Tag Archives: ARC

ARC — Kiss Her Once for Me — Alison Cochrun

“Honesty game: I feel like I’ve known you forever.”

Genre: Romance, LGBTQIA+
Actual Rating: 5+ star emojis
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: As given by the author—there are moments of homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia. Deals with generalized anxiety disorders and stigmas around neurodiversity. Mentions adultery and cheating.

“Kiss Her Once for Me” follows Ellie Oliver, an animator and demisexual hopeless romantic, through two very impactful moments of her life—both revolving around the winter holidays. Bring on December 2021, where Ellie has just moved to Portland and is working at an animation studio, when she unexpectedly has a meet-cute and calamitous one night stand with Jack, only to never see her again. Then flash-forward to December 2022, where she’s working as a barista after losing her dream job in animation and she somehow agrees to fake-marry the coffee shop’s cute landlord, Andrew, so he can get his inheritance. But before they get married, Ellie has to endure a few days at his family’s cabin, celebrating Christmas… only to find out Andrew’s sister who he’s referred to as Jacqueline is actually Jack. The same Jack who broke Ellie’s heart last Christmas. -Queue in “Last Christmas” by Taylor Swift (2007 cover)-

First things first: get this book as a Christmas/holiday gift for all your lesbian, bisexual, queer, and sapphic-loving reader friends. Now. Go order them so they’ll be there for the holidays. I cannot begin to explain how much I loved this book.

“Kiss Her Once for Me” will be hands down my favorite holiday book this season—I have no proofs but also no doubts. This book had it all. Fake dating? Check. Marriage of convenience? Check. Miscommunication? Check. Close proximity? Check. Diverse characters? Check. Character growth? Check. Epic sapphic couple? Check check check.

I would not change a single thing about this book. Alison Chochrun is a swiftie, alright? The amount of times Taylor Swift is mentioned cannot be a coincidence, and I was there for it. I, too, have devoted countless hours to listening to Taylor Swift. I, too, believe evermore is an ode to Christmas. I, too, believe Lover is the superior album.

It isn’t the most explicit read, but there are some steamy scenes—and although this usually knocks down some stars while rating, I didn’t mind it too much through this read. The kissed were sweet and the conversation and intimacy achieved through communication was stellar. I did not feel like something was missing when I finished this read.

I would highly recommend “Kiss Her Once for Me” if you’re looking for a sapphic romance full of wintery feels. If you enjoy books by authors like Casey McQuiston, Rachael Lippincott, and Alexis Hall, then Alison Cochrun’s writing is right up your alley. This was such a fluid, lovely read. Oh, how I wish I could start reading it for the first time all over again.

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ARC provided by Atria Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: November 01, 2022

ARC — Archangel’s Resurrection — Nalini Singh — Guild Hunter #15

“The kiss, it was everything, feeding his parched soul and healing broken things inside him.”

Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Some sexual content and lots of violence and death.

“Archangel’s Resurrection” is the 15th book in Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series, and it follows Alexander, Archangel of Persia, and Zanaya, Queen of the Nile, through their impossible love story. We see them grow up, grow together, and grow apart out of necessity. Starting before they’re ascended to archangels and ending in a distrustful happily ever after, this romance is worth the eons it took to make.

Is it so wrong of me to want someone to love me as much as Alexander loves Zani? Is it? Okay, okay, so first things first: I am new to this series, but I did my research before reading this advanced reader copy (ARC)—and by that I mean I read summaries for the other books and decided to be open to any plotlines I might have missed. Basically, I got comfortable with not knowing.

I would not call this a standalone novel by any means, but I do give it credit where credit is due: you don’t need much background story to understand and appreciate this story Nalini Singh has brought together. It was a bit slow-paced for my liking, but I love the characters’ introspection, I feel like I got to know them so well (or perhaps old readers already knew them, but they were all new to me).

Based on what I saw from Nalini’s writing, I would highly recommend this book and this series. I didn’t believe I would enjoy this book as much as I did, especially this being my first exposure to the series. I don’t have time to grab this series right now but I am so tempted to tackle it on, page-count be damned.

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

I am part of this book’s blog tour, but this in no way affects this review.

Publication Date: October 25, 2022

“I love you, my Zani. I will love you till the end of time, whether that is tomorrow or eons from now.”

