I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and audiobook from prhaudio.
SYNOPSIS
A hopeless romantic meets a jaded radio host in this cozy, Sleepless in Seattle-inspired love story from beloved author B.K. Borison.
Aiden Valentine has a secret: he’s fallen out of love with love. And as the host of Baltimore’s romance hotline, that’s a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight.
Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job; an incredible family; and a smart, slightly devious kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life-or lack thereof—she begins to question if she’s as happy as she thought. Maybe a little more romance wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
Everyone wants Lucie to find her happy ending… even the handsome, temperamental man calling the shots. But when sparks start to fly behind the scenes, Lucie must make the final call between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the man in the headphones next to her.
REVIEW
okay first of all – he wears a thin gold chain 🫦 AND he keeps a list of her favorite things 🫠
I finished First-Time Caller a few months ago and I’m still thinking about it. I loved everything about this book. Single parent romances can be hit and miss for me, but B.K. Borison knew what she was doing with First-Time Caller. I loved loved loved Aiden + Lucie. If you’re looking for…
-forced proximity -slow burn -strangers to friends to lovers -single mom -found family/family bond -tension -she wants magic and love x he doesn’t believe in that -she’s a mechanic
Okay hear me out – didn’t realize I was going to love this so much until I read it in First Time Caller…he has a gold chain and plays with it when he’s nervous or anxious – gah!!! (brought me back to Connell and his chain from Normal People). Okay…moving on now
THIS BOOK. This book was so so so good. I read Business Casual last year and didn’t think that BK Borison could top that, but she did. I have not watched Sleepless in Seattle (maybe I need to?) so I’m not sure how to compare this book to that movie, but I will say that I was hooked right from the beginning. I loved the dynamics with all the characters in this book. From Lucie and her ex (also baby daddy) to Aiden and his co-worker/best friend Jackson. Every person in this book had an important role to play and I appreciate that none of them were there just for the sake of it.
And the relationship between Aiden and Lucie 🥹 I loved the banter and tension between these two. Ugh. This is one of those books that I wanted to fly through and at the same time I didn’t want it to end. These two were just so good for one another.
If you are a fan of audiobooks, I highly recommend listening to First-Time Caller. I had an opportunity to listen to the audiobook and it was phenomenal. I feel like E.J. Bingham and Hathaway Lee did such an amazing job bringing life to Aiden and Lucie! I seriously enjoyed this audiobook rendition so much.
Only gripe with First-Time Caller … I didn’t want it to end.
Absolutely cannot wait for the next book in the series! BK Borison is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and audiobook from prhaudio.
Deep End (aka Whet) by Ali Hazelwood releases in less than 2 weeks! I loved this spicy, swoony and angsty romance. As with all of Ali’s books I ended up reading this book in less than 2 days. I could not put it down once I started it. It was a bit messy 👀 and definitely much spicier than her previous books, BUT I loved it and clearly could not get enough. I could happily live in the Ali-verse and look forward to her next book 🥰
SYNOPSIS
A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis.
Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford and a student-athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships—at least, that’s what she tells herself.
Swim captain, world champion, all-around aquatics golden boy, Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It’s how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus, with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes.
So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water…
REVIEW
What you can expect to find in Deep End: -diver x swimmer -he falls first -new adult college romance -sports romance x STEM -🌶🌶🌶 (BDSM) -he speaks another language –messy drama (which I loooove) -cameos from a past favorite couple
Scarlett Vandermeer loves her life at Stanford. She’s a collegiate diver and loves her team and her coach, but she can’t seem to get past the yips she’s been experiencing since a diving accident. Between diving and applying to med schools, Scarlett doesn’t have time for much else – especially not a relationship.
Lukas Blomqvist thrives on control and discipline. Scarlett hasn’t shared more than a few words with him and couldn’t imagine having anything in common with the world champion. When Scarlett happens to run into Lukas Blomqvist and hear a well guarded secret she realizes they might have more things in common that she never would have guessed. Things like their love of science, getting ready for med school and their shared tastes in the bedroom.
What starts out as temporary soon starts to become something more. But their relationship involves people they love and care about and soon it’s not so cut and dry. Will they find a way to make their complicated relationship work?
