You'll Be the Death of Me by Holly Michelle

 

5*

You’ll Be the Death of Me is very reminiscent of the movie Just Like Heaven but with an MMC who is dead and a FMC who is in limbo between real life and the afterlife. When Cole accidentally transitions the wrong Verdella Rogers from life to death, he is tasked with going down to Earth for just 3 days to correct his mistake. All he has to do is follow the rule book. However, Dell has other ideas which break one rule after another. What will it cost them when the spirited higher-ups have had enough of the hi-jinx?

Early in the book is one of the funniest scenes I have ever read as Dell decides to haunt her ex-fiancé. There are many more humorous scenes but they’re balanced with adventure and a number of very poignant passages. Their brief time together gives them both the opportunity to reflect on their life’s choices and consider what they would do if given a second chance. You’ll have to read this delightful romance to find out if they are rewarded with a happy ending.

As a fan of ghostly romances, I was so excited to read Holly Michelle’s novel, and I am happy to recommend it to readers, especially fans of Ashley Poston and Sarah Ready.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Avon Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Road Trip by Mary Kay Andrews

5*

Road Trip is so much more than I expected, and I loved it. It’s about estranged sisters who fulfill their mother’s dying wish to travel together through Ireland in the hopes they’ll reconcile. It’s also a mystery thriller centered on a painting that has been in the family for generations and determining its provenance. Was it stolen? Is it authentic? The actual story behind it is told in a series of letters between their great-grandmother who fled to America at age 18 and the younger brother she had to leave behind. It’s also a delightful romance between younger sister Maeve and a sexy Irish whiskey distiller named Liam. Who doesn’t dream of discovering love while tracing their roots?

Andrews strikes the perfect balance between the romance, the healing of Therese and Maeve’s relationship, and the sordid and tragic story behind the painting. Her characters are richly-drawn and the various locations perfectly set the stage. This would be a wonderful book to take on your summer vacation. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Start of the Story by Jane Lovering

 

4*

This story “started” in the mid-1800s with the arrival of Irish immigrants fleeing the famine and settling in the cold, desolate landscape of Yorkshire England. Rowan Thorpe is a folklorist whose current project is uncovering the stories told, and eventually written, about the Fairy Stane, a large, heavy stone set among the reeds and bracken on the moor between her restored mill cottage and the remains of an English manor house. Legend has it that the Stane is the gateway to Fairyland and it isn’t to be moved or the “little people” will escape and wreak havoc on the earth. Although she knows that the tale isn’t true, she’s highly protective of the site, both in honor of those long gone and for more personal reasons. So, it’s no wonder she doesn’t welcome visiting Professor Conor O’Keefe, an historian who is in York to research a possible Roman settlement on land where the Stane sits and who announces when first meeting her that he might have to turn the stone over to check for markings. As these two wounded souls are thrown together, first due to noisy neighbors, then thanks to blizzard conditions, they begin to build a friendship and to realize that they have more in common than they initially thought. Rowan’s job is to record and preserve these oral traditions and Conor’s is to gather facts and uncover artifacts to explain history, but the lines begin to blur the more they share about themselves and the motivations that inform their actions.

Although there is an enemies-to-lovers romance that slowly builds, this book focuses more on how grief, guilt, and shame manifest and the stories that people tell themselves and eventually share with others as a way either to explain things they can’t comprehend or to provide comfort when tragic life events occur with no rhyme or reason, both of which are at the heart of the oral storytelling tradition. The pace of this story is very slow, sort of like an archaeological dig. It’s told from Rowan’s POV, and I would like to have heard more of Conor’s perspective. Initially, I had trouble understanding Rowan’s protectiveness of the Stane, which made her seem very rude and antagonistic. Since she doesn’t believe that fairies are real, and everyone who told or recorded the stories originally is long gone, who besides herself would have a problem with the stone being lifted temporarily? Moving the stone doesn’t negate the value of oral storytelling, especially from an historical perspective, but she argues that it does. Luckily, as time goes on, Rowan’s and Conor’s motivations both become clear, and Lovering does a stellar job of tying all elements of the story together. Anglophiles, history buffs, and readers who like closed door romances embedded in more complex stories will find this book compelling. Recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Boldwood Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Under Your Spell by Laura Wood

 

5*

Delightful friends to lovers, forced proximity romance between two thirty-somethings, one a famous musician and the other a recently furloughed college professor and daughter of a rock legend suffering from Peter Pan Syndrome. Set in the England countryside, it’s all about the downside of fame and the loved ones who get figuratively trampled in the frenzy of paparazzi and rabid fans.

