Before I Let Go by. Kennedy Ryan | Audiobook Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Before I Let Go (Skyland, #1)

Author: Kennedy Ryan

Narrator: Wesleigh Siobhan (Narrator), Jakobi Diem (Narrator)

Format: audiobook (borrowed)

Pages: 384 / Audio Reading Time (approx.): 13 hours and 45 minutes

Publication Date: 11/15/22

Categories: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary, Second Chance Romance

Their love was supposed to last forever. But when life delivered blow after devastating blow, Yasmen and Josiah Wade found that love alone couldn’t solve or save everything.

It couldn’t save their marriage.

Yasmen wasn’t prepared for how her life fell apart, but she’s finally starting to find joy again. She and Josiah have found a new rhythm, co-parenting their two kids and running a thriving business together. Yet like magnets, they’re always drawn back to each other, and now they’re beginning to wonder if they’re truly ready to let go of everything they once had.

Soon, one stolen kiss leads to another…and then more. It’s hot. It’s illicit. It’s all good—until old wounds reopen. Is it too late for them to find forever? Or could they even be better, the second time around?

Content Warning: still birth, loss, divorce, grief, mental health issues

+ The narrators did such a good job with this audiobook, I was hooked!

+ I love how real this story is: a divorced couple who are still business partners and co-parenting, are around each other and start missing each other. There is a lot of trauma though and issues they have to work through but eventually they do.

+ Loved Yasmen’s friend group! They are relatable and reminded me of my friends.

+ I appreciate how mental health issues are a topic discussed throughout this book. Josiah didn’t look kindly about therapy until their son needs to go to a therapist. Yasmen is someone who couldn’t get out of her grief without therapy so I loved seeing Josiah breaking generational stigma about it.

~ I have a hard time with second chance romances, especially when there is so much trauma between two people. Yes, Yasmen and Josiah has so much desire for each other, sex is the only thing they are really good at together. Outside of that they had so much problems. There were times I was happy Yasmen and Josiah weren’t together and trying to move on. I didn’t like how Josiah looked down on her therapy, but I can see how he was hurt. But she was hurt too…she was grieving, she needed that therapy.

Final Thoughts:

This is a realistic second chance romance story with lots of trauma, problems, issues between two people who’s marriage has broken but they are fighting for a second chance with one another. I love how it explored themes of grief, loss, divorce, relationships, mental health issues and therapy. Overall, this was raw, heavy, but hopeful because I love that both Yasmen and Josiah open their eyes and see all of each other by the end. The main thing is they are willing to work on all their problems together this time around.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Give Me a Reason by. Jayci Lee | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Title: Give Me a Reason

Author: Jayci Lee

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: 7/29/25

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Categories: Romance, Contemporary, Retelling

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A Korean drama actress gets her second chance at love with the man she left in order to save her family–if she can work up the courage to risk her heart on forever…one last time.

For ten years, Anne Lee told herself that Frederick Nam was her past. In order to save her father from bankruptcy, she left Frederick for an acting career in Korea. This was the only way she could stop him from following her and ruining his future. It was the best way she could love him.

After Anne left, Frederick spent years loving her, missing her, and hating her until he decided to live his life for himself. He followed his dream and became a firefighter in Culver City. He didn’t need romance. He had his work and his friends.

When Anne returns to Los Angeles, she and Frederick are thrown together in the same wedding—she as her cousin’s bridesmaid and he as his friend’s groomsman. Even though he is angry and distant with her, Anne can no longer deny that she never got over him. Not even close.

With so much hurt and uncertainty between them, Anne and Frederick suffer their love in silence. But all it would take is a single leap of faith to bring them together…

Content Warning: death on a job

+ I didn’t know this was a Jane Austen Persuasion retelling until after I’ve read it so that was my fault but after I found out – it made lots of sense! And I love Persuasion so after reading this I can appreciate it a bit better. If you know Persuasion, there is a lot that both characters don’t get to express until way later, so there is miscommunication and in Give Me a Reason, it was that miscommunication that kind of gave me issues but now that I know it’s a retelling, I can see why it’s there.

