Shipped by Angie Hockman

 

5*

This is a fully-engrossing enemies-to-lovers romance between two co-workers who meet face-to-face the first time on a company cruise to the Galapagos Is. They’re competing for the same promotion, and each need to come up with a digital marketing proposal. However, the attraction between them threatens to derail Henley’s plans as she comes to realize that Graeme isn’t the rude, conniving jerk she took him to be.

If The Galapagos Islands weren’t already tops on my bucket list, they would be after reading this book. The descriptions of the untouched flora and fauna of this unique place evoke the beauty and fragility that conservationists fight to protect. This fight takes center stage in the book when Henley comes up with an idea she hopes will win her the promotion and help our planet at the same time. The only problem is that she doesn’t want Graeme to lose. As they grow closer, they struggle between wanting to win with wanting to help each other.

Hockman touches on a variety of themes besides corporate politics, conservation, philanthropy, and romance to include domestic abuse, terminal illness, and the bonds of sisterhood (through both blood and friendship). It is a well-balanced offering of women’s fiction with a captivating, clean romance, female empowerment, and a colorful cast of characters. This debut author is one to watch. Give this to fans of Sally Thorne and Christina Lauren. Highly recommend.

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.

One Summer Weekend by Shannon Stacey

4*

Short and sweet and everything a friends-to-lovers romance should be! When Noah’s lie to his boss about Carly being his girlfriend catches up with him, he has no choice but to convince her to go to his boss’s weekend wedding with him. Although Carly’s cousin Zoe warns her that her life is about to resemble the romance novels Zoe is so fond of, Carly just laughs at the absurdity of it all…until their faked kiss results in real attraction. Can their What happens on the Cape stays on the Cape promise to each other stick or is Carly in for a mountain of heartbreak if she falls for commitment phobic Noah? Pick up One Summer Weekend and find out. Perfect for fans of Noelle Adams.

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

Teach Me by Olivia Dade

5*

What a refreshing change from the typical romance! Not only has Olivia Dade given us a fabulous couple of middle-aged protagonists in Rose and Martin, but Rose is also a plus-sized woman who Martin describes with positive, affirming words like gorgeous, statuesque, curvaceous, “regally tall”. Both of them are carrying a lot of baggage that makes getting to know each other challenging, but, despite their difficult childhoods and divorces, they become friends. A big reason is their respect for each other as dedicated teachers. Rose is determined to be cordial but cold to the new hire who has been assigned her favorite classes and is invading her classroom during her two planning periods to teach them. However, she hadn’t expected him to be so kind, sensitive, and respectful. In fact, Martin is nearly the perfect man: a loving father, champion of women and LGBTQ youth, a sexy nerd, and a phenomenal, caring teacher. His lesson on female Egyptian Pharaoh Hatshepsut, taught while Rose was there to observe, encapsulates his qualities. “She just watched Martin – who knew full well she was observing him that particular period – walk his high school class through a well-considered discussion of gender, power, and the historical erasure of women and the marginalized. Heard him declare with quiet passion that their stories mattered. That, by inference, her story mattered. That she mattered.” It’s no wonder that he makes her feel safe and protected even if she is perfectly capable of fighting her own battles. But will she be able to let go of the past to have a future with Martin? An excellent contemporary romance that focuses on issues very pertinent today in a way that doesn’t seem patronizing or tokenish and which pays homage to hard-working, devoted teachers. Book one of Dade’s new There's Something About Marysburg series. Highly recommended!


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

Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry WInfrey

5*

If you’re a fan of the romantic comedies of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, this is the book for you. In an homage to the late Nora Ephron, writer of When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail Winfrey introduces us to Annie Cassidy, aspiring screenwriter with a major in film studies, who has spent her entire adult life waiting for the meet-cute with her perfect partner, someone like the characters Tom Hanks played. As a result, she’s 27, living with her man-child uncle, and still single because no man she’s ever met lives up to the ideal she set her heart on in high school after her fellow fan and mother died. What’s the likelihood that a sweet, sensitive, attractive man will fall into her lap, especially one who owns a houseboat in land-locked Columbus, OH?

