Category: romance

romance, series, Series I love

Romance series: Lucky Harbor

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Jill Shalvis – 12 books have read them all

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone and how could I do any thing other than a romance series for my post today?

Our setting is a small coastal town in Washington state, and our romances are standalone but interconnected. So you can read them in any order you like, but in some cases you’ll get the best pay off from having read in order (Forever and a Day I’m talking about you). Lots of my reviews for these on good reads use the phrase “fun and flirty” which I think is fair – there are challenges in the lives of lots of the characters, but never in a bleak and hopeless way that takes away their agency in finding a happily ever after. Peril is low, but satisfying resolutions are guaranteed.

On occasion there are issues that could have been solved with a simple conversation – but I forgive them because the accidental pregnancy trip crops up very rarely here, and we all know that’s one of my least favourites!

I thought I had read all of these – but it turns out I may not have. I blame the fact that I read some in omnibus form and that makes it easier to lose track of things. But on the brightside that means I may still have a couple of treats in store when I need them.

These should be pretty easy to get hold of – the three book omnibuses are actually better value on kindle – and if you’re not sure and want to try I find the samples on omnibuses are actually pretty good because they’re often a longer length because there are so many pages the percentage adds up a fair representation

Have a great Valentines everyone whatever you’re doing and a lovely weekend!

Book of the Week, new releases, reviews, romance, romantic comedy

Book of the Week: The Rom-Commers

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It might be December, but today’s pick isn’t a Christmas book (sorry), it is a literal beach read from my holiday last week. But even if you’re not on a sun lounger right now, I think it’s still a pretty good option for a bit of escapist reading if that’s what you need.

Emma has always wanted to be a screenwriter – she’s studied for it, she’s obsessed by rom coms and she’s been writing her own for years – and she’s won contests with them. But she’s not in Hollywood hustling for gigs, she’s in Texas looking after her dad. That is until she gets a call from an old friend to offer her the chance to work with a legendary screenwriter. Charlie Yates has won all the awards you could think of but the screenplay for his new movie sucks. It’s a rom com written by a man who doesn’t believe in love – and it shows. Charlie is Emma’s writing idol so she heads off to LA for six weeks to doctor his script. Except when she gets there, he doesn’t want to work with her and he doesn’t even care about the script, it’s just a means to an end. But Emma isn’t letting her big chance go without a fight…

Now I love a Rom Com – I’ve actually been revisiting some of my old favourites recently (with somewhat mixed results, but that’s a story for another day) so as a premise this was right up my alley. And this has got all the banter and sparks flying that you could want. Emma and Charlie are a chalk and cheese duo on the surface but as you get to know them you realise how perfect they are for each other underneath. It’s got a third act twist that made me worry that I’d missed a “a novel” disclaimer on the front, but it was OK in the end. I don’t think I would have able to write about it if it had broken the rom com conventions that it was writing about – unless I was rage-writing any way.

I enjoyed Katherine Center’s previous two book Hello Stranger and The Bodyguard, but I think this is my favourite of hers yet. And I’m looking forward to seeing what we get next too.

This is out now – it’s a relatively recent release in paperback so I haven’t had a chance to check out the bookshops to see how easy it is to find in person, but I’m hoping it shouldn’t be too hard. And of course it’s on Kindle and Kobo.

Happy reading!

Recommendsday, romance

Book of the Week: Rivals

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I was trying to work out when I was finishing the Week in Books yesterday how obvious it was that what I was going to pick today. I was figuring that given that I wrote about the adaptation on Sunday and then a 700 page plus book appeared on the list and had been read in under a week the signs might have been there. But who can tell the workings of my mind? Anyway, here we are.

So (obviously) this is the book the Disney+ series is based on. And what I didn’t mention in the post on Sunday is that the eight parts of the adaptation don’t cover the whole of the book. And having been left on a cliffhanger of not knowing l of course I wanted to see how it all turned out without having to wait however many years it’s going to be for series two. If we get a series two because I’ve been burned before (see: My Lady Jane, Pushing Daisies, The New Adventures of Superman). And also I wanted to know how different the book is from the show.

And the answer to that second question is it’s pretty close. There are a few things that happen a bit differently most of which I can’t mention because of spoilers but the one I can is that Rupert being blonde in the book and dark haired in the show. And that didn’t bother me because traditionally I prefer a dark and brooding hero and I saw the adaptation first. I’m fickle me. The 80s attitudes to some things are still there in the book – but some of the best lines in the show come directly from the book dialogue.