As with other Ali Hazelwood books, I finished this book within a matter of two days. I couldn’t stop reading about Scarlett and Lukas. And not only Lukas and Scarlett, but their relationships with their friends and teammates was such a huge part of this book. As usual there were some hilariously funny scenes that had me cracking up. I loved how much Scarlett grew as a character in Deep End – those scenes were so relatable.
This book was definitely one of Ali’s spicier books 🌶🌶. Ali knows how to bring the heat and I loved how intimate Lukas and Scarlett were. Yes there was physical intimacy, but also their emotional intimacy.
I highly enjoyed Deep End and rated it 4.5 stars!
Cannot wait for all the special editions with WHET💦
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher
Lynn Painter writes the cutest rom-coms and I am excited to read the re-released Accidentally Amy.
SYNOPSIS
IT STARTED WITH A CUP…
Isabella Shay is usually a very honest person.
But when she’s running late for her first day at a dream job and the barista yells for “Amy” 3x with no answer, she does the unthinkable.
Izzy takes that PSL.
It’s the exact drink she ordered and paid for, only waaaay further ahead in the line, so she mutters “I’m Amy” and grabs the cup.
But when she turns around and runs directly into the most attractive man she’s ever seen, spilling the drink all over his GQ shirt and tie, she ends up having the ultimate meet-cute. Sparks fly and things feel beyond promising until he says the words, “See you tomorrow, Amy.”
Uh, oh – she’ll definitely have to straighten him out the following day.
Only when she gets to her new office and meets the VP of her department, it is none other than Blake Phillips – the hottie from Starbucks. And the man might’ve been charming to “Amy,” but he is an arrogant grump to Izzy, an arrogant grump who dos not find her explanation funny at all.
2024 was a great reading year. But it was also a year filled with quite a few reading slumps. While I did read a lot of new books, I also ended up reading backlists and quite a few re-reads as well.
I ended the year having read a total of 103 books. I didn’t do a top 10 or top 20 list this year, but rather a compilation of my favorite reads based on sub-genre. I did include 2 arcs {thank you Berkley Romance for the gifted copies} that aren’t released until 2025 – Deep End by Ali Hazelwood and First-Time Caller by BK Borison. I loved both and highly recommend them!
**I read a majority of these books as advanced reader copies courtesy of the publishers. Thank you Berkley Romance, Bloom Books, LibroFM, PRHAudio, SimonTeen, Dutton for the gifted copies**
I read quite a few amazing rom-coms this year! The Risk was a re-read, but I ended up loving it more the second time around. The Love of my After Life was amazing on audio {thank you PRH Audio for the gifted copy}. First Time Caller and Deep End are releasing in 2025 {thank you Berkley for the gifted arcs}.
If there’s one thing about me – it’s that I absolutely love a good book that makes me cry, especially when the story resonates with my own experiences and emotions, drawing me into its world and leaving a lasting impression on my heart. LOVED these books!
I read so many good fantasy books this year and these were a few of my favorites. Overall a great romantasy reading year.
This was the year I started reading more dark romances and I enjoyed them! Definitely not a sub-genre for everyone, but I’m looking forward to reading more dark romances.
So many amazing books that I read in 2024 and I can’t wait to see what books will make my favorites list in 2025.
Did we happen to read any of the same books? What were your favorite books of 2024?
I have really enjoyed Lana’s previous books and I’m excited to read this spicy enemies to lovers paranormal romance!
SYNOPSIS
A woman discovers that not all monsters are her enemy—the opposite, in fact—in this new paranormal romance by Lana Ferguson, author of The Fake Mate.
Keyanna “Key” MacKay is used to secrets. Raised by a single father who never divulged his past, it’s only after his death that she finds herself thrust into the world he’d always refused to speak of. With just a childhood bedtime story about a monster that saved her father’s life and the name of her estranged grandmother to go off of, Key has no idea what she’ll find in Scotland. But repeating her father’s mistakes and being rescued by a gorgeous, angry Scotsman—who thinks she’s an idiot—is definitely the last thing she expects.
Lachlan Greer has his own secrets to keep, especially from the bonnie lass he pulls to safety from the slippery shore—a lass with captivating eyes and the last name he’s been taught not to trust. He’s looking for answers as well, and Key’s presence on the grounds they both now occupy presents a real problem. It’s even more troublesome when he gets a front row seat to the lukewarm welcome Key receives from her family; the strange powers she begins to develop; and the fierce determination she brings to every obstacle in her path. Things he shouldn’t care about, and someone he definitely doesn’t find wildly attractive.
