ARC — Get Lost with You — Sophie Sullivan — Rock Bottom Love #2
“You’re killing me, Jillian.”“That’s funny. You have the opposite effect on me. You make me feel more alive than I can ever remember feeling.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Touches on subjects like toxic relationships and unsupportive parents. Contains some romantic content. “Get Lost with You” follows Jillian, a now-single mom, who’s moved back to…
ARC — She Doesn’t Have a Clue — Jenny Elder Moke
Genre: Mystery, RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Touches on subjects like cheating and insecurities. Describes murder and murder attempts. Contains explicit sexual content. Part mystery, part romance, set in a private island off the coast of Seattle? Count me in. (I mean, the Seattle Seahawks already had me crying every Sunday, why not extend that pain…
ARC — Let’s Call a Truce — Amy Buchanan
“These truces are going to be the death of me.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5+ starsSpicy Meter: 5 fire emojisContent Warnings: Touches on tough topics like losing a partner, parent abandonment, and mental health struggles. Contains sooo much explicit sexual content. “Let’s Call a Truce” follows Juliana Ryan, who is rebuilding her life after unexpectedly losing her husband while juggling work,…
ARC — How to Get a Life in Ten Dates — Jenny L. Howe
“This was why (…) dating was off the table. She was too chaotic. He was too rigid. They were too different in ways that could break them, that already almost had (…).” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4.5 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Touches on body image prejudices, unhealthy relationship dynamics, and mental health struggles. Contains some sexual content. “How to…
ARC — The Rom-Commers — Katherine Center
“I would write a hundred happy endings for us if I could.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Touches on topics like divorce, parental death, disabilities, and cancer. Describes being a full-time caregiver for a family member. “The Rom-Commers” follows Emma Wheeler, an aspiring screenwriter that had to put her dream on hold to take care…
ARC — Kilt Trip — Alexandra Kiley
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Touches on subjects like parental death and abandonment issues. Contains explicit sexual content. “Kilt Trip” follows Addie Macrae, an American travel consultant, and Logan Sutherland, one of the Scottish co-owners of a family-owned tour company that’s struggling to make ends meet. Logan is absolutely against Addie coming and restructuring his…
ARC — Till There Was You — Lindsay Hameroff
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Touches on tough or uncomfortable subjects like parental disappointment, parental death, and cancer. Contains some sexual content. “Till There Was You” follows Lexi Berman, a culinary student in New York City who’s just about to graduate and who dreams of becoming a Michelin-star chef in order to honor her late…
ARC — The Catch — Amy Lea — The Influencer #3
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5+ starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Touches on tough topics like grief, family loss, family abandonment, and depression. Contains some explicit sexual content. “The Catch” follows Melanie (Mel) Karlsen, a lifestyle blogger that feels like she’s losing relevancy, as she travels to Canada for a collaboration with a spa resort. But there’s been a mix up,…
ARC — Even If It Breaks Your Heart — Erin Hahn
Genre: Young AdultActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Touches on tough topics like grief, family loss, family abandonment, and chronic illness. Contains some romantic content. “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” follows nineteen-year-old Case Michaels, grieving the loss of his best friend Walker, as he clings to a list Walker left him, determined to complete it despite…
ARC — Love, Naturally — Sophie Sullivan — Rock Bottom Love #1
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4.5 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Touches on subjects like abandonment, toxic romantic relationships, and toxic work environments. Describes an injury. Contains some romantic content. “Love, Naturally”, being the first book in the Rock Bottom Love series, follows Presley Ayers, an aspiring hotel manager and social media personality, as she embarks on the surprise trip she…
ARC — On the Plus Side — Jenny L. Howe
“Let yourself be seen.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 3 fire emojisContent Warnings: Touches on topics like parental abandonment, fatphobia, body shaming, and death of family members and pets. Contains some explicit sexual content. “On the Plus Side” follows Everly Winters, who is currently a receptionist but aspiring to be a designer in marketing some day, as she is…
ARC — This Spells Love — Kate Robb
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Describes an injury by fire and panic attacks. Contains explicit sexual content. I can’t believe “This Spells Love” by Kate Robb is a debut. This novel follows Gemma, a 28-year-old who, after a painful breakup, drunkenly casts a spell to erase her ex from her past. To her astonishment, she…
ARC — A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch — Sarah Hawley — Glimmer Falls #2
