Berkley Publishing Group – Page 2

Lovelight Farms — B.K. Borison — Lovelight #1

“Weird that it wasn’t weird.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses parental death, grief, cancer, and cheating. Contains explicit sexual content.

“Lovelight Farms” is the first book in the Lovelight series and it follows Stella Bloom, the owner of Lovelight Farms, a Christmas tree farm in the idyllic small town of Inglewild, as she fake dates her best friend after being caught in a lie. Lovelight Farms isn’t doing as good as Stella originally planned, so when travel influencer Evelyn St. James launches a contest with a $100,000 cash prize, Stella constructs an idea of a happily-ever-after couple building up a small Christmas tree farm and she sends in her application. What she did not expect was to be chosen as one of the finalists and having to conjure that significant other out of thin air. That’s where Luka Peters comes in. They’ve been best friends forever so they can just as easily act as lovers, right? Especially if they’ve been mutually pining for each other for years…

I loved everything about this book. Starting with the town and all its unique residents, then with Stella’s and Luka’s sweet sweet romance, and then ending with the fact that things don’t simply fall into perfect place by the end of this book, but the characters have to work for it and come up with real solutions. It was the perfect refresher after one-too-many nonsensical but perfect happily ever afters. We see the characters grown together and take responsibility for their actions and feelings, it was truly a magical story, can’t wait to see what more B.K. Borison has in store for this small town.

I would highly recommend this book if you’ve enjoyes small town romances like “Beach Read” by Emily Henry or “It Happened One Summer” by Tessa Bailey, or if you like that good old friends to lovers tope. “Lovelight Farms” is a heartwarming story of love and growth and I would give everything to read it for the first time all over again.

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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, Fiction
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 fire emojis
Content 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 most powerful witch seen in centuries. Mariel comes from a prestigious magical family, award-winning even, but her magic isn’t as show-y as her parents, specially her mother, had hoped. She’s great with nature and botany, but other incantations? Not so much. That’s why, by mistake, she ends up summoning a demon—yes, an actual demon that’s now set to have a soul bargain with her. Ozroth the Ruthless can’t leave Mariel’s side until he’s completed the soul bargain. So the only explanation Mariel can give her mother when she meets Ozroth is that he’s…her boyfriend? Fake boyfriend that is, but no one can know that—no one can know Mariel’s messed up this bad—at least until she’s found a solution for this whole soul thing.

This book was both comical and captivating, and I simply can’t believe it’s a debut. I literally laughed while reading. Since this novel is written in third person, we get both points of view—Mariel’s and Oz’s—which I loved. I cannot wait to see where this series goes. With complex characters and diverse dynamics between these characters, I could’ve read this book in one sitting. Oh, and Ozroth being so sweet definitely helped.

If you’ve enjoyed series like The Witches of Thistle Grove by Lana Harper and The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling, then you’ll most definitely love Sarah Hawley’s “A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon”. With its witchy-fantasy vibes and it’s unique (and funny) close-proximity love story, you’ll be rooting for Mariel all the way.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

Review posted as part of a blog tour.

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

Publication Date: March 7, 2023

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: Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis
Content 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 of the word crazy throughout. —I’ll add that it contains sexual content.

“Exes and O’s” is a heartwarming story that follows Tara Chen, a NICU nurse and bookstagrammer, as she tries to find her own second chance romance by contacting her exes with the help of her forever-single-but-never-alone firefighter roommate, Trevor Metcalfe. Little did they know that looking for secondhand love, they’d find it in each other.

The duo Christina Lauren portrayed it just right in their cover art endorsement: you’ll be laughing out loud with this one. I rarely find rom-com books funny, but Amy Lea really did it with “Exes and O’s.”

The main characters were so likable yet realistically imperfect. Tara was just the right amount of annoying and clingy to get the point across, but she wasn’t obnoxiously undesirable to the point that you wanted to skip her dialogue. The contrary was true, actually, I loved Tara and Trevor’s banter and Tara’s inner monologue in general.

The chemistry between the main characters slowly builds and it literally killed me in the process—I’m not the biggest fan of slow burn romances, but Tara and Trevor were worth the wait. In my opinion, they both deserve the world, we must protect them at all costs.

Mark my words: “Exes and O’s” will be between the best romance books of 2023.

If you enjoy books with grumpy-sunshine character pairing, then you’ll love Tara and Trevor, and if you’re a fan of the close proximity trope, then “Exes and O’s” is the perfect romance book for you.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

Review posted as part of a blog tour.

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

Publication Date: January 10, 2023

“I don’t need another man who makes elaborate promises he can’t commit to, Trevor. I need someone who’s going to be open and honest with me. I want someone who is willing to try.”

(…) “If there’s anyone in this world I want to try for, it’s you.”

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 stars
Spicy Meter: 5 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discussed unhealthy relationships, abandonment, chronic illness in a parent, and child neglect. Contains explicit sexual content.

