Tag Archives: 4.5 stars

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 Fiction
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content 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 dream job: being a reporter for her hometown professional football team. She expected some resistance from this male-dominated field, but not as much as she ultimately received—as a whole set of rules have been made just for her, with her superiors always second guessing her reliability and professionalism. Because why would a woman want to work on the sports field other than to get with a football player, right?

This was such an eyeopening read—but as a huge football fan, I can’t say I’m completely surprised. I, too, work in a male-dominated field (yay for all my STEM girlies, we’ve got this) but what I’ve experienced is nothing to the extent to what Blake had to face working for her hometown’s football team. It wasn’t just that she wasn’t allowed around the players in private, it was how fraternizing was encouraged for male employees but condemned for female employees. It was how the author of this book was a female sports reporter as well, and how the things depicted in this book, although fiction, hold a thread of truth.

PSA: You don’t need to know much about football to enjoy this book. What you do need to know is that it touches on hard topics, focused on workplace inequality and discrimination based on gender. If you’re looking for quick read that tackles heavy subjects for women, then “Sideline Confidential” is exactly what you’re looking for.

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ARC provided by PR by the Book and Green Leaf Book Group in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: August 15, 2023

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: Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Touches on subjects like child abuse, physical and emotional abuse, and abandonment. Revolves around sickness and death of a parent. Contains sexual content.

“The Witch is Back” follows Emmaline (Emma) Bluewater and Bastian Truenote as they reunite after years of no contact—after Bastian called off their engagement by legit running away and never speaking to her again. That was until Bastian walks back into Emma’s life, asking to be married, preferably as soon as possible, because Bastian’s mother was literally dying because they didn’t fulfill their marriage contract—a contract that not even one of the most powerful magical families, the Truenotes, can out-hex. How romantic.

Told in third person and through two points of view, “The Witch is Back” is an entertaining, witchy book that’ll have you hooked right from the start. The history between the two main characters is palpable and I was honestly dying to know what exactly drove them apart to begin with.

This book is for you if you’re looking for a magical childhood friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers, second-chance romance with some marriage of convenience and forced proximity sprinkled in. I would highly recommend this book for any readers that enjoy witchy romance book, “The Witch is Back” does not disappoint.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Harlequin in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: August 15, 2023

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. Like, meteor-sized.”

Genre: Romance, New Adult
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses parental abandonment, death in the family, and trust issues. Contains sexual content.

“Ticket to You”, from debut author Florence Fields, follows Ophelia Brooks and Adam Abrams, two journalists that objectively couldn’t be more different—Ophelia is all about fashion journalism while Adam writes for an outdoorsy magazine (literally, the name of the publication is Outdoorsy). A mutual friend wanted to set them up at their company Christmas party but they end up having a not-so-cute meet-cute and became instant enemies. So, what happens when budget cuts lands them flying off to an abroad trip together three months later? They have to help each other on their respective endeavors, so will they end up appreciating their separate arts a little more or will their rivalry and annoyance win this one out? Grab this read and find out.

Never had I ever related so much to the fashion industry as I did reading into Ophelia’s thoughts and inner workings—she sees fashion as art and I can now say I agree (although I’ll keep sticking to my jeans and Taylor Swift merch, thank you). Nonetheless, I’m not going to lie, her name really did throw me off. Nothing against any Ophelias out there, but this character’s name just didn’t fit her or her story in my opinion.

Would I change anything else about this book tho? Absolutely not. I legit read it in one sitting. Grab “Ticket to You” if you’re looking for a heartwarming romance with two grown and mature adults and no real third-act break up. It’s a bit of a slow burn but oh, is it worth the wait.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Florence Fields in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: July 23, 2023

ARC — The Summer Girl — Elle Kennedy — Avalon Bay #3

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis
Content 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 one last summer with her grandmother, who is selling the hotel that has been in the family for decades. All Cassie is looking for is a summer fling, she just wants some fun and a great summer. And so in comes Tate Bartlett, a sailing instructor and perfect fling material—except he feels the chemistry he has with Cassie is too precious and so pushes for it to stay platonic… but with feelings this strong, will they be able to not cave into the attraction? And beyond that, if they do, will it even stay as a summer fling?

It is not secret I’m a huge fan of the Avalon Bay series, and Cassie’s story definitely didn’t disappoint. Elle Kennedy comes back to this coastal town as spicy as ever and I was there for it—the only caveat was Cassie’s mother, whose narcissistic tendencies really seemed outlandish and straight-on annoying. I was mad half the time but I was also giddy and giggling half the time, so take that as it is.