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4.5 starsSpicy meters: 2 fire emojisContent Warning: Addresses toxic relationships and emotional abuse. Contains sexual content. From the dedication line (“For all the angry girls who were told they were too much”) to the very end of this novel, “A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch” is absolutely perfect. “A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch” follows…
ARC — Artifacts of an Ex — Jennifer Chen
Genre: Young Adult, RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Mentions dementia. Contains some romantic content, but no explicit sexual content. “Artifacts of an Ex” follows Chloe Chang, a budding art curator, as she channels the pain of a breakup into “Heartifacts,” an art exhibit showcasing mementos of past relationships (both hers and others). And in comes Damoel…
ARC — Plot Twist — Erin La Rosa
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Touches on tough subjects like alcoholism and sobriety. Describes stalking. Contains sexual content. I can’t come into this review saying I’m not biased—I love Erin La Rosa’s writing, and “Plot Twist” wasn’t the exception. “Plot Twist” follows romance author Sophie Lyon in the aftermath of a horrible confession that’s left…
ARC — Holiday Star — Dr. Melissa Dymond
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Touches on heavy subjects like addiction, loss and grief, and losing a parent. Contains explicit sexual content. “Holiday Star”, set against the backdrop of a cozy December, follows Gwen Wright, a disciplined doctor house-sitting for her family, and Caleb Lawson, a brooding Hollywood star hiding from scandal (who just so…
ARC — Snowed In — Catherine Walsh
Genre: Romance, HolidaysActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Showcases unhealthy and controlling relationships. Has some sexual content. “Snowed In” follows Megan, a reluctant returnee to her quaint Irish village, five years after leaving her ex-fiancé at the altar. Cue the arrival of Christian Fitzpatrick—an old classmate with an easy grin and a not-so-easy charm—who proposes a fake…
ARC — 10 Things That Never Happened — Alexis Hall — Material World #1
Genre: General Fiction, LGBTQIA+, RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Revolves around a fake amnesia. Describes a head injury and discusses grief, death of parents, and toxic relationships. Contains some sexual content. Obviously, faking amnesia is never good, yet it made this book truly hilarious. “10 Things That Never Happened” follows Samwise (Sam) Becker, the manager of…
ARC — What the River Knows — Isabel Ibañez — The Secrets of the Nile #1
Genre: Young Adult, General FictionActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Discusses death of parent, kidnapping, murder, colonization, cultural appropriation, and violence in general. Contains some romantic content. What do you get when you mix a murder mystery of sorts with Egyptology? Well, you get “What the River Knows.” This historial fantasy book is set in the 1800s…
ARC — The Search for Us — Susan Azim Boyer
“Thank you.” (…)“What did I do?” (…)“You’re the one who jumped in my truck and said, ‘Drive.’” (…)“You’re the one who drove.” (…)“We make a great team,” Genre: Young Adult, General FictionActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Touches on subjects like parental abandonment and alcoholism leading to DUIs and casualties. This is a story of what means…
ARC — Reasonable Adults — Robin Lefler
“Can we please talk about this like reasonable adults?” Genre: Women’s Fiction, RomanceActual Rating: 4.5 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Touches on cheating (not done by any main characters, just an ex significant other). Describes an attempted sexual assault. Contains sexual content. I mean, Robin Lefler had me at Goldendoodle and artists’ retreat in the Canadian wild. “Reasonable Adults”…
ARC — Woke Up Like This — Amy Lea
“Mom once described high school as a “trip”—a passage of time that feels tediously slow, but also lightning fast. After chasing perfect grades, (…) the next school event, it’s hard to believe all those mini goalposts have culminated in four whole years.” Genre: General Fiction, Women’s FictionActual Rating: 5+ starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Mentions death of a young…
ARC — Let’s Get Quizzical — Kelly Ohlert
“That’s it. Talk nerdy to me.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4.5 starsSpicy Meter: 3 fire emojisContent Warnings: Mentions illegal activities, blackmailing, and reality show corruption. Contains explicit sexual content. Oh, this was one spicy read, alright? “Let’s Get Quizzical” follows Charlotte (Charlie) and Eli, two estranged high school best friends and lovers, as they reconnect in a trivia game show, in…
ARC — Maybe Once, Maybe Twice — Alison Rose Greenberg
“Maggie, you have to at least look like you care. It’s your thirty-fifth birthday, not your funeral.” “Feels a little like my funeral.” Genre: Women’s FictionActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Touches on heavy subjects like sexual assault, death, infertility, and suicide. Contains some sexual content. What are the chances that you’d be promised true love not…
ARC — Trading Places — Emily Duvall
“I thought not kissing you would be easier. Turns out, it’s harder.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 3.5 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Contains some sexual content. “Trading Places” follows Lexi North, a spoiled millionaire’s daughter, after she agrees to swap places with the blue collar mechanic she rear-ended, Evan Bailey. Evan is just a hard working man who’s looking to…
