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791 reviews
Strong and Wild by Sloane St. James
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
She thinks she likes being the one in control until she meets her new neighbor. And the mouths on these two? 🥵
⭐️ Rating: 4.5/5
🌶️ Spice: 3.5/5
🏒 Forced Proximity
🏒 Secret Identity
For once, TikTok hyped up the RIGHT series. Omg, this is so good. Technically there wasn’t a third act breakup, but I’m still calling it a breakup. If that would have happened to me I 1. Probably would have never talked to him again and 2. I would’ve given him the nastiest look when he referred to me as his girlfriend.
Okay, but back to the good stuff. Mickey is new to town and is working in the bar under her apartment. This girl has goals. Determined to make her dream of opening a patisserie/speakeasy bar come true she runs an OF style account on the side. Everyone loves a bit of naked baking, including her og subscriber/new neighbor and rookie of the Lakes hockey team. I kind of expected the drama of him knowing who she was to be a major sticking point but was impressed with how well they communicated and navigated that massive sticking point.
But beyond all that, this book is trying to rip out the reader's heart as we see how families with addiction have colored both of their lives.
Before We Came by Sloane St. James
emotional
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book gave me that, “but when can I go home and read?” feeling.
⭐️ Rating: 5/5
🌶️ Spice: 3/5
🏒 Childhood Friends to Lovers
🏒 Brother’s Best Friend
🏒 Forced Proximity
🏒 Mistaken Identity
Sloane St. James is a new to me author, and OMG, I’m going to blow through the series so fast, I can feel it. It’s been a long time since a story has made me feel something. This story was done so well. I’ve never read a hockey romance book that opened up with the FMC coming to the conclusion that she was kidnapped as a child. This book had me giving my best friend updates WHILE I was reading. Like, “guess what just happened?”
When the family reunited, I balled. I expected for them to be a little more hesitant that this was their long lost sister/daughter, but was really pleased with how it played out. Lonan, family friend/first crush, was a tinge manipulative at times to get his way. But we’ll chalk this up to losing the love of her life once and being unwilling to let her out of her side again.
Parts of this book were absolutely haunting. The journals of her adopted mother showed what a hateful person she was. They were first introduced when Birdie found them while cleaning and then throughout the book as evidence. I only wish we got to know more about this murder case.
The world building in this story was done so incredibly well. Immediately fell in love with this family and hockey team.
Fall I Want by Lyra Parish
Did not finish book. Stopped at 66%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 66%.
Oof. It’s like this book didn’t know what it wanted to be. Like it wanted to be a cozy fall book with a swoon worthy billionaire but he’s either love bombing or an asshole and it gave me whiplash. Also, it feels like we were promised magic?
⭐️ Rating: DNF
🌶️ Spice: -2/5
🍂small town romance
🍂billionaire romance
I wanted this to be good. But it’s like the book was written by a different person after their first date. Do you remember the movie, Simply Irresistible? If you didn’t, I’m not surprised, I just had to google “Sarah Michelle Geller magic movie” and then not get distracted by Freddy Prinze Jr. to remind myself of the title. The tagline of that movie is literally “a magic crab works wonders for a terrible chef ‘s culinary skills, leading her towards the man of her dreams.” It’s like this book wanted to be that movie. She’s a terrible barista? Check. There’s a weird magical element in the air leading her to the man of her dreams? Check. Idk. It just left a lot to be desired. I was so conflicted about finishing it but I had to know if there was a magic spell/hex involved.
Wicked Games by S. Massery
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Wicked Games, book two in the Fallen Royals series by S. Massery. It’s a continuation of the Wicked Dreams storyline without resolution. The FMC is trying to put together the puzzle pieces of her traumatic past while fighting her feelings for the guy who’s torn between loving and ruining her.
💀Bully Romance
💀Childhood friends to enemies to lovers
💀Fated Mates
Disclaimer: This book ends on a cliffhanger. Also, the characters in this story are high school students - minors. Do with that what you will.
💀Bully Romance
💀Childhood friends to enemies to lovers
💀Fated Mates
Disclaimer: This book ends on a cliffhanger. Also, the characters in this story are high school students - minors. Do with that what you will.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Pucking Sweet by Emily Rath
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is a masterclass in “how to write a cohesive storyline with a cast of characters bumping and grinding(pun intended) throughout the entire series following parallel timelines.”