When their secrets collide, it becomes clear that Lachlan could hold the answers Keyanna is after—and that she might also be the key to uncovering his. Up against time, mystery, and a centuries old curse, they’ll quickly discover that magic might not only be in fairy tales, and that love can be a real loch-mess.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.
SYNOPSIS
She’s the only woman he wants…and the only one he can’t have.
Asher Donovan is a living legend—the darling of the Premier League, the (arguably) greatest footballer in the world.
But his reckless antics and recent team transfer have caused much controversy, and when his feud with his rival-turned-teammate costs them a championship, they’re forced to “bond” during off-season cross-training.
Surviving the summer shouldn’t be hard…until Asher meets their new trainer. She’s beautiful, talented, and no matter how hard he tries, he can’t take his mind off her.
The only problem? She’s his rival’s sister—and completely off limits.
***
Scarlett DuBois is a former prima ballerina whose career was cut short by a tragic accident.
Now a teacher at a prestigious dance academy but still haunted by the ghosts of her past, the last thing she wants is to spend the summer cross-training Asher Donovan, of all people .
She swore she would never date a footballer, but when her brother leaves town for an emergency, she finds herself thrown into dangerously close proximity with the gorgeous, charming striker.
Training, she can deal with. But falling in love? That’s out of the question—especially when he’s the only person with the power to break her heart.
REVIEW
What you can expect to find in The Striker: -soccer romance -brother’s rival -billionaire soccer player x ballerina -forced proximity -slow burn -secret dating -found family -🌶🌶
Ana Huang’s foray into sports romance – yay! Not gonna lie – I was totally imagining Ted Lasso but with more romance vibes and I loved it! Not just the football aspect of it, but how seamlessly Ana was able to tie in a soccer player x a ballerina and make it work.
One thing about me is – if Ana Huang writes it, I’m gonna read it. The Striker was no exception. I loved loved loved the tension and slow burn between Asher + Scarlett. Forbidden romances have become a recent favorite and I loved the forbidden aspects of their relationship. Ana Huang does such a good job with angst and there were definitely a few angsty moments that had me tearing up.
Yes, the book is thick clocking it at almost 600 pages, but the relationships felt developed. Not just with Asher and Scarlett but with all the secondary characters in the story as well. What I love about Ana’s books is how she weaves friendships throughout her stories. I loved the found family aspect of The Striker – especially in a day and age when it’s not so easy to make friends. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!!!
I caught the attention of a monster. I didn’t ask for it. Didn’t even see it coming. But the moment I do, it’s too late. Killian Carson is a predator wrapped in sophisticated charm. He’s cold-blooded, manipulative, and savage. The worst part is that no one sees his devil side. I do. And that will cost me everything. I run, but the thing about monsters? They always chase.
This book is not a conventional romance and contains themes that aren’t to everyone’s liking. Please check the author’s note before reading.
REVIEW
I started God of Malice without reading Rina’s backlist. There are a lot of characters and I was a bit lost. This book is super intense & the opening scene alone left me 😳. I definitely had to put it down because I wasn’t ready for it. That being said, I went back to the beginning and read God of Malice and fell in love with Killian + Glyndon.
YES, Killian is absolutely unhinged. But also – I found myself laughing out loud a lot. And his gradual fall for Glyndon – gah! I loved how gone he was for her when initially he just wanted her for the sake of having her. And Glyndon – she’s so tough and was going through so many emotions over her relationship with Killian. I adored the way these two tried to fight their feeling for one another and ended up falling so hard.
I have so many scenes throughout this book highlighted! The banter between Killian and Glydon was *chefs kiss* I was constantly laughing or had a huge grin on my face.
No, these books aren’t for everyone. Know going in that there are a lot of content/trigger warnings. That being said – I’m really enjoying Rina Kent and can’t wait to read more of this series!
A propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help us start anew.
It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She’s immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamt of coming for years―she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe―which makes it that much more surprising when the women can’t stop confiding in each other.
In turns uproariously, absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is a look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined―and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.
REVIEW
I have been telling everyone I know to read The Wedding People, and I could have sworn I wrote a review, but I guess not.
This book…it was so heartbreakingly beautiful. I don’t even want to recap the book because I feel like it’s best to go in blind. Be forwarned that there are heavy subjects covered in this book. But the author has a way of making something so sad and horrifying also beautiful.