I honestly cannot recommend the Avalon Bay series enough. “Good Girl Complex”, “Bad Girl Reputation”, and “The Summer Girl” bring in the perfect summer-y series. With mostly likable characters and worthy heroes and heroines, this romance trilogy with captivate your heart, no questions asked.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: July 18, 2023

ARC — Going Bicoastal — Dahlia Adler

Genre: YA, Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content 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 their own adventures and challenges. Yes, you’ve heard that right. Natalya Fox is a 17-year-old that could either stay home in NYC for the summer with her dad and pursue the girl she’s been crushing on or spend the summer with her estranged mother in LA. Finding it hard to decide, both summers play out in alternating timelines, with LA bringing an unexpected boy into the picture.

I am absolutely on my knees for this book. It is not often I find books that portray bisexuality the way I’ve felt it and lived it and I was so happy to find Dahlia Adler’s portrayal of bisexuality through Natalya really spoke to me. told through alternating timelines, this book is perfect to read in one sitting (trust me, you’ll want to). I mean, you’re getting two romance stories for the price of one, literally nothing could go wrong.

I would highly recommend “Going Bicoastal”, especially if you’re not afraid of reading about young women who aren’t scared or ashamed of their sexuality and religious beliefs. These were some beautiful coming-of-age stories, and how I would love to read it all again for the first time.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St. Martins Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: June 13, 2023

Chef’s Kiss — TJ Alexander — Chef’s Kiss #1

Genre: Romance, LGBTQIA
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Displays homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and deadnaming. Describes medical care after gender-affirming surgery. Contains some sexual content and references.

“Chef’s Kiss” follows Simone Larkspur, a pastry chef working on a culinary magazine, her literal dream job, when said magazine sets to branch out to video and other platforms. Really? After years building up recipes for this magazine, Simone is forced to step into the limelight with a new coworker, Ray Lyton. As they go viral and work closer together, so does their relationship change—but Simone can’t share her feelings with Ray. They’re coworkers, after all.

This is the first TJ Alexander book I’ve read, although they’ve been highly recommended to me by both friends and the endless stream of Instagram posts praising their writing—well, in my opinion this hype is totally justified. TJ Alexander has built an amazing world, full of diversity and speaking from a place too close to reality—where cooking and recipe platforms have displayed so much discrimination and, honestly, simple gaslighting. It was truly refreshing to read this new voice and I can’t wait to see where this series is going.

Are you looking for a book centered around cooking videos and shows, in the style of Tasty’s Make It Fancy or Epicurious’s 4 Levels series, and that has a beautifully queer love story? Then “Chef’s Kiss” is for you.

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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, Fantasy
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Describes violence, ableism, and kidnapping. Contains sexual content.

“The Secret Service of Tea and Treason” follows Alice, also known as Agent A, and Daniel Bixby, also known as Agent B, two top operatives of the Agency of Undercover Note Takers as they are forced to go undercover as husband and wife in order to infiltrate a pirate party and hopefully save the Queen.

This is the end of a wonderful trilogy and oh, did India Holton end it with a bang. The Dangerous Damsels series is all for that enemies to lovers trope, and although fake dating had been mentioned throughout other books of this series, none of them really embodied it as truly as Alice and Daniel did. I am just glad this wasn’t an excruciating slow burn, I don’t think I would’ve been able to survive.

Alice and Daniel’s rival-ness was also unparalleled—in previous books we would get two main characters that were essentially working for contradicting organizations, but through “The Secret Service of Tea and Treason” we get to see two main characters that are forced to work together because they literally work for the same government agency. And touching on the subject of the other books of the series, it was great to see some old and familiar characters sprinkled here and there, it was such a fun addition.

I’ll be recommending this series for the longest of times, I am absolutely in love. I would give everything to read this series again for the first time, with its quick banter, comedic delivery, and admirable chemistry between the characters, this series will have your heart racing both for the steamy kisses and for the actual adventurous, action-packed scenes.

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Review posted as part of a blog tour.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: April 18, 2023

Small PSA: For my anime and manga lovers, this was a true ode to Spy x Family, with a lil’ twist. Grab this book if you’ve been enjoying that story.

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels — India Holton — Dangerous Damsels #1

“We have only three laws in our Society, Cecilia. No killing civilians. Pour the tea before the milk. And no stealing each other’s houses.”

Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Describes violence, kidnapping, drug use, and death of parent. Contains sexual content.

What do you get when you cross Regency Era romances with Star Wars and pirates? Well, “The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels” indeed. This novel follows Cecilia Bassingwaite, a pirate-witch of sorts that thrives in Victorian society as part of the Wisteria Society, and Ned Lightbourne, an assassin set to kill Cecilia, but who falls in love with her instead. Both going rogue, they set out to work against Ned’s employer, whose plan is to destroy England along with all its presumptuous women pirates.

This was such a creative and fun read, unique to the extreme. It was most literally a cross between period dramas like Bridgerton and science fiction and fantasy books, series, and movies. Both Cecilia and Ned were so very likable and fun to follow. I would’ve read this in a single sitting if I had had the chance.

I would absolutely recommend this read, specially if you’re looking for a unique historical romance read, filled with action and snarky banter. May all enemies (or would-be assassins) to lovers stories aspire to be as good as this.

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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 anymore.”

Genre: General Fiction
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Describes the disappearance or death of a parent, dysfunctional families, and racism. Discusses sexual content, but isn’t explicit.

“Sea Change” follows Aurora (Ro), a zookeeper at a mall aquarium, as she tries to find new meaning in life after a very special animal is set to be sold to a private investor. The aquarium Ro works at is aiming to financial ruin, so when some rich family asks to buy their giant Pacific octopus for a great sum of money, the aquarium declare said octopus sold. But this isn’t just any octopus—this is Dolores. Dolores was caught by Ro’s father in one of his expeditions before his research boat is lost at sea and him and his crew are presumed dead. Dolores is practically all Ro has left from her father, how can the aquarium sell her just like that? -queue tears-

I am going to be honest upfront: I’m completely biased when it comes to reviewing this book. I am a marine zoologist, how on Earth would I not love this? But now, hear me out, regular fiction usually bores (I need me some romance and spice, don’t judge me) so my hopes weren’t too high but oh wow, did I binged “Sea Change” in a span of 24 hours.

The concept of a vortex that’s so polluted and inhabitable that organisms started to adapt to it? Terrifying but not so far from what could actually happen. In the end, nature will always find a way, with or without us. Gina Chung’s debut novel was an ode to marine life but also a mystery exploring difficult family dynamics and a very unique character—Ro.

If you like general fiction reads and marine animals, and you’re looking for a book that’s a bit futuristic but in a possibly-realistic way, then don’t hesitate to grab “Sea Change.”

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Vintage in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: March 28, 2023

Go Hex Yourself — Jessica Clare — Hex #1

“I can’t change the past, but it’s no wonder that I can’t keep a familiar.
No one wants to serve a monster.
Certainly no one wants to kiss one.”

Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses parental death, child abuse, and emotional abuse. Contains explicit sexual content.

“Go Hex Yourself”, the first installment in the Hex series, follows Reggie Johnson, a pretty average young adult, as she finds the perfect job in a newspaper ad: being an assistant for her absolute favorite card game, Spellcraft: The Magicking. But she might’ve been a bit wrong on what the position entailed, since they’re actually spell-crafting—Reggie is being recruited to be an actual witch’s familiar (aka an apprentice, of sorts). That’s okay. The pay is great, the old witch is quirky but nice, it includes room and board… the only problem is her boss’s nephew. Ben Magnus is insufferable and selfish and just plain out always in the way. But when Reggie finally comes to realize magic is real and this isn’t some LARPing thing, Ben is the only person she can trust, especially after people around them, including her witch boss, start getting cursed left and right.

I will be completely honest here. The only reason I read this book was because I was contacted to read an advanced copy of the second book in this series, but oh, did I not know what I was missing. How did “Go Hex Yourself” go under my radar? I have no clue, but this series could easily become one of my favorite, right up there with Lana Harper’s The Witches of Thistle Grove series. We’ll see where the second installment goes, but the potential is clearly there.

I love witchy romance as much as the next gal, but I am here to scream at the top of my lungs that “Go Hex Yourself” is more than just spice. With complex characters that have just as complex back stories and being told through different points of view, this book did not fall flat on just lust and sexiness. I related to Reggie at a ridiculous level and I was right there along for the ride, being as surprised and horrified as she was at all things magic—and being just as undeniable attracted to a not-so-evil evil warlock.

I feel like “Go Hex Yourself” caters to every reader, not just fantasy and witchy romance readers—so, if you’re looking to explore genres (or if you already know you love witchy stories, either way) this book is perfect for you.

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