    I don’t want to give away any spoilers here, but Darby does experience a split in the space time continuum to be able to visit the bookstore where he worked as a teen, and is able to access the bookstore and his younger self in 2009, when he still thought he was a girl, albeit a broken one. Darby didn’t change his name when he transitioned, which eliminates any literary issues of how to address his younger self without deadnaming him.

    Has anyone given this book to Hollywood producers yet, and obviously Elliot Page can please play Darby?

    Darby is insecure and a realistic and likable lead. Michael is a compelling love interest. But Olivia and all of Darby’s friends (as his mom says, “your gay friends” and Darby says “all my friends are gay, mom.) (lol) are fantastic minor characters.

    I like time travel and time slip romances quite a bit, it was nice to have a trans character, nice to see a “back in my hometown” romance and I don’t want to give away the ending, but it ends differently than it usually does at Hallmark. The ending was not what I expected and I had to sit with it for a few days to realize that I loved it.

    Highly recommend for fans of Casey McQuiston and Ashley Poston. Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Harper Vorager for the ARC. Book to be released January 14, 2025.

  • love and other paradoxes by catriona silvey

    A time travel and love triangle romance for fans of Ashley Poston and Christina Lauren, with two 21 year old students in Cambridge, England — one from 2044 and the other from 2005. Joe Greene is not doing well in school, his real passion is with his terrible poetry. His roommate Rob is a physics major whose real passion is playing the game Assassins. This is a live action game where you are hunting other players to surprise them and get them eliminated from the game. Joe has a meet cute with Esi at the coffee shop, and they have some interesting chemistry. He just doesn’t know what it is about her.

    Then as she is walking away she drops a book of poetry. Written by him! It turns out she is on a “time travel trip” where people who are fans of someone famous can travel back in time to where they used to live to maybe meet them before they were famous. So everyone on this visit to 2005 is a huge fan of “Joseph Greene the famous poet” except, that is, for Esi. Eli has other plans in mind. Her mother, who tragically died in an accident, was killed returning to Cambridge in celebration of “an award she won in June of 2005.” So Esi has an ulterior motive, find her mother and make sure she doesn’t win this award.

    But will it work? After all, the time travel company says that the Butterfly Effect doesn’t apply, there is nothing you can do in the past to ruin the future. So will Esi save her mom, and will Joe and Esi even find her?

    This time travel romance is about 30% romance, no spice. Mostly this is heavily plot driven and character-building as Joe and Esi inhabit the world they are in and as Joe get his mind around his supposed future. This book asks the question, what would you do if you knew you were destined to succeed? And it changes all of his decisions. Joe’s roommate Rob is a great character, he gets all the best lines. There is plenty of humor. Most of the narrative is Joe’s inner dialogue and Esi becoming a sort of Cyrano to him with his “muse” Diana.

    If you enjoy time travel romances or romances that embrace magical realism, add this one to your TBR list~!

    Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC. Book to be published March 11, 2025.

  • fake it like you mean it by Megan Murphy

    Elle is a successful podcaster with a series called Elle on the L in which she interviews people on the Chicago commuter train. This book has one of the cutest and sweetest openings from the first chapter! The first thing we read tells us more about the tone of the book than it does about Elle herself, but that comes later. Elle was raised by her grandparents, and her widowed grandmother Lovie lives in her Indiana hometown. Elle goes home to visit and take care of Lovie only to find a home health nurse named Adam Wheeler. Adam is a good guy, your typical hero that the Hallmark holiday movie heroine falls for when she is back in her hometown. He is completely non-problematic and funny.

    Lovie mistakes them for herself and her late husband, how sweet is that? The majority of the book is them falling for each other and dealing with Lovie’s dementia and advancing Alzheimer’s disease. Lovie is such a firecracker, even in her advanced state of memory loss, with such zingers as “calories only count if you count them.” Adam helps Elle see her limitations in being a caregiver, together they learn that “you don’t have to have lost your memories to not want to keep coming back to what brings you comfort.”

    Alzheimer’s is a main character in this debut novel, and it is so well done that I am sure the novelist is writing from experience. While the romance has some good banter and chemistry, the relationship between Lovie and Elle really takes center stage. The major theme is “Love is supposed to make you more yourself, not less” and Adam and Elle are able to love each other in a way they haven’t before.

    Biggest criticism is my second lease favorite trope- the miscommunication/third act breakup. I would make a 3rd act breakup illegal if I could. I feel like it’s unnecessary easy pacing element that this book could have done without.

    Overall, I loved it. A must read for any contemporary romance readers that have been through the life altering experience of loving someone with Alzheimer’s.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Book to be released March 18, 2025.