ARC — Ghosted — Sarah Ready — Ghosted #1
“(…) the reason Daniel hadn’t moved on was because of unfinished business. (…) Is love unfinished business? Or can you just keep loving someone even if you’re not together and they don’t know that you do. Is that the end of it? Is that finished business?” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Touches on death. Contains…
ARC — Every Wish Way — Shannon Bright
“Relationships aren’t made of two people who never have problems. (…) It’s about two flawed people choosing and promising to be the best versions of themselves they can be for each other.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 3 fire emojisContent Warnings: Talks about parental death and a curse. Discusses cheating and an attempted sexual assault. Contains sexual content. This…
ARC — Cleat Cute — Meryl Wilsner
“Oh yeah, you were absolutely one of those formative celebrities, you know? Like, I didn’t know if I wanted to kiss you or be you. (…) Both, it turned out.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4.5 starsSpicy Meter: 3 fire emojisContent Warnings: Touches on toxic relationships and friendships. Discusses injuries and bullying. Contains explicit sexual content. “Cleat Cute” follows Phoebe Matthews, a…
ARC — Thank You for Sharing — Rachel Runya Katz
“House Rules: 1. Meet: Friday nights (…) at Prohibition 2. Anything said here stays here 3. No toxic masculinity (…) And thus, the Speakeasy Survival Club is born.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 3 fire emojisContent Warnings: Mentions death of a parent, cancer, and discusses sexual assault. Contains sexual content. “Thank You for Sharing” is comically full of mishaps…
ARC — The Barista’s Guide to the Perfect Steam — Valerie Pepper — Guided to Love #2
“She is heaven. My own personal heaven. And she has no clue.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 3 fire emojisContent Warnings: Mentions death of a sibling. Involves a house electrical fire. Contains explicit sexual content. “The Barista’s Guide to the Perfect Steam” is the second installment in the Guided to Love series, yet it works just as well as…
ARC — The Long Game — Elena Armas
“I’ll always give you more than what you ask, love. Even when you don’t know what you want.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Describes a stalker, infidelity, and toxic relationships. Contains explicit sexual content. “The Long Game” follows Adalyn Reyes, an executive reporter for the Miami Flames Football Club, after she is sent to live…
ARC — Do You Remember Being Born? — Sean Michaels
“A perfect poem, (…) a perfect poem can change the world.” Genre: Fiction, Science FictionActual Rating: 4.5 starsSpicy Meter: N/A “Do You Remember Being Born?” follows Marian Ffarmer, a 75 year old poet, as she is invited to collaborate with a new AI called Charlotte to write a new long poem. What starts as a simple premise turns out to…
ARC — The Clementine Complex — Bob Mortimer
“To describe me as anonymous would be unfair, but to notice me other than in passing would be a rarity.” Genre: Fiction, MysteryActual Rating: 3.5 starsSpicy Meter: N/AContent Warnings: Touches on drugs and illegal dealings. Revolves around a disappearance. “The Clementine Complex” follows Gary Thorn, a 30-year-old legal assistant, as he sets off to look for a virtual stranger, a…
ARC — First Impressions of You — Gabriela Graciosa Guedes
“As long as you’re joking, that means you probably don’t hate me that much anymore.” “I don’t think I could hate you if I wanted to.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 4 fire emojisContent Warnings: Deals with discrimination against race and weight, and living as an immigrant. Contains explicit sexual content. “First Impressions of You” follows Luiza Bento, an…
ARC — In Charm’s Way — Lana Harper — The Witches of Thistle Grove #4
“Asking for help isn’t a weakness, (…) but being too proud to accept it is. Believe me, I know.” Genre: Romance, Fantasy, LGBTQ+Actual Rating: 5+ starsSpicy Meter: 3 fire emojisContent Warnings: Showcases panic attacks, violence, magical injuries, and toxic relationships. Contains explicit sexual content. “In Charm’s Way” follows Delilah Harlow as she deals with the aftermath of being hit by…
ARC — Skip To The End — Molly James
“I’m welcoming a man’s attention one minute and rejecting him in the harshest manner the next. They already think I’m half psycho. When the truth is, I’m half psychic. Well, not even half. And not exactly psychic. It’s complicated.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Describes dementia. Contains some romantic content. “Skip to the End” follows…
ARC — Sideline Confidential — Brooke Bentley
“There sure are a lot of egos around here.” (…)“The biggest ones aren’t even on the field.” Genre: Sports Fiction, General FictionActual Rating: 4.5 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Touches on subjects like workplace inequality, double standards, and misogyny. Describes workplace harassment and discrimination. “Sideline Confidential” follows Blake Kirk, a recent journalism masters graduate, as she starts on her…
ARC — Magnolia Parks — Jessa Hastings — Magnolia Parks Universe #1
