I had a great reading week! Three 5-star reads, one 4-star, and one 3-star (which I actually read months ago). Those ratios are almost unheard of for me! Plus… there was one very disappointing DNF. But I’m focusing on the wins, and that’s what most of the week entailed. I tried out new-to-me author Julie Olivia, whose roller coaster romance featured grumpy/sunshine goodness. I checked out the newest from Tessa Bailey, which was filled with fan-worthy steam. I read a series starter from Angela Casella, which was light and sexy fun, and another lighthearted small town romance from Jessica Prince. I finally posted my review for a semi-disappointing women’s fictiony read. And I, unfortunately, had to DNF one of my most anticipated romances. Maybe it’ll read better for me another day. The good news? I’ve already had more 5-star reads in June than I have most months, and my strategy of sampling lots of books seems to be working for me. Fingers crossed that the good vibes continue!
If you read my Teaser Thursday post (found here), you know that there are some exciting books on the way soon! I’ll have reviews going up throughout the week.
If you missed any of this week’s reviews, I’ve got the blurb and rating for each below. There’s also a link to my new release list.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Grumpy goodness
The moment we meet, it’s all downhill.
My job is providing happiness and smiles at Honeywood Fun Park, and Emory Dawson is the frown our park didn’t ask for.
When our star roller coaster malfunctions with me on board, the manufacturer’s heir and lead engineer, Emory, vows to renovate the attraction. So instead of having a fun summer season as Marketing Manager for Honeywood, I’m now saddled with playing host.
Wonderful.
Emory is the opposite of a good time. He’s the grump that won’t stop grumping, and our arguments escalate quicker than my heart rate after a roller coaster’s fall.
He knows I can see right through his broody gaze and big ideas. Repairing the coaster? More like overhauling his own company’s reputation, regardless of whether it helps our local theme park.
But when our firm handshakes start lingering too long, or when his muscled thighs rest against mine under the table, I’m thrown for a loop.
Most roller coasters are fun, but I’d like to get off this emotional one, please.
All Downhill With You is a stand-alone romantic comedy. This book is an enemies-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine romance with laugh-out-loud theme park moments, a cozy small town, and sizzling spice!
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3GSqddY
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Steamy and suspenseful
An all-new, spicy murder mystery from Tessa Bailey, New York Times bestselling author of It Happened One Summer…
It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation in sweet, sunny Cape Cod—just me and my beloved brother—but discovering a corpse in our rental house really throws a wrench into our tanning schedule. Now a rude, crude bounty hunter has arrived on the back of his motorcycle to catch the killer and refuses to believe I can be helpful, despite countless hours of true crime podcast listening. Not to mention a fulfilling teaching career of wrangling second graders.
A brash bounty hunter and an energetic elementary schoolteacher: the murder-solving team no one asked for, but thanks to these pesky attempts on my life, we’re stuck together, come hell or high tide.
I’m just here to do a job, not babysit an amateur sleuth. Although…it is becoming less and less of a hardship to have her around. Sure, she’s stubborn, distracting and can’t stay out of harm’s way. She’s also brave and beautiful and reminds me of the home I left behind three years ago. In other words, the painful hunger and protectiveness she is waking up in me is a threat to my peace of mind. Before I sink any deeper into this dangerous attraction, I need to solve this murder and get back on the road. But will fate take her from me before I realize the road has been leading to her all along?
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3LACeWe
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Light and sexy
Marnie
What’s worse than being left at the altar? Becoming a meme because one of your nearest and dearest took a video of you running—and falling—down the aisle and made it internet famous.
Yup, I’m that Marnie Jones. My sister is for-real famous, which only makes people more interested in my predicament. Is it any wonder I’m feeling down?
My best friends will try anything to cheer me up…including setting me up with the Fairy Godmother Agency, a maybe-crazy husband and wife private investigator-slash-life coach team who promise to find the person who sold me out. Better yet, they lend me a fake boyfriend to make my ex jealous and appease my sister.
Griffin is gorgeous, attentive, and a very convincing actor. He’s perfect for the job.
Too perfect.
