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Spoiler Free Review: Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe

Title: Love and Other Conspiracies

Author: Mallory Marlowe

Pub. Date: August 20th 2024

Genre: Contemporary/Paranormal Romance

Format: eARC

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 368

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☆☆ARC PROVIDED BY PUBLISHER IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW☆☆

Web series producer Hallie Barrett has just been dumped by her co-worker who also happens to be the star of the online series she was producing. Even though Hallie is way better off without that guy (all the red flags), she’s also stuck having to see him every day. This while also being tasked with coming up with a new series idea to present for the company competition or say goodbye to this beloved job she’s worked very hard for. While searching for inspiration one late night, she stumbles across a docuseries where the handsome host is passionately covering the legend of Bigfoot. She doesn’t believe in any of this stuff but she can’t help but binge watch every single episode as she asks herself why she’s dedicating so much time to what is clearly myth/legend. One lightbulb moment later and Hallie feels inspired to reach out to the Paranormal conspiracy theorist Hayden Hargrove. She hopes to convince him to turn his hit podcast into a web show. Hayden seems unsure he’s the right guy with the presence needed to pull off a web show and he is absolutely right! the banter that easily is exchange between Hallie and Hayden while she challenges his claims with a dose of skepticism is missing, until she steps in to help him during his audition. Her producers LOVE the chemistry they’re seeing play out between them! they see a viewership tuning in just for them and ask that they do the show together. While it isn’t what she’s expecting, as long as he’s oK with it she’s fair game to join while also producing.

10/10 I recommend listening to the audiobook for the cool/nerdy alien space music played during snippets of the web show, so much fun! I had such a good time with this book and found myself binge reading it while prepping a big meal, laughing and smiling from start to finish. I loved how even though Hallie didn’t believe in any of the Bigfoot and Mothman theories, she still respected how passionate Hayden was with his research and delivery. Hayden in turn sees all of Hallie’s quirks as charming and gives off all the green flags she is not used to seeing in a love interest. The audiobook narrators SLAYED their performance making the chemistry that catches the eye of Hallie’s producers MOST definitely felt in the audiobook, it’s easy to get wrapped up in their romance. I’ve already Marlowe’s next book Love At First Sighting to be released August 2025. If you’re looking for a Romantic Comedy with paranormal elements, I HIGHLY recommend giving Love and Other Conspiracies a go 😉

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Spoiler Free Review: Ana María AND The Fox (A Luna Sisters Novel)

Title: Ana Maria And The Fox

Author:Liana De La Rosa

Pub. Date: April 4th 2023

Genre: Contemporary Romance/Latinx

Format: eARC + audiobook

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 352/10 hours + 43 minutes

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☆☆ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review☆☆

This Latinx Victorian era slow-burn Historical Romance follows Ana Maria Luna’s arrival in London alongside sisters Isabel and Gaby. The Heiress and her sisters have been shipped off by their father during the French occupation of Mexico to seek refuge with their uncle Arturo in London. Their domineering and controlling father has already arranged Ana Maria’s marriage upon her return but in the mean time gives them instructions to keep a very low profile and their family name/affiliation a secret. Uncle Arturo has other plans for the Luna sisters, he sees an opportunity to help Mexico by having them act as ambassadors. By winning over the British peoples love and admiration, Arturo hopes they can rally their support to oust the French from Mexico. For Ana and her sisters this is the first time they’ve experienced freedom from their father’s control. They all have a sense of duty to their mother country and are willing to socialize with politicians and the elite in hopes of gaining favor to their cause.

Gideon Fox is your classic grump at a distance, he’s a man of Parliament with an agenda of his own. He’s the son of a slave woman who has had to work very hard to get to where he is now in a society where the color of his skin marks him an outsider. Gideon however has one goal he is working very hard towards, securing the votes he needs to eliminate the Transatlantic slave trade. This is his life’s purpose and all is on track until he meets Ana Maria on the Ballroom floor. He’s not one to easily get distracted but there’s something undeniably intriguing about the oldest sister who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. She’s beautiful and alluring that even while trying to minimize their interactions he quickly realizes that there isn’t a room Ana Maria walks into where everyone isn’t instantly drawn to her including himself.

