Tag Archives: Romance

ARC — Chef’s Choice — TJ Alexander

“‘Reste ici pour toujours,’ he murmured. Stay here forever.”

Genre: Romance, LGBTQIA
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content 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 french trans men in search of miracle, as he has been tasked to re-create his grandfather’s famous restaurant menu. He isn’t the most avid cooker, but he is set on trying, as his inheritance depends on it. And ultimately that’s where Luna comes in, as she will be helping him through this quest—after all, she’s part of the family, right? At least for the time being.

Okay, hear me out, I love the fake-dating troop as much as the next gal, but what I truly loved about this book was how amazingly well defined all characters were. I loved how Luna and JP were so stubborn to address the feelings that were starting to bubble between them. I loved how they incorporated the cooking aspect into this book—in book one of this series, “Chef’s Kiss”, we got to see two chefs get to know each other through shared experiences, and now, in “Chef’s Choice”, we get to see two people who knew nothing about cooking get to know each other through the craft.

This is absolutely the perfect series for cooking and culinary lovers. I would highly recommend this Amazon’s Editor’s Pick for Best Romance if you’re looking for a queer romance with that sweet, ol’ fake-dating pizzazz.

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

Publication Date: May 30, 2023

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: Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Describes a crowd surge. Contains sexual content.

“The Ones in Between” follows Charlotte (Char), an Australian girl, as falls in and out of love, falls in and out of casual affairs… Well, ultimately, we follow her as she grows up. This was a true, slice-of-life novel, and it was truly amazing how it captured both dumb mistakes and moments of clarity along the way.

This book gave me real “All Of The Girls You Loved Before” by Taylor Swift vibes and I loved it. Beyond that, it had been a while since I had felt so connected to a character, having someone be so relatable to my past and my history. As Char, I too had my long list of ex lovers and rebelled a bit, and as Char, I too found my happily ever after against what I thought were all the odds.

I adored Lillian Lumley’s writing style and the way she decided to portray this young adult story—each chapter being a “character card” of a boy Char dated or liked at some point. Told in chronological order, this read felt like growing up all over again, living through Charlotte all the trauma high school and uni and life can and will send your way.

I would highly recommend this read if you’re looking for a messy love story, but more than a love story—the story of a life.

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ARC provided by Lillian Lumley and Shawline Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: May 25, 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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The Co-op — Tarah Dewitt

“When you have a bad day ma fille, think about it from beginning to end. Walk your way through it. Was it really a bad day, or was it a few bad moments? What part of your day would you like to hold onto before you close your eyes? Find that good bit, and let it be the thing you go to sleep to.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses unsupportive parents, death of family members, cheating, and abandonment. Contains explicit sexual content.

“The Co-op” follows LaRynn Lavigne and Deacon Leeds, two ex-summer lovers as they reunite years later when they’re left with their grandmothers’ inheritance: a broken-down Santa Cruz building, which they now co-own, that once held a ton of love—including their short-lived fling. But they don’t have the money to renovate and sell said building… Well, they kind of do, but LaRynn doesn’t have access to her trust funds until she’s married, and that she is not. Until she is? LaRynn agrees to marry Deacon for the sole convenience that they’ll be able to remodel the place and sell it for a profit, and then definitely part ways. Sounds simple enough, right?

This was such a cute read. I didn’t resonate as much with the characters as I did with “Funny Feelings” but that didn’t keep me from sniffling at some parts and giggling at others. Home renovation books aren’t my favorite, but these two made it bearable—you could clearly see LaRynn’s and Deacon’s chemistry from a mile away.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy that good, ol’ marriage of convenience trope and who are looking for a fast read that’ll end in a truly spectacle happily ever after.

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ARC — Holiday Read — Taylor Cole

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 2 stars
Spicy Meter: -1 fire emoji
Content 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 situations—Candice being Alexis’s secret inspiration and then Candice getting extremely pissed when she found out that’s what his interest in her was all about.

What do you get when you mix great writing but a question plot and not-so-relatable characters? A 2-star read apparently. Based on the premise (and the book cover) I thought I would enjoy this read, but sprinkle in some sexual assault and I was immediately turned off. I had to DNF at 32%, I could not find redemption for that situation.

Nonetheless, I really liked Taylor Cole’s writing there for a bit and I wouldn’t be against reading more of what she has to offer—as long as it doesn’t include drinking and tipsiness around a first hook up, explicitly after said drunk character had expressed their desire not to hook up.

That’s all for this review. If you’re into teacher-student relationships and aren’t repulsed by the no-consent thing, you might like this. I didn’t, but that’s just me.

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

Publication Date: May 11, 2023

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: Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses parental death, dysfunctional and unsupportive parents, bullying, and ableism. Describes a panic attack. Contains explicit sexual content.

“Funny Feelings” follows Farley (Fee) Jones, a standup comedian, and her manager, Meyer Harrigan, a retired comedian who had absolutely stepped out of the spotlight due to personal reasons—but that was until he met Fee. Seeing her talent, but most of all, looking at her compassion, Meyer takes her on and is set to having her succeed… even if that may mean fake dating her for a while, just to create some buzz around a tour Fee might potentially be an opener for.

Fake dating, double pining, and found family all wrapped up in a stand up comedy setting? Sign me up. I can’t believe I didn’t read this book sooner, as this niche read was specifically catered for me.

