Tag: women’s fiction

The Someday Garden by. Ashley Poston | Audiobook Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: The Someday Garden

Author: Ashley Poston

Pages: 400

Listening Hours: 11 hours 25 min (approx.)

Format: audiobook (Libby)

Publication Date: 6/16/26

Categories: Women’s Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Magical Realism


The new head gardener at the enchanting Lilymoor House stumbles upon a secret garden . . . with a mysterious man trapped inside, in the next magical novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Sounds Like Love and The Seven Year Slip.

When Sophie Drear plans her escape to coastal Maine for the summer—for a temporary job revitalizing the storied grounds at Lilymoor House—she doesn’t expect to fall in love.

But she does: With the beguiling land, the fragrant flowers, and the towering hedge maze. With the quirky staff and the enigmatic woman who owns the place.

And then, the door appears. Never in the same place twice, it leads her to a secret, and unfinished, garden with a frustrated thundercloud of a man trapped inside.

This mysterious garden is not the only sign that the future of Lilymoor is unstable: the foliage resists Sophie’s careful nurturing, vines threaten to strangle the hedges, and the manor’s owner has wild ideas about who will take over when she retires—including her inconveniently attractive nephew who is also there just for the summer.

Despite herself, Sophie has come to care for the residents of Lilymoor just as much as she cares for its grounds. With the help of one man on the outside of the secret garden, and one man on the inside, she might be the only person who can figure out exactly what Lilymoor needs to bloom once more.

Content Warning: death, grief

+ This author does magical realism so well, and the narrator did such an amazing job. I was sucked into this story. There were actually times in this audiobook I wish I was reading the ebook so I could highlight phrases that touched me.

+ My favorite part of the story had to be about Sophie journey through grief and learning to come to peace with her best-friend’s passing. Their story was so sweet, especially with their adoration of Lilymoor and their love for each other was so real that I was heartbroken for Sophie and I related to her a lot in how she dealt with her grief. So I saw a lot of myself in Sophie and I think people who have lost someone like that will relate as well. But it was so gratifying to see Sophie try to move forward – the ending even made me cry.

+ I love the found family Sophie has with her coworkers at Lilymoor. They all had their quirks and she tried to not getting close to anyone since her job was temporary, but I love how Lilymoor and the people eventually take root in her heart. Lilymoor is what sounds like from all the descriptions, a gorgeous garden – it made me want to visit! I love the analogy of a garden as it is to life. So many times throughout the book Sophie says life is like a garden – nothings stays forever, it is always changing, growing and dying.

+~ For me, I feel like the romance wasn’t as much a focus (for me at least), as the grief journey. But it was definitely an aspect of helping Sophie move on because she felt stuck in life – in her career, her love life (lack of), just everything because she was grieving Harrie so badly. Cyrus, is the man she meets in this secret door that leads to a garden – he is actually Lilymoor’s owner’s nephew, who has good memories of the estate but also traumatic ones. Sophie meets with him and they eventually fall in love, but he’s stuck in a different space of time there in that garden. A lot of the story feels like a cozy read, where Cyrus and Sophie get to know one another. There is some spice.

+~ There were times I wanted more explanation about the magic in the garden but I guess that’s just me digging for information and not going with the flow. For the most part I went with the flow, but there were times I wondered about why timed moved slowly for Cyrus in the garde, etc…

Final Thoughts:

This one touched my heart because losing someone and experience grief was something very relatable to me in this book. I loved seeing Sophie learn to enjoy life again whether it was when she was falling in love, or knowing she wanted to stay on at Lilymoor or opening up and getting to know her coworkers. It’s a touching story about friendship and strength to keep going and that ending made me cry.

Read if you like:

  • magical realism
  • grief journey, growth
  • found family
  • romance

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

Sounds Like Love by. Ashley Poston | Audiobook – 4 stars/🌶️

A Novel Love Story by. Ashley Poston | Book Review – 3.5 stars

The Dead Romantics by. Ashley Poston | Book Review – 4.5 stars

Rewrite the Stars by. Lindsay Hameroff | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Rewrite the Stars

Author: Lindsay Hameroff

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 7/7/26

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Beach Read, Women’s Fiction, Small Town 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!


