Overwhelmed by the many, many new releases in September/October and much busier personally/professionally than anticipated, October was a weird reading month for me. I had big plans to tackle my TBR and read some of the books I’ve been eagerly anticipating, but I was just too busy to get to some of the top-tier stuff. At least half of my most anticipated reads ended up disappointing me, and I probably have a dozen half-finished books on my kindle at the moment… not bad, but not engaging enough for me to devote more of my time to, if you will. I have plans to go back to several books to see if I was just in the wrong mood at the time, which is a distinct possibility. As a mood reader, sometimes I have to acknowledge when it’s not the right time for a book, and being short on time can make me impatient to get to the good stuff.
The good news? For one, it wasn’t all bad! I read some really great books in October, and the special ones easily rose to the top of the pack. My highly anticipated reads from Elsie Silver, Tarah DeWitt, and Sarah Hogle all exceeded expectations. I also tried several new-to-me and/or debut authors, and had a lot of success doing so. I haven’t had time to dive in to some of the angstier or more complex love stories on my TBR, but I’ve had a lot of fun reading some of the softer romances. It’s really interesting to look at the list of authors whose work I was reading last year vs. this year, and I’ve added SO MANY new authors to my one-click list in 2022. I can’t complain about any of that!
And the even better news? Well, I think things are going to calm down both personally AND professionally in November, which is great. I usually don’t read the more immersive, complex romances when I don’t have time to binge them, and here’s hoping that I’ll finally get to some of those. It’s also a much quieter release month overall, so I’m planning on cleaning up my 2022 TBR in preparation of putting my Best of the Year list together – I can’t leave any of my highly anticipated romances unread and still feel good about that list! So November is looking like a month of cleanup and settling in for some highly anticipated reads.
If you missed my November Release Calendar, you can find it here!
If you missed any of this month’s reviews, I’ve got the blurb and rating for each below. There’s also a link to all of this month’s recommendation lists and the new release list.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Loved it
They say love and construction don’t mix.
By that logic, hate and construction may as well be condemned.
LaRynn Lavigne and Deacon Leeds had one short and contentious summer fling when they were teens.
Certainly nothing to build a foundation on.
But a decade later, when their grandmothers have left them with shared ownership of their dilapidated Santa Cruz building, they’re thrust back together and have to figure out how to brace up the pieces.
LaRynn has the money, but to access her trust, she has to be married.
Deacon has the construction expertise, but lacks the funds.
A deal is struck: Marry for however long it takes to fix up the property, collect a profit, and cut ties.
Thrust into a home without walls, they quickly learn that it’s easy to hide behind emotional ones, even in a marriage. But, with all the exposure and pitfalls that come with living with the opposite sex (and none of the perks) they’ll also have to learn what it means to truly co-operate as a team.
The Co-op is a steamy story about restoration and renovation, and uncovering all the things that build character within ourselves. It’s about the never-ending construction project that partnership is, and finding enjoyment at every stage.
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3LLA6fV
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Loved it
Working as a nanny for the world’s grumpiest single dad should have been simple. Except I can’t keep my eyes off him. And he can’t keep his hands off of me.
Cade Eaton is thirteen years older than I am and barely looks my way. Until I get him into the hot tub one night for a game of truth or dare. Then all bets are off—and so are our clothes.
He’s gruff, a little rough around the edges. But broad-shouldered ranchers with calloused hands and filthy mouths are this city girl’s kryptonite. So who am I to resist?
But it’s in our quiet moments together that he softens. It’s when he takes care of me that I realize his hardened exterior is just a façade. It’s when I watch him go all sweet with his little boy that I really fall for him.
Someone convinced him once that his best wasn’t good enough. But I’ve never felt more cherished than I do in his arms.
My contract may say this arrangement is only for two months.
But my heart says this is forever.
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3DgYgwN
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Loved it
You really can’t go home again.
Tait Logan is proud of the life she’s built for herself. Despite her world-shattering divorce, the absence of a pet, not having any genuine connections with other humans (apart from her sister Ava), and the fact that the remainder of her family is estranged from her life, she’s happy…Happy-adjacent, at least. She’s rebuilt herself through her photography; her dream career, the one thing she does still have.
