G. Bianco, 2019
 Calling all small town romance lovers! Wild Card by Staci Hart, which is the first book in her new Roseville Ramblers Series, comes out today and things are about to get steamy! Remy Winfield has more muscles than manners, and he’s on a mission to get Jessa into bed by way of the filthiest mouth she’s ever wanted to kiss. He doesn’t care about her long time crush or her certainty that they’re finally about to happen. Remy's sure Jessa will break first and kiss him, and he’ll tease her to the limit to make sure she does. She might be a Lady, but she can still play his dirty little game. It’s perfectly safe, totally harmless. Until she falls for him. Suddenly, Mr. Long-Time Crush doesn’t matter at all. And Jessa’s best friend/Remy’s cousin can never know. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve read a Staci Hart book and I enjoyed delving into this new series of the Roseville Ramblers. The beginning felt very rushed and I wasn’t too invested in the story in the beginning, but when I hit the midway point, I felt like the plot had finally hit its stride and I was really intrigued to see what was going to happen next for Jess, Remy, and the rest of the characters! I was hoping for a bit more baseball in this sports romance, but I still enjoyed the glimpses of Remy’s athletic abilities (and the descriptions of him in his uniform)! While most of this novel follows the classic romcom formula, the ending actually threw me for a loop and I did not expect some of the plot twists that happened to occur! It’s safe to say that I’m excited to see how one particular plot point will play out in Book 2 (iykyk)! After the plot twists at the end and the second epilogue, you best believe I’ll be keeping my eye out for Book 2! *I received an ARC from Good Girls PR in exchange for my honest opinion. 
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 For those of you who love an angsty forbidden romance with an age gap, then I have just the book for you! DJ Krimmer’s latest release Fox, which came out on March 31st, is the first book in the Hel’s Ink Series and has all of those tropes and more! When Janie's father passes away, she assumes grieving will be as simple as closing a book and starting another. Only, her dad had other plans. Leaving her his beloved tattoo shop, she's stuck to figure out what exactly to do with it, all while being constantly reminded of him. Selling it was the easiest option, but after hearing some of the artists elated at the idea because they swore she'd ruin it if she took over, Janie's determined to prove them wrong. The only problem is Fox. Hel's Ink was supposed to be Fox's and he thinks leaving the shop to someone like Janie was a bad idea. Sure she may be able to make it look good on the surface, but there is more to running this place than social media posts and some paint. Only, the longer she's here, Fox finds it harder to believe his own words. She's too young for him, and far too complicated, but he can't help but wonder what would happen if he just gave in. I truly don’t think I’ve ever read such a long, test fast-paced book in my life. Nor do I think I’ve ever read a book where so many of the characters could do with *severe* therapy sessions. It’s not that I didn’t like this book, it’s just that I didn’t love it either. I found Fox to be too immature at times, despite his age, and some of his reactions in certain scenes felt like they didn’t match up with his character/personality. Similarly, I found Janie to be VERY annoying in the beginning of the book and then eventually grew to like her, but some of her actions felt very immature for a girl in her late 20s. And even though she gains more and more confidence as the story goes on, she still reverts back into a needy and bratty person which makes her whole character arc seem futile. Throw in the fact that this enemies-to-lovers age-gap romance begins during the main characters’ father/mentor’s death where both of them are grieving and emotionally unavailable makes the whole relationship seem unhealthy from the start. So yeah… getting invested in these characters took a bit of time for me. (Especially when the enemies were enemy-ing a little too hard in the beginning to just full on making out with each other the next second.) I did love the setting of Hel’s and while some plot points including side characters seemed like they never got resolved, I did like most of the supporting characters! Did I like these characters? Eh… Did I like this book? Eh… Will I continue reading the rest of this series? Maybe, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing to do so anytime soon. *I received an ARC from Literally Yours PR in exchange for my honest opinion.   