I couldn’t stop handing out 5-star ratings this week, and I’m not complaining! After a series of disappointing reads last week, I was starting to worry that October was going to be a wash for me, but things definitely took a turn over the last several days.
I started listening to Caught Up last week, and I savored it in small increments throughout the course of a few days. It’s the followup to my favorite book of the year so far, so it had a whole lot to live up to – and it exceeded all of my expectations. Such a stellar read, and awesome on audio.
While I was in my book hangover from Caught Up, I decided to check out Butcher & Blackbird. It’s got a completely different vibe and I really wasn’t sure what to expect from it, so I went in with no expectations at all – and it immediately grabbed my attention. It’s not a book that will be for everyone (it’s gruesome), but it was so bingeable and darkly funny. And fantastic on audio, complete with duet narration!
I’d heard good things about Mrs. Nash’s Ashes, so I dove in hoping it would remind me of You, With a View, another excellent debut from this year. It’s got similar sentimental vibes and a great road trip romance, so I had a very solid reading experience.
Finally, I binged Julie Olivia’s sexy holiday novella in between more serious reads, and it was such a light and quirky time. The concept is one-of-a-kind, and it delivers on the holiday spirit. A fun time, for sure.
I’m still in a book hangover from so many fantastic books, but I’m looking forward to continuing to tackle my October TBR. There are some recent releases I can’t wait to dig into, a couple of intriguing ones coming up, and a few ARCs I’m excited for.
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.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Adored it 🎧
Kai
I’m a single dad and starting pitcher for Chicago’s MLB team.
I’m stretched too thin, but I don’t want help raising my son.
Each of his previous nannies only lasted a few weeks before I let them go.
Now, my coach is putting his foot down by hiring the one person I can’t fire—his daughter.
Miller Montgomery is the last woman I should fall for. Too wild, too young, and too unattached.
Chicago is just a quick stop for her. I thought I’d be counting down the days until she left, but summer feels too short when I start thinking about forever.
Miller
As a high-end pastry chef who recently won the most prestigious award in my industry, I’m desperate to prove I deserve it. But with a new title comes new pressure, and I can’t create a fresh and inspiring dessert to save my life.
With only two months to get back on track, I should be focusing in the kitchen, but instead, I let my dad talk me into using my time off to nanny for his star player’s kid.
Kai Rhodes forgot how to have fun, and I’m eager to jog his memory. But when he and his son start to feel like home, I have to remind us both that my time in Chicago ends with the summer.
Besides, I’ve always been a runner, and the last thing I want is to get caught.
Read the audiobook review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3tGQhWI
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Bingeable 🎧
A friends-to-lovers dark romantic comedy full of murder, chaos, and spice, unlike anything you’ve read before.
Every serial killer needs a friend.
Every game must have a winner.
When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusive—the friendship of a like-minded, pitch-black soul. From small town West Virginia to upscale California, from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country.
But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love.
Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves?
Or have they finally met their match?
Butcher & Blackbird is the first book in the Ruinous Love Dark Romance trilogy of interconnected stand-alone dark romantic comedies. This dual POV novel ends on a HEA.
***Butcher & Blackbird is a DARK ROMANCE intended for an adult audience – please see Brynne’s website for a comprehensive list of CWs***
Read the audiobook review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QE2nch
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great debut 🎧
A starry-eyed romantic, a cynical writer, and (the ashes of) an elderly woman take the road trip of a lifetime that just might upend everything they believe about true love.
Millicent Watts-Cohen is on a mission. When she promised her elderly best friend that she’d reunite her with the woman she fell in love with nearly eighty years ago, she never imagined that would mean traveling from D.C. to Key West with three tablespoons of Mrs. Nash’s remains in her backpack. But Millie’s determined to give her friend a symbolic happily-ever-after, before it’s (really) too late—and hopefully reassure herself of love’s lasting power in the process.
She just didn’t expect to have a living travel companion.
After a computer glitch grounds flights, Millie is forced to catch a ride with Hollis Hollenbeck, an also-stranded acquaintance from her ex’s MFA program. Hollis certainly does not believe in happily-ever-afters—symbolic or otherwise—and makes it quite clear that he can’t fathom Millie’s plan ending well for anyone.
But as they contend with peculiar bed-and-breakfasts, unusual small-town festivals, and deer with a death wish, Millie begins to suspect that her reluctant travel partner might enjoy her company more than he lets on. Because for someone who supposedly doesn’t share her views on romance, Hollis sure is becoming invested in the success of their journey. And the closer they get to their destination, the more Millie has to admit that maybe this trip isn’t just about Mrs. Nash’s love story after all—maybe it’s also about her own.
Read the audiobook review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3M1uks0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Short and sexy
Short-term flings with good looking Santas are kinda my thing.
After my latest holly jolly break-up with the fake mall Santa Claus of my dreams, I escaped to a small town winter wonderland in the middle of nowhere. But it’s just my luck that I run into the only person in the world who could get my Christmas lights in a twist: freaking Nicholas Ryan. A man I haven’t seen in twenty years and who I never wanted to see again. Except now he’s my hot bartender, complete with a silver-fox beard, a twinkle in his eye, and looking a lot like my one true kryptonite: jingle belling Santa Claus.
It’s five days until Christmas, I’m stuck in a snowy small town straight out of a Hallmark movie, and all I want is to avoid the Grinch who stole all my Christmases and pretend that our chemistry is simply just the magic of Christmas in the air.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: The Fake Santa Apology Tour is a quirky, laugh-out-loud, Christmas romantic comedy novella with lots of sexy Santas, small town snowball fights, and some heartwarming holiday magic.
Please note that this book is intended for mature audiences only. But, if all you want for Christmas is a slow burn spicy romance, then put on your favorite holiday album and dive right in!
Read the review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3tyd07A
Check out this week’s new releases here.
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