ARC — Built To Last — Erin Hahn

“On Sunday, I cut off all my hair.
Lyle said trim, so I get a bob. Not just because of Lyle. I wanted a definitive way to show the world I wasn’t that girl anymore. I don’t cry on cue, I don’t take shots of tequila in club bathrooms, I don’t flash my underwear on the red carpet, and I no longer let men make my decisions for me.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Deals with alcoholism, insecurities, cheating, parental neglect, and Hollywood trauma.

“Built To Last” follows Shelby Springfield and Cameron Riggs, two childhood costars and lovers, after they’re reunited years later to take part on a home renovation show that’ll change their lives. Since their childhood show (and their breakup), Shelby hit rock bottom and moved back to Michigan to help in her father’s home reno business, while Cam got his college degree and joined Nat Geo, traveling around the world all alone. When their other former costar, Lyle Jessup, calls in to pitch them HomeMade, a new home renovation show, they don’t say no to that pilot, but aren’t too sure about everything else. Working closing with your ex you still love? Kind of a slippery slope to travel—but they’re set on tackling it.

This second-chance romance is the sweet break you’ve been waiting for. With some close proximity and mutual pining, Shelby’s and Cam’s love story is a somewhat slow-paced one, but one that’s worth the wait.

This is the first time I’ve read the “one room/one bed” trope where, in fact, they don’t end up sleeping in the same bed, and nothing actually happens throughout it. It was weird, and perhaps refreshing, being so sure something would happen, and then it didn’t.

The one thing I didn’t like about this book was it’s spicy content. The intimate scenes were weird and climax kept being described as a feeling of bonelessness, and that just really threw me off. Not that Shelby and Cam don’t have chemistry, because they do, it’s just those moments felt weirdly described to me.

All in all, I really enjoyed this read. I would recommend it specifically if you’ve enjoyed other reality tv show-ish books, like “For Butter or Worse” by Erin La Rosa, or if you just like those kinds of show in real life. But even if you’re not the biggest fans of these kinds of shows, like me, “Built To Last” is a cute, relatively short, lighthearted, second-chance romance with a HAE that’s definitely worth grabbing for this fall season.

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

Publication Date: October 18, 2022

ARC — Did Not Finish — Nicola Marsh

Author: Nicola Marsh
Narrated By: Kendra Murray and Connor Brown.

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses domestic abuse, parent death, car crashes, and snow storms. Has some sexual content and innuendos.

“Did Not Finish” follows Mia Samson, a book reviewer and aspiring author, as she is chosen to spend a week in a writers’ retreat with 5 other new writers and her favorite author, Axel Low. Little is known about this multi-bestselling author, Axel, so Mia was stoked to be there, with the non-disclosure agreement and all, by a small town in Nebraska—all her Gilmore Girls dreams were coming true. One thing she did not expect, though, was how they would be snowed in for that week… alone. Mia arrived a day before everyone else, so Axel could tear her novel apart, the same way Mia tore other’s careers apart with her DNF reviews. In this close-proximity and stranded approach to an enemies-to-lovers story, you’ll get to know Mia and Axel in depth, with all their doubts and insecurities.

If I’m being honest, I almost did not request this audiobook because the cover simply wasn’t for me. The color scheme, the fonts… It just did not look like the kind of books I usually like. I am so so glad I looked past that.

“Did Not Finish” tells the story of a warm romance stuck in the middle of a snowstorm. Starting with a sexual attraction and then moving into something more, it was great to see how Axel and Mia opened up to each other. This book is fast-paced and I was there for it.

I was lucky enough to get an advanced reader copy of the audiobook of this novel and I must say I loved the experience. I feel like there are books that work and there are books that don’t when performed as an audiobook, but this was definitely a book that did, if that makes sense. Mia’s and Axel’s voices, as narrated by Kendra Murray and Connor Brown, were just as I would have imaged them. The quality of the audiobook and narration are unparalleled, I am so glad I got to experience it.

About the actual contents of the story, we know things get frisky, but we don’t get too much detail on that. We also get to see how these characters have some moments of miscommunication due to their own traumas and doubts. I’m well aware this wasn’t a suspense book, but throughout the novel we know things about one character that the other character doesn’t know and that felt forbidden, low-key illegal. Like, with every single miscommunication we knew exactly what went wrong and what was the truth behind the misunderstanding.

I think Mia and Axel are an unusual pair, but I’m still happy they got their happily ever after. The grand gesture that came from the last misunderstanding was so sweet. Then, the epilogue was all we needed it to be. If I weren’t happily in a relationship, I would wonder why these kinds of things wouldn’t happen to me as a reviewer.