“Back in a Spell” is the third installment in the The Witches of Thistle Grove series, and it follows Nina Blackmoore, of the Blackmoores that used to essentially own Thistle Grove and all its magic for decades, as she goes for a one night stand after being pretty much left at the altar by her ex. What she did not expect was that she’d end up being magically bonded to said one night stand, Morty Gutierrez, a normie who lowkeyloki hates the Blackmoores because they keep trying to buy off his family’s business.

Well, this was the first Lana Harper book that’s made me cry, I’ll give it that. Like literally sob. That’s how much and how deeply I connected with the main characters, Nina and Morty.

But there is one thing I need to disclose pretty early on—Morty is described on the summary of the book as nonbinary, but it isn’t really addressed much throughout the advanced reader copy of the book. Perhaps that changed in the final copy, but I still felt like it was something that I had to bring up. Tho, the fact that his nonbinary expression was overlooked didn’t quite stop me from loving this book.

“Back in a Spell” has been my favorite The Witches of Thistle Grove book so far and that really caught me by surprise because I hated no founding family more than I hated the Blackmoores, I swear. Yet Nina truly stole my heart. And then bring in Morty, a normie we already learned to love in the other books, and I fell in love with his humor and true admiration for all things magic. I think their match was meant to be, beyond them being bonded by a goddess.

I would highly recommend this series as a whole, but I would like to remind everyone that these books, although part of a series, still work pretty well as standalones. Lana Harper makes sure to give you the context and background in every single story she’s told, and it’s been truly awe-inspiring. I really wish I could live in Thistle Grove, even if I fell under the glamour that makes all magic seem normal for us normies.

If you’re a fan of close proximity romance, aren’t afraid of things getting too explicit, and you enjoy books with monumental personal growth and character development, then “Back in a Spell” is for you.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

Review posted as part of a blog tour.

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

Publication Date: January 3, 2023

And finally, Lana Harper isn’t a new found love for me—she’s been one of my favorite authors ever since I grabbed her books for the first time. So, here are some excerpts from my reviews of the books in this series, just so you can get a sense about how wonderful The Witches of Thistle Grove series is:

About “Payback’s a Witch”
“I was essentially in a reading slump and this book is entirely responsible for me getting out of it.”
“I would recommend this book to any readers who enjoy LGBTQIA+ romances, witchy books, and who like series like Riverdale and the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. This book is fast-paced and dynamic, you’ll definitely finish it in one sitting if you have the time.”

About “From Bad to Cursed”
“Thistle Grove is such a cozy, warm setting. I personally wouldn’t mind living there—or reading 10 more stories set in it either.”
“Sadly, “From Bad to Cursed” does not have the LGBTQIA+ aspect that the previous book had going for it, but I must say the romance aspect of this second installment is still heartwarming and fun.”
“I would recommend this book to fans of the close-proximity troupe and for all who enjoyed the character dynamics and setting of the first book in this series: “Payback’s a Witch”.”

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.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

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.”

Payback’s a Witch — Lana Harper — The Witches of Thistle Grove #1

“It’s just like chess; there’s cheating, and then there’s outwitting your opponent. (…) One is dishonorable and vile. The other? Just good strategy.”

Genre: Romance, LGBTQIA+
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Content Warnings: Has explicit sexual content, curse language, and mentions infidelity.

“Payback’s a Witch” is the first book in the The Witches of Thistle Grove series. Thistle Grove is a magical town, founded by 4 families (the Blackmoores, the Avramovs, the Thorns, and the Harlows), and set up as a whimsical and magic attraction for tourists—who won’t ever know the magic they see is 100% true. This book follows Emmy Harlow, a witch from the weakest founding family and who has actually even lost her magic due to staying away from Thistle Grove. But in a turn of events, she decided to go back and serve as Arbiter—a judge—, in the competition that will decide who the ruling (and strongest) magic founding family will be. The Blackmoores have almost exclusively ruled over Thistle Grove since it was founded… but what if this was bound to change? Gareth Blackmoore has inflicted heartbreak through every single over founding family, so what if the competitor and the Arbiter were to form a sort of alliance? What if the Blackmoores weren’t the center of Thistle Grove anymore? Oh, how wonderful that would be.

In total honestly, I only read this book because I was approved in Netgalley to get the advanced readers copy (ARC) of the second installment in this series, but I am so happy I grabbed this book. It is SO good. It definitely has a YA feel to it and it’s so entertaining. Is Thistle Grove a real place? Because I really want to go there.

This book is lighthearted, adventurous, and very very witchy-spooky. I was surprised most of my Goodreads friends didn’t enjoy this book as much as I did, but I stand by it: this first installment in the The Witches of Thistle Grove series is amazingly entertaining, charming, and captivating. I was essentially in a reading slump and this book is entirely responsible for me getting out of it. I can’t wait to get my hands on the second book, which will be released next week.

I would recommend this book to any readers who enjoy LGBTQIA+ romances, witchy books, and who like series like Riverdale and the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. This book is fast-paced and dynamic, you’ll definitely finish it in one sitting if you have the time.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.