A little fun fact about me is that I was a theater kid in high school and today is the release day of The Breakup Lists by Adib Khorram. So naturally, I had to search for my old script of Twelfth Night because I did the same show in high school like the characters in this book! Okay enough about me, let’s get to the book review! Jackson Ghasnavi is a lot of things—a techie, a smoothie afficionado, a totally not obsessive list-maker—but one thing he’s not is a romantic. And why would he be? He’s already had a front row seat to his parents’ divorce and picked up the pieces of his sister Jasmine’s broken heart one too many times. No, Jackson is perfectly happy living life behind the scenes—he is a stage manager, after all—and keeping his romantic exploits limited to the breakup lists he makes for Jasmine, which chronicle every flaw (real or imagined) of her various and sundry exes. Enter Liam: the senior swim captain turned leading man that neither of the Ghasnavi siblings stop thinking about. Not that Jackson has a crush, of course. Jasmine is already setting her sights on him and he’s probably—no, definitely—straight anyway. So why does the idea of eventually writing a breakup list for him feel so impossible? Despite being out of the target demographic for some of these YA books, I still find comfort in the cliches and predictability of a YA romcom. And Khorram’s newest book delivers that in full! Not only do we get classic YA tropes and friendship and relationship drama scattered amongst the sweet and funny moments, there is also a lot of diversity in this LGBTQ+ romance. Our main character, Jackson, is not only gay and Iranian-American, but is also hard of hearing and wears cochlear implants. Having him be the center of the story adds an extra layer of depth to his struggles as a teenager trying to navigate high school. Alongside him is a love interest who’s just dreamy and a plethora of side characters that round out this novel to be the fun and binge-able YA novel it is. Also, as a former high school theatre kid, I appreciated every theatre reference in this book and made me wish I could go back to high school when, even though it didn’t seem like it at the time, things were much simpler. That nostalgia factor will definitely have older readers enjoying this story while younger readers will relate to the struggles these characters are dealing with. If you’re looking for a book with diverse characters, typical teenage angst and drama, disability rep, and theatre kids galore then this is the book for you. *I received an ARC from Penguin Teen in exchange for my honest opinion.  What happens when life takes an unexpected turn? Well, Tracey Garvis Graves shares exactly that in her newest romance novel The Trail of Lost Hearts. Set to be released on March 26th, get your tissues ready for this book! Thirty-four-year-old Wren Waters believes that if you pay attention, the universe will send you exactly what you need. But her worldview shatters when the universe delivers two life-altering blows she didn’t see coming, and all she wants to do is put the whole heartbreaking mess behind her. No one is more surprised than Wren when she discovers that geocaching―the outdoor activity of using GPS to look for hidden objects―is the only thing getting her out of bed and out of her head. She decides that a weeklong solo quest geocaching in Oregon is exactly what she needs to take back control of her life. Enter Marshall Hendricks, a psychologist searching for distraction as he struggles with a life-altering blow of his own. Though Wren initially rebuffs Marshall’s attempt at hiker small talk, she’s beyond grateful when he rescues her from a horrifying encounter farther down the trail. In the interest of safety, Marshall suggests partnering up to look for additional caches. Wren’s no longer quite so trusting of the universe―or men in general―but her inner circle might argue that a smart, charismatic psychologist isn’t the worst thing the universe could place in her path. What begins as a platonic road trip gradually blossoms into something deeper, and the more Wren learns about Marshall, the more she wants to know. Now all she can do is hope that the universe gets it right this time. This book wasn’t the romance book I was expecting but that might be because it should really be classified as women’s fiction? I did feel a bit deceived by the summary on the back of this book; however, I can appreciate that the author didn’t want to spoil the entire plot of the novel in just a few sentences lol! Regardless of its official genre categorization, I still appreciated this story and how it tackles heavier topics like grief, loss, and other unexpected life events. I think fans of Katherine Center would love this book as the beginning of it was reminiscent of Happiness for Beginners to me (in a good way)! Wren’s journey to rediscover herself and try to heal after suffering such loss and heartache is emboldening to read about and how she and Marshall find themselves both helping each other and figuring things out for themselves is really hopeful to see play out throughout the course of the book. However, there is a MAJOR shift in the second half of the novel that while still connecting to the first part of the story, leaves the reader with a bit of whiplash in terms of story content. Ultimately, the story ends well, but I was very surprised by the shift the novel decided to take! If you’re looking for a book that showcases strength and starting over and finding happiness at the end of the journey, this is the book for you! *I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest opinion.  