+ Anne is a K-drama actress, who is back from South Korea, and planning to try out Hollywood and be near her family in California. She runs into her ex-boyfriend Frederick, the boy she’s always loved, but was encouraged to leave behind because of her aunt. But now that she’s back she realized all of the feelings she had for him never went away. Anne comes off very graceful, nice and polished.

+ Frederick has always been in love with Anne even though she broke his heart, left him, and was left to pick up the pieces. And once he sees her again and is forced to be around her because of his friend’s wedding that he is a part of, he is struggling to leave his feelings for her in the past. But he doesn’t want his heart broken again. He’s a hot captain for the fire department so I thought that was fun.

+ This story is basically about the yearning and longing between them. We are in their thoughts a lot and the moments they are in are super-charged because of all their feelings from the past coming to surface. The spice was just enough because this story really is about love.

~ Before knowing this was a Persuasion retelling, I didn’t like that his friends were trying to set Frederick up with Anne’s cousin. She is really close to her family, so I just didn’t like that she had to see them push her cousin and her ex-boyfriend together. Thing is no one knew they had a past except for her aunt and Frederick’s best friends. So I could see why they were trying to make a match with him and Bethanny (Anne’s cousin).

~ I did wish they confronted one another about the past much earlier so that maybe more of the book could have been them learning about who they are now, because 10 years have passed.

Final Thoughts:

I love this book cover and I love a Jane Austen retelling. I can say that really followed Persuasion pretty good and really captured the longing and yearning that was in that story. Frederick, I think really was the character who was coming undone by Anne’s presence and I felt for him. I’m just glad they worked it out in the end but I did find myself impatient with Anne’s reluctance to just tell him what happened until near the end.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

That Prince is Mine by. Jayci Lee | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

BLOG TOUR | Secret Crush Seduction by. Jayci Lee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BLOG TOUR} Temporary Wife Temptation by. Jayci Lee ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Dating Dare | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️💫

ARC Review | A Sweet Mess ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Well, Actually by. Mazey Eddings | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Well, Actually

Author: Mazey Eddings

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 8/5/25

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Categories: Contemporary Romance, LGBT+, Second Chance Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

An utterly delightful and sexy second-chance romance between a black cat and golden retriever with Mazey Edding’s signature sparkling voice!

Eva Kitt never expected to be the host of Sausage Talk, interviewing B-list celebrities over lukewarm hot dogs, instead of pursuing the journalism career she dreamed of. But when Eva’s impromptu public call out of her college ex goes viral, she’s thrust into the spotlight. It doesn’t help said ex is Rylie Cooper, a beloved social media personality that has built a platform on deconstructing toxic masculinity and teaching men how to be good partners.

Forced to confront Rylie on a live episode of Sausage Talk, he offers Eva a deal: allow him to take her on a series of dates to make up for his toxic behavior, then debrief them on his channel to show he’s changed. Eva refuses to play nice, but agrees to the scheme to advance her own career and continue defaming Rylie’s good name. When these manufactured dates start to feel real, Eva has to wonder if the boy that broke her heart has become the man that might heal it.

Content Warning: biphobia, misogyny, death of a family member

+ This is a second chance romance with a grumpy/sunshine trope but this time the woman is the grump, which I thought was fun. Eva Kitt is stuck and stagnant in her career goals, she hosts a show where she eats hot dogs while interviewing celebrities and that is far from her journalist dreams but she needs to make ends meet so she’s sticking it out. Until one drunken night she posts something that goes viral and basically changes her life, according to her, for the worse but in the end it was for the best.

+ Rylie Cooper is a famous podcaster and he’s the guy Eva blasted in a post that went viral. When both their jobs suggest they grab the opportunity of her viral success and put them together they come face to face again, and this time Rylie is trying his best to not lose her again. They agree to go on 6 dates for Rylie to win her back and she gets to critique the dates on his podcast. I thought it was interesting how Eva’s personality played out with the audience. Comments about Rylie was always about him being hot. Whereas Eva was hot but that didn’t matter – people said mean things about her because she came off as a bitch. I love Eva and her cynicism.