  • my best friend’s honeymoon by meryl wilsner

    What a fun and romantic story! Elsie’s fiancé Derrick has a surprise for her. After nearly 2 years of an engagement in which Elsie hated doing any wedding planning, he has a wedding and honeymoon completely planned- he already sent out the invitations. Elsie’s best friend Ginny has carried a torch for Elsie since sophomore year. They asked her to the dance, and Elsie declined, because she just couldn’t lose them as a friend. And since the honeymoon was completely paid for and all inclusive, Derrick suggests that Elsie ask Ginny to come on the honeymoon with her. And sparks fly! But what will happen when the honeymoon is over?

    Ginny hates their job but they love woodworking and remodeling. Elsie loves working at her family’s hardware store, but she wants her family to listen to her ideas about rebranding. 

    This book is pretty delightful and really nails the experience, the pressure and uncertainty about being 23. Your parents have expectations of you and you want a different life. I love that Derrick isn’t a one-dimensional villain- the jilted fiancé actually seems like a pretty good guy. Not the smartest guy, but he just wants something different than Elsie does. I appreciate how much the author invests time in minor characters, this really pays off in understanding Elsie and Ginny. The way that the best-friend-shared-language continues after coupling makes the reader really root for Elsie and Ginny to admit their feelings and become official. 

    If you have been following my reviews for awhile, you know that I am not a fan of the super spicy/steamy scenes- that just isn’t for me. And this book – while it includes all of the romance- it also includes a lot of the SPICE- so there were a few scenes that I skipped past … but you may really enjoy them!

    ~best friends-to-lovers
    ~one bed
    ~forced proximity
    ~third act breakup
    ~multi-dimensional minor characters

    Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for a complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review. Book to be published April 29, 2025.

  • I did something bad by pyae moe thet war

    What a fun mystery with some romance thrown in. I got this book as a part of my Afterlight/Illumicrate subscription, and I hadn’t read or heard of it, so I am happy to have this special signed edition. I don’t often get to read books set in South Asia or with South asian characters, and this was a fun low stakes mystery that reds like a rom com. Khin is a freelance reporter who has found her big break- she has been asked to shadow movie star Tyler Tun, who is rumored to be the newest James Bond. An Oscar winner, he is insanely famous and single, although his female best friend is a famous actress also.

    There is great chemistry between Tyler and Khin! I liked the magazine publishing/movie production backdrop, and the mystery of a stalker who ends up accidentally dead came out of nowhere. But as Tyler and Khin get to know each other and try to find out who the mystery dead Australian guy is, secrets and background come to the forefront. This is a page turner with feminist undertones. If you like the Vera Wong Series by Jesse Q. Sutanto and cozy mysteries like the Molly the Maid series by Nita Prose, add this one to your TBR list.

  • leaving the station by jake maia arlow

    A wonderful queer romcom that tackles some deep content while also being descriptive, sweet and relatable. Sure to be one of the top sapphic romances of 2025.

    Zoe is escaping from their first semester in New York, they are figuring out if pre-med is right for them. In fact, they’re figuring out a lot of stuff. Zoe has a great group of friends from freshman orientation, but soon becomes interested in Alden, another college student that they love hanging out with.

    The narrative is dual-linear, meaning we are following both Zoe’s experiences on a cross country train ride from New York to Seattle, as well as Zoe’s experiences in their first college semester up until fall break. The experiences on the train are well crafted, character-driven, and nuanced. There is a strong theme of train travel and how the characters of Zoe and Oakley evolve and grow as they are on the journey. There is something so romantic about train travel- and everyone on the train has a story as to why they have chosen that transportation method and how they are experiencing the trip.

    The narratives following Zoe in college, while starting only 3 months apart, show us that Zoe has learned more about themselves in the experience. The train gives us a side character of Aya, a 9 year old traveling with her mom, she is precocious, sweet, and very realistic.

    Jake Maia Arlow writes young people very well, they are bright, clever, and insecure while being confident. It is the ultimate contradiction of teenagers, they simultaneously view themselves as both inferior to and superior to others. Some YA romantic fiction really misses the mark on an 18 year old, their inner dialogue sounds like a much younger child. That is certainly not the case here, and it is a breath of fresh air. I absolutely loved this book. It’s so smart.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Book to be published August 19, 2025.

  • the rival by emma lord

    Great audiobook from YA romance author Emma Lord. Another in the genre about a first year female student- Sadie- at a prestigious and academically challenging fictional college. This time she is a member of the journalism major and a part of the online news outlet. Her family friend- Sebastian- is competing with her on the journalism award which is semester long and has several rounds. There is also an overarching side story about the university and how they fund extracurriculars.

    Sadie and Sebastian are likable characters, great build up and banter between rivals. The inner dialogue of an Emma Lord female main character is always adorable and sweet. If you enjoy a sweet YA story this is a good one. Narrator is engaging and all parts are well acted.

    🗞️enemies to lovers
    🗞️he falls first
    🗞️dads are lifelong best friends
    🗞️miscommunication
    🗞️third act fight
    🗞️LGBTQ representation (he is bisexual, also there are non-binary and queer friend characters)

    Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an audiobook ARC. Book to be published 1/28/25