Adult Contemporary

Review: The Ex Hex (The Ex Hex #1) by Erin Sterling

~ megs14malloy

The Ex Hex (The Ex Hex #1)The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Ex Hex is the 1st-book in an Adult Witchy-Romantic Contemporary series by beloved author, Rachel Hawkins, writing here under the pen name, Erin Sterling.

In this story we follow Vivi Jones, who 9-years ago had her heart broken by the handsome and charming, Rhys Penhallow. It was a whirlwind romance; the couple only dating for 3-months, but it left a lasting impact on poor Vivi.

Poor Vivi aside, it sort of had a lasting impact on Rhys too…

Of course that impact was caused by the drunken curse that Vivi may have placed on him. I mean, to be fair, she wasn’t certain it would actually do anything serious, and she was heartbroken. What’s a girl to do?

When Rhys arrives back in town, after 9-long years have passed, in order to recharge the town’s ley lines, and disastrous things begin to happen, Vivi starts to think perhaps that silly curse wasn’t so inconsequential after all.

Reunited, Vivi and Rhys actually start getting along again and there’s no denying the chemistry. They need to put that aside though when it seems the curse may have grown, with the whole town now being at risk.

They must work together to try to save the town and end the blasted curse once and for all. If they do, could they possibly have a chance at a normal relationship?

This was cute! It was a nice change of pace for me, because I have been reading nothing but Dark Fiction ((my fave)) lately, but I didn’t find it particularly compelling.

I do plan to continue with the series though. I like the idea of this sweet little town and all the witchy vibes that Sterling included.

I would equate my experience with this to that of The Witches of Thistle Grove series, which begins with Payback’s a Witch. While none of those books has ever blown me away, I’ve read all of them.

They’re comforting. I like the formula. I know what I am getting when I go in, so I’m able to pick the perfect time to read them. I’m looking forward to finding the right time for the next book in this series. Just let me get cozy!

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Review: The Wedding Engagement by Zoe Allison

~ megs14malloy

The Wedding EngagementThe Wedding Engagement by Zoe Allison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The Wedding Engagement is a Romance by Zoe Allison. This story follows MCs, Liv and Arran, and is set in Scotland.

Liv is a preschool teacher and Arran is an up-and-coming painter, as well as a single-Dad to a sweet little boy that Liv will soon have in her classroom.. Arran is Liv’s brother’s best friend, so the two have known each other for a long time.

They have a very tight knit group of friends, but when Arran occasionally needs help with his son, it’s Liv who really starts showing up for him.

Her excuse is that she doesn’t have much of a life otherwise and she doesn’t mind at all. The truth is more complex. She’s crushing hard on Arran, but yeah, also loves his son too. She wants to help him and definitely enjoys the extra time with her bro’s handsome-BFF.

Arran notices Liv showing up for him, and in truth, he’s been noticing a lot more than that. The sexual tension is boiling and their banter is just so cute.

When the two end up set-up together on a blind date, they have the opportunity to finally express what they’ve been feeling, but they both fail. Big time.

Even though it felt frustrating in the beginning, because miscommunication, this cast of characters did really grow on me. Arran was such a sweetheart and I empathized with Liv and her very real struggles and self-doubts.

I loved Arran and Liv’s banter, and more importantly, just the way they were with each other; how they considered each other’s feelings so much.

My favorite thing though was the friend group. I loved how supportive and open they all were with one another, both the men and the women.

A lot of the plot of this revolves around Liv’s brother, Sam, and his engagement and upcoming marriage to one of her best friends. Arran and Liv are both involved in the wedding planning and the stag and hen do.

I did enjoy that as well. Those types of set-ups are always fun to read about, IMO, and it helped to bring about a lot of necessary time for Arran and Liv to spend together.

Additionally, I appreciate the real-life issues that Allison explored with these MCs. For Liv, there was a lot of back story having to do with her bio-Dad and him basically being a shitbag. For Arran, there was a lot of drama involving his ex-fiance, Jess.

Granted, I don’t read a ton of Romance, but the Romance I do read and enjoy tends to tackle some heavier topics for the MCs. I need more than just sex and attraction. I want them working through things together, as a team and providing both emotional support and protection for one another.

I felt like Allison did a great job of channeling that into this story. This budding relationship had substance. I could walk away feeling like it wasn’t going to fizzle out in 8-10 years when the sexual attraction may have started to take more of a backseat in comparison with other issues.

Overall, while I’m not sure how memorable this story will be for me in the long-run, I still really enjoyed it and the journey that I went on with these characters.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is the first that I have read from this author, but I’m definitely looking forward to more.

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Review: Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

~ megs14malloy

Not in LoveNot in Love by Ali Hazelwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

I don’t think I have ever rated a Hazelwood book under 4.5-stars, so we’ve entered new territory here.

This was still a good story, all things considered, but I didn’t find it as witty, swoony, sexy, or as charming as her previous books. I also felt less STEM-vibes than I am accustomed to with her writing.

