Adult Contemporary

Review: The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord

~ megs14malloy ~ Leave a comment

The Break-Up Pact: A NovelThe Break-Up Pact: A Novel by Emma Lord
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Break-Up Pact is Emma Lord’s upcoming release and one I was so excited for. Set to hit shelves in August 2024, this is also Lord’s Adult Romance debut.

In this story, we follow June and Levi, who were best friends as teenagers. A misunderstanding just prior to Levi departing for college, resulted in a falling out, and the two have essentially lost touch ever since. Now as adults, they’ve both returned to their hometown of Benson Beach.

June is struggling to maintain the beach-side tea shop opened by her sister. She also has just had a very embarrassing, very public break-up, resulting in her being dubbed ‘the crying girl’ on social media. Humiliating!

Levi has returned to town after an equally public break-up, wherein his long-time girlfriend left him for a celebrity. Everyone is talking about it. Trying to escape the limelight for a while, Levi flees NYC and returns to Benson Beach, where he can focus more on his writing.

As Levi and June come back into each other’s orbit, they begin talking and catching-up. After a picture of them caught in a very suggestive position goes viral, they decide to go along with the charade and pretend to be a couple.

If it’s drama and intrigue the people want, it’s drama and intrigue they shall get. The bonus being extra business for June’s shop and both of their ex’s getting jealous.

I love a fake-dating trope and I thought it was well-executed here. Both June and Levi were compelling characters and I enjoyed learning about their past history, as well as watching them learn about each other all over again.

They are both dealing with some fairly serious adult issues, with their careers and their recent break-ups, and the examination of those things does take up a good portion of the narrative. Because of that, this has a much more serious tone than Lord’s previous works, IMO, but it makes sense.

In an adult world, adult things happen. It’s not always sunshine and rainbows. Businesses end up in trouble. You end up in a career you aren’t passionate about. You worry you wasted time with someone who was never going to be the one for you. You worry that you are never going to find the place you really belong. You lose friends, you lose loved ones; these are all things that most of us can relate to…

My concern for this novel is that people will go in expecting a super punchy, witty, fun Rom-Com and they’ll be surprised by the more serious tone; maybe causing them to not rate it as highly.

I would pick this up expecting an Adult Contemporary with a convincing fake-dating trope. It’s not all giggle and laughs and swooning; although there is some of that too.

In my eyes, this is a successful transition into the Adult space for Lord. I thought the characters were very well-developed and it did fill my heart watching the evolution of their relationship. I feel like as far as couples go, Levi and June are perfectly matched.

I did enjoy how this was paced. I thought it had a fun introductory section and then it slows down a bit as we get into the meat of their relationship. As the fake dates begin, it does pick up again and then as we get closer to conclusion, it speeds along at a great pace.

In addition to the likeable main characters, I loved the side characters in this as well. June’s best friend, who helps the couple with their plot, and June’s brother and his fiance, all had fun-loving, supportive roles, that truly added to the feel of the narrative.

Overall, I think this is a very solid, heart-warming story. I enjoyed going on this journey with both of these characters as they found themselves, and each other at the same time.

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin’s Griffin, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I adore Emma Lord and will continue to pick up everything she writes.

This was super cute and I’m proud of her for branching out into the Adult Contemporary space. Well done!!

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Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties (Aunties #3) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

~ megs14malloy

The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties (Aunties, #3)The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties is the third, and reportedly final book in the Aunties series by Jesse Q. Sutanto.

This is an Adult Contemporary Fiction series that leans heavily into the humor. I have enjoyed all of the books and actually feel really sad that it’s over.

In this third installment, we travel along with Meddy, her husband, Nathan, her Ma and three Aunties, as they travel to Jakarta to visit their extended family for Chinese New Year.

This is the second novel I have read from Sutanto this year that is set in Jakarta, and I love how she brings both the place and culture to the page. You can tell it’s a place near and dear to her heart, it feels special.

Meddy was nervous about the trip, as it was Nathan’s first time being there and meeting her large, high-energy family. She should’ve known he would take it like a champ.