“How many loves do you get in a lifetime?” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Describes drug use, abuse, and overdose. Touches on child death, emotional abuse, and panic attacks. Contains some sexual content. “Magnolia Parks” is the first book in the Magnolia Parks Universe series and, well, it follows Magnolia Parks, to no one’s surprise.…
ARC — The Witch is Back — Sophie H. Morgan
“A man begging her to marry him. But not because he chose her. Because she was the other name on the contract. And what a contract it had proven to be.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4.5 starsSpicy Meter: 3 fire emojisContent Warnings: Touches on subjects like child abuse, physical and emotional abuse, and abandonment. Revolves around sickness and death of a…
ARC — Tilly in Technicolor — Mazey Eddings
“I just want to write something that makes people feel seen.” Genre: Romance, Young AdultActual Rating: 5+ starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emoji Content Warnings: Displays gaslighting, miscommunications, and explosive fights. “Tilly in Technicolor” follows Tilly Twomley and Oliver Clark, two neurodivergent teens that are summer interns at Ruhe, a new eco-friendly nail polish company. They are off to the summer…
ARC — Text Appeal — Amber Roberts
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Touches on subjects like workplace sexism and having anxiety about job security. Contains explicit sexual content. As soon as I saw this book marketed as one for Olivia Dade fans, I knew I had to get my hands on it—and I must say, Amber Roberts did not disappoint. “Text Appeal”…
ARC — The Space Between — Sarah Ready
“Okay, I’m ready. (…) Tell me what happened in the space between when I was gone and when I was there.” Author: Sarah ReadyNarrator: Rachel F. Hirsch, James Fouhey Genre: Romance, New AdultActual Rating: 5 starsNarration: 4 mikesSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Discusses parental death, robbery, and substance abuse and addiction. Details someone dying of cancer, cheating, and a…
ARC — Just Friends — Madison Wright — Nashville is Calling #3
“I didn’t get to make a wish.”“That’s a shame, because I hear butterfly wishes are even more powerful than shooting stars or birthday candles.”“Is that so?”“Oh yeah. It’s quantifiable. Scientific.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Mentions cheating and describes an injury. Contains some romantic content. This book is the textbook definition of butterflies in your…
ARC — Someone Just Like You — Meredith Schorr
“What if this has been a prank all along? His biggest one yet. Making Molly ‘Mole’ Blum fall for him so he could break my heart.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Discusses parental divorce and parental separation. Talks about life-changing physical injuries after an accident. Contains sexual content. “Someone Just Like You” follows Molly Blum…
ARC — Ticket to You — Florence Fields — Wonderings #1
“We need to figure out what you have for the trip that can work on our shoots. Hiking boots, a warm hat, base layers, that sort of thing. Then first thing tomorrow morning we can go shopping to fill in the gaps.”“I have a feeling it will be less about filling gaps and more about filling a massive, gaping hole.…
ARC — One Tough Cookie — Delise Torres
Author: Delise TorresNarrator: Stacy Gonzalez Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 3.5 starsNarration: 5 mikesSpicy Meter: 3 fire emojisContent Warnings: Discusses abortion and cheating. Touches on abandonment and childhood trauma. Contains explicit sexual content. “One Tough Cookie” follows Karina Cortés, an employee at a cookie company who is set on being single forever and not needed no man ever, as she meets and…
ARC — The Summer Girl — Elle Kennedy — Avalon Bay #3
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4.5 starsSpicy Meter: 3 fire emojisContent Warnings: Discusses cheating and an almost forced abortion. Deals with a narcissistic parent. Contains explicit sexual content. “The Summer Girl” follows Cassie Soul, an almost senior university student living it up in her last summer before college is over. She hasn’t been to Avalon Bay in ages but is back for…
ARC — Play to Win — Jodie Slaughter
“ “Six.”The age she was when she met Leo Vaughn.“Thirty-one.”Like the day in July she’d kissed him for the first time.“Fourteen.”The number of wildflowers he always brought her, two more than a dozen to make up for the fact that he couldn’t get her store-bought ones.“Twenty-one.”The most times he’s told her he loved her in one day.“Fifty-eight.”The number of days…
ARC — Hello Stranger — Katherine Center
“My experience of all this so far was the opposite of the woman who felt like face blindness let her live in a world that had no strangers. For me, right now, everyone felt like a stranger. Even me.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojiContent Warnings: Discusses parental death and congenital disease. Revolves around face blindness caused…
ARC — Unorthodox Love — Heidi Shertok
Genre: Fiction, RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Deals heavily with infertility and parental sickness. Mentions cancer. “Unorthodox Love” follows Penina, an Orthodox Jewish 29-year-old that at this point has lost all hopes on getting married—she’s infertile and no proper Orthodox Jew will be okay with not having children of their own. But then in comes an…
ARC — How (Not) to Date a Pop Star — Jada Trainor