I would highly recommend this novel if you like books about books (and reviewers and authors). I found it hilarious how these characters talked about tropes when they were following tropes themselves. Nicola Marsh did an amazing job at capturing the subtle rivalry between reviewer and book author and she gave us a romance to remember long after the book is over.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, and published by Thorpe Bowker, in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: October 04, 2022

ARC — Mistakes Were Made — Meryl Wilsner

“I want to go scuba diving with you. (…) Like, the ocean is huge and terrifying and unknown, but if you want to go scuba diving, I want to. I want to make you happy or do the things that make you happy with you.”

Author: Meryl Wilsner
Narrated By: Jeremy Carlisle Parker, Quinn Riley, and Stephanie Németh-Parker.

Genre: Romance, LGBTQIA+
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 stars
Narration: 4 mikes
Content Warnings: Discusses divorce and big age-difference relationship. Includes very explicit sexual content.

“Mistakes Were Made” follows Cassie Klein, a STEM senior university student hoping to be a grad student in aeronautic engineering, after she hooks up with a hot older woman called Erin at a bar… an older woman that ends up being the mom of one of her close friends. But Cassie didn’t know Erin was her friend’s mom when they met. She just knew she was pulled towards Erin, and she wanted to be close to her—and close to her she was. Being an ode to secret relationships, this book brings you all the rush you can need for the foreseeable future.

This book comes in as steamy as they get, right from the start. It is fast-paced, although perhaps a bit unrealistic—hence the 4 stars I gave it. The writing and the narration was amazing, although I grew a bit tired of Erin’s voice by the end, it felt too sophisticated for its own good.

I also feel bad for pointing this out, but I think it simply can’t be ignored: the age difference was weird. Really weird. It’s almost unnatural how people accepted it in the end. I would not be okay with my mom dating my friend—my friend who is 20 years her junior. I know Cassie swears it isn’t mommy issues with her attraction to Erin, but girl… those were some hella big mommy issues right there, even if she refused to see it.

All in all, I would still recommend this book. It’s entertaining and exciting, and actually pretty sweet. If you like books with secret relationships and with very big age differences—and that end with a happily ever after anyways—then “Mistakes Were Made” is for you.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, and published by St. Martin’s Griffin, in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: October 11, 2022

ARC — Mad Honey — Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

“This has always been my favorite fact about bees: in their world, destiny is fluid. You might start life as a worker, and end up a queen.”

Genre: Fiction, Women’s Fiction (I would add Mysteries and thrillers here)
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: N/A, was clean, but does mention the act itself.
Content Warnings: Discusses transphobia, homophobia, suicide attempts, self harm, and bullying. Described domestic abuse and child abuse. This is a hard, serious read.

“Mad Honey” follows Olivia McAfee, a single mother to Asher and professional beekeeper, as she lives through her son’s murder trial. This book also follows Lily Campanello, Asher’s girlfriend, before her death. Built between flashbacks and two points of view, this book will take you through a rollercoaster of emotion like no other.

This is one of the best books I’ve read all year. I loved absolutely everything about it—from the writing, to the timelines, to the characters. Everything. I loved and grieved Lily with Asher. I suffered through the trial with Olivia. My heart shattered for Ava, Lily’s mom. The plot twists where literal breathtaking.

—Can’t say I was completely surprised with who ended up being the murderer, but I still loved how it was revealed and executed. This book will be nothing how you expect it to be.

I would highly recommend this book above any other suspense or mystery or just general fiction book you’ve got on your TBR. “Mad Honey” will have you on the edge of your seat and you’ll just wish you could finish it in one sitting, I know I did.

If you’ve enjoyed books like “The Guest List” by Lucy Foley or “The Maid” by Nina Prose, then this book is for you.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: October 4, 2022

“You read about tragedies in the paper, where a student athlete falls dead in the middle of a basketball game or a National Honor student is killed by a drunk driver or a school shooting claims the life of a preteen. In the news you see their faces, braces and cowlicks and freckles.
You tell yourself this wouldn’t happen in your
hometown.
You tell yourself this isn’t anyone you know.
Until it does, and it is.”

ARC — When Life Gives You Vampires — Gloria Duke

Author: Gloria Duke
Narrated By: Meg Sylvan

Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 stars
Narration: 5 mikes
Content Warnings: Discusses fatphobia, crash dieting, infertility, and kidnapping. Describes fires, death, drinking blood, and hate crimes. Includes some sexual content.