I loved meeting Meddy’s extended family and learning about the traditions they have surrounding their Chinese New Year celebrations. It’s at one of these parties that the big blunder at the heart of this story occurs.

A old beau of Second Aunt arrives, bearing a bevy of gifts. Unfortunately, one of them was actually an important document he was intending to gift to a business rival to cement a new partnership. This packet gets mixed in amongst the other gifts and accidentally gets handed out.

Once the mistake is discovered, it seems simple, just track down the person who received the gift and they’ll give it back. But we all know Meddy and the Aunties could never be that lucky, or simple.

It seems the packet didn’t go to any one of the Chan family members. There was a teenage girl who stopped by to visit one of Meddy’s younger cousins, and she’s the one who ended up with it.

The business rival is not happy and serious repercussions are threatened if this document isn’t found and given to them. Now it’s a race against the clock to clear up this mess before one, or more, of them get hurt.

I thought this was so entertaining. I love the relationships in these books. It’s the family vibes. They get me. They drive each other crazy, but they love each other so much and would do anything for each other.

I also have enjoyed watching Meddy and Nathan’s relationship blossom. She’s truly found her person. He’s helped her to relax and feel comfortable being herself. He’s so patient with her family as well; huge plus.

Determined to get the document back, Meddy, Nathan and the Aunties end up interacting with some of the most powerful people in Jakarta.

Their scheming, plotting and overall efforts, OMG, they’re so funny. Only the Chans. And I actually think it humbled Big Aunt a little bit being around some folks more powerful than herself. It made me so happy.

As I was reading this, I actually didn’t know it was slated to be the last one and I was coming up with a bunch of great ideas for the fourth book: Abi and Second Aunt’s wedding, Meddy and Nathan starting a family, Big Aunt rekindling her singing career, etc.

Sadly, it seems like this is it. Regardless, whatever projects Sutanto is working on next, you know I will be reading them. She’s definitely become one of my go-to authors over the last few years. I love it all!

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m sorry to be parting with the Chans, but they’ll live on in my heart!

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Review: Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon

~ megs14malloy

Business or PleasureBusiness or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Truth be told, I don’t actually read a lot of Romance. It’s not really a genre I actively seek out, or stock my shelves with. Not because I see anything wrong with it, it’s just not a genre I tend to gravitate toward on the regular.

With this being said, however, I do have a handful of Contemporary Romance authors that I gel with quite well. I do seek out their stories and pick up everything they put out. Rachel Lynn Solomon is one of them.

I love RLS. It’s her character work and dialogue that really does it for me. I enjoy how well-rounded her characters are and how they aren’t perfect. Each one will have flaws, or personal challenges, that they are navigating through in addition to the romance elements.

Business or Pleasure follows Chandler Cohen, a ghostwriter, who after penning a memoir for a social media influencer has become unsatisfied with her current career path. She’s not sure how much more she can take of being pushed to the shadows and overlooked.

Leaving a business event feeling down on herself and unsure of her future, Chandler heads to a bar. Relatable.

It’s there she meets an extremely charming man. He seems interested and she definitely is. One thing leads to another, and the most awkward hook-up ensues.

His moves left her cringing, but he did try. Feeling unsatisfied, Chandler takes off while he’s asleep; less uncomfortable that way.

She blames her bruised ego from the night before for allowing it to get that far and then vows to just get on with her life. It’s too bad, he was really cute though.

Her ability to get on with her life starts sooner than she expected when she gets a call from her agent, offering her a new project, to ghostwrite a memoir for a C-list actor, Finn Walsh, best known for his role in a cult classic werewolf television show.

We’re talking full on CW here, people.

Finn spends most of his time now traveling around to various conventions, where his fans still come out in droves. He’s had some other work, direct to television movies, that kind of thing, but he’s sort of stuck in a rut of his own.

This memoir will allow him to tell his story. To help people to see who he really is, versus his character’s persona.

Chandler never watched the show, but she definitely knows Finn. The man of the awkward one-night stand. How can this possibly be her life?