Book Lovers if a slow burn romance with a meaty historical subplot is your thing then Ana Maria and The Fox is here to deliver! Our leads are undeniably attracted to each other which we see when Ana slips up and compliments some body part or other while Gideon silently yearns for Ana every time he hears her laugh. I had myself a good giggle whenever Ana tried and failed to get her mind off how attractive Mr. Fox is, this is the type of girl you want in on your girls night! loved her! Our girl knows that she does NOT want to back home and be married off only to be treated like cattle. Ana seizes the opportunity to carve out a new life path for herself in London. Although the Luna sisters miss their homeland dearly, it isn’t safe for the to return while it’s under french occupation.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ana and Gideon’s story because of how well they complimented each other mentally. They each have Philanthropic mindsets and it was nice seeing how they listened to one another and truly supported each others cause. Above all they understood that neither would be sidetracked and neither wanted the other to put their goals to the side. This is a ship I can get behind! If you enjoyed Adriana Hererra’s A Caribbean Heiress In Paris, you may slo find yourself enjoying this Latinx Historical Romance. I’m looking forward to reading the other Luna sister’s story arcs, fellow book loving sister Isabel seems to be the next one *fingers crossed*

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Spoiler Free Review: Exes & O’s by Amy Lea

Title: Exes & O’s

Author: Amy Lea

Pub. Date: January 10th. 2023

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Format: eARC

Publisher: Berkley Books

Pages: 361

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☆☆ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review☆☆

In this friends to lovers story, we follow Tara Chen a “stage-five clinger” who has had her heart broken by ten different men but it hasn’t soured her to romance. Our girl is in search of the right one and that means kissing a few frogs. Tara is a Pediatric nurse, social media book influencer, lover of the romance genre in search of her own happily ever after. The idea to revisit her past exes in hopes of finding a missed opportunity takes off after she shares it with her followers. She is locked in and committed to going down that list despite the awkward encounters she sees coming. We see her move into a new apartment and meet the new roomie Trevor who isn’t attached to anyone and isn’t really trying to get into anything serious. He finds Tara’s experiment to be not quite a great idea but this firefighter who has NO problem keeping it casual with the ladies, is also her wingman. He’s also the only one Tara doesn’t seem to scare away with her optimistic approach to love and dating…if there was a fast forward option, our girl would definitely hit it if it meant meeting and falling for the one. Along the way he starts to see how great Tara really is and sparks begin to fly…

Too many times I’ve picked up a rom-com that’s somehow missing the comedy but this one had the right recipe, the balance was just a bit off. The whole premise of going back and calling these guys she’s broken up with sounds pretty awkward but she takes up the task with genuine hopes that one of them was a missed opportunity. Although we did get to meet two of the guys, these scenes felt rushed. I feel it would’ve added just the right amount of humor to the story if we had more time going through her list. Also, her ex fiancé is first class trash and any time he was on the page I cringed so hard for Tara SMH!

I would’ve loved to have seen our male lead Trevor’s POV a bit more fleshed out. We spend a lot of time in Tara’s mind which made for an unbalanced attraction. While it’s true that Tara is very clingy which probably made her POV come through a bit stronger, I felt we only got to see Trevor’s feelings towards the very end. That being said, the friends to lovers trope is my favorite and reading a MC who is a member of her fictional book community was pretty dope. The opening scene alone with Tara riding the train while reading her romance novel and making eye contact with a cutie had me shaking my head with thoughts of BEEN THERE! Who can resist a steamy dust jacket?!? Haha! I will be continuing on with The Influencer books, Mel’s story arc “The Catch” is next and it’s already snagged a spot up on Goodreads!

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Spoiler Free Review: Two Wrongs Make A Right by Chloe Liese

Title: Two Wrongs Make A Right

Author: Chloe Liese

Pub. Date: November 22nd 2022

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Format: eARC

Publisher: Berkley Books

Pages: 326

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☆☆ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review☆☆

*•.¸♡ “𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚞𝚗𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚖𝚎. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐.” ♡¸.•*

I love a good opposites attract romance but up until now I haven’t read anything that really gets the magnetic pull and irresistibility you feel when you meet your polar opposite. Bea is an artist who creates sensual cards for a stationary shop, she’s Pansexual, a twin, prone to accidents, a junk food lover, and an astrology loving Cancer. Jamie is a pediatrician, cat lover, health conscious, and non-astrology loving Capricorn. They’ve had a few run-ins that didn’t end so well but their meddling friends seem to think they’re perfect for each other. Bea and Jamie zone in on their schemes to make them date & are peeved by the intrusion. They hatch a plan to fake-date that includes a big break-up in hopes that it will dissuade their friends from ever playing cupid again. The thing is, they do connect in all the ways that matter. Bea is on the spectrum and Jamie has severe anxiety, they pick up on each other’s wants and needs very quickly. There’s a magnetic attraction and a desire to protect each other and create a safe space where they can speak their thoughts. Their dates are fun and different, from Chess matches to Sip & Paints they begin to fall hard. Soon it’s made very clear to them both that they’re not just pretending to like one another, they’re actually enjoying their dates.