+ Eva is so spicy and Rylie is so sweet that the two of them together was fun. Eva comes off mean but it’s her armor. She’s had a lot of childhood experiences that made her feel invisible and unwanted. Rylie has his own issues too with grief and his sexuality, and when they finally get honest with one another, it’s a beautiful thing. The fact that he has the patience of a saint with Eva speaks volumes about how much he cares about her and I loved it. I loved their verbal banter and battles, the spicy scenes between them and just seeing them give love another chance.

~ Now I love Eva, but there were times I wanted her to drop the armor and just let Rylie hug her or something. But I totally relate to her also, I like armor. Still Rylie is so nice, even though he did show at times he did have limits, she did push his buttons a lot. She had to learn to accept affection and praise, and he was always there not judging her.

Final Thoughts:

I found this refreshing because of Eva – maybe I’m just reading too many female characters who are always the same but having her being the grump was fun. And I loved Rylie, who is the sunshine! I found both characters relatable and I loved how they faced their issues even if it was hard for both of them to admit some things. The banter and verbal battles was lots of fun, and the spicy scenes between just adds to it. I enjoyed this one!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From this Author:

Tilly in Technicolor by. Mazey Eddings | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love at Full Tilt by. Jenny L. Howe | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating:

Title: Love at Full Tilt

Author: Jenny L. Howe

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 7/22/25

Publisher: Delacorte Romance

Categories: Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Delacorte Romance for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

In this joyful celebration of fandoms, whirlwind romance, and plus-size girls, love is the ultimate roller coaster ride.

Lia Baker has spent the last few months wishing time would stand still. Soon her friends will head off to college while she’s left behind, buried under her mom’s anxiety and working a job she doesn’t want. But life throws her for a loop when she wins a spot in the fiftieth-anniversary scavenger hunt at Fableland, a legendary theme park. The contest is a golden ticket to a world where her favorite stories come to life and a chance for her to write some new ones of her own.

Everything seems perfect, especially after she teams up with Mason, a cute rival who knows as much about Fableland as she does. Together, they’re unstoppable. But as Mason’s sweet smile starts to melt her focus, Lia realizes that she may have to choose between the future she wants to rewrite—and a love she hadn’t planned for.

Content Warning: fat-shaming

+ This was a cute young adult romance which takes place at an amusement park, just like Disneyland, and there is a competition for super-fans about the park. The winner can win $50,000 and Lia is determined to win it so she can choose her own future instead of the one her parents are pushing on her.

+ Lia is at this amusement park with her two best friends before they go to college. So I like the friendship themes that arise during this trip even if they are challenging issues for Lia and her friends, especially because Lia feels like they are leaving her behind. She’s also dealing with issues from home because her mom has anxiety and Lia being away from has triggered her much more. Lia is trying to figure out her future and her parents are assuming she already knows her path. Another issue that is brought up in the book is Lia’s weight – she’s plus-sized but is mostly confident in her skin until she gets heckled for it, which sucks.

+ The romance between Lia and another contestant, Mason, is really cute and it happens during a week. It is very much a whirlwind romance but I do like that the romance extends after the vacation!

~ I definitely think younger me would have loved this book more – teens will enjoy it!

~ I do think at times Lia came off a little bit selfish. Her friends went on the trip with her to have fun before they left for college and make memories, but Lia was on a mission to win this contest and they tried to compromise and it mostly worked out. But when they would argue, Lia made it seem like her friends weren’t being good friends.

Final Thoughts:

This story definitely brought many coming of age issues like friends going to college vs. you staying home, your dreams vs. your parents’ dreams, body-weight issues, friendship themes and all of this set at an amusement park. The competition was fun and this was a quick read. Overall, I thought this was a cute young adult romance.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Love Unmasked by. Becky Dean | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating:

Title: Love Unmasked

Author: Becky Dean

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 7/15/25

Publisher: Delacorte Romance

Categories: Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Delacorte Romance for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

From the author of Hearts Overboard comes a swoony mystery-filled romance in which a girl on a school trip to Venice gets swept off her feet by a mask-wearing stranger…but does she know him already? Lose yourself in the masquerade—because sometimes, the greatest adventure begins when you unmask your heart.

People pleaser Evie Whitmore can’t believe her art and architecture class trip has brought her to Venice—home of gondolas and crumbling palazzos, and the inspiration for both her art and her hidden passion, Elven Realms, a series of novels set in the very city she’s about to explore.