***
Griffin
After a lifetime of practice, I’m good at pretending. But the more time I spend with Marnie Jones, the less I have to feign my interest in her.
She may be down, but she’s not out. She’s beautiful, funny, and just the right amount of weird. All she needs is someone to remind her of that.
If I weren’t such a screw up, I’d have half a mind to do it myself.
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3LWiFIZ
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Light and sexy
Rule number 1: Never fall for the enemy.
Rule number 2: Never get involved with a local.
Luna Copeland lives by those rules, which complicates things tremendously when her new boss turns out to be a former one-night stand. As if that isn’t bad enough, he’s also a world-class jerk. But she just can’t make herself stop thinking about their one night together.
When Nate Warren left Whitecap years ago, he was certain he wouldn’t come back. But when his daughter starts acting up and getting into trouble, the small coastal town proves to be the best place for her. With an unruly teen on his hands, the last thing he has time for is romance. Unfortunately, he can’t get his sassy assistant out of his head.
When ignoring their attraction fails, Nate decides he wants all in. He just has to convince Luna she wants the same.
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3G7kHnj
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Mostly women’s fiction
Evvie Drake Starts Over meets Beach Read in this heartwarming and hilarious novel about a divorced romance channel screenwriter whose script about her marriage’s collapse just might help her reclaim her life and find love.
Nora’s life is about to get a rewrite…
Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. As a romance channel screenwriter, it’s her job. But when her too-good-to work husband leaves her and their two kids, Nora turns her marriage’s collapse into cash and writes the best script of her life. No one is more surprised than her when it’s picked up for the big screen and set to film on location at her 100-year-old-home. When former Sexiest Man Alive, Leo Vance, is cast as her ne’er do well husband Nora’s life will never be the same.
The morning after shooting wraps and the crew leaves, Nora finds Leo on her porch with a half-empty bottle of tequila and a proposition. He’ll pay a thousand dollars a day to stay for a week. The extra seven grand would give Nora breathing room, but it’s the need in his eyes that makes her say yes. Seven days: it’s the blink of an eye or an eternity depending on how you look at it. Enough time to fall in love. Enough time to break your heart.
Filled with warmth, wit, and wisdom, Nora Goes Off Script is the best kind of love story—the real kind where love is complicated by work, kids, and the emotional baggage that comes with life. For Nora and Leo, this kind of love is bigger than the big screen.
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3mBbAlS
DNF for now:
Not sure if it’s my mood or the heroine’s personality, but I’m having trouble with this one! And that’s a shame, because I loved A Not So Meet Cute and I was really looking forward to this. Rather than struggle through, I’m setting it aside so I can go in fresh on another day.
Side note: The audio is great! It’s duet-style (my favorite), and adds a lot of fun to the vibe.
———-
From USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author Meghan Quinn, comes a fresh take on a romantic comedy classic, When Harry Met Sally. This steamy, laugh-out-loud, enemies to lovers romance is about an annoyingly handsome coworker and the woman who refuses to be charmed by him.
Am I friends with JP Cane?
Ha! That’s laughable.
Besides the fact that he’s adopted some far-fetched notion from the movie When Harry Met Sally that says men and women can’t be friends and work together, it’s safe to say we’re not friends. He’s annoyingly loud, obnoxiously handsome, and has made an art out of poking all my hot buttons . . . multiple times a day.
So you can imagine how disgruntled I am when I not only have to fly to San Francisco with him for work, but stay in the same penthouse. Yup, we’re sharing the same air, twenty-four-seven. We’re talking full-fledged working roommates.
The man doesn’t know what it means to wear a shirt, thrives off protein bars, and you guessed it, moans loud enough for people to believe he’s Meg Ryan in a restaurant.
Spoiler Alert: I WON’T be having what he’s having.
Tack on his continuous flirting and his polished good looks, and I’m caught staring down the barrel of a seductive temptation that makes it hard for me to sleep at night.
But guess who can control herself? This girl.
Because if there is one thing I know for certain, it’s that JP Cane and I are so not meant to be.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3MCwzAi
Check out this week’s new releases here.
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