A sparkling romance between an ex-actress and her contractor, reminding us that it’s never too late to rewrite our destiny.

Semi-retired actress Marissa Morgan has played many parts in her life. But these days, her primary role is mother of two. Since hitting pause on her career, she’s worked hard to give her kids a normal childhood and shield them from the spotlight. So when her ex-husband announces his high-profile engagement and a media storm ensues, Marissa and her kids flee Los Angeles for a summer at her recently inherited Poconos lake house.

The long-vacant house needs major TLC, so Marissa hires a home renovation company to do repairs. But when the project hits a snag and Marissa finds herself sharing space with the crew, including Jesse, the handsome (and vaguely familiar) foreman, her plans for a drama-free summer hit choppy water.

Jesse doesn’t expect Marissa to remember him; they were just kids when they last played together at the lake. But he’s never forgotten her; he’s spent the last two decades quietly following her career, even as his own dreams fell apart. And now that she’s stumbled back into his sleepy hometown, Jesse’s predictable life has gotten a lot more complicated.

As the summer days pass, Marissa finds herself centering her own needs for the first time in years—and that includes giving into her mounting attraction to Jesse. Soon, she finds herself wondering if their fling could become something more.

After an unexpected career opportunity falls into Marissa’s lap, it feels like the stars have finally aligned. But when new complications arise, the pair wonder how they’ll fit into each other’s future. Can Marissa and Jesse chart a new course together, or is it too late to rewrite the script for a happily ever after?

Content Warning: divorce

+ Marissa is an actress who had big acclaim before she got married and had kids. She’s been a stay at home mom for years now and she’s afraid to get back into acting, but with her ex-husband in the tabloids again, she decides to go to the lake house in a small town in the Poconos (Pennsylvania), to get away from all the chaos. While there she meets the man who is helping to renovate the house and sparks fly.

+ I totally related to Marissa on the motherhood elements of this story – the whole stay at home mom thing. Marissa has a lot more on her plate than I do though, like a playboy ex-husband who tries to manipulate her by using the kids, and a son who is autistic. I love how the story navigated all aspects of Marissa’s life. I love how Marissa learns to put herself first.

+ The romance is such a Hallmark movie kind of romance, Marissa is a famous actress and she escapes to a small town, where she has immediate sparks with the carpenter who is doing the flooring in her house. But I love that they knew each other briefly as kids. Marissa is a good person, I thought she was even too nice to her ex-husband, but I can see how he used the kids to get to her. Jesse though is a walking green flag, he’s good with her kids, loves his family and dog and he’s just an all around nice guy. There is spice, which kept it fun.

+ Loved the autistic representation in Levi, Marissa’s son.

Final Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this one and related to the motherhood aspects of the story. I love that Marissa learns to put herself first after putting everyone else first for a few years. The romance was cute with a little spice! The setting is perfect to make this a summer read or beach read. I hope to read more from this author!

Read if you like:

  • motherhood
  • small town romance
  • actress and a regular guy
  • summer romance

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Yours For the Season by. Emily Stone | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶️

Title: Yours For the Season

Author: Emily Stone

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 10/7/25

Publisher: Dell

Categories: Holiday Romance, 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 Dell for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Could a fake relationship with your ex over Christmas in Scotland be the perfect opportunity for revenge—or a second chance at love? One woman is about to find out in this charming holiday romance from the author of Always, in December and A Winter Wish.

Melanie has not had a good year. Things are definitely not going as planned in her work life, her best friend has moved to the other side of the world, and her favorite bagel shop is closing down. But the real reason this year has been awful is because Finn, the man who she was sure was the love of her life, dumped her. In front of everyone. At his sister’s engagement party.

So when Finn shows up at her doorstep two weeks before Christmas asking if she’ll help him, her first instinct is to slam the door in his face—or punch him. But he has a proposal for her.

Finn wants Melanie to spend the week of Christmas with him. He has to face the holiday at a vacation cottage in the Scottish Highlands with his two perfect siblings who are happily paired off with their perfect partners. His mother is obsessed with the idea of a perfect Christmas—and to try and help, Finn may have told his mother he and Mel are dating again. All she has to do is come with him and pretend they’re back together.

