Weekly Reads: July 8 to 14, 2024

The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. It’s a rough day for Daphne who is at a baseball game that she’s not interested in, but she makes it better by getting drunk and heckling a baseball player. Except that she accidentally makes him cry. And then when she tries to apologize via Instagram DM, she neglects to mention she’s the heckler. Chris is having a rough season but he’s happy to be chatting with his new Instagram friend who he seems to have hit it off with. It’s an awkward chaotic mess as Daphne is fighting her guilt and attraction towards Chris. We’re really just waiting for everything to blow up if he ever finds out the truth, but we get to see a very sweet and steamy romance build up along the way. Super fun and flirty book to read.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm

Nobody’s Princess by Erica Ridley (2022)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Wild Wynchesters series. We get to see a wannabe female Royal Guard team up with our beloved Wynchester family here. Kunigunde is a lady companion to the Princess of Balcovia but has always aspired to be a Royal Guardsman like her father and brothers; she’s in London to compose her own reconnaissance dossier to prove her worth to her government. Except that she’s also hiding from her actual guardsmen brothers while trying to uncover intelligence. Graham is conveniently present to rescue Kuni from being chased by her brothers and brings her home to meet his siblings. She gets caught up in their missions and her attraction to Graham, but she’s adamant about going back home. It’s fun and flirty for a lot of the book and then a little heartbreaking how she ends up rejecting Graham and his awesome family. Still, another awesome addition to the series.

Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Seas and Greetings by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone (2024)

Contemporary romance. Book 2.5 of the Christmas Notch series. Quick and fun flirty steamy novella. Addison is set to launch the maiden voyage of her cruise line and she needs everything to go perfectly and not be distracted by her bodyguard Krysta. Except she is very much distracted by Krysta, who is authoritative in the most delicious way. And she may or may not have a stalker aboard the cruise ship. It’s really just a very quick and not super emotional read here with plenty of steam.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. I don’t know much about music, but the musical chemistry between Gwen and Xander was totally believable. Gwen is the somewhat naive and not totally confident violin player given a chance to be first chair of a pops symphony, much to the dismay of cello player/rockstar Xander. He’s got the overconfident arrogant attitude that rubs Gwen the wrong way, until he rubs her the right way. He’s both broody and yearning all at once, which is fun to read. While most of the book is told from Gwen’s point of view, we get interludes from Xander’s perspective every 5 chapters or so. Tons of flirting and steam and external machinations from all the grown-ups in their lives, which made me keep reading to find out both backstory and what would happen next. Overall, a fun and emotional read.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

Sinfully Wed by Kathleen Ayers (2023)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Five Deadly Sins series. Tragic prologue for the five Sinclair siblings as their older half brother banishes them all to a far-flung destitute estate after the death of their father. Ten years later, Jordan is visited by the family solicitor to be informed that he’s the new earl after the cruel older brother has passed on. But Jordan does not just inherit an earldom, he inherits a heavily indebted estate with all debts owned by a title-grabbing money lender who requires marriage to his daughter Odessa. She’s totally ignorant of her father’s treachery and has her own plans of deterring all titled weakling suitors by padding her waistline and eating raw onion. Except Jordan is truly desperate for funds and plans to live separately anyway, so it doesn’t matter what Odessa looks like and he’s unflinchingly polite. Jordan soon realizes Odessa’s ruse and it turns out they’re attracted to each other anyway. They just both want to get out from underneath her father’s control, so we’ve got a few things to overcome because we find the happily ever after.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Available on Kindle Unlimited // Get a free trial to Kindle Unlimited

That Prince is Mine by Jayci Lee (2024)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Super cute and funny and sweet and steamy book, all in one. Emma’s a culinary instructor with a matchmaking godmother who needs an assist on her work reputation, so she sets Emma up on a series of dates with men who are perfect-on-paper. Except they’re all slightly awful and she ends up hitting it off with a handsome stranger at a cafe instead. Emma’s got a bunch of hang-ups about love due to her parents’ divorce, so she’s looking for compatibility rather than sparks. On the other hand, Michel, a secret prince, is looking for love so he can get out of a longstanding childhood betrothal to a friend he doesn’t want to marry. These two awkwardly flirt and Michel is charmingly a dunce at dating, and Emma is totally resistant, especially since Michel is planning to leave in a few short months. We get a very fun cast of supporting characters, especially Michel’s cousin and his bodyguard (who may actually have an awkward history with each other). I had a great time reading this book and found myself laughing and smiling through a lot of it.

Advance ebook provided by St. Martins Press via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Macmillan Audio.

Courtship at Shadowcrest by Alexa Aston (2024)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 5 of the Strongs of Shadowcrest series. This book has two parts, telling us about two different romances that occur at the same house party. Allegra and Lyric are twin sisters and nieces and cousins to a duke who felt bad about the expenses of a society debut, so they’ve agreed to a small house party thrown in their honor at the family estate. Their aunt and dowager duchess has invited five eligible gentlemen and three other eligible young ladies for the party. We get to meet everyone through both parts of the story and see how everyone gets paired off. Allegra and Lyric both end up in parallel situations with rakish bachelors, but while it’s fun to read both of their experiences at the house party, these two stories read back to back can get a bit repetitive. Allegra has paired off with Sterling, an earl who was unloved by his parents and spends his time steeped in debauchery. Lyric has paired off with Silas, a viscount who was unloved by his parents, but mentored by a beloved uncle and taking up his responsibilities after his uncle has died. Neither men believe in love, so they respond poorly when their chosen ladies start declaring theirs. I did like seeing them each start to appreciate the loving family dynamic of the Strongs and also realize their own depth of feelings. Quick, easy, fairly low-angst read, knowing these are novellas that wrap up in short order.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.

Never Fall for a Dragon by Lola Glass (2024)

Fantasy romance. Book 1 of the Mate Mountain series. A dragon shifter and a human woman accidentally set off a bonding heat and are stuck together in a cabin in the woods for four weeks. Elodie interrupts what she assumes to be a fight between a supernatural man and a human woman and sets of a potential mating ritual instead. August is about to head to prison for breaking some rules in the process of protecting his sister, but is detoured by the imminent heat that’s triggered by Elodie. There’s some dragon politics in the background here, but this book is mostly a quick and easily digestible steamy read. I thought it was a fun and not-too-deep kind of story and perfect for reading in between longer more epic or angsty books.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited. Advance audiobook provided by Dreamscape via NetGalley.