When it’s announced that a top director is coming to her town to film a rom-com starring notorious prankster and action film hero Drew Danforth, Annie is less than pleased. When she’s hired as a production assistant, rather than swooning over the movie star, she constantly argues with him and makes it clear that she doesn’t like him and is very disappointed that a man who has never even watched a romantic comedy thinks he’ll be successful in the role of the hero.

What ensues is as much fun as any of the rom-coms she’s watched ad infinitum. Is Annie, as her friend Chloé suggests, hiding behind rom-coms to avoid making a major change? Will she give her heart to “Sexy Gaffer” Carter, a local who ticks all of the boxes and actually DOES own a houseboat, fall hard for immature joker Drew, or end up on her own? You’ll have to read this delightful, romantic story to find out.

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

Spring Skies over Bluebell Castle by Sarah Bennett

4*

On the biggest night of art appraiser Lucie Kennington’s life, the unveiling of the masterpiece she discovered spells disaster instead. After leaving the gallery under a cloud of suspicion compounded by her late father’s fraudulent schemes, her mother convinces her to apply for a temporary position in Derbyshire helping a baronet appraise the family’s art and artifacts in the hopes of finding a treasure. Instead of the elderly man she expects, she is greeted by the young, handsome Sir Arthur Ludworth who has inherited a crumbling castle without the funds to repair it. Rounding out the family are his fellow triplets Tristan and Igraine, Uncle Lancelot, and Great-Aunt Morgana. (Yes, the Arthurian obsession is real).

The first book of Bennett’s new Bluebell Castle trilogy is a light-hearted, fun novel set in Britain, perfect for summer reading. There is romance, a compelling art mystery, loads of dogs, and acres of bluebells. Best of all, there are two more books on the way that will give readers the opportunity to share Tristan and Iggy’s love stories. A winner!

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

Ask Me to Stay by Terri Osburn

5*

Since best-selling first-time author Liza Teller has writer’s block, she accepts a ghostwriting assignment to pay the bills. As she arrives on South Carolina’s desolate Haven Island, she begins to question the judgment of leaving herself at the mercy of strangers. Little does she know that it’s not physical risk she need fear, but something potentially more destructive. She’s there to pen the memoirs of Ray Wallis, a long-time recluse who doesn’t show up in her research. The first person she encounters after disembarking the ferry is a surly bear of a man, Kendall James, who resents that she’s profiting from Ray’s story with revelations that might put him at great risk. Unsurprisingly, the passionate anger between them soon evolves into something more. 

Osburn does a masterful job of blending a suspenseful mystery with a budding romance while introducing an unforgettable cast of characters, including Amos the pit bull, and the beautiful South Carolina flora and fauna.  It’s a cautionary tale of not judging by first impressions and the lengths people will go to protect the ones they love. There are moments of both sadness and joy, as well as some steamy scenes. It all adds up to an absorbing tale not soon forgotten. Highly recommend.

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

Sorry, Not Sorry by Sophie Ranald

Charlotte is a 20-something good girl who loves her job, hasn’t had a boyfriend or a “shag” in over a year, and finds herself alone after her best friend and fiancé move to the London suburbs prior to their wedding. Her new roommates include the tall, gorgeous Tansy and reclusive, grumpy Adam. Knowing she needs to get out of a rut, she Googles “How to find love, sex and happiness,”stumbles across an old Podcast called ‘Sorry, Not Sorry” and begins to follow the advice on how to be a bad girl, leading to all sorts of adventures and complications. Will she end up finding her own happily-ever-after or find herself still “single at seventy-two?”

This latest book from best-selling author Sophie Ranald is a fun beach read that relies on well-worn literary devices such as the mean girl, love triangles, main character low self-esteem (especially in comparison to the modelesque Tansy), and more. The plot is relatively predictable with some minor twists and subplots, but foreshadowing makes it pretty easy to predict who she’ll end up with in the end. There are somewhat graphic sex scenes which might be off-putting to some readers.

Despite the somewhat slow start, over-abundance of British slang, and pop culture references that will quickly date the book (“I typed ‘US presidential erection’ instead of ‘election’ in the report I was compiling for Piers, noticing just before I sent it to him. The idea of Trump’s todger was sufficiently off-putting to drive all thoughts of sex from my mind”), it will appeal to fans of Sophie Kinsella and Jill Mansell.


I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bookouture through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.