I’ve heard the name Chloe Liese mentioned on every bookish platform I’m in and it’s always been high praise for delivering romance with neurodivergent rep. Having loved Helen Hoang’s Kiss Quotient series, I was on the hunt for more romance books with this representation. I kid you not my fellow book lovers, it was 1am and I had startled everyone in my home with my laughter within the first chapter of reading this book. The laugh out loud scenes were sudden and unexpected and as a fellow Capricorn I’d say it was the dry humor Jamie dished out lol. Jamie and Bea could square off any day and I’d grab a front row seat! the snark was on point. These characters are well fleshed out, it honestly felt like we’re getting to know them as they’re digging deep. There were times I wondered to myself why things were handled a certain way but understood the reasons as Bea and Jamie started to let each other in.

I LOVE Jamie, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t find flaws that contradicted the picture I had of him for the majority of the story. Without spoiling anything, I started to not love some of Jamie’s reactions or lack there-of to how a major side character was being treated, this is why I docked it half a star. Why only half a star? well because it could be argued that Jamie didn’t know the extent of how terrible a certain character was acting. Jamie is honestly the sweetest most thoughtful male MC I’ve read, he tunes into Bea’s love language very quickly. Bea on the other hand I instantly fell in love with! she’s quirky and artistic but also fiercely protective of her healing journey. Our girl went through some things and she is not about being rushed into anything, I loved seeing this on the page! Bea keeps the cutest little hedgehog in her room that I dare you not to make heart eyes over. We’re here for non-traditional pets haha! there are also a handful of side characters that really bring the friend circle to life. I’m anticipating Juliet’s story arc, she is Bea’s twin but also came across as three-dimensional and had me invested in her side-line story. In the meantime, I think I’ll join the Chloe Liese lovers & pick up the Bergman Brothers series 😉

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Review: Astrid Parker Doesn’t Care by Ashley herring Blake

Title: Astrid Parker Doesn’t Care

Author:Ashley herring Blake

Pub. Date: November 22nd 2022

Genre: Contemporary Romance/LGBTQIA+

Format: eARC

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 368

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☆☆ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review☆☆╮

☆☆This review may contain spoilers for Delilah Green Doesn’t Care (Bright Falls #1)☆☆

We’re back in Bright Falls with my favorite cast of queer women and this time the spotlight is on Astrid Parker. We first met Astrid in Delilah Green Doesn’t Care (my review) as the estranged step-sister of Delilah who Was set to get married and live the ideal life her mother had always dreamed of her having. Fast forward to a year later and Astrid Parker is a single woman who is laser sharp focused on her career/family owned business in interior design. The only thing is that the phones aren’t ringing and the projects have slowed down, Astrid is looking for a lifeline. When Pru Everwood asks Astrid to be the designer for the Everwood Inn whose renovation is being broadcast on the popular home improvement show Innside America, Astrid seizes the lifeline. What she wasn’t expecting was having all of her design ideas sabotaged by Pru’s frustratingly attractive granddaughter Jordan Everwood. The Everwood is also in need of a liefeline, its been a long time since guests have booked the place. If this renovation and media coverage don’t change its fortune, Pru Everwood may have to shutter its doors for good.

Jordan and her twin brother spent summers in the Everwood Inn and she feels Astrid’s clean linen and modern/sleek designs don’t quite capture the character of the place. As the lead carpenter on the project, she begins to make some changes to Astrid’s designs that result in some tension build-up while being filmed for the show. The show runners are LIVING for it and want them both to kind of play it up some more for the ratings which would result in good publicity for them both. This was never Jordan’s intention, after having her relationship fall apart unexpectedly and her work deeply affected by it…she was just looking to get back on track and prove to her brother and grandmother that she’s climbing out of her depression.