“When Life Gives You Vampires” follows Lily Baines, a 25-year-old New Yorker that was turned into a vampire by a virtual stranger against her (and his) will. Lily meets Tristan at a bar and they hit it off pretty quick, but Tristan did not mean to turn her—that’s actually against all vampire laws. That’s why, now, they’re being threatened and hunted down by, lets say, the president of vampires. How will they fight this double death that is knocking on their door? This and more is what this amazing story has to offer.

This book is fun and funny. It’s about vampires without being pretentious—it might even be a bit satirical when it comes to our young generation’s perception of vampires. I loved how they broke the fourth wall here and there. I did not want this book to end, it was the light-hearted, suspenseful read I needed.

Also, I had never heard a book narrated by Meg Sylvan, but I can honestly say I will be following her work from now on. Her voice really kept me engaged, which is actually a really big feat when it comes to me—my mind is all over the place when I’m listening to audiobooks, yet Meg’s narration really caught my attention.

Don’t expect this book to be life-changing, because it isn’t, but it does touch on important topics like loving yourself, body positivity, and trusting family and friends. It also has quite a cute love story, with all its ups and downs.

I would highly recommend this read and this audiobook if you’re looking for a light-hearted but short and captivating read. With its strangers-to-lovers trope, it’s quite unique, I can’t think of any book to compare it to—but definitely grab this book if you like books with plus-sized main characters and if you won’t be offended by a joke or two about vampires.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, and published by Sourcebooks, in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: October 4, 2022

ARC — Bad Girl Reputation — Elle Kennedy — Avalon Bay #2

Author: Elle Kennedy
Narrated by: Lee Samuels and Summer Morton

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 stars
Narration: 5 mikes
Content Warnings: Discusses parent death, parent neglect, abandonment, alcohol and drug abuse, police/authority abuse, and includes sexual content.

“Bad Girl Reputation” follows Genevieve (Gen) West, a rebel who escaped the small town of Avalon Bay, running away from her past and her reputation—but then, after being a year away, her mother dies unexpectedly, and she is forced to come back and help her father with their family business. So in comes Evan Hartley, Gen’s on-again-off-again high school ex-boyfriend and personal bad boy. As soon as they see each other, they know there’s still something there, and so Gen has no option but to run away from him, constantly. If she wants to break out from old cycles, then she needs to start with Evan. She can’t be dating him if she’s planning on not being her past, irresponsible self. But what if she isn’t the only on that has changed? What if this time apart has also been good for Evan? What if she does have another shot at love after all.

“Bad Girl Reputation” is worth the hype. This second chance romance is both fast-paced and, well, romantic. I was lucky to get my hands on the audiobook ARC of this book, with Summer Morton narrating as Gen and Lee Samuels narrating as Evan. In my opinion, Summer was the perfect cast. Her voice was all I imagined Gen’s voice to be. Evan, on the other hand, took me a few chapters to get used to. I wasn’t feeling his voice, even if the narrator was doing a great job—and even by the end I wasn’t 100% sold on it.

I am happy to say, tho, that I liked “Bad Girl Reputation” so much more than the first book in this series, “Good Girl Complex”. The first book in the Avalon Bay series felt one-dimensional at times and perhaps even a bit bland. “Bad Girl Reputation”, on the other hand, has so many layers and parallel situations that all show their relevance by the end of the book, even if at times they felt like unnecessary filling. Everything from problematic friendships to awkward dating to strained parental relationships being mended to volunteering were discussed and it was precious.

I would highly recommend grabbing this audiobook, even if you haven’t read the first book on this series, as it serves as a standalone novel mostly. Gen are Evan are the sweetest couple and the narration is clear—so clear, actually, that I was able to listen it at 3 times the speed with no problem whatsoever.

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

Publication Date: October 4, 2022

ARC — Christmas at the Ranch — Anita Hughes

“You’re afraid of being afraid. (..) You’re braver than you think.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Spicy Meter: N/A, it’s clean
Content Warnings: This is all about two emotionally cheating characters, I hated it all. Other than that, they also discuss abandonment and extreme poverty.