So, when that career contracts her to do an assignment on her estranged family’s home, Logan Range – a now famous ranch functioning as the setting for a popular show – she’s left with no choice but to agree.
Thus, Tait is bound, on a reluctant course back to her roots, and to the family she feels abandoned by… to the family that, seemingly, has had no interest in a relationship with her since her parents’ divorce, when she was seven.
Henry Marcum has dedicated his life to the Logan family and to their ranch. He owes them for raising him, rescuing him, and for his life’s purpose and opportunities… He also owes them for every hardship he’s inadvertently brought their way. So, when Tait Logan shows up after 20 years of near total silence, he takes it upon himself to protect the people he knows and loves.
It’s a rocky start when Tait and Henry first collide; he is naturally wary of her intentions, and she is more than perturbed by their literal collision – which results in her broken camera, during her first night on location, no less.
There’s no shortage of shaky ground here in the mountains and valleys of Idaho. They’re thrown off balance time and time again by their growing feelings for one another, and by the story of the Logan family as it becomes increasingly less clear from their perspectives. As they confront the past, theirs naturally get brought to the foray. They’ll have to weigh their feelings against their experiences of heartbreak, and decide if the potential for disaster is worth the risk that accompanies love.
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3rATFhA
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Christmas chaos
The holidays were never her thing, until she accidentally conjures the Holiday Spirit…before her very eyes.
Bettie Hughes once knew the comfort of luxury, flaunting a collection of designer purses and an enviable dream home in Hawaii. That was before she lost all her money. Long obsessed with her public image, Bettie boasts an extravagant lifestyle on social media. But the reality is Bettie is broke and squatting in Colorado, and her family has no idea.
Christmas, with its pressure to meet familial expectations, is looming when Bettie plays a vinyl record of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” backward and accidentally conjures up Hall, the Holiday Spirit, in the form of a charming and handsome (if offbeat) man. Once the shock wears off, Bettie knows she’s stumbled upon the greatest gift: a chance to make all her holiday wishes come true, plus a ready-made fiancé.
But as some of Bettie’s wishes lose their charm, she finds herself thrown off-kilter by Hall’s sweet nature. Suddenly, grumpy Bettie is finding her heart merry and light. But the happier she gets, the shorter Hall’s time on earth grows. Can Bettie channel the Christmas spirit and learn to live with goodwill toward all men? Or will her selfish ways return as soon as the holidays are over?
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3KQ2DAk
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great debut
Beautiful palm trees. Warm ocean water. Idyllic sunsets. Sounds like heaven, right?
Not when you’re head-strong Jo Bowen and forced to attend a work trip with your obnoxious-yet-attractive coworker, Jack Lancaster. How can she survive four days in the Florida Keys with the grouchy man she wants to throttle more often than not?
When her toxic ex-boyfriend arrives at the same conference, Jack doesn’t hesitate to jump in and act as her current love interest. Jo discovers there might be more to her infuriating nemesis than meets the eye. Maybe it’s the island air, or maybe it’s the time they spend together, but soon their mutual hatred morphs into attraction. How can it not when Jack looks at her like she’s the only woman in the world?
It’s easy to pretend they’re a happy couple in front of strangers. With the real world looming beyond their temporary paradise, Jack and Jo must confront their feelings and new opportunities. They will either find themselves on the path of happiness… or the path of destruction.
An Unexpected Paradise is a steamy romantic comedy featuring coworkers-to-lovers (with a hint of enemies-to-lovers sprinkled in), forced proximity, and fake dating. The cast includes a fiery, headstrong woman, a churlish yet thoughtful man and an awesome group of friends. You can expect laugh-out-loud banter, spicy moments, and a new swoon-worthy book boyfriend. It is a standalone novel.
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3fB6J41
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Back half shines 🎧
From the author of the Goodreads Choice Award winner The Spanish Love Deception, the eagerly anticipated follow-up featuring Rosie Graham and Lucas Martín, who are forced to share a New York apartment.