If you’re looking for a regency romance to hold you over until Bridgerton S3, then look no further than Amelia Grey’s new novel Sincerely, The Duke which comes out tomorrow! Miss Edwina Fine has one shot at finding a husband before the ton learns her secret. With red hair, green eyes and being one of triplets, she knows the superstitions and rumors about women like her. So when a marriage proposal from the Duke of Stonerick arrives by mail, Edwina jumps at the chance to solve her problems. But nothing could prepare her for the attraction that sparks between them when they finally meet. It will take more than Edwina’s wit to navigate her past, reservations about marriage and the passion that ignites within her for the irresistible duke. Rick, Duke of Stonerick, enjoys his life exactly as it is: honing his expert marksmanship, playing cards and fencing with his friends. He even enjoys exchanging affectionate humor with his mother about his lack of matrimonial engagement. But when a recurring illness reminds Rick he has no heir, he picks a name from the list of prospects his mother presents and writes a simple marriage proposal. Then he forgets about it—until that very lady with an iron will and breathtaking bravery shows up at his doorstep, ready to accept. Edwina tempts him like no other and suddenly, marriage doesn’t seem much of an inconvenience after all. But will keeping his illness a secret cost him her love? While I really enjoyed this book, it wasn’t my favorite historical romance book. I think I just loved the first book in this series (YOURS TRULY, THE DUKE) so much that I had too high of hopes for this one… But regardless, I still loved Rick and Edwina and how their romance blossomed! I think there were a lot of plotlines that got mixed up and while they all pretty much get resolved, I think I would’ve preferred less plotlines and had that added depth rather than too many surface level plots. That being said, I did learn a lot about superstitions from the regency era while reading this story that I hadn’t heard of before so that was an interesting detail added in that made this novel stand out. While I liked the first book in this series better, I still recommend this book to regency romance lovers and am definitely excited to read the new book in this series whenever it comes out! *I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest opinion.  Chelsea Curto’s latest book Behind the Camera, which comes out today (3/19), was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and let me tell you: this single dad/nanny romance does not disappoint! Maven Wood is ready for a fresh start. After an injury on the soccer field leads to her dropping out of college, she needs a change. When her godfather–the coach of the hottest team in the NFL–tells her about an open position as a sports photographer, she jumps at the chance to apply. The pay is good, but it doesn’t cover her rent after her roommate moves out. Out of ideas, she’s not sure how she’s going to afford to make ends meet… until the cute kicker comes to her rescue. Dallas Lansfield never thought he’d be a single dad, but he’s embracing the role as best as he can. With a four-year-old that has too much energy and not enough time on his hands, he needs help. Desperately. So when he hears that his coach’s goddaughter is looking for a way to make more money, he practically begs her to come be his nanny. Maven and Dallas aren’t allowed to fall for each other. Getting involved with a player on the team is off-limits and a quick way to get fired. But what starts as a professional relationship turns into something deeper. In front of people, they’re colleagues. Behind the cameras, though, their attraction only grows. Late night talks turn into sharing a bed, and soon, Dallas would rather give up his career than give up the feelings he has for Maven. He can’t have her. So why does he want her so damn bad? Chelsea Curto has quickly become one of my new favorite authors and Behind the Camera has just solidified that for me! This book has everything I could want in a romance: a sexy MMC who’s an athlete and a single dad, a sassy and confident FMC, “he-needs-a-nanny-stat!” trope, an adorable child of a MC, forbidden romance, cameos from beloved characters in previous books, new minor characters that add comedic relief, and soooo much steaminess!!! Honestly, I loved Dallas and Maeve as characters and how their relationship progressed. While I found this book to be on the longer side, I still enjoyed every cute moment with June, every sexually tense moment trying to deny their feelings, and every steamy moment after that! While you can definitely read this book as a standalone, I do recommend reading the first two books in this series for fun because they’re soooo good!! If you’re looking for a forbidden sports romance to add to your TBR, then this is the book for you! *I received an ARC from Love Notes PR in exchange for my honest opinion.  