The Weekly Recap
Well, my vacation has come to an end. Two full weeks out of office was pretty dreamy. My body however apparently did not get the full memo and decided to just light itself on fire and refused to cooperate, BUT I did get time off and that’s something, right?! I read a couple good ones this week, and one that I am taking slight issue with. Ready for the the recap? Let’s go!
A Cat Cafe Christmas by Codi Gary (eARC)
Two people that should forego romantic entanglements and invest in therapy, instead kind of fall in love and save a Cat Cafe, in time for Christmas. Full advance review here.
Baby and The Late Night Howlers by Kathryn Moon(Free with KU)
A/o romance with multiple partners and bonds etc etc. I really liked a Lady of Rooksgrave Manor and this one has been also heavily recommended, however I didn’t LOVE it and found myself skimming as I got closer to the end.
Pen Pal by J.T. Geissinger (Free with KU)
Hot take incoming: this isn’t a romance. And had I known heading into it that it was kind of bait-and-switched / marketed as a dark thriller with a non-conventional HEA I would have not bothered. Also along with the cover, the blurb is almost 500% completely misleading. I wish she had just been brave enough to be more open / honest. The book isn’t bad (its actually pretty good) but don’t go into this one expecting a romance / HEA cause you’ll be disappointed.
Daddy’s Obsession by Laylah Roberts (Free with KU)
DD/Lg kink, not her best.
Lady Sophia’s Lover by Lisa Kleypas
Sir Ross Cannon is daddy. I have no idea why I put this off for so long but yes all the booktwt timeline ladies that yell about this one, are VERY correct. Sir Ross and Sophia are up there with the rest of Kleypas’ love interests for me. 10/10 highly recommend.
Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas
Also me again being a dumb b*tch and leaving this one out for a long time because I saw a goodreads review that made me second guess myself. Gabriel and Pandora ARE f**king adorable and perfect and Evie’s little story about him loving his fox pups without changing them, gave me all the feels. Note to self, stop reading goodreads reviews first.
Untamed by Elizabeth Lowell
Ah my good Judy’s at Fated Mates posted about this book and the excerpt really just did it for me. This is a medieval romance between a prolific Normand warrior and a glendruid woman with some witchy powers. The whole thing here is that according to lore a glendruid woman will not give birth to a son if there is no love between herself and her husband. This one is pretty reminiscent of the things I have liked with Julie Garwood, but something about this one felt even more swoony? 10/10
My Naughty Minette by Annabel Joseph
Someone on reddit suggested this in some thread, I think about historical brothers best friend or maybe age gap? Anyways it was, how you say, not good. August is a withholding asshole and too indecisive and more Minette, girl you deserved better.
Southern Bombshell by Jessica Peterson
Book 5 in the Carolina Highlands book features Milly and Nate (the two that kind of live in the background of all the previous 4 books in this really lovely series). I was skeptical going in with the premise of this second chance romance (I mean she’s planning his wedding to someone else!) but Peterson manages to handle this with tact, grace and zero character assassination while not shitting all over the “other woman”. Nate and Milly are two pot smoking book nerds who GET each other so fully and the WEINER DOG! Lucy is the best.
The Heir Apparent’s Rejected Mate by Cate C. Wells (Free with KU)
Book two in her five packs book! I really loved book 1 and was EAGER to jump head first into Cadoc Collin’s alpha buffoonery when it dropped this month. And I might have loved this one MORE than book 1? So much more pack world building. I loved the backstory Abertha gets to have and cameos from Una and Killian?! Virgin MMC? Say no more.
Finding Gene Kelly by Torie Jean (eARC)
Childhood best friends who have been in love with each other for years reunite in Paris. Endo rep. HUGE feels. Full advance review here.
The Pact by Max Monroe (Free with KU)
Marriage of convenience between strong silent type and bubbly but chronically forgetful/disorganized woman. Didn’t love it, but didn’t hate it. Solid meh with some funny moments. This was my second Max Monroe outing, but LOVED the first one I read, so maybe they are kind of hit or miss for me? Or it could be I’ve read a SH*T load of romances this week and my brain is tapped out. It’s probably that.