Rosie Graham has a problem. A few, actually. She just quit her well paid job to focus on her secret career as a romance writer. She hasn’t told her family and now has terrible writer’s block. Then, the ceiling of her New York apartment literally crumbles on her. Luckily she has her best friend Lina’s spare key while she’s out of town. But Rosie doesn’t know that Lina has already lent her apartment to her cousin Lucas, who Rosie has been stalking—for lack of a better word—on Instagram for the last few months. Lucas seems intent on coming to her rescue like a Spanish knight in shining armor. Only this one strolls around the place in a towel, has a distracting grin, and an irresistible accent. Oh, and he cooks.
Lucas offers to let Rosie stay with him, at least until she can find some affordable temporary housing. And then he proposes an outrageous experiment to bring back her literary muse and meet her deadline: He’ll take her on a series of experimental dates meant to jump-start her romantic inspiration. Rosie has nothing to lose. Her silly, online crush is totally under control—but Lucas’s time in New York has an expiration date, and six weeks may not be enough, for either her or her deadline.
Read the audiobook review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3frCoVt
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Suspenseful fun 🎧
Mira Patel’s got a solid accounting career, good friends, and a whole lot of distance between her and her dysfunctional family. All that’s missing is a stable romantic relationship. Armed with a spreadsheet and professional help, she sets out to find her partner in only legal activities, but much to her matchmaker’s dismay, no one is quite right.
Including Naveen Desai, the very first match she unceremoniously rejected.
Lately Naveen’s been too focused on keeping his sick grandfather’s law firm afloat to think about love, and he’s stunned when Mira walks back into his life to settle her aunt’s affairs. He’s determined to keep things professional…though it’s impossible not to be intrigued by all of the secrets piling up around Mira.
If getting back together with an ex is a bad idea, getting kidnapped with one is even worse.
Suddenly, Naveen and Mira find themselves in a mad dash through Las Vegas to escape jewel thieves, evade crime bosses, and follow the clues to untangle the mess her family left behind. As her past comes back to haunt her, Mira despairs of ever finding someone who might understand her…but maybe, over the course of one wild night, she’ll find that he’s right by her side.
Read the audiobook review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3dBV18H
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Cute and spicy 🎧
USA Today & Amazon Top 5 best-selling author Harloe Rae delivers an unforgettable romance packed with heart, emotion, and steam. Meet Rhodes Walsh—a broody single dad/bar owner—while he clashes with Rylee Creed—a grief-stricken single mom determined to fulfill lost dreams—on their road to happily ever after.
I didn’t expect to see Rylee Creed after her brother’s funeral.
That’s the initial reason my jaw hangs slack when she walks into Bent Pedal a month later.
The loss of my friend hit me hard, but that’s nothing compared to the crash she’s endured.
Grief and misery still shadow her every move.
But she’s not alone.
A little boy about the age of my daughter clings to her side.
Their shared pain is too ripe, salt in my raw wounds.
I assume we’re about to make a deal and go our separate ways.
But this bar was Trevor’s pride and joy.
She wants to honor his final wishes.
How can I possibly stand in her way?
Simple. I don’t.
Our paths collide after that point.
The journey forward is messy and complicated, much like us.
Maybe there’s an exchange to be made after all.
Rylee just has to willingly accept the wager.
Then I’ll trade her broken heart for mine.
Read the audiobook review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3U9OHET
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pretty good 🎧
Fall in love with billionaire, Fordham Sharpe, and sassy businesswoman, Ellery Sinclair, in this all-new wrong place at the right time, forced proximity, office romance by New York Times bestselling author, K. Bromberg.
One stormy night.
One hotel bar full of stranded travelers.
One available chair next to a charming, mysterious, and sexy-as-hell man.
There was something about him and our conversation that made me feel alive. That made me feel heard. That sparked a fire within me.
When our paths crossed again, I never expected the stranger to be Fordham Sharpe, one-third of the sinfully rich and ridiculously successful Sharpe International Network brothers. Nor did I expect we’d become partners—fifty-fifty—in a hotel transformation that dreams were made of.
My dreams, anyway.
To him, I was off limits. He was my venture partner, and we knew better than to mix business with pleasure. But we had one thing in common—we were both hiding. From our pasts. From unresolved family conflicts. From what really mattered—our hearts.