*•.¸♡ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧. 𝐒𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐀𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. ♡¸.•*

Soulmates and Tarot. Need I say more?!? ok there’s also the BEST character redemption arc I’ve come across in romance. I was not a fan of Astrid at all when I read Delilah green Doesn’t Care and when I started reading this book, I still wasn’t sold on her. Then I started seeing Astrid for who she really is, when all the need to meet her mother’s expectations just stops. This is when we really start seeing Astrid, a 30 something year old who is late to discovering who she really is but is choosing to step out and do so anyways. She’s exploring her sexuality and questioning her career choices. It’s not often that we get stories centered around woman in their 30’s redefining their lives. Jordan however is my favorite MC, she’s had her heart broken by someone she cared deeply for and thought was her soulmate. This doesn’t stop her from believing her soulmate is out there, her tarot cards won’t let her forget. Second chances in love and life, soulmates, and rediscovering passions while having an amazing group of supportive friends/found family…I may love this one more than Delilah Green Doesn’t Care? but good luck making me choose!

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Spoiler Free Review: A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

Title: A Very Merry Bromance

Author: Lyssa Kay Adams

Pub. Date: November 1st 2022

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Format: eARC

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 368

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☆☆ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review☆☆╮

The fifth installment in the Bromance Bookclub romance series gives us a pinch of The Grinch and a dash of the Ghosts of Christmas past. This time around big time country music star Colton Wheeler is going through the motions after a year of not hearing from Gretchen Wheeler, the woman who stole his heart and never looked back. Gretchen is an immigration lawyer with a grinchlike approach to Christmas, how can anyone celebrate and buy lavish gifts when there are families being torn apart. Her clients are marginalized people who are just trying to survive while putting food on the table. When her wealthy family comes calling for her to make an appearance at their estate, Gretchen begrudgingly gives in and goes to see why they’re looking for her. A deal is presented to her, get Colton Wheeler to be the new face of their family owned/renowned whiskey and she’ll be given a seat on their charity board. An opportunity to give back to the community she works in and with is something she can’t turn down even if it means swallowing her pride to talk to Colton. Colton agrees only on the condition that she go on three dates with him leading up to Christmas, the holiday she is accustomed to work on. This Grumpy/Sunshine Christmas romance had a little of everything including the found family vibes we’ve all come to look from these books.

What I loved? Colton’s optimism and holiday spirit, found family vibes, seeing the club members and their wives, the deep dive into Gretchen’s childhood/trauma and finally the emphasis on self worth/self care. These books gift us with fictional men who actually care about working through toxic masculinity and maintaining healthy relationships with the women they are dating. This is the fifth book in the Bromance Bookclub series so we’ve seen the guys meet and fall in love with women from all walks of life. Some are repairing/salvaging marriages they want to stay in and none of them are quick to throw in the towel. I love when character’s are well fleshed out and their careers/hobbies are further explored. Colton’s music career is on the line when he has a bit of writers block and isn’t able to compose music to the standard that made him a big country star. Gretchen could’ve taken the easy route and stepped into a role in the family business, instead we see an immigration lawyer who is very empathetic and actively looking for ways to make a difference in marginalized communities. I follow Lyssa Kay Adams on Goodreads and see that the next release will be a Historical Romance companion to the Bromance Bookclub slated for Summer 2023, something to look forward to!

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Spoiler Free Review: The Secret Society Of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Title: The Very Secret Society Of Irregular Witches

Author: Sangu Mandanna

Pub. Date: August 23rd 2022

Genre: Contemporary Romance/Paranormal

Format: eARC

Publisher: Berkley Books

Pages: 336

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☆☆ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review☆☆╮

╰☆☆ “𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐭.” ☆☆╮

When thinking of books that give off cozy warm blanket paired with a cup of hot coco vibes, The Very Secret Society Of Irregular Witches should just magically materialize! quaint and whimsical best describe the setting of Nowhere House where we find a cast of characters that will steal your heart. Mika Moon is a witch who lives a very solitary life in an effort to protect her identity as well as that of the other witches in her network. It’s very rare these witches meet up but when they do, their leader Primrose makes it a point to emphasize their under the radar lifestyle. Mika however has found a clever way to not feel so alone. She streams videos of herself sharing magical elixir/potion making recipes under the guise that it’s all in good fun. Until her videos catch the attention of Ian, an octogenarian retired actor who is desperate to get her assistance. The estate of Nowhere House has been left the charge of three young witches who are in absolute need of guidance and training. Will Mika accept the offer to teach the girls how to control their powers?