“Christmas at the Ranch” follows Samantha Morgan, a best-selling adventure/action author who’s faking to be as adventurous as her main character, as she is invited to attend her publisher’s monumental Christmas party. In the plane, she meets Drew Wentworth, the nicest guy amongst all other nice guys, only to find out that he is her publisher’s son, who is engaged to a gorgeous woman. But that gorgeous woman does not want the same things from life as Drew wants right now—so, is she the one for Drew? That’s for him to find out and for Samantha to stay out of, because it’s none of her business… right?

“Tomorrow she’d wake up and worry about the future. Right now, it felt like a Christmas miracle.”

A Christmas miracle??? Really? That you’re a homewrecker?? That you legit ripped apart an engaged couple? A Christmas miracle? Really?

Here’s the thing. This book was losing from the get-go. I hate the whole cheating or the falling-in-love-with-someone-while-in-a-relationship-with-someone-else trope. And this is exactly what this book was about. Yes, it’s set in a Winter wonderland, surround the holidays. But that doesn’t stop Samantha and Drew from being the douchiest of bouchebags. Technically there is no physical cheating, but the emotional cheating was there, alright?

In regards to the writing, this book is exceptional written and very entertaining. A bit slow-paced in the beginning, but then it picks up. The characters are interesting and lovable (if you ignore Samantha’s and Drew’s biggest flaw). Jackson Hole is a lovely town to set this book in. The bits of mystery woven into this story were great. The older characters and their advice were priceless.

I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a December or Winter-y read and don’t mind the cheating trope—which I do. Anita Hughes seems like an amazing author and I won’t shy away from some other of her books. It’s just this one wasn’t it for me.

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

Publication Date: September 27th, 2022

“Native Americans have many legends about love. My Ojibwe friend taught me the story of a young girl named Dandelion. Her hair is the color of spun gold and she’s so lovely, the South Wind and East Wind both fall in love with her. The South Wind is too shy to reveal his intentions, but the East Wind is very confident. He loves to hear himself talk, so when he courts her, he blows parts of her away. After a while, her golden hair is gone, and all that remains is her heart. Dandelion stops being a girl and becomes a flower instead. There’s nothing more important than love when it’s nurturing, but love can also be the reverse. It can sap your energy and leave you with nothing.” (…)
“I never heard anything like that.” (…)
“It wouldn’t sell many Valentine’s cards but it’s a good lesson. You have to choose the kind of love that works for you.”

ARC — Vanessa Jared’s Got a Man — LaQuette

“Michael’s place was not her home, yet she clearly understood that she’d be lying if she said part of her didn’t wish it could be.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 5
Spicy Meter: 4.5 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses cheating, gaslighting, parent death, car accident, codependency, and describes sexual content.

“Vanessa Jared’s Got a Man” follows Vanessa Jared (surprise surprise), a divorcee who, after being bossed around and manipulated by her ex—and getting to keep half his fortune after the divorce—, is approached by Michael Park, the sheriff of a small town called Monroe Hills, who’s little sister is about to marry Vanessa’s ex. Vanessa, naturally, wants nothing to do with it, until she sees the ring her ex used to propose to his new fiancée. Vanessa’s grandmother’s ring. Which was coincidentally “lost” in the middle of her ex moving out in the middle of the divorce. There is no way Vanessa can then let her ex get away with it, and so she agrees to go with Michael to Monroe Hills and tell his little sister who Vanessa’s ex really is. But perhaps she’ll find more than exes and anger in Monroe Hill. Perhaps she’ll even find love.

This book is so so good. Don’t take how long it took me to read it as a sign of it being boring, but take it as a sign of me being extremely busy. Yes, it took me 4 months to finish this book, but I also read it in huge sprints. Once I started reading, I would refuse to put it down—that’s how good it was.

“There was something too intense to describe about Michael. The more time she spent in his presence, the more apparent it became. That kind of power and confidence could ruin a woman.”

I don’t think any review would make this book justice. Michael is most literally my dream man. I loved Vanessa and her support system. Their chemistry was so real. I loved the small town feel of it all. I literally would not change a single thing about this book, hence the 5-star rating it got.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy romance novels with strong leads. Both Vanessa and Michael are stubborn, loyal, and independent as hell. If you’re more into shy characters, this is not it. Also, be read for some real spiciness. The sexual tension is worth the wait.

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

Publication Date: September 20, 2022

“Whether the results are good or bad, my choices are my own. I’ve lived with a man who controlled everything from how I wore my hair, to what shade of lipstick I was allowed to put on. I can’t do that again.”