One of my favorite YA authors, Ashley Schumacher, has her newest novel coming out tomorrow (March 19th) and it is the new novel to add to your TBR. In the Orbit of You dives deep into the connections we make with the most unlikely of people and why certain people enter our lives at certain times. It's been years since Nova Evans last saw Sam. She was too young then to understand why he had to move away—and what it had to do with the cuts and bruises he got from home and never wanted to talk about. All she knew is that they promised to find each other when they were older, something she thought was impossible thanks to her and her mom moving around constantly. Until she bumps into Sam in her new school, and realizes he has clearly forgotten their childhood promise. Sam Jordan has a plan for his life: accept his college football scholarship, date his girlfriend Abigail, and—most importantly—hide how much he wants to do something, anything other than The Plan™ his parents and coaches have set before him. It doesn't matter if sometimes he finds himself thinking about the new girl he met in the cafeteria, a girl who reminds him of a past that hurts to remember. When a school-wide personality test reveals Nova and Sam to be each others' top matches—not only that, but a match of 99%, the highest in the school—they begin to remember why they were such close friends, all those years ago. As well as the myriad of reasons this new-yet-familiar, magnetic, sparkling thing between them will never, ever work out. Ashley Schumacher never fails to make me feel so many emotions and sob uncontrollably while reading one of her books. As I did with two of her other books, I absolutely fell in love with the lyrical storytelling style and the unique way in which this story was told. Having the book set in such a short time frame while also references moments both before and after the present brought so much depth to the novel. I also loved the cast of characters in this book! The side characters brought a bit of levity and classy YA-ness to this high school story, but Nova and Sam were such amazing characters! The both had the usual characteristics of YA book characters that make them relatable to the reader (not knowing what to do with their future, figuring out what their purpose is, trying to be honest with, while not disappointing, their parents), but the way they almost felt otherworldly is what really made them such memorable characters. These two people that were so ingrained in each other as children that years later are still bound to one another after a chance encounter made me so hopeful that everything happens for a reason and despite there being both good and bad in our lives, things always work out the way they’re supposed to whether we know it or not. Without giving away any spoilers, I honestly think the way Schumacher crafted this story, and more specifically its ending, was masterfully done! I teared up at the smallest little moments in the book and then proceeded to sob my way through the last few characters because I just felt so deeply for these characters and I didn’t want this story to end. This might be a weird comparison, but I feel like Ashley Schumacher has become the YA author that John Green was to many of us in the 2010s. Authors that will leave you both laughing and crying by the end of their book. Authors that will present to you the harsh realities of life, even in the smallest moments of their books. Authors who will continue to draw you in despite knowing you will finish their book in tears, because you know you will be changed for the better after reading it. Anyways, I cannot recommend this book enough and I encourage you to experience Nova and Sam’s story firsthand. You won’t regret it. *I received an ARC from Wednesday Books in exchange for my honest opinion.   In her sophomore novel, Natasha Siegel brings readers to 1660s London in The Phoenix Bride. This masterful must-read historical fiction book comes out on March 12th and you should definitely keep your eyes peeled for it! It is 1666, one year after plague has devastated England. Young widow Cecilia Thorowgood is a prisoner, trapped and isolated within her older sister’s cavernous London townhouse. At the mercy of a legion of doctors trying to cure her grief with their impatient scalpels, Cecilia shows no sign of improvement. Soon, her sister makes a decision born of desperation: She hires a new physician, someone known for more unusual methods. But he is a foreigner. A Jew. And despite his attempts to save Cecilia, he knows he cannot quell the storm of sorrow that rages inside her. There is no easy cure for melancholy. David Mendes fled Portugal to seek a new life in London, where he could practice his faith openly and leave the past behind. Still reeling from the loss of his beloved friend and struggling with his religion and his past, David is free and safe in this foreign land but incapable of happiness. The security he has found in London threatens to disappear when he meets Cecilia, and he finds himself torn between his duty to medicine and the beating of his own heart. He is the only one who can see her pain; the glimmers of light she emits, even in her gloom, are enough to make him believe once more in love. Facing seemingly insurmountable challenges, David and Cecilia must endure prejudice, heartbreak, and calamity before they can be together. The Great Fire is coming—and with the city in flames around them, love has never felt so impossible. This book was such a unique read and I immediately need more books like it! I loved the way grief was tackled in this book and how both Cecilia and David experienced it in their own ways, yet also showed each other that life is worth living to its fullest, despite the fact that loss could occur again. I was so fascinated by the historical aspects written into this book which included the treatment of Jews in 1660s England, the status of women and overall hierarchy of society, and medicinal treatments of the time. I thought the juxtaposition of Jewish culture and the predominant Christian-based English culture was so