In this we are following Rue, a biotech engineer, and Eli, who works in finance, think venture capitalist, and they’re brought together as Eli and his partners are beginning a takeover of the company that Rue works for, Kline.

Because they find themselves on opposing sides, it does have a bit of a forbidden romance feel initially. For me, I would have loved if that had been dragged out a little further. They didn’t keep it secret for very long.

Maybe I am supposed to believe it was because their chemistry is so strong everyone could just see it…

I loved Eli. I actually felt like he could be Hazelwood’s sexiest male lead to date. There was something about him; strength, confidence and kindness for days. I’m in love.

Then there’s Rue. My gym shoes have more personality than her. No offense.

Every moment from her perspective bored me. I felt absolute zero connection to her and I understand her background, and I guess that is why Hazelwood made her feel more dead fish than engaging female lead, but I wasn’t into it.

I struggled to picture the two of them together. At the start, it’s just supposed to be a hook-up, right? So, I get that. She’s a wildly attractive woman, who seems to only want one thing. What guy wouldn’t be attracted to that?

As the story continued though, I just couldn’t get behind the idea of him becoming so magically obsessed with her. It made no sense to me, thus causing the entire story to feel a bit…put on, I guess. Which, for the record, I have never felt with one of Hazelwood’s books before.

Also, there was one aspect of Rue’s backstory that felt more like a platform than a genuine part of her character. It just felt oddly placed the way she discussed it. It came off like she needed an interesting, tragic backstory to explain the way she was as an adult.

I know it is a serious topic, and I always appreciate when authors include things worthy of discussion, it just felt too strange in this story, with everything else going on. I would have rather spent more time exploring the business, the takeover and Rue’s research.

This all comes off as pretty negative and I don’t mean it to be. After all, my opinion on Rue all comes down to personal taste. I feel like for the right Reader, for one who can see a bit of themselves in Rue, they may adore this story.

Taking everything into consideration, I still enjoyed this and appreciate Hazelwood’s risks with the steamy scenes in this one; definitely dipping into some new territory here when it comes to pushing the limits, power plays, etc.

I also loved Eli’s story, from his time in college to the present, including him becoming the sole guardian of his younger sister, Maya. I really felt for him in having to make those kinds of sacrifices, but what an incredible man he grew into. He’s very emotionally mature.

I’m happy with the conclusion. Having been bored a bit throughout, the end really came together for me and is ultimately why I decided to round up to 4-stars.

Overall, I had a decent time with this. There were some great moments. I walk away happy and anxiously anticipating Hazelwood’s next release.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Hazelwood has made such a name for herself in the Romance genre and I’m so happy to be along for the ride!

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Review: A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

~ megs14malloy

A Novel Love StoryA Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Elsy Merriweather has a few things in her life she knows she can count on: her best friend, Pru, their shared love of Romance novels, and their annual book club retreat.

Elsy, a literature professor, loves getting lost in the pages of a happily-ever-after story, even if she feels like she’ll never live one herself. Been there, tried that.

But things are changing. Pru is on the cusp of getting engaged, her upcoming trip with her boyfriend unfortunately falling on the same week as the book club retreat. Additionally, the rest of the book club has sent their regrets for this years trip; everyone is busy.

Elsy needs the retreat though, whether or not anyone else will be attendance. She decides to go, solo-road trip it to the remote cabin, where she will drink copious amount of wine and read all the Romance.

Honestly, this sounds like heaven to me too, so I was fully supportive of Elsy’s plans. On her way there though, her car breaks down and she finds herself stranded in a quaint little town that seems all too familiar.

It’s Eloraton, the small town setting of her favorite Romance series! How the heck is this possible? Eloraton is a fictional place, yet here she is…

Rachel Flowers, the author of the series, passed away while writing the final novel, so the story was never finished. Because of that, Eloraton is trapped in time, where everything remains the same even as time passes.

Elsy feels like that could be the reason why she’s ended up here. To help the town, and thus all the people in it, find their perfect storybook ending.

There’s a character she doesn’t know however, and wasn’t counting on, a grumpy bookstore owner named Anders, with minty green eyes, and his own reasons to want the town to continue on forever just the way it is.

We follow Elsy, trapped in her favorite fictional town, as she meets the characters she has grown to love over the years of reading this series. It’s so cute, because it’s like she’s meeting celebrities. Of course, they have no idea how infatuated she is with all of them, or why.

I really did love this set-up. It’s so Poston, to have such a creative and quirky twist to an otherwise normal Contemporary Romance story.

I appreciate how unique Poston’s style is now. She’s really created a nice little niche for herself within the genre and her writing is so distinct. You could tell this was one of her books just from the writing and characters alone.

I did enjoy the dynamic between Elsy and Anders; their back-and-forth was entertaining and there was definite chemistry smoldering away.

The middle portion wasn’t quite as exciting for me as some of Poston’s other works. I found some elements a bit repetitive and there were times that I wanted more actual substance from her interactions with the townspeople. I wish it could have had some more drama in that regard.

The highlight of this for me was the growth of Elsy’s character over the course of the story. She comes to some solid revelations about her life while she’s in Eloraton, and I especially enjoyed the exploration of her friendship with her best friend, Pru.