Thirty-three years ago, rockstar Ripp Harris managed to impregnate three women (only one of whom, Dee, the narrator’s mother, was his wife). When the truth came out, Dee bought a farm with the divorce proceedings and invited the other two soon-to-be moms to live with her, where they raised three beautiful daughters together. As the girls grew, they dubbed themselves The Weird Sisters and fancied themselves witches. When Clementine (Clemmie) experienced a devastating heartbreak at age 17, the breakup spell came to be. Fast forward fifteen years, and Clemmie, after losing her latest adjunct faculty post, has just been dumped by her long-time, live-in boyfriend who took all the furniture, stole her cat, and moved in with his pregnant girlfriend. What better excuse to cast another spell, cursing the ex, and then making three wishes to heal Clemmie’s broken heart: Serena, the record producer, wishes for hot sex, Clemmie wishes for a job doing what she loves, and Lil, the folk singer, wishes for a big, soulmate kind of love.

Within days, at the funeral of a close family friend, Clemmie can’t help but notice the handsome pallbearer, and is thrilled to fulfill Serena’s wish for her with the gorgeous man, Edward/Teddy. So, imagine her surprise when Serena convinces her to “babysit” megastar and rumored womanizer Theo Elliott (long overdue with his next album) for six weeks in a secluded home far from London, and she discovers he’s the same man she snuck out on but can’t get out of her mind. But after being rejected by her father and her teen love (also a musician), the last thing she’s going to do is make the mistake of loving a musician a third time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful, steamy romance set in England and the honesty, care, and vulnerability that Clemmie and Theo share. Author Wood does a fantastic job of fleshing out her characters and giving readers a solid depiction of female support and empowerment between the three “sisters” and their mothers. I am thankful that Theo isn’t the stereotypical musician (as is Clemmie, as it turns out), and really enjoy his snarky, Type A assistant David who reminds me of Joel Kim Booster’s character in the show Loot. I’m not usually a fan of a single female character POV, but, in this case, readers get a good sense of who Theo is and how a highly-successful music career, that began as a boy band member in his teens, has negatively impacted his life.

The only minor issue I had was that her sisters, who obviously knew who Theo was, never clued her in. In her total rejection of all things musical, she avoided social media and current music, so being ignorant of who he was made sense, but Serena should have made the connection before offering her the job. Of course, there would have been no story in that case, so I let it slide. If you’re a fan of Christina Lauren, Emily Henry, and Abby Jimenez, you’ll love this book. Highly recommended!

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

3*

I want to preface this review by saying that I don’t usually talk about editing issues in an advanced reader copy, but I truly couldn’t tell if what I perceive as problems are pre-final edit or intentional.

As a fan of Ashley Poston’s adult novels (both 5*) and YA books, I was really disappointed by this one. Despite the title, there isn’t much of a “story” in this novel. We’re introduced to a large number of characters where we’re immediately at a disadvantage since Elsy, the narrator, knows them from her favorite romance series, but we aren’t given enough info to see them fully-formed. So, it’s impossible to get invested in the fictional town of Eloraton, NY and its happily-ever-afters.

Elsy was a bit of a doormat and just boring, in my opinion. She even admitted that, in her last relationship, she adopted all her fiancé’s interests and added nothing of herself to it. When she magically found herself in the setting of her favorite book series, she wanted to stay because it was comfortable and familiar, and she didn’t have to (shouldn’t) insert herself but could just live vicariously through the characters she knew everything about and who would never disappoint her. All she seemed to care about was making sure everyone was happy, even if it meant denying herself that same happiness.