Rumors about an underground Elven Realms fan club swirl, and Evie, wearing a costume and mask, sneaks out at night to find it. There’s no way she can tell anyone what she’s doing—not her friends, and certainly not Gabriel Martinez, the bad boy loner she’s been partnered with on the trip.

But Evie’s not the only one on this clandestine quest. She collides with someone else in disguise—a stranger whose eyes hold secrets. He calls himself Angelo, and he too loves the novels. Venice is a labyrinth, and as they unravel clues together, their connection deepens. Who is Angelo, really? And who does Evie want him to be?

Content Warning:

+ Evie is on a trip in Venice, Italy with her art class but she has another ulterior motive for being there which involves her favorite novel series, Elven Realms. Everything is going to plan until she is paired up with the new guy, Gabriel Martinez, who doesn’t seem to like her at all.

+ This one was a little predictable but I did love the setting of Venice, Italy and Evie wearing a mask around the mysterious and romantic city, trying to find clues about an Elven Realms event.

+ The romance was cute, he’s grumpy and she’s sunshine. This one is definitely for the teen readers and young YA crowd.

~ This story was a little bit too young for me. This one is definitely for the teen readers and young YA crowd. Also I kept wondering how she couldn’t recognize Gabriel behind the mask. They spent basically all day together!

Final Thoughts:

My favorite thing about this book was the setting of Venice, Italy. How nice to be on a class trip there. Overall, I think younger young adults would enjoy this one.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Homemade God by. Rachel Joyce | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating:

Title: The Homemade God

Author: Rachel Joyce

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 7/8/25

Publisher: The Dial Press

Categories: Fiction, Family Drama, Mystery, Contemporary

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to The Dial Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Family is everything, even when it falls apart.

After the sudden death of a renowned artist, his four adult children travel to Italy to sort out his affairs with his much-younger wife, in this moving novel from the bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

World-famous artist Vic Kemp has relied on his four children ever since their mother died when they were young. Netta, the oldest, is a litigator who often serves as co-parent to her siblings; Susan, a housewife who cooks and cleans for both her husband and her father; Goose’s own thwarted artistic ambitions have left him resigned to a job in Vic’s studio; and Iris, the baby, drops everything the moment her father calls.

When Vic summons the siblings with the promise of big news, they hope their father is about to tell them he has finished the mysterious masterpiece he claims will be the capstone to his career. Instead, he announces he’s getting remarried. Bella-Mae, his wife to be, is apparently beautiful, a fellow artist—and twenty-seven to his seventy-six years. When his children dare to express concern, Vic decamps with Bella-Mae to his summer home in Italy. Six weeks later, he is found dead. There is no sign of his will, or his promised final painting.

Netta, Susan, Goose, and Iris gather at the house on Lake Orta to piece together what happened and prepare to bring their father’s body home. They spend the summer in a waiting game, living under the same roof as Bella-Mae, and forced to confront Vic’s legacy and the buried wounds they have incurred as his children. So who is Bella-Mae? Is she the woman their father believed her to be? Or is she the force that will destroy the family for good? How long can their old bonds hold?

With sparkling wit, compassion and tender insight, The Homemade God explores memory, identity, grief, healing, and the bonds of siblinghood—what happens when they splinter, and what it might take to find a new way forward.

Content Warning: parental death

+ I enjoyed the setting of Italy where this book takes place.

+ This story explores the sibling relationship and I find that very interesting because the personalities and lived experience in one family can be very different for each person. In this story we see how each sibling is different and the experiences they have with their father who has just passed away. I did like the sibling dynamics and family drama

~ Even though this book is just barely over 300 pages I had a hard time reading through it maybe because I wasn’t in the mood for it and it’s not the usual genre I read. But also felt disconnected from the characters. I liked learning about each of them but I never felt connected to them so I never felt invested in the story.

Final Thoughts:

I was not the right audience for this book but I did find the family drama and sibling dynamics interesting.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Predatory Natures by. Amy Goldsmith | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Predatory Natures

Author: Amy Goldsmith

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 432

Publication Date: 7/8/25

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Categories: Young Adult, Thriller, Contemporary Fantasy, Horror

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Delacorte Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A teen girl’s dream job aboard a luxury train derails when she discovers the strange cargo being transported—a mysterious and beautiful greenhouse—but its flowering façade may hide deadly thorns beneath, in this atmospheric and lush novel from the author of Those We Drown.