Objectively speaking there isn’t a third act break up in “Funny Feelings”, yet I was most literally sobbing with this read. With just one book, Tarah Dewitt has pretty much become an instant-buy author for me. With humor and grace and a little slow burn, Dewitt has built a world where you can feel nothing but sympathy for her characters. I cannot wait to keep going down her backlog books.

If you like stand up comedy and that good, ol’ fake dating trope, grab “Funny Feelings” immediately, it is exactly what you’re looking for.

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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: Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Low-key centered around the pandemic and quarantine. Discusses unhealthy family dynamics, biphobia, and parental death. Chronic illness and anxiety representation. Contains some sexual content.

“Queried Sick” follows Oliver Wheeler and Ezra Beaumont as they meet virtually, during quarantine, and kind of trauma bond over it. Ezra is a traveller now stuck in the city he hated the most due to the pandemic, and Oliver is the guy who’s tasked to train Ezra at his new job at a publishing company—a job he has no experience doing. Slowly, a friendship forms… a friendship that has all the possibility to turn into something more.

Oh God, can Ezra and Oliver and their bad literary quotes be any cuter? I don’t think so. This book brought me back to the days of Covid, which wasn’t something I loved, but it was definitely something I needed. It also brought me back to my days of being in a long distance relationship, which weren’t my fave but they got me to where I am today and I owe it that.

Are you looking for a queer, workplace and kind of enemies-to-lovers romance that’s hella adorable while still touching on tough topics? Then “Queried Sick” is exactly for you.

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ARC provided by Book Sirens and Dallas Smith and Wordsmith Literary LLC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: May 2, 2023

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: Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Deals with gaslighting, cheating, and horrible working conditions.

“The Last Word” follows Harper Jenkins, a celebrity journalist, as she tries to coexist with a new editor, Ryan Jansson, who was hired for at magazine she works at… just that Ryan isn’t too new to her—they were both interns at the same paper a decade prior, and following a whirlwind romance, have barely talked since. Will they collaborate, ignore each other, or perhaps fall into old habits? That’s for you to find out and for Katy Birchall to tell.

“The Last Word” will be amongst one of my favorite reads this year, I can feel it. It reminded me so much of one of my favorite books (“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Read), although it was following a vastly distinct story.

The use of alternating timelines kept you on your toes, and the characters, both main and secondary, were all so unique, relatable, and intriguing. Set in London’s journalism scene, I genuinely wanted to know where this story was going at all times.

With it’s second-chance, enemies-to-lovers romance, “The Last Word” will capture your heart in a beat. Also, if you enjoy workplace romances, like “The Hating Game” by Sally Thorne, I would absolutely and highly recommend this read. It’s a bit of a slow and dry burn, but the conclusion is oh-so sweet, it’s worth it.

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

Publication Date: May 2, 2023

ARC — Jana Goes Wild — Farah Heron

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content 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 was that her baby daddy, Anil Malek, would be attending the wedding as well, even though he originally had opted out of it. He’s a great dad, yes, but he also cheated on his wife by being with Jana when Imani was conceived, so you might see why Jana doesn’t really quite trust him—although she’s still very much attracted to him. And that’s why Jana’s friends come up with a go-wild list of sorts, in hopes that it’ll keep her mind off of Anil. Will it work? Or will Jana end up as confused as always?

Okay, here’s my problem with this read and why I think my review might not be a fair one: Cheating is the biggest no-no for me. I can’t even begin to think of a redeeming arc for someone who’s blatantly cheated. So you might see where that could interfere here.

If I could just erase the cheating from my mind, I would’ve really enjoyed the premise of this book. A group of friends helping the main character burst out of her shell through a “letting loose” list? Sign me up. But even though this book was as fun as that sounds and the writing was actually great and pretty entertaining, I couldn’t look around Anil and his betrayal. I just couldn’t.

If second chance romances (that include one character that cheated on his significant other to hook up with the other main character) are your thing, then you might like this book more than I did.

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

Publication Date: May 2, 2023

ARC — French Holiday — Sarah Ready

Author: Sarah Ready
Narrator: Kelsey Navarro

Genre: Romance, Fiction
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content 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 love for years. Little did she know that her stay at her aunt’s old castle came in a package deal—Merry was being forced to coexist with Noah Wright, the best man at her sister’s and best friend’s wedding, and her lowkey archnemesis. Well, an archnemesis she thinks she hooked up with during said wedding? But oh well, that’s a story for another time. Together Merry and Noah will not only make the castle livable again, but they will try to uncover the truth about the castle’s history and its previous owners.

Let’s touch on the narration first—at first I thought I had never heard a book narrated by Kelsey Navarro, and oh have I been missing out, but it turns out I was wrong. Kelsey Navarro has actually narrated some of my favorite books, like All The Feels by Olivia Dade, it was just her voice variations are so spot-on that I didn’t even recognize her. Without her voice and inflections, I don’t think this book would’ve been half as fun as it was.

Now moving on to the actual story. If you’ve been following my reviews, it is no secret Sarah Ready is one of my new favorite authors. Her Josh and Gemma series have most definitely defined my year. So perhaps take my opinion on “French Holiday” with a grain of salt.

That being said, I absolutely loved this story and audiobook. Is it objectively unrealistic? Um, yes? But isn’t that what we’re looking for in fiction sometimes? “French Holiday” was a lovely enemies to lovers romance that carried along a fun mystery on the side. Set in Franch (duh), this is the perfect summer read if you’re looking to escape reality for a bit. I would highly recommend this audiobook.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: April 26, 2023