Genre: Young AdultActual Rating: 3 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Mentions violence. Contains some sexual content. “How (Not) to Date a Pop Star” follows Tyler Moore, an extremely famous pop star, and his childhood best friend, Aaliyah Preston, to whom dancing and the arts is more than a pastime, as they reconnect after fame and busy schedules got in…
ARC — Going Bicoastal — Dahlia Adler
Genre: YA, RomanceActual Rating: 4.5 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Touches on subjects like scars and self-harm. Describes the aftermath of the divorce of parents. “Going Bicoastal” is pretty much about what its title implies—a bisexual teenager having to choose between spending the summer on the East or the West Coast of the United States, both options bringing on…
ARC — A Love Catastrophe — Helena Hunting
“I’m a professional cat sitter.”(…) “You’re serious?”(…) “Yup. I own my own business.”(…) “You can make a living off of that?”(…) “There’s a woman who makes six figures from farting in jars. Why can’t cat sitting be lucrative enough to pay the bills?” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 3.5 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojiContent Warnings: Touches on heavy subjects like child and…
ARC — Miss Matched — Wendy Million
“Thank you.” (…)(…) “For what?”“For giving me another chance, for letting me back in, for showing me that fear of the unknown can be beautiful instead of scary. What an adventure we’re going to have.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 3.5 starsSpicy Meter: 3 fire emojiContent Warnings: Describes toxic relationships. Contains sexual content. “Miss Matched” by Wendy Million is “The Soulmate Equation”…
ARC — The Dos and Donuts of Love — Adiba Jaigirdar
Author: Adiba JaigirdarNarrator: Priya Ayyar Genre: Young Adult, LGBTQIA, RomanceActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Discusses fatphobia, racism, xenophobia, and homophobia. Displays toxic relationships, toxic friendships, and gaslighting. “The Dos and Donuts of Love” follows Shireen Malik, a Bangladeshi-Irish girl, as she competes in the very first Junior Irish Baking Show and is paired up against no…
ARC — Ciao For Now — Kate Bromley
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Describes toxic relationships and mentions death of a parent. Contains some sexual content. “Ciao for Now” follows Violet Luciano as she and a few of her colleagues embark to Rome for a fashion internship. Little did she know that as soon as she got there she would stumble into her…
ARC — Double-Decker Dreams — Lindsay Macmillan
“Back up and start at the beginning.”“The beginning. (…) It goes like this: I fell in love this morning.” Genre: General Fiction, RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Discusses sexual harassment and uncomfortable working conditions. I didn’t love how accents were written on the page (“Just go talk to ‘im, what d’ye have to lose?”? Yeah, that’s…
ARC — All the Right Notes — Dominic Lim
Genre: Romance, LGBTQIAActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Displays homophobia, transphobia, outing, and sexual assault. Describes cheating and death of a parent. “All the Right Notes” follows Quito Cruz, a piano player and composer, as he follows his father’s wish to put on a magical performance for a charity event in his small hometown. In doing so…
ARC — Girls Like Girls — Hayley Kiyoko
“And one day you learn: it’s not that you’re not like other girls.It’s just that you’ve never met a girl like you.And then, you do. You meet her.And suddenly the songs make sense.” Genre: Young AdultActual Rating: 3.5 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Discusses parental death, suicide, and hate crimes. Describes homophobia, and emotional and physical abuse. Girls like…
ARC — Love at First Set — Jennifer Dugan
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojiContent Warnings: Discusses classism and toxic relationships. Contains sexual content. “Love at First Set” follows Lizzie McCarthy, a gym manager-ish, after she inadvertently breaks the gym’s owners’ daughter’s wedding apart. And so in comes Cara Manderlay, the daughter of the owners of that said gym Lizzie works at, and the most recent…
ARC — Chef’s Choice — TJ Alexander
“‘Reste ici pour toujours,’ he murmured. Stay here forever.” Genre: Romance, LGBTQIAActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Displays homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and deadnaming. Describes unhealthy power and family dynamics. Contains some sexual content and references. “Chef’s Choice” follows Luna O’Shea, a recently fired trans woman, as she fake-dates a multimillionaire to appease his family—ish. Jean-Pierre is a…
ARC — The Ones in Between — Lillian Lumley
“They say your first love is the hardest to forget. But even then, if I had known what was coming: the debilitating heartbreak; the many tears I had yet to shed; the love; the hope and all the ones in between, I knew I would do it again, simply because of how it would end.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy…
ARC — Someone Else’s Bucket List — Amy T. Matthews
“She assumed it was what all old women did. Had sisters who plonked themselves at your kitchen table and annoyed you, from the cradle to the grave. It had never occurred to her that cancer might get in the way.” Genre: General FictionActual Rating: 3.5 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Discusses grief, cancer, and death at a young age…
