The Playboy Billionaire by Zoe Dod

THE PLAYBOY BILLIONAIRE is a Cinderella/Pretty Woman type romance with a former foster child with secrets and a billionaire with a tabloid life in the public eye. 

Yours Until Forever by Nina Levine

Gage is a very different MMC with the billionaire alpha energy and the apparent ability to understand his partner’s moods and care how she feels. As YOURS UNTIL FOREVER commences, we also find he has a lot more interesting layers to him than it seems. Together he and Amelia light the pages on fire while single parenting and surviving their exes.

The Friend Situation by Lyra Parrish

THE FRIEND SITUATION started strong and I really enjoyed the whole story surrounding how Weston and Carlee met, kept their friendship “secret” and didn’t quite fool everyone.

It ran a little long, though. I guess about half way through I started hoping for a little conflict to make it interesting, but they got along well, and each source of potential conflict just fell by the wayside.

I’ll Never Stop by Jessica Lynch

The stalker in I’LL NEVER STOP is top tier as is the little town of Hamlet and how perfect it was for this story. The book fell a little short in that it dragged in places and there were lost opportunities to spice up the plot. Grace was certainly entitled to all her fears, but still was annoying about getting to the bottom of things.

This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan

I found THIS COULD BE US to be an interesting novel of resilience, family, and a very interesting take on the levels of neurodivergence both in children and in adults manifesting autistic traits before they were as defined as they are today.

Here and Now by Corinne Michaels

I was intrigued by the tease for HERE AND NOW and really enjoyed the story when the suspense started to pick up. Up until then it is a fairly typical small town romance with the kind of guy that protects and nurtures and the single mom whose tragic secrets keep her from letting herself fall in love.

Mr. Broody by Piper Rayne

I like hockey romances that have a little more hockey in them. What I liked about MR. BROODY is the pining for the long lost love on Henry’s part. For some reason, I didn’t really feel Jade and so I thought the book seemed more clinical - going through the motions - than romantic.

Ardently Yours by Evangeline Williams

ARDENTLY YOURS was not at all what I expected and I loved it. It is one of my favorite this year. Arden and Charlotte’s worlds could not be more different but run on a clever parallel. From the moment he shows up at her late fiancé’s funeral, I was hooked.

This was heart gripping, romantic, clever and humorous. In reading an advance copy, I can recommend this to anyone looking for a book to immerse yourself in and enjoy despite the inevitable messiness of these lives.

The Boss by Piper Stone

THE BOSS is full of mafia action, revenge, and cavorting around in luxury through Greece. It’s an age gap romance with them reuniting when she’s all grown up. The story has spicy romance and suspenseful twist, some of which I predicted and others that were surprising. It kept me entertained.

Playing Games by Max Monroe

What I enjoyed about PLAYING GAMES is that the romance is between the girl who is different from everyone else and a guy that takes the time to love her for how she is. Being a Max Monroe fan, I read about Lexi when she was just a little girl dazzling Wes her eventual stepdad and being indulged by her Winslow uncles.

But now she’s a young adult and her experience with emotional attachment is challenged with a smitten, almost playful Blake - football star, something Lexi avoids. But Blake persists and finds opportunities for them to be together until he finds the way to get under her skin.

It’s just the kind of balance (or lack of) of temperaments I like in a couple. You think it can’t possibly work but you  hope you’ll be proven wrong the more attached you get these characters. I was able to read an advance copy of the book and I know fans of the Billionaire and Winslow series will be very pleased with the story, but if you are newer reader of these authors, you will love meeting the characters that make up this entertaining world.

The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez

This is such a good story told in the perfect length. It is meaningful, funny, poignant and romantic. I not only loved Charlotte and Seth who we got to know in depth, but the glimpses we got of Gabe and Izzy were equally entertaining and romantic.

Ignite by Melanie Harlow

IGNITE is a small Nile dad, age gap romance, and Winnie is the bright ray of sunshine that crosses into grumpy firefighter, ex-SEAL Dexter’s life. Dex has more baggage than a Greyhound terminal trying not to be his father, and puts all sorts of obstacles in the way of what starts out as a neighbors with benefits arrangement.

It pulled at my heartstrings with adorable girls, cats, and big family. Good book.

The Bartender’s Baby by Sophie Andrews

THE BARTENDER’S BABY is an “other man’s baby” story with bar owner Nate stepping up to be the most indulgent, pampering daddy wannabe and Tabby trying to let down all her shields to let him.

The book is one of several single dads and it is fine to read as a stand alone. You’ll get to know the other characters but not be overwhelmed by them. You do get enough of a tease about each of their situations to decide if you’d like to read their stories, too.

On A Silent Night by SL Sterling

I’m not a fan of the love triangle trope, but in ON A SILENT NIGHT, there was a clear favorite and I just had to be somewhat disappointed with the FMC for not “manning up” sooner.  It would have been a shorter book if she did, however.

The plot was good. It had drama, jealousy and some minor fisticuffs. It would have been nice to explore some of the secondary characters or subplots a bit more, but it was a solid book set around the Christmas season.

Fletcher and Florence by ChaShiree and MK

The overall story is interesting and characters not too bad if a little inconsistent. 

The use of the word “too” when it should be “to” occurred too often to be a typo. I also found the timeline (always one week later) to be a poor literary tactic.

Slap Shot Surprise by Melanie Harlow

I enjoyed SLAP SHOT SURPRISE because it is romantic. Joe and Mabel meet in a memorable way. From that point on, it’s a soul searching story of career, family, and relationships.

Josh and Hazel’s Guide To Not Dating by Christina Lauren

Books like JOSH AND HAZEL’S GUIDE TO NOT DATING are the breath of fresh air in the romance genre that I need to read when I can get ahold of them. I am a sucker for the “crazy”, lovable heroine and the straight man guy that is endeared rather than embarrassed by her uniqueness. It’s an entertaining friends to lovers with the right amount of humor and spice.

The Wild One by Daisy Jane

<strong>Unexpected</strong>

I wanted to read THE WILD ONE as a single parent romance, but unexpectedly got much more. I wanted to give up on Beau early on, but am so glad I didn’t. He turns out to be incredible. Both he and Beck were going through some things and fortune put them in each others’ path. 

My Rules by TL Swan

I have been waiting for MY RULES because the Kingston Lane group of people are all so memorable. Blake and Rebecca’s story put me through the wringer. It has all the angsty romance high points - the deplorable ex, the jealousy, the little fights and big fights. As a friends to lovers story, he falls first and she has trust issues. It might have made me little misty at times.

The Devil of Dublin by BB Easton

DEVIL OF DUBLIN is such an unexpected story of tragic beginnings, pining, pain and shreds of hope that seem to keep getting dashed.

The settings could not be more different - from the “enchanted” woods behind her grandfather’s cottage, to dark attics, warehouses, car chases, and the sheep farm. It’s a really engaging story.