Mika Moon is an Indian British witch with a penchant for naming her pets after mythological figures, she was lovely to meet on the page. There’s a lot of loneliness surrounding our MC even though she comes off super warm and kind hearted…not someone you’d take for living in isolation. It’s almost kismet that she’d meet such a loving welcoming bunch, some of who make it their mission to make her feel at home. Ian is dramatic and enchanted by Mika from the start, he very much gives off retired actor vibes. His husband Ken is Japanese and works as the Groundskeeper for the estate, he’s more laid back and serious. Ian and Ken are happily married and in love. Lucie is the plus sized 56 year old Housekeeper who will remind you she’s still young, I LOVED her! Jamie is our 36 year old Irish curmudgeonly love interest. He’s the librarian who is equal parts grumpy and protective over the young witches and also Mika. Altamira, Terracotta, and Rosetta are the young witches we meet with mischievous energy! I can easily see this turned into a movie and I’d buy my ticket on day one. I LOVED the fact that Ian specifically wanted Mika a woman of color to be the one to train these young children of color how to properly wield and control their magical abilities. The potion mixing was a plus, Mika’s Golden Retriever Circe was a plus, and the witty banter/slow burn between Mika and Jamie was *chefs kiss* perfection! this book was MAGIC Book Lovers! ❤

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Spoiler Free Review: Love On The Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Title: Love On The Brain

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Pub. Date: August 23rd 2022

Genre: Contemporary Romance/Rom-COM

Format: eARC

Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group

Pages: 368

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☆☆ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review☆☆╮

*•.¸♡ 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞, 𝐁𝐞𝐞. 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 – 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐝 ♡¸.•*

Bee Königswasser has been given the opportunity to work as the lead on a neuroengineering project with NASA to create a helmet for astronauts that would improve their focus. She’s excited up until she finds out Levi aka the guy who she believes hates her, will be the co-lead engineer on the project. She feels he made his feelings toward her known during grad school and the last thing she’d fathom is having to work in close proximity with someone who loathes her. She asks herself what would her idol the French Physicist Marie Curie do if she were in her shoes? readily acknowledging that Marie would accept this opportunity no questions asked, Bee decides to accept. Soon after she introduces herself to the team (all dude bros), all sorts of hijinks occur to prevent Bee from actually doing her job. We see Levi begin to back her up as she’s presenting her ideas/suggestions and quickly turns into more of an ally than enemy. Bee is very aware of his presence and stolen glances so much so that she starts to enjoy their collaboration. All the while reminding herself that Levi still fundamentally hates her.

I’ll preface this part of my review by mentioning that I’ve seen many reviews since I finished my read and although I agree that there’s a specific formula to all of these “Steminist” books, I enjoyed this more than The Love Hypothesis. The biggest standout difference for me is that both leads/romantic love interests are thoroughly fleshed out making it easy to connect and root for this ship. I LOVED the insider look we get to the actual project and seeing Bee leave a lot of dude bros in awe as she strutted her knowledge in her area of expertise. I also loved seeing Levi go from silent bystander to someone in Bee’s corner who can’t stand when his male colleagues make it difficult for her to work. I loved the fact that Bee hates that it takes Levi backing her in order for the team to give her the time of day. She draws parallels between her current situation and that of Marie Curie who had to fight for an ounce of respect/recognition as a female Physicist during the early 1900’s. It’s not often that I end up LOVING the male lead but Levi has my whole heart simply because he’s a feminist that genuinely wants to see change in their field of work. If you can get past the many mentions of Levi’s large manly frame 😂 and Bee being overly oblivious, there’s a lot to love:

🧪Empowered women in STEM
🧪Tropes: Hate to love (kinda)/Close proximity
🧪Twitter threads/wars for entertainment
🧪feisty invisible 🐈
🧪Vegan love
🧪🧠 talk as they race to perfect a helmet for NASA
🧪Male lead is a feminist
🧪The humor was 👌🏽if it can get me to laugh out loud, then and only then it gets placed on my rom-COM faves shelf 😉

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Spoiler Free review: Love In The Time Of Serial Killers by Alicia Thomspon

Title: Love In The Time Of Serial Killers

Author: Alicia Thompson

Pub. Date: August 16th 2022

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Format: eARC

Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group

Pages: 336

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☆☆ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review☆☆╮

Characters: 7/10 Atmosphere: 0/10 Writing Style: 7/10 Plot: 5/10 Intrigue: 5/10 Logic/Relationships: 7/10 Enjoyment: 7/10