ARC — Holiday Read — Taylor Cole
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 2 starsSpicy Meter: -1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Discusses infidelity and contains a scene with questionable consent. Big trigger warning on being drunk and that dubious sexual content. “Holiday Read” follows Candice, a surf instructor and romance lover, and Alexis, a writer struggling to finish his next romance novel. That’s how they end up in the weirdest of…
Funny Feelings — Tarah Dewitt
“I don’t know what I believe in as far as a higher power, Fee, but I know that I now believe that rainstorms always precede something amazing because you came into our lives on the tail end of one.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 3 fire emojisContent Warnings: Discusses parental death, dysfunctional and unsupportive parents, bullying, and ableism. Describes…
ARC — Queried Sick — Dallas Smith
“But I can’t keep running from things. I can’t run from you. I don’t want to. I want to be with you. I want to be a person who deserves you.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Low-key centered around the pandemic and quarantine. Discusses unhealthy family dynamics, biphobia, and parental death. Chronic illness and anxiety…
ARC — The Last Word — Katy Birchall
“This job is not your be all and end all. It’s a job. It’s not who you are.”“That just goes to show you don’t know me at all.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4.5 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Deals with gaslighting, cheating, and horrible working conditions. “The Last Word” follows Harper Jenkins, a celebrity journalist, as she tries to coexist…
ARC — Jana Goes Wild — Farah Heron
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 3.5 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Revolves around infidelity-ish. Mentions parental death and panic attacks. Contains some sexual content. “Jana Goes Wild” follows Jana Suleiman as she embarks, along with her 4-year-old daughter Imani, on a great adventure that she isn’t too excited to take—a destination wedding in Serengeti National Park. What she did not expect…
ARC — French Holiday — Sarah Ready
Author: Sarah ReadyNarrator: Kelsey Navarro Genre: Romance, FictionActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Mentions parental death and disappearance. Discusses sexual assault, terminal illnesses, and abandonment. Contains some sexual content. “French Holiday” follows Merry DeLuca, as she moves to France in an attempt to escape the fact that Merry’s little sister just married Merry’s best friend and unrequited…
Blog Tour ARC — The Secret Service of Tea and Treason — India Holton — Dangerous Damsels #3
“Tighter, (…) in case I break free and strangle you.”(…) “I’m not scared of that.”“Then why are you restraining me?”“I’m hugging you.”“But you’ve already done that.” “Alice, sweetheart, you deserve all the hugs I can give.” Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction, FantasyActual Rating: 4.5 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Describes violence, ableism, and kidnapping. Contains sexual content. “The Secret Service…
The League of Gentlewomen Witches — India Holton – Dangerous Damsels #2
“Do not look so concerned on my behalf, Captain. It is a common enough statement. For example, I myself love that house there with the wooden shutters. I love tea. I love you, and your smile, and the way you sigh in your sleep. See, common. Unconcerning. We are still enemies.” Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction, FantasyActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter:…
ARC — To Swoon and To Spar — Martha Waters — The Regency Vows #4
“I can’t help thinking that he’s always held himself somewhat…apart.”“Because he was not married?” (…)“Because he cared about this house more than he cared about anything else. (…) It makes for a lonely existence, I suspect.” Genre: Romance, Historical FictionActual Rating: 3.5 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Mentions death of parent. Includes a marriage of convenience. Contains some sexual…
Blog Tour ARC — What The Hex — Jessica Clare — Hex #2
“You’re obscene.”“You love it.”“Jupiter help me, I really do.” Genre: Romance, FantasyActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 4 fire emojisContent Warnings: Describes toxic relationships and mentions animal death. Contains explicit sexual content. “What The Hex” follows Penny Roundtree, a hopeful familiar without a warlock or witch, and Willem Sauer, a 270-year-old warlock, as they participate in a downright illegal arrangement—she’ll be…
ARC — The Plus One — Mazey Eddings — A Brush With Love #3
“I’ve known Jude my entire life. He lived on the same block as us growing up, and he and Collin were best friends from the jump. But he and I have always been, like, these fundamental opposites. Even as a kid he was serious; had a certain sharpness about him. And I was nothing but soft spots. (…) And he…
ARC — Sea Change — Gina Chung
“(…) Then the image of Eriko snapping at her trainers and slamming into the other dolphins, all while continuing to circle her tank in tight, anxious spirals, comes to mind. I realize that the main difference between Eriko’s situation and mine is that she never had a choice in her entrapment, but I do. I don’t have to be stuck…
ARC — Too Soon For Adiós — Annette Chavez Macias