I felt the dialogue was awkward, and I didn’t get a sense of different “voices.” It was mostly in Elsy’s, for lack of a better word, “monotone” delivery.

I didn’t buy into the insta-love, especially since Elsy believed that Anders hated her for the first half of their 6 days together. There was no sexual tension, and when they finally got together, it was fade-to-black.

Here’s where I get into the editing issues that were highly-distracting. Anders’s taste and smell were mentioned 22 times! (Yes, I used the search function on my Kindle to confirm.) The first description was his jacket smelling like “woodsy cedar and chamomile tea and the old, loved pages of a childhood novel,” then just 5 pages later, he “smelled like oak and old books and the slightest hint of black tea.” So, different wood and different tea…and totally irrelevant.

His “minty” eyes are mentioned 19 times (yup, checked this one, too), but when he had strong feelings, they turn emerald or peridot.

Even the first kiss scene didn’t make sense, and I’m not sure if it was intentional or careless. “At first his kiss was timid…even as my hands came up and curled into his hair” and two paragraphs later, “At first, his kiss was wild and desperate…and I found myself melting into him, grabbing hold of his starched shirt.” Then three paragraphs after that, “I pushed my hands into his hair…and yes, it was just as soft as I imagined” although she had touched it five paragraphs prior. Make it stop!

So, at this point, you’re probably wondering why I gave it 3*. It’s because I really like Poston’s The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip, and I’m choosing to believe that many of these problems were fixed during the final edit. I also felt the story had enough potential for me to keep reading. I liked the defense of romance novels, especially by a college English professor, appreciated the way Poston connected Elsy and Benji from The Dead Romantics, and who doesn’t like a Brigadoon-type set-up. However, I was confused by the Groundhog Day scenario and why Elsy’s presence affected the daily thunderstorm.

Despite this faint praise, however, I just can’t recommend this story which is very sad. However, I’ll still look forward to her next novel.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

 

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

 

4*

Even though Liam and Anna entered into a marriage of convenience in order for them to qualify for graduate family housing at UCLA, they lived together as strangers for only a year until he completed his PhD. So, it’s a surprise when Liam shows up on her doorstep, telling her they’re still married (she really should have read the documents she signed, thinking they were divorce papers) and that he needs her to accompany him to his sister’s wedding to play the devoted wife so that he doesn’t lose a substantial inheritance. She negotiates a generous payment (to help her with student loans and her father’s medical bills) since this is essentially a business arrangement. So, the feelings that grow between them during their brief time on the private Indonesian island seem unrealistically rushed. Yes, the sexual chemistry is there, but the emotional connection is slightly problematic. For Liam, it’s clear that Anna’s supportive and nurturing nature is humbling, if not a little scary, since he’s never had anyone who had his back and offered hugs and encouragement. It’s less clear what Liam offers Anna emotionally, especially after she becomes collateral damage in Liam’s efforts to protect his siblings. My guess is that she’s a natural empath and caretaker, and the damaged little boy inside Liam and his eventual willingness to share the pain his father’s evil machinations have inflicted on him are like catnip to her.

I’m a huge Christina Lauren fan and am always so excited when a new book comes out. Unfortunately, this is not one of my favorites. It seems that the authors’ inspirations for The Paradise Problem were Succession and Pretty Woman (except for the prostitution). Although there’s a decent romance, the main plot is more of an exposé on corporate greed and corruption and the lengths a narcissistic man will go to protect himself and evade responsibility, even throwing his children under the bus.

I’ve still awarded this 4 stars for the Succession vibes that had me on edge the entire time, Anna’s funny banter and bonding with Liam’s niece, and the strength Anna’s emotional support gives Liam when his father’s manipulative tactics come to a head. Bottom line, the writing duo of Christina Lauren write compelling books that keep them at the top of the contemporary romance field, and this one is no exception. Recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Gallery Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.