Nevertheless, awkward moments aside, Chandler accepts the assignment. She’s really going to get to know Finn now, whether she wants to or not.

The two end up traveling together, as he keeps up with his convention commitments and works on his memoir at the same time. There’s a huge elephant in the room and they decide to talk about.

When Chandler admits their encounter was well short of mind-blowing, Finn is mortified. No one has ever told him that he wasn’t performing as well as he could, or should. Trusting her, Finn requests Chandler school him in the art of satisfaction and she’s more than ready to teach.

I thought this one was a lot of fun. I always enjoy Solomon’s characters and romance plots. This one is extra steamy and promotes a message of sex positivity, as well as open and honest communication amongst partners.

I thought the relationship between Chandler and Finn was cute, although I could have done with more focus on the emotional areas and less on their sexual relationship.

That’s purely personal taste though. This is still an above-average Romance read, IMO.

This story includes some mixed media elements that added to the fun, such as excerpts from Finn’s show. I love fandoms and those excerpts definitely helped to build out that vibe surrounding Finn.

As a couple, these two are off the charts cute. I actually felt there could have been a bit more tension, miscues, or miscommunication between them.

I know that sounds crazy to say, as we all always complain about the pointless miscommunications, but it does add a bit to the basic problem/resolution format.

There was a little bit of that, but this almost seemed too easy. Either way, it was a ton of fun, I am glad I made time for it and I can’t wait to see what RLS comes up with next!!

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

Solomon’s characters and witty banter will keep me coming back each and every time. Well done!

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Review: Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan

~ megs14malloy

Do Your WorstDo Your Worst by Rosie Danan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Do Your Worst is a recent Adult Romance release from Rosie Danan. In this story we follow Riley Rhodes, a young American woman trying to make a go as a curse breaker, and Clark Edgewater, a disgraced young archaeologist trying to rebuild his tarnished reputation.

The setting is Arden Castle, an infamous Scottish castle known for its centuries-long curse. Riley gets the opportunity to travel there to try her best to break the curse before the new owners turn it into a luxury getaway spot.

Meanwhile, Clark is there working for the HES, surveying the site, making sure anything of historical significance is found, documented and handled properly.

There’s instant attraction, but also a healthy dose of animosity. This is definitely an opposites attract scenario, with their personalities clashing hard and often.

They’re both trying to drive each other away, but the chemistry keeps bringing them together. There are some silly moments, where you can hardly believe they’re making the choices they are, but as they begin to open up to one another, their personalities truly blossom.

I loved both of these characters. Riley is head strong and determined. She’s pushing to try to prove herself and I think she saw a bit of that reflected in Clark’s personality.

Clark is such a sweetie. He’s been hurt, so he has a bit of a wall up, but there’s also an innocence about him that is so charming. You can tell how much he is intrigued by Riley. It’s cute as heck.

I really loved this set-up and the setting. The story kicks off very quickly. I liked that Danan didn’t waste time before getting us to Scotland. The idea of the curse and the history of the castle were both interesting. I would love to get an assignment like Riley had here.

I also really enjoyed how different these two characters were, but how well their personalities played off one another. The banter was great, as were the steamy scenes. I think Danan did a fantastic job building out the relationship dynamics. Their push-and-pull was enticing.

The conclusion to this was very cutesy as well. It got me in my feels, but I was also intrigued by how it left off. Could we be seeing more of Riley and Clark in the future? I definitely think it’s a possibility.

Whether or not we are getting more with them, or maybe getting some stories with side characters involved, like Clark’s brother, whatever it is, I will read it. This was a strong Romance for me. It had just the right mix of humor, steam, and inclusion of work and family issues, for my taste.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I had never read from Danan before, so this was a delightful surprise.

I am looking forward to picking up more of her work.

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Review: Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner

~ megs14malloy

Cleat CuteCleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Cleat Cute is the latest release from Romance author, Meryl Wilsner. I have read all three of Wilsner’s releases thus far and this one falls direct middle of the road for me.