Melanie may hate Finn, but she loves his mom. And with her own parents on a trip, it looks like the only way to spend the holiday with someone she cares about is to suffer through being around the person she despises most.

So Melanie agrees—on one condition. At the end of the week, Finn will allow Mel to publicly dump him—in front of his family—so she can get her dignity back and he can experience the same humiliation she felt.

As they embark on seven days with Finn’s family, Mel tells herself it’s only a week. She just has to pretend to still be in love with him. Until she starts to lose track of which feelings are fake, and which are for real…

Content Warning: illness

+ A holiday romance set in the Scotland Highlands? Sounds like amazing Christmas season vibes. And this story has it in abundance.

+ Mel and Finn have been broken up for 6 months but he shows up out of the blue asking her if she could pretend to fake date him and attend his family’s Christmas trip with him. She agrees if she can enact a revenge breakup on him in front of his family. The story is told with flashbacks to when Mel and Finn were together and leading up to their first breakup.

+ The romance is a second chance romance and I think it’s obvious that being in forced proximity with one another would revive old memories and feelings. They get to work out the challenges that came between them the first time: Finn thinking he will be like his dad, and Mel trying to please everyone and not knowing if she can come through for everyone.

+ I enjoyed the family vibes along with the Christmas ones.

~ The beginning felt a little slow, maybe because of the flashbacks but it eventually picks up in the second half.

Final Thoughts:

If you like second chance romance and a Christmas story set in Scotland, you will enjoy this one.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

A Winter Wish by. Emily Stone | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

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

Is She Really Going Out With Him? by. Sophie Cousens | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Is She Really Going Out with Him?

Author: Sophie Cousens

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 368

Publication Date: 11/19/24

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Categories: Romance, Women’s Fiction

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

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for giving me a chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A hilarious love story about a disillusioned divorcée who agrees to let her children play matchmaker.

Columnist Anna Appleby has left her love life behind after a painful divorce. Who needs a man when she has two kids, a cat, and uncontested control of the TV remote? Besides, she’d rather be single than subject herself to the hell of online dating. But her office rival is vying for her column, and no column means no stable source of income. In a desperate attempt to keep her job, Anna finds herself pitching a unique angle: seven dates, all found offline, chosen by her children.

From awkward encounters to unexpected connections, Anna gamely begins to put herself out there, asking out waiters, the mailman, and even her celebrity crush. But when a romantic connection appears where she least expected it, will she be brave enough to take another chance on love?

Content Warning: sexual harassment

I’ve read two books from this author and really enjoyed them so I was excited to see a new book from her! Here are my thoughts:

Likes:

+ Once I started reading, I got hooked into the story. I also like that this MC is 38 years old and divorced with two kids. She’s going through some things like being independent, taking care of her kids and navigating co-parenting and now trying to date again, even if it’s for her job. I like that Anna didn’t let things get her too down especially when things got tough as she juggles her life.

+ This is a workplace, rivals to lovers, slow burn romance. Anna is writing a column and takes on the challenge of dating again, but her kids have to pick her dates. I actually enjoyed her dates with these random men all the while growing a crush on her rival at work Will. Will’s a little bit younger than her, and their rivalry brought the chemistry which I loved. I enjoyed their romance!

+ I liked watching Anna grow. She dates, she starts to flirt with Will, makes new friends and then starts to remember that maybe she deserves some good things – just for herself. I even liked how she navigates the co-parenting with her ex-husband and their journey to communicating better.

Dislikes:

~ I wish this wasn’t close door because it was such a slow burn, I wanted a little more details and spice!

My Thoughts:

While reading this one, I felt like this would make a really cute rom-com movie on Netflix or something. I really enjoyed this one and maybe this author is becoming a must-read for me! I look forward to reading more books from her.