⭐️ Rating: 5/5
🌶️ Spice: 4.5/5
🏒MMF
🩷Love Triangle.. until it’s a circle
🏒Workplace Romance
🩷Why Choose Romance
🏒Unplanned Pregnancy
🩷Hockey Romance
I’m not joking when I say this is a masterclass. The entire time I was reading this book, I was like “ha! So that’s what was happening from book one” or “and they thought they were sooooo sneaky in book 2.” By utilizing the same timeline as the first two books we got to see the full picture of what was happening during these big moments. These are my absolute favorite kinds of series to read and Emily Rath has done an outstanding job.
These characters are heartfelt and multidimensional. Poppy is my favorite kind of character. She comes off as polished and so put together from a distance. And she is, but also she’s flawed. She allows her family to walk all over her. Early in the book we discover her sister is MOST DEFINITELY in the wrong. But she twists it around and by the end of the conversation she has Poppy apologizing to her and offering to plan her bachelorette party. No thank you. For as buttoned up as Poppy appears, the girl knows how to let loose.
I also want to know what’s happening with Poppy’s parents. More so her mom. I’m just envisioning that she’s somehow spent her children’s inheritance and is finding ways to punish them so she doesn’t have to admit that the money is gone. Please let this be a Pucking Ever After storyline. 🤞🏼🤞🏼
⭐️ Rating: 5/5
🌶️ Spice: 4.5/5
🏒MMF
🩷Love Triangle.. until it’s a circle
🏒Workplace Romance
🩷Why Choose Romance
🏒Unplanned Pregnancy
🩷Hockey Romance
I’m not joking when I say this is a masterclass. The entire time I was reading this book, I was like “ha! So that’s what was happening from book one” or “and they thought they were sooooo sneaky in book 2.” By utilizing the same timeline as the first two books we got to see the full picture of what was happening during these big moments. These are my absolute favorite kinds of series to read and Emily Rath has done an outstanding job.
These characters are heartfelt and multidimensional. Poppy is my favorite kind of character. She comes off as polished and so put together from a distance. And she is, but also she’s flawed. She allows her family to walk all over her. Early in the book we discover her sister is MOST DEFINITELY in the wrong. But she twists it around and by the end of the conversation she has Poppy apologizing to her and offering to plan her bachelorette party. No thank you. For as buttoned up as Poppy appears, the girl knows how to let loose.
I also want to know what’s happening with Poppy’s parents. More so her mom. I’m just envisioning that she’s somehow spent her children’s inheritance and is finding ways to punish them so she doesn’t have to admit that the money is gone. Please let this be a Pucking Ever After storyline. 🤞🏼🤞🏼
His Greatest Treasure by Hannah Cowan
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Oliver Batemen, excuse me, Lieutenant Oliver is Batemen, is the definition of he fell first. And I fell right back.
⭐️ Rating: 5/5
🌶️ Spice: 2.5/5
🩵 Childhood Friends
🩵 Enemies to Lovers
🩵 Forced Proximity
🩵 He Fell First
🩵 Single Parent
While it wasn’t overly spicy, that’s not what this story is about. Oliver is so determined. That is after coming in like a wrecking ball of disdain and gruff when his new neighbor moves in on a Saturday morning, realizing his mistake at family dinner when he’s reintroduced to his one time childhood crush who grew up, moved away, and is now back with her daughter and a plan to open a flower shop. Was that the longest sentence of all time? Probably. But is that how I would explain it to a friend? Absolutely.
These characters are so incredibly heartfelt. You can’t read a Hannah Cowan book without rooting for her characters the entire time. Even with Oliver's outwardly surly demeanor you just know that he’ll go soft the moment he makes eye contact with his girl. In this contemporary single parent romance we get to know the adorable Nova, Avery’s seven year-old daughter. Oliver makes it his purpose to get to know Nova. And to know Nova is to love Nova. Quickly Avery and Nova become his entire world, his girls if you will. Swoon, right?
I absolutely love Hannah Cowan’s writing. This world that she’s created is outstanding. I want to move to Vancouver and join the family. While this book doesn’t follow a traditional third act break-up plot, there is definitely a pause of sorts. But it makes sense. It’s not a break from each other that they need, it’s that Avery wants to stand on her own to create firm(and legal) boundaries with her ex. Not having Avery in touching distance may actually kill Oliver in the meantime.
I did notice an inconsistency in the book that I really struggled to get past which is silly because it’s not THAT big of a deal. But in chapter 31 they go to bed in Avery’s house and in 32 they wake up in Oliver’s. I even went back and was like, maybe it’s one of those “oh wait, this isn’t my room” kind of thing considering their homes have the same layout. But nope. Clearly I was able to get past it because it still deserves the 5 stars.