Lara Williams is desperate to get away. When she gets a job working aboard the luxury train The Banebury for her gap year, she this is her chance to reinvent herself, after the incident that wrecked her relationships and her college prospects several months ago.

At first, the train is everything Lara expected—a five-star escape from her past, demanding customers and all. Even after she learns that her ex-friend, Rhys, who she definitely did not have feelings for before their relationship imploded, is one of her new coworkers, she’s determined to make things work.

But on the first night of their journey, the trip takes a strange turn when two mysterious carriages, filled with an array of beautiful and rare plants, are attached to the end of the train in the middle of the night. With them come a pair of siblings. Gwen and Gwydion are wealthy, Welsh, and alluring as they are odd–not to mention, incredibly protective of their botanical cargo.

The siblings claim the plants they’re transporting are for research, yet Lara can’t shake the feeling that there’s something…otherworldly about them. Something that calls to her, night after night, whispering in her dreams.

Soon, Lara will you can’t outrun your troubles. You have to grab them by their roots. And if she can’t dig up the secrets of the Banebury, they might just consume her whole…

Content Warning: plant horror, death, possessive relationship

+ I really like the setting of this luxury train on it’s way through Europe and Lara is working on the train meeting knew people and one person from her past, Rhys, is on the train also. They used to be close friends in high school until some things changed.

+ The setting of the train already lends a mystery to the story but then as more people leave and join the journey and Lara finds something in one of the cars – plants, she’s wondering what is going on. I liked the sense of suspicion around the people on the train and the different personalities Lara encounters. I found the plants fascinating and the Welsh mythology tied to it very interesting. As people start getting hurt and dying on the train, Lara and Rhys try to figure out what’s going on before it’s too late.

+ Lara has a history and there are flashbacks to it throughout the story because she’s on the train with Rhys who is a link to her past. Her story was a parallel to the mythology about the plants so I did like that. In those flashbacks, she’s dating a boy who changes her, molds her into what he wants her to be, is very possessive of her and we see how far Lara has come in her self journey.

~ The beginning was a bit slow because it’s setting the scene and we’re meeting all the workers and passengers on the train, but also because of the flashbacks. I didn’t mind it too much, but it did feel like the story moved slowly because of it. The flashback events do ramp up though and it coincides with what is happening on the train so I did like that.

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed the luxury train setting and the mysterious siblings and the plants! I also did like how Lara’s personal situation and growth was a parallel with the Welsh mythology about the goddess of flowers. I think for a young adult thriller, this was enjoyable and if you like trains and some Little Shop of Horrors vibe, you’ll enjoy this one.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

You Between the Lines by. Katie Naymon | Audiobook Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Title: You Between the Lines

Author: Katie Naymon

Narrator: Sarah Beth Goer

Format: audiobook (borrowed)

Pages: 384 / Audio Reading Time (approx.): 10 hours

Publication Date: 2/17/25

Categories: Romance, Contemporary, Poets, Rivals to Lovers

A former sorority girl starts a prestigious poetry MFA program only to discover that one of her fellow grad students is her high school crush-turned-nemesis—who can’t stop writing about her.

No one’s more surprised than Leigh when a prestigious MFA program in North Carolina accepts her. A former sorority girl, Leigh’s the first to admit she knows more about the lyrics of Taylor Swift than T.S. Eliot, and she’s never been able to shake the “all-style-no-substance” feedback her high school crush made in their poetry workshop. Bad enough that her tattooed, New Yorker tote bag-carrying classmates have read all the right authors and been published in the country’s leading literary journals, Leigh’s insecurities become all too real when Will, that same high school crush-turned-nemesis, shows up at orientation as a first-year in the program, too. And now, he’s William, exactly the kind of writer Leigh hates, complete with his pretentious sweater vests and tattered Moleskine.