Rating: 38/5.4 = ☆☆ 3 Stars☆☆╮

Rating system created by The Book Roast

Fellow Cappies Rejoice we’ve got ourselves our very own Capricorn female MC and I dare you not to draw parallels as you take a trip inside the mind of Pheobe Walsh. Obsessed with True Crime and working on her dissertation analyzing the genre leaves Pheebs with very little time to even think of dating. Her father has recently passed away and she is now back in Florida trying to get her childhood home in order to sell. Having had a tough relationship with her dad that resulted in leaving with her mom after they divorced, she also has her brother Jeremy to reconnect with. The brother who stayed with their curmudgeon dad and is very sweet natured is also worried his sister’s obsession with true crime has reached new levels. Pheeb’s swears the hot and mysterious neighbor Sam MUST be a serial killer and she’s gone as far as logging in his coming & goings. There’s only one problem with this theory & that’s that with every interaction they have she has to admit Sam is just a great guy but this doesn’t mean she’s going to make it easy for him.

Our main character Pheobe puts the grump in grumpy sunshine and her dark sense of humor isn’t for everyone. Some readers may even find her to be unlikeable because we get a heavy dose of her paranoia with many mentions pop culture references of serial killers. For other readers who may listen/read true crime, the research in the genre may actually be a bonus and the dissertation process to have been detailed nicely. The romance takes off a bit later in the story with the steamy scenes falling short and I know that’s probably going to hurt the overall ratings for this book. I feel this one is going to land with those who don’t mind their female protagonist to be a bit unlikeable, perhaps even pessimistic and cynical. Sam the love interest is hard not to love, he’s a music teacher who can’t help but want to assist Pheobe with moving furniture or any project really as long as he’s getting to spend time with her. I almost wish this had been dual POV to give us a break from Pheeb’s thought process while also giving us a chance to get to know Sam. Taking all of this into account… this is my personal opinion but I feel male grumpy protagonists are ALWAYS preferred over a female grump 😂 yet they DO exist and deserve to be loved just as much! haha! To be honest I loved so many of the other themes in this book like the sibling dynamics, second chance friendships and unresolved grief of a parent being addressed. I feel these did compensate for some of the other things that needed more developing.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱:

💓Plus size representation
🕵🏻True Crime genre explored
😒Grumpy/Sunshine trope🤗
🐈‍⬛Stray cat claiming squatters rights
👫Sibling relationship explored
👭🏻Second chance friendships
📚The Library as a secondary setting

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Spoiler Free Review: The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

Title: The Dead Romantics

Author: Ashley Poston

Pub. Date: June 28th 2022

Genre: Contemporary Romance/Paranormal

Format: eARC

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 368

GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLE | AMAZON | LIBROFM

☆☆ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review☆☆╮

Characters: 10/10 Atmosphere: 10/10 Writing Style: 10/10 Plot: 8/10 Intrigue: 8/10 Logic/Relationships: 10/10 Enjoyment: 10/10

Rating: 68/9.7 = ☆☆ 5 Stars☆☆╮

Rating system created by The Book Roast

★彡 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬. 𝐖𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 彡★

Florence Day is a ghostwriter for a prolific romance writer who happens to be on a deadline. After a very rough break-up, Florence can’t find it in her to write about love, she no longer believes in it. She’s on her way to meet her new editor and pitch him the idea for a book outside of the romance genre. She wasn’t anticipating him being an incredibly sexy “mountain of a man” or that he would deny her pitch at another book. The pressure is on and when Florence gets a call from her mother to come home because her dad has just passed…she has to return down south to a town that ran her off ten years ago. Florence sees ghosts, more specifically she sees those that need help crossing over. Her family runs the towns funeral parlor and the only other person who shared her gift was her dad. Ten years ago she helped solve the murder of a boy with the help of his ghost and that made headlines. Now back in town, she answers the funeral parlors doorbell only to find the ghost of her very handsome editor and his unfinished business. The one to make her question her new stance on love.

THIS BOOK!!! Yes, I’m a sucker for father/daughter stories but I bawled my eyes out while smiling and laughing all at the same time. Having lost my own dad, whenever I find one in the pages of a book with as much character and life as my own had…it’s a 5 star read. Although the reason for which Florence returns to her hometown is sad, it’s also treated as a celebration of life. Her family after all is in the business of death and preparing send offs, her father made sure that his is befitting that of his life. The whole family is awesome and supportive, quirky and honest. They have their issues like every family but they hash it out. The neighbors/town come to life and you get all the southern charm both good & bad. The romance was sweet, slow burn and hopeful! it doesn’t get better than a love interest who also loves reading romance novels and restores faith in love. Last but not least there’s a funeral parlor setting, Adams Family vibes, and queer siblings who fight and make up that made this a fun read with tons of personality! 🖤