But as each day passed, our mutual attraction became harder to resist.
We agreed to the partnership to prove our worth to our families, but perhaps we’d only prove our need for something else. Each other.
Read the audiobook review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3DTcHXZ
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Soft and sweet with spice
WANTED: One very fake date to a very real event.
Henry Dawson is many things—successful, charismatic, good-looking… and, most recently, a liar. A stupid fib to his parents about bringing a date to their anniversary party is causing him to scramble, attempting to fix his mistake.
Emma Burns lives a double life. By day, she’s a Civil Rights attorney. By night, she’s the mastermind behind RB’s Companions. When hired, she platonically accompanies men to social events, whether it’s as a girlfriend, friend or business associate. She does her job well.
After receiving an inquiry from a desperate new client, she agrees to be his girlfriend. What she doesn’t account for is the mystery man to be Henry, the notorious playboy, fellow lawyer and coworker she’s known for years. Communicating under aliases to protect their identities, the pair find themselves captivated by one another, and are shocked when they finally meet face-to-face.
The two might be experts in the courtroom, but they’re hardly professionals when it comes to matters of the heart. Pretending to date is easy. When the lines between real and fake blur, getting what they want becomes way more complicated.
The Companion Project is a steamy romantic comedy featuring coworkers-to-lovers, forced proximity and fake dating. Told through dialogue, emails and text message conversations, you can expect plenty of banter, very spicy scenes, an unstoppable woman and a man willing to change for the person he adores. It is a standalone novel.
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3EFii4B
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Small town charm
He needs to get her out of his system. Just once…
Hank Weller doesn’t help people. He leaves that do-gooder nonsense to his best friend, Beau Winston. Hank does what he wants, when he wants, with whomever he wants—and Hank does not want to hire Charlotte Mitchell to be an exotic dancer at his club, The Pink Pony. Sure, he can’t help noticing the dips and curves of her, how shrewd, smart, and funny she is, the fire in her hazel eyes. He’s always noticed. She’d probably draw a crowd and entice the regulars. But after Charlotte’s messy, public divorce made Hank’s club out to be the culprit—and made her the single mother of four kids—he doesn’t need or want any additional bad press courtesy of Charlotte Mitchell. Or the distraction. Unfortunately for him, the town’s prettiest charity case doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of the words nope, no, and never.
Charlotte Mitchell doesn’t much like Hank Weller. Once upon a time, she used to. Years ago, she liked him a whole heckofalot despite other folks in town labeling him as “eccentric” and “nonconformist,” which were polite southern alternatives to “filthy rich” and “self-centered douchebag.” Her opinion of him changed dramatically after he volunteered to be her date to junior prom and then promptly stood her up. They haven’t so much as acknowledged each other in over a decade. But a sudden family emergency means Charlotte needs access to Hank’s club ASAP. Unfortunately for her, the narcissistic fancy-pants doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of the words help, generosity, and compassion.
But he’s about to find himself schooled. Charlotte is going to teach Hank a lesson once and for all about basic human decency, whether he likes it or not.
Spoiler alert. . . he likes it.
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ScZfSf
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sneak peek review
Two friends (who are totally not in love) work together to renovate a school bus into a home.
Lane is in the middle of an identity crisis. Her friends are all partnered up, her career is leading nowhere, and simply put, she’s not happy. So after a night out celebrating (drinking) on her birthday, she makes one hell of an impulsive purchase. A giant yellow forty-eight passenger school bus that she intends to make a home.
With little-to-no renovation experience but a large sum of inheritance money, Lane enlists the help of her friend Matt—a mechanic by trade, handyman by practice, and hottie by nature.
While their mutual attraction is undeniable, Matt and Lane have silently agreed that a friendship is the only thing that can ever exist between them. Matt’s a total family guy with “settle down with me” tattooed across his forehead, whereas Lane is entirely commitment-averse.
So when Matt offers to help her with the bus and in the bedroom with no strings attached, Lane’s feelings evolve faster than you can say “just good friends.” But she soon discovers that in order to build something new, she has to first heal her past.
Next to You releases on November 29th!