Leigh’s determined to prove herself—and William—wrong by landing the program’s highly-coveted fellowship. But Will’s dead-set on it, too, and in a small cohort, they can’t keep apart for long. When Will submits an intimate poem (that’s maybe, probably, definitely about Leigh) to workshop, they’re both forced to realize there’s more to the other than what’s on the page. And what’s between the lines may be even more interesting.

Content Warning: body image issues, anxiety, parents going through a divorce, mental health

+ Leigh is dealing with her parents’ divorce, and is in a MFA program because she wants to write poetry instead of go back to a corporate job. On top of that she’s dealing with body issues, anxiety and she’s judgmental towards other poets, especially towards male, white poets! She had a lot going on and so much to work through. There is a lot of mental health and therapy discussed in this story and I appreciate how she’s very real and imperfect.

+ Leigh has always crushed on Will so when they are in the MFA program together they finally get to spend more time with one another. Will is very closed off and not great at expressing his feelings. He and Leigh have a lot of challenges trying to express how they feel about one another. There is mistrust, there is fear of being intimate (emotionally), it was a lot of back and forth. They eventually work things out but it took a lot to get there.

+ I thought the secondary characters in the MFA program helped open Leigh’s world up. There were some fun characters, like Leigh’s best friend who kept things real with her.

~ Leigh is very judgmental to the point it was a bit irritating. We get it, she hates white male poets, a LOT. And wants to write poems about pop culture, mostly Taylor Swift. The group could have judged her but they didn’t, so I thought it sucked how she kept hating on poets who study classic poetry. Will calls her out on it eventually but yes, she’s imperfect which is very relatable and at least she was going to therapy.

~ Leigh writes poetry about pop culture, a lot about Taylor Swift so it you aren’t into books mentioning her name all the time, you might want to skip this.

~ Miscommunication is a big conflict in this story. She holds animosity against Will because of the way he critiqued Leigh’s work in high school – one critique! And he doesn’t even remember doing it when she confronts him at the end about it.

Final Thoughts:

I found the audiobook pretty easy to listen to and I was really into this story about people in an MFA program for poetry – I thought that was a unique story. What I didn’t love was Leigh who is imperfect (which is relatable, and I do like that about her) but so judgmental about other poets, it really turned me off to her. And to hold that grudge against Will over one critique – she was kind of exhausting as a character. They eventually work through relationship issues but it was a lot of back and forth.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Summer in the City by. Alex Aster | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Summer in the City

Author: Alex Aster

Format: hardcover (own)

Pages: 304

Publication Date: 3/25/25

Categories: Romance, Contemporary, Rom-Com

Twenty-seven-year-old screenwriter Elle has the chance of a lifetime to write a big-budget movie set in New York City. The only problem? She’s had writer’s block for months, and her screenplay is due at the end of the summer.

In a desperate attempt at inspiration, Elle ends up back in the city she swore she would never return to, in an apartment she could never afford (floor-to-ceiling windows, skyline views, and a new coffee shop to haunt included). It’s the perfect place to write her screenplay…until she realizes her new neighbor is tech “Billionaire Bachelor” Parker Warren, her stairwell hookup from two years ago. It’s been a lovers-to-enemies situation ever since.

When seeing him again turns into a full night of hate-fueled writing, Elle realizes her enemy/twisted muse might just be the key to finishing her screenplay… if she can stand being around her polar opposite. She writes anonymously, and he’s on the cover of every business magazine. He frequents fancy red carpeted events, and she doesn’t like leaving her emotional support five block radius.

One summer. One wall apart. He needs to fake a buzzy relationship during his company’s precarious acquisition. She needs to write a movie around a list of NYC locations. Both need a break from their unrelenting schedules, and a chance to rediscover the skyscraper glimmering, pizza crusted, sunlit charms of the city.

Summers always end, and so will this agreement. It’s all pretend. Promise.

Until it isn’t.

Content Warning: parental illness/death

+ I finally read my copy of this book and I’m glad I saved it for summer because I was definitely in the mood for it now.

+ Elle is an anonymous, famous screen-writer who hates New York City even though she went to college at Columbia. But it gives her bad memories of her mom being sick, so college wasn’t easy for her. She also had a fleeting moment with a stranger in a club who ended up being a very famous tech billionaire but she also has bad memories of that too, only because he came off like he wanted to buy her time. Fast-forward a few years and she bumps into him again but this time he convinces her to fake-date him for PR reasons and it will be his one free summer before his company gets sold and he gets busy.