⭐️ Rating: 5/5
🌶️ Spice: 2.5/5
🩵 Childhood Friends
🩵 Enemies to Lovers
🩵 Forced Proximity
🩵 He Fell First
🩵 Single Parent
While it wasn’t overly spicy, that’s not what this story is about. Oliver is so determined. That is after coming in like a wrecking ball of disdain and gruff when his new neighbor moves in on a Saturday morning, realizing his mistake at family dinner when he’s reintroduced to his one time childhood crush who grew up, moved away, and is now back with her daughter and a plan to open a flower shop. Was that the longest sentence of all time? Probably. But is that how I would explain it to a friend? Absolutely.
These characters are so incredibly heartfelt. You can’t read a Hannah Cowan book without rooting for her characters the entire time. Even with Oliver's outwardly surly demeanor you just know that he’ll go soft the moment he makes eye contact with his girl. In this contemporary single parent romance we get to know the adorable Nova, Avery’s seven year-old daughter. Oliver makes it his purpose to get to know Nova. And to know Nova is to love Nova. Quickly Avery and Nova become his entire world, his girls if you will. Swoon, right?
I absolutely love Hannah Cowan’s writing. This world that she’s created is outstanding. I want to move to Vancouver and join the family. While this book doesn’t follow a traditional third act break-up plot, there is definitely a pause of sorts. But it makes sense. It’s not a break from each other that they need, it’s that Avery wants to stand on her own to create firm(and legal) boundaries with her ex. Not having Avery in touching distance may actually kill Oliver in the meantime.
I did notice an inconsistency in the book that I really struggled to get past which is silly because it’s not THAT big of a deal. But in chapter 31 they go to bed in Avery’s house and in 32 they wake up in Oliver’s. I even went back and was like, maybe it’s one of those “oh wait, this isn’t my room” kind of thing considering their homes have the same layout. But nope. Clearly I was able to get past it because it still deserves the 5 stars.
Rookie Mistake by Maren Moore
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Perhaps my expectations were too high. The New Orleans U series has been nothing but hits, but the Rookie Mistake just didn’t do it for me.
⭐️ Rating: 2.5/5
🌶️ Spice: 3/5
Baseball Romance
⚾️ Brother’s Teammate/Rival
⚾️ FWB
⚾️ Secret Relationship
Rookie Mistake fell a little flat for me. While I’m normally in for a wild tension filled ride, this novella length brother’s teammate/rival baseball romance just didn’t do it. This could purely be a me thing, or a mood, but I was excited for a short and raunchy ride. And yes, it did deliver on that front it was chalked full of cliches like “the fire spread like wildfire.” And unfortunately that really took me out of the lust fueled romance.
⭐️ Rating: 2.5/5
🌶️ Spice: 3/5
Baseball Romance
⚾️ Brother’s Teammate/Rival
⚾️ FWB
⚾️ Secret Relationship
Rookie Mistake fell a little flat for me. While I’m normally in for a wild tension filled ride, this novella length brother’s teammate/rival baseball romance just didn’t do it. This could purely be a me thing, or a mood, but I was excited for a short and raunchy ride. And yes, it did deliver on that front it was chalked full of cliches like “the fire spread like wildfire.” And unfortunately that really took me out of the lust fueled romance.
Tell Me Lies by Hannah Gray
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I’m not usually one to shout about book boyfriends…. But I call dibs! 🔥🔥🔥LOGAN STERNS is EVERYTHING with a side of dad jokes!!!🔥🔥🔥
⭐️ Rating: 5/5
🌶️ Spice: 3.5/5
Tropes:
🏒 Single Dad x Nanny
🏒 Romance Author
Tell Me Lies is the first book in Hannah Gray’s new series, The New England Bay Sharks and its OUTSTANDING. I can feel it now, this is going to be one of my all time favorite series. There were so many different sides to this book and these characters that made me fall in love. First off, we’ve got Logan and Amelia sterns. We’re talking about the cutest daddy-daughter duo. Logan, the team jokester, is in need of a new nanny. We’re then introduced to Maci and her adorable dog, Clyde. She’s a romance author who’s been struggling to find inspiration for new work.