Some of the people are worse in the TV show than the book, others the reverse. There are a few characters in the show who are more fleshed out on screen than they were in the book. I was wondering how they could do a whole other season out of what was left of the book but there’s so much plot still to cover I’m pretty sure they can – especially if they want to bring a few of the things that are different back around to the book. Plus the ending of the book is all very fast. So there’s a bit of scope there.

All in all it’s deeply readable and although it satisfied my craving for resolution it probably made me even more desperate for series two sooner rather than later. Hey ho. At least I can reread/rewatch if I want to.

You should be able to get a copy of this absolutely everywhere given the adaption and of course it’s on Kindle and Kobo too. Plus there’s a new reading of the audiobook performed by Georgia Tennant aka David’s wife if you want a bit of a crossover effect and nearly twenty five hours of audio to listen to!

Happy Reading!

books, new releases, previews, romance

Bonus review: Fake Flame

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I read it in April and it’s been out in the US for about a month now, but Adele Buck’s new romance Fake Flame is out in the UK today, so I’m taking the opportunity to give you a little bonus review!

Fake Flame opens with a public proposal – of the most unwanted kind. University professor Eva’s ex-boyfriend has decided that the way to win her back after cheating on her is to serenade her in the middle of the quad. Eva disagrees and finds it deeply manipulative (she’s not wrong there!) and tries to set the piano on fire. Sean is one of the firefighters called to the scene and manages to talk her down. And soon he’s offering to be her fake boyfriend to keep the Awful Ex off her back. He’s hot and sweet – but he’s also younger than Eva – but there’s something about him that makes her agree. And soon they’re enjoying spending time together – but it can’t go anywhere can it?

This is the first in a new series from Adele Buck and it’s a lot of fun. It’s a reverse age-gap, fake relationship romance, with a smart heroine who knows what she’s looking for in life, and a hero who is pretty wise for his age, but needs to work a few things out. There’s not a huge amount of conflict between the two of them until quite late on, but I actually liked it more for that – and there’s other sources of conflict going on to keep the tension going. I think if you liked Cathy Yardley’s Role Playing, then this will hit some of the same spots for you. I basically inhaled it, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what the rest of the series brings. And if you haven’t read any Adele Buck before, may I point you at my post about her Centre Stage series, which I read last year.

My copy of Fake Flame came via NetGalley, but it’s out now in the UK as well as the US on Kindle and Kobo, and Waterstones is claiming to have the paperback too, which is exciting.

Happy Reading!

Book of the Week, books, romance

Book of the Week: Next-Door Nemesis

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Ok, so this is a slight cheat because I finished it Monday, but I know you’ll let me off, it’s been a long year and I’m only making myself problems for next week by doing this.

So as I said in my release day post, this is Alexa Martin’s latest book and it’s an enemies to lovers romance. Collins is back in her childhood bedroom after her professional life fell apart. On a trip to the coffee shop she runs into Nathaniel – her nemesis for years of high school. And it seems like nothing has changed – she’s still annoying him and he’s definitely still annoying her. And that’s how Collins ends up running against him to become president of the HOA of the subdivision she swore she would never come back to. Because they really, really hate each other – right?

I’ve already told you this is a romance, so you know they’re not going to hate each other by the end, and once you get past some pranking and mean behaviour towards each other (and you know I have a problems with pranks) it’s really good. I was a little worried about what the backstory was going to turn out to be on Collins and Nate in high school and how that could lead to a satisfying resolution but it actually worked really well in the end, for reasons that I can’t explain without it being a massive plot spoiler and you know I don’t do those.

I’ve been on a big old run of enemies to lovers contemporaries recently, and this is another good one to add to the list. I’m a Brit so Home Owners Associations are really not a thing here and only know them through books and home renovation shows when they are sucking their teeth about the HOA demanding they paint the house one of three colours or have dues that might affect whether buyers will go for a property, but I did really like the community that Collins is living in and her family are fun too.

I had my copy pre-ordered, so it’s out now in Kindle and Kobo and audiobook and paperback, although the price on Amazon suggests that it may be a US import rather than a UK version.

Book of the Week, books, romance

Book of the Week: To Swoon and to Spar

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It was a long list last week, and there were a couple of options for this post, but I settled on To Swoon and to Spar because it’s really fun and it’s been a while since I picked a historical romance!

Viscount Penvale has spent his adult life trying to buy back his family’s home in Cornwall. When his uncle finally agrees to sell it to him, there is one condition: Penvale must marry his ward Jane. The two meet and although first impressions aren’t the best, both agree to a marriage of convenience. What Penvale doesn’t know is that Jane has been spending months persuading his uncle that Trethwick is haunted so that he would move out, and she’s going to use the same tactics to try and rid herself of her new husband. What could possibly go wrong?