+ I love how the fake-dating and Elle’s screen-writing project takes them all over New York City. The book transported me to the city and made me think of my own fond memories of the one trip I took there years ago. It’s definitely place that feels like anything can happen and the author captures that.

+ Parker is a green-flag fake boyfriend! Even if he came off like he was a jerk in their first meeting, every meeting after that showed how he was a nice guy. I loved him. As for Elle, she’s not going to be likable to many readers because she’s cynical and mad at Parker for nothing. She has major trust issues because of how her dad treated her mom. I can see why she is the way she is. I liked seeing these two people take the summer to get to know one another and it is a slow burn. All the spice comes near the end!

~ This was almost a 4-5 star read for me and then the fake-dating contract ends abruptly, because of Elle and that’s not the only conflict. There is another moment where Elle pulls away again, but I get why because things were happening too soon, too fast and too much, but she so tested my patience. Those two break-ups was unnecessary and brought my enjoyment of the book lower. Parker is a saint for being as patient with her as he was. I get that she had issues but this guy clearly is in love with her and wants to give her the world, patience and understanding that she doesn’t think she deserves. It could have ended perfectly with a happy ever after, but those two moments just ruined it for me.

Final Thoughts:

I saw that this book was going to made into a movie and I think it will be great as a rom-com film because of how it’s set in NYC. Even though I didn’t love the break-up moments, I still think overall this is a fun, perfect for summer reading, rom-com book. I also think I like this author’s contemporary book more than her fantasy series, and will be interested to see if she writes more.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Love Haters by. Katherine Center | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Love Haters

Author: Katherine Center

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 5/20/25

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Categories: Contemporary, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

It’s a thin line between love and love-hating.

Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past—now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West.

The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim—but fakes it that she can.

Plus: Cole is Hutch’s brother. And they don’t get along. Next stop paradise!

But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good looking man she has ever seen . . . but also a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful Aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets trapped in a lie. Or two.

Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses ensue—along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears, and to be truly brave at last.

Content Warning: negative body image, death of parents, mention of accident, water rescue in a hurricane

+ Katie needs to keep her job so she agrees to go on an assignment she is only half qualified for. But she’ll do anything, even take swim lessons in a bathing suit even though she has major body issues. She meets Hutch, who is her supervisor’s brother, and is the person she needs to make a documentary about. Katie is pushed beyond her comfort zones but it helps her grow a lot.

+ What makes this book so charming and probably are my favorite parts of this bookis the Gals (the bunch of elderly women at the place she is staying at) who is trying to hook her up with Hutch in subtle ways. And then there is George Bailey the sweetest Great Dane ever! He’s scared of thunder (just like my dog!) and loves to hold toads in his mouth – I loved him so much! Also Katie’s best-friend Beanie was a lot of fun, plus their phone calls are very relatable if you have a best-friend like that.

+ I feel like Katie’s body image issues are so relatable. There were so many times she said something and I was like yeah, I’ve thought that of my body before. It’s crazy and sad to know how mean we can be to our own selves. But you could tell Katie’s issues were painful for her and she’s been working on herself.

+ The romance was a very slow burn, there is no spice, there are a few kisses and that’s it. I think I wanted a little more flirting on Hutch’s part though but I think that’s just his personality. I thought the two of them had a nice friendship and banter going throughout the story.

~ Really wanted a little more chemistry between Katie and Hutch but like I said, I think that’s just both their personalities and it worked for them at least. They are both “love haters”.

~ Pacing wise, I think there was a little lull in the middle, probably because Hutch wasn’t the best at flirting haha, and then there was lots of action at the end which I enjoyed.

Final Thoughts:

Katie and Hutch really complimented each other – they had fun banter and he really helped her with accepting herself but she also helped bring his family closer in a way. I did want more chemistry and flirting but that’s just personal preference. Overall, I thought this was an enjoyable read especially with George Bailey, the Gals and Beanie bringing in the charm and the laughs. Definitely a fun read for the summer!