In this story, we follow professional female soccer players, Phoebe Matthews and Grace Henderson. Grace is a veteran player, having played professionally since she was just a teen. While Phoebe is the hot new girl in the league, recently being called up after her stellar college career.

As a younger player, Phoebe grew up idolizing Grace Henderson, even hanging a poster of her over her bed. Now she is getting the chance to play with her; in her league. Phoebe can hardly believe this is her life.

Moving from Idaho to New Orleans will be a big change for Phoebe, but she knows she can make it work.

Phoebe throws herself into her new life with her signature gregarious style. Grace, of a much more subdued nature, is a bit taken aback by the new girl. The more time she spends with Phoebe though, the more drawn to her she becomes.

Over a series of increasingly personal encounters, the two women end up becoming friends. More specifically, friends with very incredibly hot benefits.

You then follow along with these women as they navigate their complicated friendship, as well as their equally complicated careers.

Cleat Cute features a well-developed romance, with plenty of miscommunication causing tension and growth, however, for me, my reaction to it throughout was mixed.

There were moments I was completely invested and enjoying the topics that Wilsner was examining. Then something would happen that would turn me off completely. It always took a while after the turn off to become invested again.

Phoebe’s character generally drove me a bit batty, but initially I felt like Grace was someone I could really get behind. Then there would be moments, where in order to provide a conflict, or miscommunication, it seemed like Grace’s personality would completely change in order to make that feasible.

I just didn’t like that aspect. I may be completely off base with this too, but to me it seemed like Grace was experienced and confident and then she would have these interactions with Phoebe that felt like she had never talked to another human before.

It was strange. It was like the conflict needed to be there and we were going to make it happen no matter how out of place it seemed.

It was those types of situations that made it feel slightly inconsistent to me. By the end though, the characters had won me over and I was fully behind their new-found open communication and expression of tenderness.

There were also some discussions, particularly with Grace, who was grappling with a hip flexor injury, about where she wanted to go with her career. She was benched for a while during recovery and she had to decide if she wanted to step back into a lesser role when she returned.

As a sports person, I enjoyed that, getting the chance to delve more into detail on Grace’s thoughts and emotions regarding her career and responsibility to her team.

I would recommend this one to anyone who enjoys a steamy sapphic romance; extra points if you enjoy a sports romance. The audiobook was well narrated, so definitely recommend that as a format for as well.

Thank you to the publisher, Griffin and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I will continue to pick up Wilsner’s new releases.

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Review: The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

~ megs14malloy

The Seven Year SlipThe Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Last year, after reading the synopsis, I had no idea how Ashley Poston was going to deliver on the The Dead Romantics. How was it even going to work?

Not only did she nail that, but it ended up being one of my most memorable books of 2022. I loved it so much and have been eagerly anticipating this new release ever since.

The time has finally come for the latest Adult Romantic Contemporary from Ashley Poston.

Unsurprisingly, The Seven Year Slip is stunning. I love this story with my whole heart. Poston has such a unique and magical sense of Contemporary storytelling that really vibes with my tastes.

I cried actual tears, y’all. That’s rough, but feels so good.

In this story we follow Clementine, a single-woman in NYC. She works in publishing and lives in a well-loved apartment that she recently inherited from her late-Aunt.

Six-months have passed since the toughest day in Clementine’s life and she feels like she is doing a relatively good job holding it all together. She is still working hard, focusing on that and just staying busy.

She may be fooling herself though, as she’s sort of standing in place; stuck.

That is until the apartment, which her Aunt always promised her was magical, delivers her the perfect gift she needed to potentially shake her out of her funk.

A man. The apartment delivers her a handsome, kind, sexy man with a Southern drawl and a penchant for cooking. The only problem, for him, it’s seven years in the past.

How the heck is this going to work, you may be wondering? How does this even make sense? All I can say to you is, trust the Poston.

The Seven Year Slip is an absolute delight. It’s so layered and beautiful. I loved so, so much about this story, but for me, the really special part was the relationship between Clementine and her Aunt.