interesting to read about and I felt like I learned a lot of this time in history that isn’t often spoken about. I loved this forbidden romance and how Cecilia and David’s love story played out. Without giving away any spoilers, I thought their ending was fitting for what the time period was and I thought Siegel did a brilliant job of showcasing what their love story would’ve been like in real life. And despite my desperation for a smooth and happy ending in every book I read, I actually loved the obstacles that the characters had to go through in order to become their best selves. Aside from David and Cecilia having such amazing character arcs, I adored the side characters (especially Jan and Sam!) and even appreciated the more antagonistic characters in the story. Whether you’re looking for a historical fiction book centered around a forbidden romance that dives deep into different cultures during 1660s England or just looking for a unique new read, I highly recommend this book! *I received a complimentary copy of the book from Random House  Even though It Must Be True Then by Luci Adams comes out tomorrow (March 11th), I’m gonna tell you guys about it today because why not! Daisy has realized you really can hit rock bottom when you lose your job, your boyfriend, and are estranged from your sister all at once. Seeking to claw her way out from the very definition of a bad year, her plan is to start by simply looking like she’s clawing her way out of rock bottom. On Instagram. Obviously. But when she takes a stopgap job as a nanny to help a single father with his two young girls, being immersed in a close-knit, loving family starts to poke holes in her plan. Can making her not-so-picture-perfect life look perfect online really help her derailed career get back on track? Can it mend her relationship with her unreliable and painfully irritating sister? And can it get her back in the arms of her unbelievably beautiful and shallow ex…and as she gets closer to someone new, does she even want to? I’ll be honest: this book had me just as confused as our main character is! It took me a little while to get into and yet was also strangely binge-able for me? I found some of the plot to be dragged out too much, yet also I could stop turning the pages to see what was going to happen? If you’re now confused also, then yeah same and I’m sorry… There are some parts in this novel that are cute, but others that infuriated me and while Daisy is supposed to be endearing and relatable, I found her so insecure and not relatable to me that I just want to smack her silly! The book is basically just a bunch of present day situations that make Daisy out to be a hot mess (which she is) and flashbacks that make her look like a desperate idiot. But, as usually, I’m a sucker for cute kids and the single dad trope so that part I think is what had me in a chokehold and kept me reading. Eventually, this book did get better in the end and I’ll admit to tearing up at certain points, but I think Daisy just took too long to reach her character arc for me. While this book wasn’t my favorite, I still found it enjoyable and maybe you’ll like it too! *I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest opinion.  Melanie Harlow returns to Cherry Tree Harbor with the fourth book in the series, Small Town Swoon! This KU series is slowly turning into one of my go-to comfort series and will continue sharing the Buckley Brothers journeys to find love on March 4th. Only in the movies does the Hollywood heartthrob fall for the small town diner waitress. So when Dashiel Buckley returns to Cherry Tree Harbor for a wedding, Ariana DeLuca is determined not to let her massive crush on her best friend’s older brother hijack her good sense. But when Ari’s hand is injured, it’s Dash who steps in at the diner. The moment he realizes she can’t afford to fix her car, he takes care of it. And when he hears about the way her toxic ex treated her, he refuses to let it go. Now it’s not just his blue eyes and sexy smile that have Ari swooning, it’s the way Dash wants to help her. Encourage her. Protect her. She can’t resist. Eventually night after night, Dash warms Ari’s bed, but it can’t last. Their dreams have them on two different paths–Dash wants the lights, camera, action of Hollywood, and Ari will always be a small town girl. Just like its predecessors, Small Town Swoon has all of the charm of a small town romance centered around a tight-knit family that makes you wish you were part of that family too. Throw in a little pining from childhood, a FWB situation, and a he’s-a-Hollywood-actor-and-I’m-just-a-chef plot line and this book is a recipe for success! Seeing these characters open themselves up to love and be willing to take risks in their own respective careers was really fun to read about and made Ari and Dash that much more relatable. I also really loved the cameos of couples from the previous books in the series and cannot wait to see what’s next for the Buckley clan! This one’s for my small town, second chance, best friend’s brother, celebrity romance lovers! *I received an ARC from the author in exchange for my honest opinion. |
AuthorHi! My name is Elisa and my bookshelf is quite literally overflowing! Join me in my journey of reading as many books as humanly possible! Archives
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