After reading (and adoring!) my ARC of Ali Hazelwood’s summer release, I spent the rest of the week DNFing more books than I successfully read. I think it was a dreaded combination of having a MAJOR book hangover from the fantastic Love, Theoretically and simply picking up books that weren’t delivering what I hoped they would. I loved the first three books in Elizabeth O’Roark’s Devil series, but I finally found one that didn’t strike a chord with me. The Devil Gets His Due skipped the initial meet cute and scenes that sparked their chemistry, so it felt like something was missing the whole way through. I loved the second book in Devney Perry’s small town series (Juniper Hill), but when I went back and read the series starter, it had a completely different vibe – one that did not win me over. And I DNF’d more books than I’d care to admit, lol, some almost instantaneously. The downside of being a mood reader still stuck on the last great book I read!
The good news? Love, Theoretically was excellent! I’ve been lucky enough to read ARCs of some of my most anticipated romances of the year over the last few weeks, and this one was particularly good. I also enjoyed the swoony, laidback romance by Adriana Locke, The Sweet Spot. So it certainly wasn’t all bad this week!
Finally, I shared my series review for Kayley Loring’s Name in Lights single parent romances, which are all lighthearted rom coms. It’s the series that cemented my love for Loring’s work back in the day, and they were all 5-star reads for me in the past.
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.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sneak peek review
Rival physicists collide in a vortex of academic feuds and fake dating shenanigans in this delightfully STEMinist romcom from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain.
The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she’s an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By otherday, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people-pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs.
Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and arrogant older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And he’s the same Jack Smith who rules over the physics department at MIT, standing right between Elsie and her dream job.
Elsie is prepared for an all-out war of scholarly sabotage but…those long, penetrating looks? Not having to be anything other than her true self when she’s with him? Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?
Read the sneak peek review here
Releases on June 13th, preorder today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3w2xfrR
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Cute and laidback 🎧
She wants forever. He plays it day by day. They’re both wishing for the best in USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke’s charming and sexy hopefully-ever-after romance.
Single mom Palmer Clark will not be sidelined by the new man in town. Sure, the honey-tongued baseball legend is gorgeous, loves puppies, and has charmed his way into the community’s heart, but Palmer craves stability. Nothing about Cole says forever. So why is he so hard to resist?
Cole is swinging through town to visit his parents when he meets the kind of down-to-earth distraction he’s been looking for since retiring from the majors. True, his long-term relationship score is zero. But even though raising his average with Palmer seems impossible, it’s worth a shot.
As promising as the summer nights are, fate turns small-town dreams upside down, and some lessons are learned the hard way. But having faith in love and choosing hope over fear might get Palmer and Cole to the sweet spot they’re looking for.
Read the audiobook review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3IUnbcd
SERIES REVIEW
I’ve been a longtime fan of funny lady Kayley Loring, and the Name in Lights series is the one that really cemented my love for her work! I rated all three books in this lighthearted rom com series as 5 stars, and I have a special love for Sleeper. They’re all light, sexy, easygoing and quirky, featuring single parents who are (or related to) former child stars. It’s such a fun series that I thought I’d re-share my reviews all together – these are easy to read as standalones, but better together. They’re also excellent on audio!
Read the reviews for all three books here
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Disappointing 🎧
Keeley: Last January, I drunk-married my nemesis—hot, oversized geek Graham Tate. With no memory of how it came about, there was only one solution: run off before he woke up and pretend it didn’t happen. It would have worked perfectly if I hadn’t wound up pregnant.
Graham is the opposite of everything I want in a man—practical, disciplined, frugal—but living with him until the baby arrives has me wondering if, perhaps, I’ve been wanting the wrong things all along. And if that drunk version of me last January might have been onto something.
Graham: I never planned to have kids, and I certainly wouldn’t have planned on one with Keeley Connolly—a woman who does not believe in savings accounts or personal safety and thinks Lucky Charms is a health food because of the non-marshmallow bits.
A woman who also didn’t think twice about marrying me in Vegas and ditching me hours later.
I can’t wait to put this behind me and return to my careful, chaos-free life in New York. But the more time I spend with Keeley, the more I’m remembering the things that led me to marry her in the first place…and wondering if I can live without them when this ends.
Read the audiobook review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3WpVI6u
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Didn’t love it 🎧
From USA Today Bestselling Author Devney Perry comes a small town, enemies to lovers romance.
Winslow Covington believes in life, liberty and the letter of the law. As Quincy, Montana’s new chief of police, she’s determined to prove herself to the community and show them she didn’t earn her position because her grandfather is the mayor.
According to her pops, all she has to do is earn favor with the Edens. But winning over the town’s founding family might have been easier if not for her one-night stand with their oldest son. In her defense, it was her first night in town and she didn’t realize that the rugged and charming man who wooed her into bed was Quincy royalty.
Sleeping with Griffin Eden was a huge mistake, one she’s trying to forget. He’s insufferable, arrogant and keeps reminding everyone that she’s an outsider. Winslow does her best to avoid Griffin, but when a woman is found dead on Eden property, the two of them have no choice but to cross paths.
As clues to the murderer lead to one of Quincy’s own, Griffin realizes Winslow is more than he gave her credit for. Beautiful and intelligent, she proves hard to resist. For him. And the killer.
Read the audiobook review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ZvGoH8
Check out this week’s new releases here.
Follow Jeeves on social media!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases
Jeeves Reads Romance 
Leave a Reply