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3DkEEau
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Retro review
When your nemesis also happens to be your fiancé, happily ever after becomes a lot more complicated in this wickedly funny, lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy debut.
Naomi Westfield has the perfect fiancé: Nicholas Rose holds doors open for her, remembers her restaurant orders, and comes from the kind of upstanding society family any bride would love to be a part of. They never fight. They’re preparing for their lavish wedding that’s three months away. And she is miserably and utterly sick of him.
Naomi wants out, but there’s a catch: whoever ends the engagement will have to foot the nonrefundable wedding bill. When Naomi discovers that Nicholas, too, has been feigning contentment, the two of them go head-to-head in a battle of pranks, sabotage, and all-out emotional warfare.
But with the countdown looming to the wedding that may or may not come to pass, Naomi finds her resolve slipping. Because now that they have nothing to lose, they’re finally being themselves–and having fun with the last person they expect: each other.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/39WB7gR
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Retro review
Our love was born from the embers, and together we would go up in flames.
In the aftermath of tragedy, it’s strange the things you remember.
The deafening boom as the house exploded.
The paralyzing fear as I searched for my wife.
The blinding smoke burning my eyes as I carried her out.
But carved into my soul for the rest of my days would be the earth-shattering realization that the woman in my arms wasn’t my wife.
Bree and I were the only survivors—not that either of us were truly living after that night. As a single dad with nowhere else to go, I moved into her guest house. And somehow, through the guilt and grief, we forged an unlikely team.
It took years, but I watched the gradual return of her smile—slow and life-altering.
The two of us could sit outside for hours, talking about nothing, and it filled the massive hole in my chest with new life.
I may have carried her out of that fire, but the truth was, Bree saved me.
As we healed, the secrets and lies of the past smoldered in the ashes, threatening to ignite again.
Our love was born from the embers, and together we would go up in flames.
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2PPozDv
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Retro review
Tali DiPietro is a good girl with a streak of punk rock rebel.
Before I left for college, my mom told me not to settle down with the first guy who crosses my path. Sage advise, sure, but that’s hard to do after I share an elevator with a guy who is nothing like the boys back home. I swore off musicians a long time ago, but when I see Jude on stage for the first time, I know I’m going to fall for him, and I’m damn sure it’s going to hurt.
Jude Goldman is a bad boy with a guitar and big dreams.
I have one goal: making it as a musician. There’s no obstacle I won’t destroy to be the one under the spotlight. Nothing has slowed me down, not until a chocolate-eyed girl with a New York accent enters my world. Tali becomes as important as landing a record deal, and I’ll do anything to have both, no matter how much it hurts.
We’re two ships moored together in a storm of excess, stardom, and broken promises pulled apart and yanked back in, until we’re both battered and breaking. We have that forever kind of love, but for us, forever might be nothing more than stardust and memories.
(The Never Blue duet is a spin-off of the Blue is the Color series, but can be read as a complete standalone!)
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3zMsjKf
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Retro review
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Ends with Us and It Starts with Us!
Moving, passionate, and unforgettable, Colleen Hoover’s novel follows two young adults from completely different backgrounds embarking on a tentative romance, unaware of what the future holds.
After a childhood filled with poverty and neglect, Beyah Grim finally has her hard-earned ticket out of Kentucky with a full ride to Penn State. But two months before she’s finally free to change her life for the better, an unexpected death leaves her homeless and forced to spend the remainder of her summer in Texas with a father she barely knows.
Devastated and anxious for the summer to go by quickly, Beyah has no time or patience for Samson, the wealthy, brooding guy next door. Yet, the connection between them is too intense to ignore. But with their upcoming futures sending them to opposite ends of the country, the two decide to maintain only a casual summer fling. Too bad neither has any idea that a rip current is about to drag both their hearts out to sea.
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3gaQqLG
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Mixed feelings 🎧
#99 Dash Taylor. Rookie defensive end for the Boston Tomcats. 285 pounds of fast-twitch muscle. Nickname: Big D.
I’ve been sacking quarterbacks since junior high and causing trouble since I was born.
My college coach thinks I have a bad attitude, so he makes me take ballet lessons as punishment. If I don’t turn things around on the field next season, he’ll bench me. I have no idea what ballet has to do with football, but it turns out the real punishment is that the beautiful dance teacher refuses to get involved with me.