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Twitter (X)

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read By This Author:

Before I Do by. Sophie Cousens | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Just Haven’t Met You Yet by. Sophie Cousens | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The True Love Experiment by. Christina Lauren | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The True Love Experiment

Author: Christina Lauren

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 416

Publication Date: 5/16/23

Categories: Adult, Romance, Chick Lit, Women’s Fiction

Sparks fly when a romance novelist and a documentary filmmaker join forces to craft the perfect Hollywood love story and take both of their careers to the next level—but only if they can keep the chemistry between them from taking the whole thing off script.

Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is lost. Sure, she’s got an incredible career as a beloved romance novelist with a slew of bestsellers under her belt, but when she’s asked to give a commencement address, it hits her: she hasn’t been practicing what she’s preached.

Fizzy hasn’t ever really been in love. Lust? Definitely. But that swoon-worthy, can’t-stop-thinking-about-him, all-encompassing feeling? Nope. Nothing. What happens when the optimism she’s spent her career encouraging in readers starts to feel like a lie?

Connor Prince, documentary filmmaker and single father, loves his work in large part because it allows him to live near his daughter. But when his profit-minded boss orders him to create a reality TV show, putting his job on the line, Connor is out of his element. Desperate to find his romantic lead, a chance run-in with an exasperated Fizzy offers Connor the perfect solution. What if he could show the queen of romance herself falling head-over-heels for all the world to see? Fizzy gives him a hard pass—unless he agrees to her list of demands. When he says yes, and production on The True Love Experiment begins, Connor wonders if that perfect match will ever be in the cue cards for him, too.

The True Love Experiment is the book fans have been waiting for ever since Fizzy’s debut in The Soulmate Equation. But when the lights come on and all eyes are on her, it turns out the happily ever after Fizzy had all but given up on might lie just behind the camera.

Content Warning:

I didn’t know this book was about Fizzy until I read someone’s review about it and then I had to get it. If you read The Soulmate Equation then you are familiar with Jess’s best friend, Fizzy. And I loved Fizzy and wished she was going to have her own book and now she does!

This whole story does Fizzy justice! We get more of her humor and wit. She’s so much fun and she loves her family, her friends and their kids. I love how she jumped off the pages full of life and she’s a romance writer, what’s not to love? And we even get to dig beneath Fizzy’s armor and see her vulnerable side when she starts falling in love with Connor, the producer of the dating show she’s signed up to be on. Their romance is everything. I love that they both have had relationship issues but they eventually work through it, like adults, to get their happily ever after. The romance is full of chemistry and sparks and sweetness too. I love them together. And not only is she and Connor amazing together but the friendship between Jess and Fizzy is top-tier. I love them together too, they are soul sisters.

I also appreciate that we get such a well-rounded Fizzy. I loved the moments with her family and her mentioning even though they love her, she didn’t think her mom thought her job as a romance writer had any merit. And then they have that moment at the end…I don’t know why it made me emotional. I related a lot to the parental expectations.

I thought the story was heart warming and emotional and everything I wanted in a romance.

Favorite Quotes from the Book:

“I tell them that if they put in the work, if they allow that there will be blind curves and ups and downs, if they allow themselves to be vulnerable and loved and honest with the people who mean something to them, things really will turn out okay.”

“Tall, British, and dimpled? Never trust a cliché.“

“Truth is, you’ll never meet a book lover who hates the quiet.”

“People think romances are just about sex-and some are, which is fine-but they’re also about social change and challenging the status quo, such as who the world thinks deserves a happily ever after.”

“Book people are just better, I swear by it.”

“No one loves you in this exact, perfect, consuming way.”

Tropes: single parent, grand gesture

Why you should read it:

  • you loved Fizzy in The Soulmate Equation – you’ll love her more here
  • Connor and Fizzy gave me all the feels
  • this book is fun and funny! I love when Jess and Fizzy talk and River is there at the wrong time and tries to leave the room LOL, love them

Why you might not want to read it:

My Thoughts:

This might be my new favorite Christina Lauren book because of Fizzy. I’m so happy she got her own book because she’s a side character that totally deserves to be in the spotlight and have a happily after. And she gets it. ❤️

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Something Wilder by. Christina Lauren | Audiobook Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Soulmate Equation | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In A Holidaze | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Book Review | The Unhoneymooners ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ARC Review | The Honey-Don’t List ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️