This is the fourth book in Waters’ Regency Vows series, and Penvale was a side character in the other book in the series that I’ve read and given how close he seems to his friends I assume also the two that I haven’t, so I suspect I’ve read the series you’ll have some feelings about him already. And of course the faux haunting made it a good book to read in the run up to Halloween. It rattles along nicely and the plot has enough turns to keep you wondering what will happen next. I had a few minor niggles with some of the language choices – at one point Jane is surprised Penvale is still hungry as he’s eaten “an entire rasher of bacon” at breakfast – and I’m not sure Jane really would be surprised that Penvale hadn’t read a novel, but I enjoyed it enough that I let it off. Although I suppose as I’m mentioning it here, I haven’t really have I?! Anyway, there is a fifth book in the series coming next year and I’ll keep an eye out for that, and if any of the two I haven’t read come my way I wouldn’t say no to reading them.

My copy of To Swoon and to Spar came from that trip to The Works, so it hasn’t even been on the pile for very long which is unusual for me, and means you should be able to get hold of the paperback fairly easily I think. And it’s also available in Kindle and Kobo.

Happy Reading!

Book of the Week, books, romance, romantic comedy

Book of the Week: Dating Dr Dil

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So. Quite a difficult choice this week because there wasn’t anything that I finished that I didn’t have a few reservations about. I actually wrote another book up as BotW before I wrote this one because that first one just didn’t feel right because I didn’t like it enough. But – I had less issues with this than I did with the other options, and I read it really quite quickly which is always a positive sign with me. Plus the next book in the series came out last week (which I had forgotten I had preordered, hurrah for Past Verity sending a nice suprise) so it’s sort of timely. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it anyway.

Cover of Dating Dr Dil

Our heroine is Kareena, who dreams of a big love story, but at the start of Dating Dr Dil it’s the morning of her 30th birthday and it hasn’t happened for her so she’s about to hit the dating apps. Then her family forget her birthday and drop the bombshell that her dad is selling the family home that her mum had renovated and poured her heart into. Kareena and her dad strike a deal: if she can find her soulmate before her sister’s engagement party, he’ll give her the house. Our hero is Prem, a cardiologist who doesn’t believe in love and who has a TV talk show that he’s using to boost his profile to try and fund the medical centre he wants to set up. When he and Kareena first meet it turns into an argument that goes viral and his donors start to pull out. So he proposes a plan: they should date – to restore his image, but also so her dad will follow through on his deal about the house. But how does that fit with Kareena wanting true love?

This is a reimagining of the main plot strand of The Taming of the Shrew – the Petruchio and Katherina bit (not the Bianca bit) or alternatively if you’re a musical fan the Fred/Lili bit of Kiss Me, Kate. And if you’re feeling frustrated with how some of the characters are behaving, remind yourself of that fact and use it to channel your annoyance to the source material. I wanted the two of them to come to their senses a bit earlier, but: plots need conflict, even if Verity wants every one to be happy all the time. But this is basically an enemies to lovers romance with a side order of meddling friends and family and that makes it a lot of fun really.

My copy was on Kindle – bought when it was on a really good offer a while back- but it’s also on Kobo is £2.99 on both at the moment which is quite a good deal really. It’s also in a paperback edition that I’ve even seen in stores. And the next in the series is out now – this time it’s retelling Much Ado About Nothing.

Happy Reading!

Book previews, new releases, reviews, romance, romantic comedy

Out today: The Boyfriend Candidate

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A bonus review for you today, because I was miraculously beforehand with the world and read it last week – and as it was one of several good books I read last week I’ve taken the opportunity to write about more than one of them! The heroine of Ashley Winstead’s The Boyfriend Candidate is shy school librarian Alexis, who decides to step out of her comfort zone after being dumped and try a one night stand. Her plan seems to be going well when gorgeous but sweary Logan rescues her from the attentions of someone she’s not interested in at the bar, and the two of them end up heading for a hotel room. But before they can hook up, the hotel catches fire and in getting out Alexis is photographed in Logan’s arms – and he promptly runs away. The reason for his flight becomes clear when the pictures hit the internet – he’s standing to be the governor of Texas. His candidature has already suffered from claims that he’s a playboy, so his campaign recruits Alexis to pretend that she really is his girlfriend for the two months until election day. As the blurb says: what could possibly go wrong.