Two years later, we cross paths again, and it’s not the other team’s offensive line who brings me to my knees—it’s a hundred-pound ballerina.
She doesn’t think I’m boyfriend material, and I used to think that too.
I’ve been a beast on the field and in the bedroom, but now I’m going to prove that I can be a man for her…and for our surprise baby.
I thought I was all about the smash and dash.
But getting Charlie Bardot pregnant changed everything.
***This is a 93,000 word novel. It is the second standalone in the Boston Tomcats football romance series. You do not have to read DECKER: Changing the Play in order to enjoy or understand DASH. But you’d probably like DECKER—so maybe read that one too when you’re in the mood for more dreamy-cocky-football-hero-who-falls-for-a-strong-heroine goodness.***
Read the audiobook review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3dUH99x
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Just okay
Scoring on the ice? Piece of cake.
Scoring off it? Well, there’s a reason I’m still a virgin.
I’m not entirely clueless with women, though I do tend to put my foot in my mouth around them far too often.
Like I did with Scout, the donut maker I stupidly introduced myself to despite visiting her truck for years.
Maybe my teammates have a reason to call me the dumb one, but I’m determined to prove them all wrong—Scout included.
I want to be her friend. Want her to see the real me.
What I’m not expecting is to like her so much when we start spending time together…or want to kiss her so badly.
I’m the jock, and she’s the bookworm.
On paper, we make no sense together.
But maybe I have a scoring chance with her after all.
SCORING CHANCE is a standalone hockey romantic comedy. There’s a virgin hero, a secret crush, wit, steam, and a whole lot of fun!
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3fbgIMZ
⭐️⭐️ A miss for me
It was just some silly fun. A goofy imitation of the faceless mega-billionaire who owns our faceless international mega-corporation.
Yes there was laughter–screams of it.
How was I to know that Dave from accounting had sat on the speakerphone, butt-dialing said mega-billionaire? Or that he’d listen to me make fun of him for ten straight minutes.
Ummm…he could’ve announced himself!
They say he’s a notorious rake. A paparazzi-punching scoundrel. An international jet-set bad boy.
And now I hear he’s determined to track down the jokester. Me.
Eep!
But we’re tight like family in this office—no way will my co-workers rat me out, in spite of the pressure from the top. Plus, who brings the cookies? Moi!
Things die down after a few months, and I’m pretty sure I’m safe.
Thank goodness, because I have my hands full with our lazy, arrogant new office gopher. He has the worst work ethic I’ve ever seen—how did he even get hired? He doesn’t know how to work a vending machine, and he’s baffled when we send around a card to be signed for somebody’s birthday. It’s as if he’s never set foot in a place of business in his life.
But little by little, we’re drawing closer. He’s funny. Sexy. Wicked. Still, he’s all wrong for me. I like respectable men with a work ethic.
Also, I can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something…
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3SbpWHP
DNF for now: second chance woes
I’m definitely in the minority here, but this is pushing all of my second chance buttons in the worst way. I’ve been looking forward to Cooper’s story for awhile, but I was really hoping that he’d meet a stranger who would knock him on his butt. I DEFINITELY didn’t want him to have a second chance romance when he’s been such a manhoe, and this plays that up big time – he even kind of admits to becoming a manhoe because of the heroine, which is one of my biggest turnoffs. So I’m setting this aside for a day when I’m more understanding of the tangled history. It certainly isn’t today, lol.
Audio note: I’m doubly bummed because I waited for the audio to release, and now I’ve wasted a credit. But the audio quality is very good, with two solid narrators and playful dual narration. I’d be very happy with the audio is the storyline worked better.
————–
I, Cooper Rock, baseball god, worshipper of women, hometown hero, beloved son and brother, and owner of a well-deserved ego, have always reached for the stars. Usually in baseball.
In love? Nah. When you’ve played the field as much as I have and haven’t been bit by the bug, you’re immune.
Or so I thought until she walked back into my life.
Waverly Sweet. Pop music sensation. Universally beloved for good reason. She’s freaking awesome. Kind. Funny. Talented. Sexy as hell. Real. And still completely out of my league.