As someone who is so incredibly close with my now adult niece and nephew, that aspect hit me hard. Right in the feels, like a gut punch. You could tell that Poston was writing this story from the heart. I felt it all the way to the marrow of my bones.

Poston’s writing is incredibly smooth and engaging. She quickly pulls you in and before you know it, you’re completely immersed in whatever world she has created.

Additionally, she has a smart and snarky wit that just tickles me. Her characters are fantastic and I love the exploration of the different kinds of love and relationships. Particularly the family relationships are so well done.

As you can tell, I adored this story. I walk away with a full heart. 10-out-of-10 recommend.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This will definitely be a standout for me in 2023!

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Review: For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa

~ megs14malloy

For Butter or WorseFor Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Nina Lyon has worked hard to make a name for herself as a chef. When she decided to host a culinary reality television show, some people felt she was selling out, but Nina chose to take the risk anyway.

Nina views the show, The Next Cooking Champ!, as a great way to secure her name, brand and the success of her restaurant.

Her co-host, Leo O’Donnell, is a thorn in her side however, the only real downside to the show. Dealing with him every day; good grief.

Leo doesn’t mean to drive Nina nuts. He’s not like aiming to tick her off or anything, it just happens. The stress of filming gets to him and he seems to direct that towards her. Whoops.

When Leo takes a joke a smidge too far, Nina quits the show, live on air.

Later when Leo and Nina get caught in what appears to be a compromising position by paparazzi, the fans go absolutely nuts. Has there been a secret relationship unfolding when the cameras are off?

Well no, but it would certainly help both of their careers if that were true. Thus, their agents arrange a fake dating relationship in the hopes of salvaging these two celebrity chefs’ reputations.

For Butter or Worse is a cute and satisfying enemies-to-lovers meets faking-dating story. I enjoyed my time reading this and loved the idea of two celebrity chefs having a bit of a romance.

I wish that they would have spent more time actually involved in the reality cooking show though. That’s sort of what sold me on this, so I was a little disappointed it wasn’t more of a setting for the actual story.

With this being said, it was still enjoyable reading about two chefs as main characters. They come from different worlds in the culinary business and I liked reading about their challenges within their careers.

I also always enjoy an enemies-to-lovers trope and this one was well-done. I will say, I personally prefer when the banter has a bit more wit and humor, but it could be that this just wasn’t fit to my sense of humor. I definitely enjoyed it, but I wasn’t giggling along as Nina and Leo were exchanging barbs.

The sex scenes in this were great. I will say I enjoyed the level of steam La Rosa brought to the page here. There was just enough to keep me fanning myself, without crossing into eye-roll territory.

I also liked the sweet scenes a lot. The scenes were Nina and Leo really started to connect. While there was miscommunication, of course, it never got overplayed or annoying for me. I think the tension was well-built and resolved, so great job by the author on that.

Overall, I enjoyed this. It is a good, fun story, with believable characters and an interesting set-up. I would recommend this to fans of Jasmine Guillory ((me)), or Alisha Rai’s Modern Love series ((also, me)).

I am definitely looking forward to picking-up more from this author. I think she really did a lot of things well here and I look forward to following her skills grow with future work.

Thank you so much to the publisher, HQN, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

This is a fun book and I’m so glad I finally got around to reading it. It made me hungry…for delicious food and for more steamy romance!

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Review: Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

~ megs14malloy

**4.5-stars rounded up**

The Queen of Steamy-STEM is back and she’s done it again!!

Without putting too fine a point on it, I’ll just say that Hazelwood’s stories are the romances of my dreams. I loved this one even more than [book:The Love Hypothesis|56732449].

In Love on the Brain the Reader is introduced to Bee Königswasser, a neuroscientist, who has just been offered the opportunity to work on the project of her dreams for none other than NASA.

Moving to Houston, Bee gets to bring along her dark-ray of moonshine assistant, Rocío, who I absolutely adored. The project is set to run for 3-months. This could be the greatest 3-months of her career thus far. Bee is pumped.