With this being said, this is still an amazing story. I am just comparing it, maybe unfairly, to The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip, both of which I 5-star level loved.

So, while this isn’t my favorite of Poston’s Adult Contemporary novels, it’s still hella cute and enjoyable. I would absolutely recommend it to all Contemporary Romance Readers, particularly if you’ve enjoyed Poston’s style in the past.

There’s just something so cozy and comforting about her stories. It’s almost required to cuddle up under a blanket with a hot drink to read them.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me a copy to read and review. I always look forward to Poston’s new releases and this didn’t disappoint!

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Review: Plot Twist (The Hollywood Series #2) by Erin La Rosa

~ megs14malloy

Plot Twist (The Hollywood Series, #2)Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Sophie Lyon is a Romance author with a big problem: Writer’s Block. After the great success of her first book, Sophie is truly struggling to get her second completed by the Publisher’s deadline.

There’s so much pressure, and she just can’t think of a way to finish it. Out at a karaoke bar one night, blowing off some steam, Sophie has too much to drink and has a breakdown with the mic in hand, confessing she’s never been in love.

The unflattering moment is caught on camera and goes ridiculously viral. How can Sophie write Romance novels if she’s never been in love?! It makes her look like a big fraud.

In an effort to get out ahead of it, and save her reputation, Sophie comes up with a plan to confess the truth on TikTok. Then she will meet up with all of her exes and talk to them about why their relationship didn’t work out.

First of all, great content. Secondly, Sophie is hoping that something in this process will help to break her Writer’s Block, and bring her closer to finishing off her novel.

Dash Montrose is from a successful Hollywood family. He’s a former teen heartthrob, who has since distanced himself from the limelight.

Dash’s sister, Poppy, is Sophie’s best friend. Dash also happens to be Sophie’s landlord. When he learns what Sophie is attempting to do, he offers to help her with her social media presence, as TikTok is a platform he is well-versed in.

Of course, he doesn’t tell her the reason he knows that platform so well is because he is a successful anonymous online crafter…

In fact, Dash has a lot of things he hides from the world and his family. The biggest being his struggles with alcoholism and the fact that he has been sober for the last 18-months.

There’s a lot of pressure within his Hollywood royal family, and he just tries to steer clear of stirring up any scandal. He lives a quiet life now, a bit of a recluse, and Sophie’s energy is sure to shake that up.

Will Dash be able to handle helping with Sophie’s exes project, while keeping a firm grip on his new found sobriety? It’s definitely a risk.

Nevertheless, the two form an unlikely secret alliance. As they grow closer, feelings and attraction begin to come into play.

Plot Twist is a solid Romance story, which plays off a friends-with-benefits scenario. This is the 2nd-book in Erin La Rosa’s Hollywood series, but you do not need to read Book 1 in order to read this one.

These are companion novels and nothing will spoil Book 1 for you if you read this one first. The MC in this novel, Sophie, is the sister of the MC, Nina, from For Butter or Worse.

I do like Contemporary stories that follow fictional celebrities. I know not everyone is crazy about that, but I find their lives interesting. The different issues that arise when someone has a certain level of fame always feels engaging to me.

Therefore, the Hollywood setting of these novels attracts me. I also enjoyed that Sophie was a author who was struggling. Her career wasn’t painted with rose-colored glasses, and Dash’s wasn’t either.

This turned out to be heavier than I was expecting, so I would caution Readers, if you are looking for a light, fun read, this may not fit the bill for you. While it does have some fun, flirty elements, the issues, particularly that Dash is going through, are fairly heavily.

Alcoholism and struggles in recovery aren’t something to be taken lightly and feel like La Rosa does a good job of representing that here, as best as can be done in a Romance story. Because of the serious topics though, it does bring down the overall tone of the story.

If this makes sense. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with tackling serious topics in a Romance novel, I just want Readers to be aware prior to picking this up.

Firstly, for the triggers, and secondly, just to rein in expectations. The cover looks so light and fluffy, I feel like it could lead to a mischaracterization of what this is all about.

I did enjoy learning about both Sophie and Dash’s characters. Additionally, I liked them together, although it did feel a bit too instalove for me. I was very surprised at how quickly things escalated to a point where I felt like that had been communicating for 2-days and then were hopelessly smitten with one another.

I did enjoy this one a bit more than the first book, which is why I decided to round up my rating. I am a Reader who enjoys some serious topics brought into my Contemporaries, so that aspect worked for me.

I also had fun watching Dash and Sophie work together on her exes project. They even go on a road trip where there ends up being a forced proximity element that was nice and sexy.

There’s definitely some steam in this. Not the exact type that I tend to go for, but it wasn’t bad. I only cringed a couple of times. Depending on your kinks, it could end up working well for you.

Thank you to the publisher, Canary Street Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I was entertained. Iff there are more books released in The Hollywood Series, I would def check them out.

I actually would love for Poppy to get her own installment!

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Review: The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord

~ megs14malloy

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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