I listened to the audiobook from start to finish and Helen Laser did an amazing job portraying Phoebe. There was more than one occasion where I had goosebumps and/or there were tears streaming down my face.
The Wedding People isn’t my usual genre (romance books), even so I loved this book and can’t say enough good things about it!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.
SYNOPSIS
Estranged exes must stick close together to save their best friend’s wedding after a string of disasters in this swoony and steamy second-chance romance.
Georgia Woodward lives by her lists, none more so than the one about her ex, Eli Mora. It’s full of the ironclad dos and don’ts they’ve been following since she returned to the Bay Area after their cataclysmic breakup five years ago.
With the wedding of their mutual best friend, Adam, looming, and them about to step into their roles as best woman and man, Georgia’s never needed it more. She refuses to threaten their tight-knit friend group with her messy—and still very present—feelings. The rules on that list will keep her cool, calm, and compartmentalized.
What’s not on her list? Eli arriving from New York with a new rule-breaking attitude or the all-inclusive venue burning to the ground, leaving the bride and groom in dire straits. Nor does she anticipate Adam asking her and Eli to help him make a miracle happen. Together.
As Georgia and Eli rush up to Napa Valley to pull off the perfect wedding, their old chemistry comes back in technicolor. Somewhere between cake tastings gone wrong, disastrous DJ auditions, and Eli’s heated attention, Georgia starts recognizing the man she fell in love with before. And if she lets herself break her rules, she might find what they’re building isn’t the something old that ruined them—it’s a chance at something new.
REVIEW
What to expect in The Ex Vows: -childhood friends to lovers -second chance romance -found family -angsty 😭 -🌶🌶 -single POV
Georgia and Eli have known for a good part of their lives – having met when they were fifteen. Their relationship took its own course from friends to lovers when they both decided to move to NYC from the Bay Area. And then…the one thing that Georgia feared happened – their relationship fell apart and she lost one of her best friends. It’s been five years, but Georgia and Eli are always cordial to each other whenever they interact with their other mutual best friend Adam. With Adam’s wedding looming in the very near distance, Georgia isn’t prepared to be spending so much time with Eli. Except the wedding is literally falling apart and Georgia and Eli vow to work together to make it the most perfect wedding for Adam. Now that they are spending more and more time with each other will their feeling towards one another change with old wounds resurfacing?
Second chance romance is a favorite trope of mine. I want to feel the angst and pain of their past relationship and find out why didn’t it work – what happened to make their relationship fall apart. Eli and Georgia have so much great chemistry and their old hurts were so obviously there. Not gonna lie – I was totally crying into my pillow for a good chunk of this book. But Eli – gah – Eli was so perfect. I loved him for Georgia and the way he just knew her. And Georgia – I felt her pain. The way she always wanted to please everyone and be “on.” Even the fallout between her and Eli had me wanting to give her a big hug.
I loved Jessica’s first book You With a View and was eagerly awaiting The Ex Vows. Her writing is witty, fun and has a lot of big feelings! I look forward to reading whatever she writes next!
Overall, I would give The Ex Vows 4.5 stars, but rounding up!
EXCERPT
This wedding is cursed
“Not again,” I mutter.
To the untrained eye, this text probably looks like a joke, or the beginning of one of those chain emails our elders get duped into forwarding to twenty of their nearest and dearest, lest they inherit multigenerational bad luck.
In actuality, it’s been Adam’s mantra for the past eight months.
Adam is the brother I never had and I’m truly honored to be along for the ride on his wedding journey. But had sixth-grade Georgia anticipated I’d be fielding forty-seven daily texts from my more-unhinged-by-the-minute best friend, I would’ve thought twice about complimenting his Hannah Montana shirt the day we met.
My Spidey senses tingle with this text, though. It hasn’t been delivered in aggressive caps lock, nor is it accompanied by a chaotic menagerie of GIFs (my kingdom for a Michael Scott alternative). Whatever has happened now might actually be an emergency.
Then again, the wedding is ten days away. At this point, anything that isn’t objectively awesome is a disaster.
I pluck my phone off my desk, typing, What’s the damage?
A bubble immediately pops up, disappears, reappears, then stops again.
“Great sign.”
