Barely Even Friends by Mae Bennett (2024)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Super cute and steamy Beauty and the Beast retelling. We’re off to a historic estate renovation with Bellamy who is in charge of the project because her father Maurice is ill and she finds a grumpy recluse Oliver there. Oliver is resistant to the renovation mostly because his grandfather is being overly controlling and also because he doesn’t want anyone in his house. But the house isn’t really his and he’s stuck doing whatever his grandfather has dictated. Bellamy is the ultimate sunshine full of ideas and energy to complete the project, and she wears these cute suspenders that Oliver is obsessed with. She’s also got some hang-ups related to relationships because her last guy was a total dud who told her that she’s not the kind of girl that sparks commitment. We get to see Bell and Oliver super slowly come to a truce, then friendship, then more. Absolutely delightful.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake (2024)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Gah, the angst. This one is a second chance romance that involves one person having left the other at the altar. And we do get a flashback to the wedding day and it is absolutely heart-breaking. Charlotte believes her Decembers are cursed, between her absentee mother and a fiancee that left her at the altar during a December wedding. She ends up on Christmas vacation with her quartet of holiday loners at a very cheery queery mountain town in Colorado. Only to find out that her ex-fiancee, Brighton, is also there, being dragged there by a different family member. It’s totally awkward, Brighton is all sorts of guilty, Charlotte wants to pretend they don’t know each other, and their hostess’ mom is trying to set everyone up on this matchmaking activity. We get all sorts of small town small group chaos along with angst oozing out of every interaction. Even when you think that Charlotte and Brighton can’t reconcile their issues, we get to see how it all plays out. Loved it.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.
Worst in Show by Anna E. Collins (2024)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Cute, quirky, and funny rom-com with rival pet shop owners and their merry band of furry friends. Cora is working at her grandfather’s pet shop and stressing out because it’s not doing well financially; unfortunately a fancy pants chain store is opening up across the street, and the owner Leo, is a big fat jerk. Except he isn’t really a jerk and he’s actually super attractive. They slowly come to a truce and then pair up to train their respective dogs for an upcoming dog show and then slowly start a relationship. Everyone’s got parental baggage to deal with and all sorts of stress and anxiety, but the dogs are the best supporting characters in the story and make everything so much better. Loved it!
Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun (2024)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Logan and Rosemary were best friends as tweens, enemies as teens, didn’t see each other for a decade, and now enemy co-workers teaching at the same high school they attended. They’re also complete opposites in personality and demeanor and are constantly antagonizing each other. They’re also both completely dedicated to their former teacher and mentor Joe who is dying of cancer. When Joe wants both girls to drive him across the country so that he can die in his remote cottage, they think it’s a terrible idea, but then give in because they both want to honor Joe’s wishes. And it’s pretty much an awful road trip, with arguing and detours and dodgy accommodations. But through this trip, everyone gets to deal with all of their past regrets and inner demons and actually communicate with each other. And while the death trip is sad and full of grief, we do get to see Logan and Rosemary reconcile and begin to understand each other better. Funny, heartbreaking, and so very delightful to read.
Advance ebook provided by Atria Books via NetGalley.
Love in Bloom by Lucy Eden (2024)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Emma is having the worst day ever driving to the will reading of her late grandparents, which also involves an awkward first meeting with farm manager, Dan. It also turns out she inherits her late grandparents’ farm and does not know what to do with it, since she’s been estranged from them for the past twenty five years. When her regular life blows up, she escapes to the farm to learn what she can about the past. She learns a lot about how to rely on others (like the handsome and kind Dan) and how to integrate into small town life. Plus, the farm has a bonus secret that explains the town’s reliance on it. Flirty, steamy, and emotional book. Loved it.
Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Libro.fm.
The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez (2024)
Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Librarians in Love series. Chaotic and messy and I couldn’t put this one down. Marcela has been pining for her best guy friend, Ben, for years and in for total heartbreak when he proposes to his longtime girlfriend, Alice. And as if going to an engagement party wasn’t enough anxiety, she stops Ben’s brother Theo from drunkenly declaring his feelings for Alice. When they leave the party together and then show up at brunch together the next day, everyone thinks they hooked up, and they seem to go along with the lie to prevent anyone else from suspecting their real feelings for the engaged couple. We get a fun little fake dating situation for a hot minute, until they decide to go with a friends with benefits situation instead. But Theo doesn’t know about Marcela’s crush on Ben, everyone is telling Marcela to stay away from Theo, and Marcela is just trying to protect herself from getting hurt. It’s all sorts of messy and dramatic, but Theo has generally been open and honest with Marcela about his feelings and is basically the one making a try at a real relationship. Overall, Theo is the best, Ben is the worst, Alice is actually a decent friend, and Marcela just needs a pep talk.
Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.
Hers for the Weekend by Helena Greer (2024)
Contemporary romance. Book 3 of the Carrigan’s Christmasland series. Tara is the stuffy proper lawyer ex-fiancee of Miriam (from Book 1 of the series) invited to attend Miriam’s wedding to Noelle (a tree farmer at Carrigan’s). She lies and tells her friend Hannah that she has a new girlfriend who she will be bringing to the wedding, even though she does not actually have a girlfriend. Somehow, Holly, the waitress that Tara has a smidge of a crush on (and who also wants under Tara’s skirts) gets involved and they decide to pretend to be girlfriends and go to the wedding together. It’s road trip and Christmasland shenanigans for most of the book, while dealing with Tara and Holly’s respective hang-ups about relationships, friendships, and family. Everyone’s a mess and we revisit the chaotic found family of Carrigan’s. I enjoyed reading the series in order so I could remember the huge cast of characters and how they’re related to each other. Don’t let the cute cover fool you; this one is angsty and emotional.
Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood (2024)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Rue’s a food engineer working with her mentor at a small biotech company that seems to be in the process of a financial takeover. And it turns out one of the guys on the opposing team is a thwarted one night stand she met via an app. They’re both totally shocked to see each other in a new setting, with attraction definitely still simmering in the background, but now they’re workplace enemies so it’s not a good idea. While Eli is supposedly the enemy, he’s also completely gone for Rue and is willing to take whatever scraps of attention or conversation she hands out. He’s the ultimate supportive guy, even if he has his own baggage. These two tell each other these awful truths about themselves (that they’ve never told anyone else) and it comes with no judgment whatsoever. Just acknowledgement and acceptance. And somehow this twisted style of communication brings them closer together. Rue is the epitome of anti-social and basically a ball of social anxiety, but she’s calm and comfortable around Eli. Maybe because he’s so terribly accommodating, but also maybe because he also has a terrible past and can understand her. While Rue thinks that she’s betraying her boss and mentor by spending more time with Eli, the boss has a ton of secrets we get to uncover through the business-drama of the story. I liked seeing Rue ever-so-slowly start to open up with Eli and also see him drown in his affection for her.
Advance print book borrowed from a friend.
The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce (2024)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. How much heartbreak can you pack into a romance novel? Turns out a lot. Especially for this messy and complicated second chance romance. Georgia and Eli have been best friends for years, gone through a horrible breakup, and now stuck together to help their mutual best friend rescue his disaster of a wedding. Both Georgia and Eli have very deeply rooted anxieties and insecurities that make them both understand each other and also resist directly asking for what they need. We get to see all of Georgia’s emotions through her weeklong whirlwind planning session with Eli, while also dealing with a potential new job situation and her feeling abandoned by all her friends. While it’s fairly obvious why these two broke up in the first place, there’s still a whole lot of insecurity and fear of trying again. The plot seems straightforward enough without a whole lot of external drama, but the internal emotional turmoil is present in every scene. Be prepared for an emotional gut punch.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Sophie has secretly written a best-selling romance novel, but has not told her pretentious family about it. And the smug and charming Joe is somehow involved in the process and knows her secret. They’re all at her family home for her dad’s big birthday bash and Sophie and Joe keep getting thrown together at various circumstances. They’ve got loads of bickering and bantering and flirting, which is really fun to read. Plus, I loved all the references to the romance genre and its media criticism. Sophie’s family was chaotic and hilarious and just what you would expect in a rom-com situation with a big event that everyone’s gathered at. If you’re a regular romance-reader, I highly recommend this book.
Advance ebook provided by Harper360 via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang (2024)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. We get right to the tragic root of the problem here with chapter 1 at Helen’s younger sister’s funeral. Turns out Helen’s 16-year-old sister jumped in front of high school all-star Grant’s moving vehicle. Clearly not his fault, but still causing lots of grief and resentment for Helen and her family. Fast forward thirteen years and Helen’s book series is being adapted for television. Grant is a fairly talented screenwriter who is tapped for the job and these two meet again as co-workers. It’s awful and awkward and tragic and they somewhat come to a truce and then somehow become entangled in a physical relationship. But despite how much they actually like each other in the present-day, an actual real relationship isn’t possible with all of the animosity that Helen’s parents have towards Grant. And Helen’s the one enforcing the boundaries of their pre-planned expiration date. There’s all sorts of emotional angst and bonding here with their shared past experiences and their compatibility in the present. Add a splash of overbearing immigrant Asian parents and we have a perfect scenario for impossibilities.
Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Libro.fm. Print book provided by Avon Books.
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.
The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord (2024)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Excellent set-up and narrated by one of my favorite audiobook narrators, Natalie Naudus. We have a single POV novel with June having been dumped on national TV, turned into a meme, and now dealing with her struggling tea shop on a beachy boardwalk. She runs into childhood friend Levi, who has also been virally dumped recently, and somehow they get caught up on a social media storm calling them the Revenge Exes. They decide to awkwardly follow through with some fake dating so that June can get more customers in her store and Levi can show his ex-fiancee what she’s missing. It’s messy and complicated, especially when we factor in June’s teenage crush on Levi, and his rejection and radio silence for the past ten years. We also get a fun cast of supporting characters in the form of June’s brother, his fiancee, and another one of June’s best friends. This book is funny and sweet and cute and steamy and emotional, all in one.
Advance ebook provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.
Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe (2024)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Super funny and charming book! Hallie is a web series producer without a series after her ex-boyfriend kicks her off his project and she is looking for the next big web star. She stumbles on Hayden, who hosts a podcast about conspiracy theories and ghost hunting. They team up to turn his podcast material into video material and the show is absolute delight to all their fans, especially with the quippy banter between Hallie and Hayden. As they get closer together, it’s clear that they’re trying to balance keeping things professional and pursuing their feelings. Hallie’s especially skittish since she just got out of a toxic relationship with a guy she still works with. The humor and banter here was so fun and Hayden’s emotional intelligence ranks up there with his conspiracy theory intelligence (which is a lot).
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.
The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava (2024)
Contemporary romance. Standalone romance. Ember’s tired of being poor and overlooked in the job search, so she embellishes a little (or a lot) on her resume. She gets the job (yay) but continues to tell little white lies to all her co-workers, including one very handsome Danuwoa, who she isn’t allowed to date per company policy. This book is a lot of Ember learning to adapt in her new corporate world and Danuwoa being the very best supportive co-worker/friend/crush. While we get to see the super cute romance develop, we’re still a little wary of the potential fallout from all her lies. Ember is delightfully awkward and funny in the best ways. The workplace drama and humor in this book reminds me of Ali Hazelwood’s books.
Ebook received via Goodreads Giveaway. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio and Libro.fm.
Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer (2024)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Super awkward and tragic set-up here when Alison shows up to her ex-boyfriend’s funeral and his family thinks that they were still very recently dating. The ex-boyfriend’s sister insists on keeping up the ruse because it might help the family deal with their grief and all, and then she ends up volunteering to pack up his condo. Also on the job is Adam, the ex-boyfriend’s grumpy best friend who’s trying to make his own amends towards his deceased friend. As Alison and Adam spend every weekend together, they inevitably get closer together, but it’s all sorts of guilt-ridden since Adam thinks that he’s falling for his fresh-in-the-grave buddy’s girlfriend. Alison has her own hang-ups about living life to the fullest after having a preventative mastectomy due to her risk of breast cancer, even though she’d probably be happier as a cozy homebody. This was cute and funny and the relationship build-up was so good!
Advance ebook provided by Penguin Random House via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.
Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb (2024)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Super fun mashup on Pleasantville and Dawson’s Creek with tons and tons of Easter eggs and references to teen dramas of yesteryear. Brynn is having a rough time of things being recently divorced, having shallow friendships, and going on the worst first dates ever. She’d rather be sitting at home on the couch re-watching her favorite TV show, even though it ended on a cliffhanger and the main character did not end up with the dreamboat crush. And somehow, she and her roommate Josh wake up in the fictional TV world and are tasked with settings things to rights. Except the dreamboat crush is not what he seems and Brynn ends up growing feelings for Josh instead, changing the narrative of the fictional town. It’s fun and steamy and chaotic in all the best ways. I had so much fun listening to this audiobook and loved all the little callouts to the teen shows I used to love.
Advance ebook provided by Dial Press via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.
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.
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.
Christmas Is All Around by Martha Waters (2024)
Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Charlotte is an artist who starred in a Christmas movie once as a child and is trying to run away from her past. She’s visiting her sister’s family in England and somehow meets the owners of a house that is featured in the movie she was in. While Charlotte shies away from all things Christmas cheer, the owner of the historic home Graham has commissioned a series of house portraits to sell in his home’s gift shop. They spend more time together, bantering, and flirting, and finally becoming more, but she’s only in England temporarily. There’s also the concern of whether her past fame is being used to promote tourism to the historical family home. I enjoyed all of the banter and flirting, which made me smile so much. It was the perfect amount of sarcastic ribbing that I enjoy. Super fun little Christmas romance.
Advance ebook provided by Atria Books via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.
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