“My grandma used to say that the universe worked in mysterious ways. It was the only explanation I could come up with for how I’d ended up becoming a chef just like the biological father I never knew. Or how I ended up eating tacos in his restaurant almost thirty years after I was born.” Genre: General Fiction, RomanceActual Rating:…
ARC — Love, Lilly — Belinda Mary
“So when did you know you were in love with me?”(…) “You want all the details, hey?””Every one of them!” (…)“I seem to recall it was an ordinary afternoon, when you had been dumped by that jerk Zack Petty. And I just looked at you and I knew. And I haven’t been able to shake the feeling ever since.” Genre:…
Blog Tour ARC — A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon — Sarah Hawley
“Why do you have horns?” (…)”Why do you have so many questions?” Genre: Romance, FictionActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 4 fire emojisContent Warnings: Mentions animal death and a fire injury. Contains sexual content. “A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon” is a pretty self-explanatory title, but this book follows Mariel Spark, a witch that was prophesied to be the…
ARC — Not That Kind of Ever After — Luci Adams
“It’s our own classy ending to our own classic story, and I now know with absolute certainty that it’s better than any fairytale out there.” Author: Luci AdamsNarrator: Josie Charles Genre: Romance, FictionActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Discusses cheating and contains some self deprecation and slightly unhealthy relationships. Contains sexual content, but isn’t too explicit. “Not…
ARC — Nobody Puts Romcoms In The Corner — Kathryn Freeman
“I get the feeling you’re not a fan of romcoms.”“Not my thing, no.”(…) “Love isn’t your thing?”(…) “Funny thing, love. It’s like the pot of gold at the end of that whimsical rainbow. People want to believe it exists, but evidence shows it’s just a myth.”(…) “Tens of millions, no wait, hundreds of millions of people would disagree with you.”“Today,…
ARC — Too Wrong to Be Right — Melonie Johnson
“Do you think he loves her because of, or in spite of, how awful she is?” “Both. (…) I think when you love someone, you love them inspite of their flaws, but at the same time, it’s their flaws that make you love them even more. It makes them real. Makes them yours.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4.5 starsSpicy Meter: 2…
Blog Tour ARC — A Game of Hearts and Heists — Ruby Roe
Genre: Romance, FantasyActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 4 fire emojisContent Warnings: Describes parental death, assassination, and general violence. Contains really explicit sexual content. “A Game of Hearts and Heists” follows Scarlett Grey, an assassin who’s fallen to ruin, and Quinn Adams, a medic-turned-poisoner. This dark fantasy romance follows these two enemies as they’re forced to work together and ignore their…
ARC — Take The Lead — Alexis Daria
“It’s just you and me, dancing together.”“And millions of people watching on live TV.”“You’re not dancing with those people. You’re only dancing with me.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 3 fire emojisContent Warnings: Discusses racism, sexism, and emotional abuse. Contains explicit sexual content. “Take The Lead” follows Gina Morales, a latina New Yorker that’s made it in Hollywood as…
ARC — Planning Perfect — Haley Neil
“I can practically see a Pinterest board version of the reception coming together with fairy lights and mismatched vintage china settings and a simple white cake with berries dotted along one side for a pop of color.” Genre: Young AdultActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: N/A, it’s cleanContent Warnings: Discusses racism, queerphobia, and ace-phobia. “Planning Perfect” follows Felicity (Fe) Becker, a…
ARC — Not Your Valentine — Jackie Lau
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 4 fire emojiContent Warnings: Discusses parental abandonment and going viral over something embarrassing. Contains explicit sexual content. “Not Your Valentine” follows Helen Tsang, a chemistry lab instructor, as she decides that the best way to get people to stop asking her about her relationship status after having a very public break up was to…
ARC — The Friendship Breakup — Annie Cathryn
“I am grateful for the experience of our friendship. Rather than continuing to force the friendship at the cost of losing myself, it’s okay to recognize the friendship has run its course and served its purpose, and to let it go. (…) When I think back to the term BFF, I realize the promise of forever isn’t always guaranteed. It’s…
ARC — The Sweet Spot — Amy Poeppel
Genre: Women’s FictionActual Rating: 3 starsSpicy Meter: N/AContent Warnings:Mentions parental death, cheating, and abandonment. “The Sweet Spot” follows multiple points of views to tell a story of three women—women at different stages of life and who don’t particularly like each other—as they face the oddest of situations. Lauren is a ceramic artist who’s happily married and has 3 kids. What…
ARC — The Second You Are Single — Cara Tanamachi
Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Mentions miscarriages in the second trimester, childhood cancer, and cheating. Discusses fat shaming and abandonment issues after divorce and other negative romantic experiences. “The Second You Are Single” follows Sora Reid, a freelance writer who pitches the concept of ‘Solo February’ after a series of negative dating experiences. Little did…