It’s nearly four p.m. on Wednesday, the day before my week-long PTO for the wedding starts, and I still have half a page of unchecked boxes on my to-do list, plus a detailed While I’m Away email to draft for my boss. I can’t leave Adam hanging in his moment of need, though. What kind of best woman would I be?
No better than the largely absent best man? comes the uncharitable punchline. I slam the door on that thought. It’s not like I’ve minded executing most of the best-people activities; it’s been a godsend for multiple reasons. It’s just so typical of him to-
I catch my own eye in the computer’s reflection, delivering a silent message with the downward slash of my dark eyebrows: Shut. Up. I’d rather think about curses than anything tangentially related to the subject of Eli Mora.
Not that I believe in curses at all.
Except . . . deep down, I do worry that Adam’s been hounded by bad vibes since he proposed to his fiancée, Grace Song, on New Year’s Eve. Their plans have involved a comedy of errors that have escalated from bummer to oh shit: the wrong wedding dress ordered by the bridal salon, names misspelled on their printed wedding invitations twice, and-the one that nearly got me to believe-their wedding planner quit three months ago because his Bernedoodle had amassed such a following on social media that he was making triple his salary as her manager.
For Adam, whose natural temperament hovers somewhere near live wire, it’s been a constant test of his sanity. Even Grace, who’s brutally chill, the perfect emotional foil for Adam, has been fraying.
But then, she would’ve been fine eloping. Every new disaster probably only further solidifies the urge to book it to Vegas.
Adam’s texts tumble over one another:
Georgia
Our fucking DJ
BROKE THEIR HIP
LINE DANCING AT A BACHELORETTE PARTY
IN NASHVILLE
I need to know what I’ve done in my 28 years on this dying earth that is causing this to happen
I start to type, but he beats me to it.
That was rhetorical, Woodward, DON’T
Clearly Adam’s shifting out of his panic fugue, so I shift into fix-it mode. It’s the reason he came to me out of everyone-he knows I’ll step up without hesitation.
Deep breath. Nothing’s burned to the ground, right? I text back. This is problematic but not fatal. We’ll come up with a new list.
The bubbles of doom pop up again and I wait. Again.
I wish I could say my eagerness to jump into this shitstorm is fully altruistic, but since I got back from a six-month work stint in Seattle three months ago, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen Adam, all wedding-related. This has been the only way to reliably stay in his orbit.
Two opposites decide to test their chemistry with one steamy night together. But will once be enough?
Nova Porter isn’t looking for love, and she certainly has no explanation for her attraction to buttoned-up, three-piece-suit-wearing investment banker Charlie Milford. Maybe it’s his charm? Or maybe it’s his determination to help her fledgling business however he can. Either way, she’s distracted every time he’s around. With her new tattoo studio set to open in her hometown of Inglewild, she doesn’t have time for frivolous flirtations.
In an effort to get Charlie out of her system once and for all, Nova offers a proposition. One night. No strings. They’ll kick their uncomfortable attraction to the curb and return to their respective responsibilities. But their explosive night together scatters their expectations like fallen leaves. And with Charlie in town as the temporary head of Lovelight Farms, Nova can’t quite avoid him.
And Charlie? Well, Charlie knows a good investment when he sees one. He’s hoping he can convince Nova he’s worth some of her time.
REVIEW
What you can expect to find in Business Casual: -golden retriever hero -grumpy heroine -friends to lovers -“let’s get this out of our system” -🌶🌶 -he takes care of her -no third act breakup -he falls first -found family -small town shenanigans
I first read Lovelight Farms last year and immediately became obsessed with the small town charm of Inglewild. As soon as Charlie was introduced I knew that I was going to love his book because I immediately loved his character. A bit goofy and funny but definitely hiding some vulnerabilities.
Business Casual had so many of my favorite tropes – friends to lovers, found family and of course “let’s just get this out of our system” because when does that ever work out 🤭. The chemistry between Nova and Charlie was so good. Their tension made for a delicious slow burn. Charlie and Nova were both so patient with one another – not letting them hide behind their feelings and always facing hard things together. I love that for them so much.
I’ll be honest – I’ve been loving books that are on the angsty side lately and (unpopular opinion) I don’t mind a third act breakup. BUT BK Borison did a wonderful job with this rom-com that didn’t have a third act breakup. There was still some angst, but it was the perfect amount for this book.
Overall, I highly enjoyed Business Casual. Definitely taking second place in the series after Lovelight Farms
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