Tell Me Lies is full of steam and heart. Hannah has a way of knowing how to craft a story. She crafts her stories with rich details that leaves the readers feeling like they were a part of the book. I also love when we get cameos from past books/series. It’s even more exciting that we get Walker and Poppy(Last Booy) as a member of the team/friend group.
I absolutely love the New England setting. An expansion team finding its footing is such an exciting premise and I can’t wait to see how this team(and series) evolves. I can’t imagine a day when I’m not screaming from the roof how amazing Hannah Gray’s writing is. I love her characters and their complex storylines.
Tempting the Tight End by Lisa Suzanne
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I fully believe that The Nash Brothers series by Lisa Suzanne is some of her best work. I love this new and exciting direction her work has taken while still holding true to the super swoony and sassy sports romance world. Tempting the Tight End is the latest addition.
⭐️ Rating: 3.5/5
🌶️ Spice: 3/5
Tropes:
🏈Coach’s Daughter
🏈One Night Stand
🏈Secret Relationship
🏈Forbidden Romance
🏈Surprise Pregnancy
Something that makes this series so special is duh, the Nash Brothers. These brothers, who all have played in the league professionally. Being the son of a one time celebrated player and now social pariah will really bring these boys together. They’re all trying to navigate their career while being smacked in the face by finding their perfect match.
While we have an overview as to who Asher Nash is from the perspective of the first few Nash Brother books, we get to see a much more sensitive side in Tempting the Tight End. This book is sold as a standalone but I think it would be confusing and unfulfilling without the others for context.
⭐️ Rating: 3.5/5
🌶️ Spice: 3/5
Tropes:
🏈Coach’s Daughter
🏈One Night Stand
🏈Secret Relationship
🏈Forbidden Romance
🏈Surprise Pregnancy
Something that makes this series so special is duh, the Nash Brothers. These brothers, who all have played in the league professionally. Being the son of a one time celebrated player and now social pariah will really bring these boys together. They’re all trying to navigate their career while being smacked in the face by finding their perfect match.
While we have an overview as to who Asher Nash is from the perspective of the first few Nash Brother books, we get to see a much more sensitive side in Tempting the Tight End. This book is sold as a standalone but I think it would be confusing and unfulfilling without the others for context.
Play the Game by S.J. Sylvis
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Oof! Talk about a solid start to a new hockey series from S.J. Sylvis. This one just hit me right in the heart. We were introduced to Emory in Puck Block, Bexley U book three, as Taytum’s overprotective brother who was about to go pro in the NHL. Well guess what, he’s gone pro and ran into a little(a lot) bit of legal trouble. His reputation isn’t doing him any favors and in fact negatively impacted his contract. So now we’ve got Emory, playing goalie for one of the worst teams in the league, the Chicago Blue Devils.
Sports Romance: Hockey
🏒 Marriage of Convenience
🏒 Forced Proximity
🏒 Enemies to Lovers
🏒 “My Wife”
Emory realizes he can be the grumpy goalie just waiting for the latest scandal-regardless of its validity-to hit the media or he can do something about his reputation. So what does he do? He proposes a marriage of convenience to the stripper who tried to extort him. Seems reasonable, right? That’s where Scottie comes in. This girl is FIESTY. She’s a take no punches kind of girl. That is until you begin to peel back the many layers of Scottie Biscotti.
I love starting a new series with that comfort blanket of character you already know and love. It’s like the ultimate hand holding until you’re familiar with this new world/team. S.J. Sylvis does a wonderful job building out the worlds in which these characters live. They’re not always the prettiest and nicest, but they feel real and gritty at times. I can’t wait to see where this series is going, especially Rhodes and his nanny 👀
Sports Romance: Hockey
🏒 Marriage of Convenience
🏒 Forced Proximity
🏒 Enemies to Lovers
🏒 “My Wife”
Emory realizes he can be the grumpy goalie just waiting for the latest scandal-regardless of its validity-to hit the media or he can do something about his reputation. So what does he do? He proposes a marriage of convenience to the stripper who tried to extort him. Seems reasonable, right? That’s where Scottie comes in. This girl is FIESTY. She’s a take no punches kind of girl. That is until you begin to peel back the many layers of Scottie Biscotti.
I love starting a new series with that comfort blanket of character you already know and love. It’s like the ultimate hand holding until you’re familiar with this new world/team. S.J. Sylvis does a wonderful job building out the worlds in which these characters live. They’re not always the prettiest and nicest, but they feel real and gritty at times. I can’t wait to see where this series is going, especially Rhodes and his nanny 👀