ARC — Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around — Sarah Ready — Josh and Gemma #2
“I loved you yesterday. (…) I love you today. (…) I’ll love you tomorrow.” Author: Sarah ReadyNarrators: Erin Mallon Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5 starsNarration: 5 mikesSpicy Meter: 4 fire emojisContent Warnings: Describes eclampsia and memory loss after being in a coma. Contains explicit sexual content. What happens after the happily ever after? That’s what we’re set to find out in…
ARC — Georgie, All Along — Kate Clayborn
“This will be so good for you, Georgie. (…) You’ll finally be able to do all the things you want to do.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 4 fire emojisContent Warnings: Discussed unhealthy relationships with parents, vandalism and crime, and being fired. Mentions drug use and fire arms. Contains explicit sexual content. “Georgie, All Along” follows Georgie Mulcahy, a…
ARC — Make A Wish — Helena Hunting — Spark House #3
“Have faith in the power of true love, my dear, it conquers all.” Author: Helena HuntingNarrators: Stella Bloom and Jason Clarke Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4.5 starsNarration: 5 mikesSpicy Meter: 3 fire emojisContent Warnings: Discusses age gap relationships, parental death, death during childbirth, dysfunctional relationships, and gaslighting. Contains explicit sexual content. “Make a Wish” is the third and final installment in…
ARC — Exes and O’s — Amy Lea
“A die-hard, emotional romantic and a guy who only believes in one kind of happy ending? That’s a recipe for disaster if I ever saw one.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 3 fire emojisContent Warnings (as given by the author): Emotionally abusive ex, on-page gaslighting, portrayal of child with illness, mentions of deaths of loved ones, and deliberate use…
ARC — The Rom-Com Agenda — Jayne Denker
“Do I belong here?” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 3.5 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Discusses death of parent/foster parent, grieving, breakups, struggling to make ends meet, potential homelessness, and an honest addiction to an ex. “The Rom-Com Agenda” starts with a rejection. Eli is proposing to Victoria, is utterly turned down, and Leah is there to witness it all. Talk…
ARC — Back In A Spell — Lana Harper
“I don’t think I’m as amazing as you think I am. (…) But thank you anyway, for thinking it.”“You’re right. (…) What you are is even better than that.” Genre: Romance (advertised as LGBTQIA+ as well, but I did not see it tbh)Actual Rating: 5 starsSpicy Meter: 5 fire emojisContent Warnings: Discussed unhealthy relationships, abandonment, chronic illness in a parent,…
ARC — The Wrong Kind of Weird — James Ramos
Genre: Young AdultActual Rating: 3 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Has some bullying and miscommunication. “The Wrong Kind of Weird” follows Cameron Carson, a self-proclaimed geek, as he travels through the ins and outs of love in high school. Cameron is secretly hooking up with Karla Ortega, who’s by all definitions popular, but she isn’t the best at showing…
ARC — Twice in a Lifetime — Melissa Baron
“Okay, she typed. Okay, weirdo, I’ll humor you.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 5+ starsSpicy Meter: 4 fire emojisContent Warnings: Discusses and describes car accidents, suicide, and physical therapy. Describes panic attacks. Has explicit sexual content. “Twice in a Lifetime” follows Isla, an insecure graphic designer that, due to her struggles with generalized anxiety disorder, decides to leave Chicago for rural Missouri.…
ARC — Pride & Puppies — Lizzie Shane
“I’m just saying in real life the Darcys don’t always turn out to be Darcys.”“So date a Bingley.” Genre: RomanceActual Rating: 4 starsSpicy Meter: 2 fire emojisContent Warnings: Mentions parent death. Also, dangerous levels of mutual pining. “Pride and Puppies” follows Dr. Charlotte Rodriguez as she swears off men and is set to adopt a puppy instead of looking for…
ARC — The Wilderwomen — Ruth Emmie Lang
“The birds are singing… I’m here to stay.” Genre: Fantasy, FictionActual Rating: 3.5 starsSpicy Meter: N/A, it’s cleanContent Warning: It revolves around parental abandonment, but also includes car accident, pregnancy, and injury details. “The Wilderwomen” follows, well, the Wilder women—Nora, and her daughters, Zadie and Finn. Well, it mostly follow Zadie and Finn, as Nora has been missing for the…
ARC — The Creative Lives of Animals — Carol Gigliotti
“We do not give meaning to the lives of animals; they are able and willing to do that themselves. They plan their future, build their homes, fabricate bowers for their beloveds, defend themselves from predators they fear, (…). Their lives have meaning for them. To their detriment and ours, we have until recently dismissed and neglected the critical importance of…
ARC — To Get To The Other Side — Kelly Ohlert
“Chickira? Henrietta? Princess Lay-A. Hennifer Lopez! Clucky Charm? I’m going to call you Chick-Chick.” Genre: Romance, ComedyActual Rating: 3.5 starsSpicy Meter: 1 fire emojiContent Warnings: Discusses sick animals, bullying, child abuse, and frustration and unhealthy parental relationships after practicing a professional sport. Has some sexual innuendos. “To Get To The Other Side” follows Trixie, Bear, and Chick-Chick—two roommates and a…
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