I read this across the space of 24 hours and ate it up with a spoon. It rattles you along while it’s happening and is an enjoyable ride, although I had a few issues at the back of my mind when I was reading it and I just wanted to give them a mention too. Firstly Alexis somewhat oblivious to Logan’s feelings for her. This is told entirely from her point of view – and even with that it’s very, very clear that Logan is catching feelings for her and it’s a touch irritating that she doesn’t pick up on it. If you’d had his PoV too it would have been unbearable.* On top of that she’s somewhat lacking in common sense in other aspects of the fake relationship that I can’t explain without giving more spoilers than I ought to. It was also a little surprising that Alexis went from super shy and retiring to being able to give speeches in public happily and comfortably with no in between stage. I know politics in romance novels is also a controversial issue – and the fact that it’s set in Texas might have you wondering what you’re going to get here – so a heads up for those who are interested: Logan is a progressive Democrat. I was also a bit worried about how they were going to be able to sort the whole fake relationship situation out in a satisfactory manner, but it actually surprised me on that front.

Anyway – if you like a fake relationship romance, and don’t mind politics being very much front and centre in the plot then this is worth a look. My copy was from NetGalley, but it’s out today on Kindle and Kobo and apparently also in paperback.

*There is a trend toward The Most Oblivious Heroines That Ever Failed To Notice A Guy Is Into Them at the moment and I do not like it. A bit of not noticing is fine. Not noticing when he’s making heart eyes at you and picking you over everyone else all the time is not fine (Sarah Adams I’m looking at you)

books, romance, series, Series I love

Series I Love: The Rules of Scoundrels

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And after finally doing that post about some of my favourite Marriage of Convenience romances this week, it’s time to do a series I love that has a marriage of convenience in it’s opening novel!

So the Rules of Scandal series features four aristocrats who have been caught in a scandal and find themselves in the London underworld running a gaming hell. In each book one of them finds love and reclaims their rightful place in society. Or at least the place that they would like to be in anyway! A Rogue by Any Other Name is a marriage of convenience by a hero trying to claim his inheritance, One Good Earl Deserves a Lover has a nearly engaged heroine looking for a taste of the scandalous side of London before she settles down, No Good Duke Goes Unpunished has a hero who is suspected of murdering a woman on the eve of their wedding whose victim reappears alive and Never Judge a Lady by her Cover has a hero who is determined to uncover the secrets at the heart of the gaming hell.

I read these in order as they came out and it has one of the most gasp-worthy reveals at the end of the third book that I have come across in the genre – so surprising that I went back and reread the previous books to check that I hadn’t missed something and that it really was as clever as I thought it was! And I’ve tried not to give too much away in this review – even though if you read the blurb for the last book it gives it away! So don’t do that if you don’t want to be spoiled.

These are fairly old now – but they are available on Kindle, which they weren’t when I first started buying them I don’t think – or at I wouldn’t have started acquiring them in the US mass market format! And yes, it does annoy me that my set doesn’t match. And no I’m not 100 percent sure why because the UK format one isn’t signed so I didn’t get it at one of Sarah’s yea parties – and although the final one is I think it was the first one I ordered from Word. Anyway if you need a good romance series to binge this summer, these would be a good option.

Have a great weekend!

Book of the Week, books, books on offer, new releases, romance

Book of the Week: The Seven Year Slip

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Back to summer romances this week – and for the second week in a row, it’s a new release!

In Ashley Piston’s last book, The Dead Romantics (also a BotW) she was doing a spin on a romance with a ghost. This time it’s a romance with a time travel-y element. What do I mean by that? Well, here’s the plot: Clementine is trying to get through the aftermath of the worst day of her life and try and rebuild in a way that means she can’t get hurt again. She’s living in her late aunt’s apartment and trying to keep her working life as a book publicist on track. But one day she comes home and finds a stranger in her kitchen. Her aunt warned her that the apartment was a pinch in time and it turns out he’s from seven years in the past. Ian is charming and he cooks and they get on really well – but how can they ever get around that time thing?

I read this in less than 24 hours and really enjoyed it. I have a few minor quibbles – putting them in the least spoiler-y way possible it basically boils down to: I’m not sure that Clementine and Iwan actually spent enough time together across the course of the book. If it’s a romance I needed more of them together, and if it’s more woman’s fiction I needed a better resolution to Clementine’s own life dilemma/crossroads. BUT this only started to bother me once the book was over and I started thinking about it to review it. While I was actually reading it I was completely swept along by it. So on that basis it’s a really enjoyable read – and makes sort-of-time-travel really work for me. I would happily have read another 100 pages if it meant my issues above got more closure. And I liked the little glimpses of some old friends from Dead Romantics too. Another one that is great for the beach/sun lounger.

I got my copy via NetGalley – but you can definitely get it in the shows because I saw it in Foyles:

And if you’re not going into a bookstore it’s also on Kindle and Kobo.

Happy Reading!