Then she discovers her co-lead on the project is Levi Ward. Ughhhh, way to ruin an entire vibe. Levi is a huge jerk her spurned her at every turn in grad school.

Bee never really understood what his deal was with her, but she knows she doesn’t want to repeat any of it at this point in her life.

Unsurprisingly, as Bee and Rocío attempt to settle in at their new office and get to work, it seems that someone is sabotaging them.

Honestly, it’s like Levi isn’t even trying to hide it, but the longer they’re around each other, Bee begins to see a different side to him. Is Levi softening towards her, or was she possibly misreading him all along? Also, if it isn’t Levi sabotaging her, who is it?

Y’all, I adored this story. From the very first moments in Bee’s perspective, I knew I was going to become so connected to her. I adored the way her brain worked, her passions, her backstory, her insecurities, it was all so solidly developed.

Then there is Levi, the epitome of a leading man. He’s handsome, smart, industrious, athletic, motivated, charming, sweet and a Star Wars fan. I mean, sign me up.

I love an Enemies-to-Lovers trope, so I wasn’t surprised that I enjoyed this plot. One thing I really appreciated was that most of the miscommunication between the couple is cleared up earlier in the book than is generally the case.

This allowed a better building of their relationship in my opinion. Usually you spend so much time just trying to have characters actually communicate with one another, it can get frustrating. I didn’t really feel that here. It felt like just the right amount to build tension without causing annoyance.

I also really loved the side characters, particularly Rocío, Bee’s assistant, and Levi’s cat, Schrodinger, because who doesn’t love the cats who star in romance stories!?

I will say towards the end, there was some silly drama that felt very eye-rolly for me, hence the 4.5-stars rounded up, versus a full-5. With that being said though, that’s a pretty minor thing and it was the only time where I was sort of shaken out of the hypnotic trance this story put me in.

I have read all of Hazelwood’s currently published works and I have enjoyed them all. I love that she is writing women in STEM characters and that her characters are all so well-rounded and likable.

As with many Romance stories, there is a formula to them, but hey, they work. You know what you are getting into when you pick up a Hazelwood book and I’m here for it all the way.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

This is my favorite Hazelwood yet and I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us next!!

Review: Elevation by Stephen King

~ megs14malloy

ElevationElevation by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

I picked up Elevation as Book #9 for my TBR-Haul Project.

I hauled this all the way back in October 2018 and had planned to read it immediately. Unfortunately, I didn’t pick it up as soon as I wanted and then it got buried on my shelves and forgotten.

This happens a lot, hence the need for the creation of my TBR-Haul Project. If I actually followed through on things, we wouldn’t need this type of self-improvement project.

But enough about me, let’s get to Elevation, which happens to be a Castle Rock story. That fact alone ups its rating. I love that twisted little town.

We follow Scott Carey, who has a disturbing health ailment he’s trying to make sense of. It sounds insane and he’d prefer not to have the whole town gossiping about it, therefore, he confides only in his good friend, retired General Practitioner, Doctor Bob Ellis.

Scott is losing weight, a lot of it and rapidly. Yet, his physical appearance looks no different.

It’s bizarre and no matter how long the two friends discuss it, they just can’t come up with an plausible explanation. However, scales don’t lie. He weighs the same dressed, or not, with heavy things in his pockets or not.

The problem is there seems to be no end in sight, besides reaching zero on the scale. What will happen then? Basically, Scott believes his life now has a rapidly approaching expiration date.

During the midst of all of this, he also is dealing with regular life stuff. Including befriending some new neighbors, a married lesbian couple who own a local dining establishment, and seem to be the talk of the town.

The women, Dee-Dee and Missy, are new to Castle Rock and not everyone is happy about the restaurateurs presence.

As the town starts preparing for its annual Thanksgiving Day 12k, Scott begins to notice the discriminatory behavior directed at the couple. In his own bumbling way, he decides to try to help.

Then there’s the actual road race, the turkey trot. An odd and well-detailed road race that Scott not only participates in, but excels at.