But I have been hit by the Waverly Sweet tour bus of love, tumbled head over heels, and come up in a field of Waverly-scented roses. This is it. She’s my one and only, and this time, I won’t screw it up.
I’m cleaning up my reputation. I’m ignoring the doubters. I’m channeling everything I have into proving to her that I can be the man she deserves.
No matter what else I have to sacrifice for love.
Including baseball.
Irresistible Trouble is a hilarious home run of a romcom about a baseball player whose ego is catching up to him, a pop star who’s a bit of a hot mess when the cameras aren’t looking (and sometimes when they are), and the kind of family and teammates that everyone deserves… in small doses. While this laugh-out-loud romance stands alone with a sweet-swoony HEA, you won’t go wrong if you dive into the entire Fireballs series, starting with Jock Blocked, first. And for more Cooper Rock cameos, check out Master Baker (a standalone featuring Cooper’s brother) and the Bro Code series.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3CrpsIq
DNF: Not for me
I love a Tara Sivec rom com, but this one just wasn’t for me. I tried to get into it three different times in three different moods, but it pushed all of my friends to lovers buttons and drove me kinda crazy. Entirely an “it’s not you, it’s me” thing, so I’m choosing to leave it unfinished. Still a very fun and festive read if friends to lovers is your jam.
———
Harvest Grove News:
Another Halloween season is upon us! As usual, please be mindful of the movie fans traveling from Vine Street to Cinnamon Way.
Favorite bar owner, Ford Prescott, is back in town for his yearly stay, making this his sixth October in Harvest Grove! Be sure to welcome him warmly when you see him at the Wicked Pub and Grub. Single ladies – try not to overwhelm the poor man with so many baked goods this year.
Sidney Tanner wants residents to know her Severed Head Succulents will be buy one, get one free before the countdown to midnight begins on October Eve. Since it’s likely she’ll be in jail at some point that night, please text her your orders.
Still seeking volunteers for various events around town:
*Someone to organize pumpkin carving night at the Gore House.
*An extra, bloody cheerleader for the yearly viewing of The Babysitter’s Last Halloween. Costume will be provided.
*A brave soul to keep an eye on the Tanner girls this month. We don’t want a repeat of last year’s corn maze incident, or the mashed potato fiasco in poor Jarvis’s yard previously.
We assume Ford will be volunteering for that last one, since he and Sidney are always joined at the hip when he’s in town. A little bat tells me these October best friends will be heating things up in town this year. Sparks will be flying–no offense to Colleen or the Tanner girls who set her garage on fire–and these two might just be carving out some time for love this Halloween!
Fasten your sheet belts, Harvest Grove! Let’s hope when the clock strikes midnight on October 31st, our dear Sidney won’t be ghosted again…
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3FsDb3x
THIS MONTH’S RECOMMENDATION LISTS
15 Fantastic Forced Proximity Romance Novels
15 Sweet Cinnamon Roll Heroes in Romance Novels
15 Sexy Office Rival Romance Books
Best Romance Books I’ve Read in Kindle Unlimited (2022 So Far #3)
Check out this week’s new releases here.
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Jeeves Reads Romance 
Heartless sounds soooooo good! Thank you for sharing these reviews and I am so freaking happy I found your page. I have been on such a steamy romance kick and now I think you’ve got me set for the winter (lol!) Have you heard of the author Lisa Battalia? My book club just read Book #1 in her “Midlife Romance” series and WE WERE ALL OBSESSED. It’s called “Awake” (fitting – as it’s all about an explosive sexual awakening). The main character, Lori, is experiencing the pain of a marital desertion. But when she allows Brandon into her life, she rediscovers her sexual power and starts to feel more confident and hopeful.
The distance between them provides some challenges to the relationship. But ultimately, this is a story about real women with grown-up, sexy characters that you can relate to. It’s erotic and romantic, but also intimate and emotional. Definitely worth reading! I know you’re busy but if you end up needing a book you can find it on the author’s website here – https://www.lisabattalia.com/
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That’s great to hear, thank you! Yes, Heartless was fantastic, hope you enjoy it!
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