Unlikely friendships are formed and the rest of the book plays out with all the characters learning a lesson or two.

This story is like the Aesop’s Fable of Stephen King’s written work. It’s short, concise, a bit fantastical and I think he had a point to make; maybe a lesson for all of us.

In fact, I believe at the time, this story may have gotten a bit of heat for being too political. I personally have no opinion on that either way, but what I did take away from this was the quality of the storytelling.

As always I found the writing to be absolutely fluid and engaging; top notch stuff. However, if this had been included in a short-story collection, it wouldn’t really stand out to me as a favorite, as say something like Secret Window, Secret Garden, 1922 or The Body.

The book itself is gorgeous. The end pages and the illustrated chapter headings, loved them. 5-stars for the packaging. I’m happy to have it on my shelves as part of my vast King collection.

Overall, while this won’t stand out as one of my favorites of King’s work, I am glad that I finally made time for it. It always feels good to check something off a list!

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Review: Drunk on Love by Jasmine Guillory

~ megs14malloy

Drunk on LoveDrunk on Love by Jasmine Guillory
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Margot has been busy the past 3-years co-running Noble Family Vineyards with her brother, Elliott. The brother-sister duo inherited the Napa Valley vineyard and corresponding business when their dear Uncle passed away.

Margot has always felt like her brother was displeased that she was included in the bequeathment. Because of this, she has continuously worked extra hard to prove herself to him.

It’s put a strain on their relationship. Nevertheless, they both show up to work every day and bust their humps.

Sometimes after a stressful day, Margot likes to go to her best friend, Sydney’s restaurant, The Barrel, sit at the bar, chat with her friend, have some drinks and food, it’s her go-to for unwinding.

On one particular night, a very handsome man ends up sitting right beside her. After some friendly prodding from Sydney, Margot ends up taking a chance and striking up a conversation with him.

He’s quite charming and the two end up hitting it off, keeping each other company for the next few hours. Before they know it, it’s time to go, but neither really wants the night to end.

Luckily, they both live close by, so it doesn’t have to. One thing leads to another and the next morning, Luke, is dropping Margot off at her apartment before work. Whoops, that might have gone too far, but boy, was it fun.

Margot’s happy. She needed that. A fun little release. She fully expects and is prepared to never see Luke again.

Then she gets to work and that very morning is introduced to their new hire. Imagine her surprise when Luke walks into her office, just as sexy as the night before.

The two have to pretend they’ve never met, all while keeping their insane chemistry in check. The sparks traveling between them have to be snuffed out and ASAP.

How are these one-time lovers going to make this work? Can they hide their feelings from everyone, even themselves?

Drunk on Love is the 7th-book that I have read from Ms. Jasmine Guillory. I love her writing and will continue to pick up all her new releases.

While I will say this one felt a bit more subtle and serious than her other works, I still really enjoyed it. The characters were well-developed, believable and relatable. I was invested in their journeys, both together and individually.

I always like how Guillory’s characters are working through things in their careers, or family lives, that warrants equal attention to the romance involved in the story. For me, I need more substance than a strictly romantic plot to stay invested and Guillory always delivers that.

This is no exception. Both Margot and Luke are at sort of pivotal points in their lives, with their careers and in making decisions for their futures; where they want to be and what they want to be doing.

I liked the way that Guillory was able to explore them individually so deeply, without giving preference really to one over the other. The dual POV narrative definitely helped with that.

This is a sweet story. Luke is a dreamy leading man, so focused on Margot, on making her feel safe, happy and appreciated.

Margot was strong, independent and goal-oriented. I loved that about her. She didn’t need a man to make her life complete, but was willing to open her heart if the right one came along, even though it scared her to let down her defenses.

I had fun with this. I loved the setting in Napa Valley and the vineyard angle will set it apart for me, as I haven’t read any other romances taking place with that as a backdrop. It was a lovely change of pace. A perfect Autumnal romance!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

Drunk on Love is available tomorrow, Tuesday, September 20th!!

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