*4

Adler has written another winning romance (actually two romances) using a dual timeline featuring a relationship in 1908 between a female ornithologist who fights hard to be taken seriously in a field where women aren’t welcome and a newspaper publisher and wildlife illustrator who helps her discover a rare goose. Cal’s and Annie’s romance picks up over 100 years later when his ex finds the goose in the attic of her new home and asks for his help in discovering its provenance. The lighthearted mystery is the wild goose chase they find themselves in, and the solution is a hoot (or should I say honk).

One of the highlights of the story are the funny and rather poetic analogies Cal uses to compare love to furniture. Annie is quirky and believes in repurposing antiques in disrepair for use by her modern clientele whereas Cal believes that antiques should be restored to their former glory. Their relationship is a combination of the two viewpoints and reflects their personalities.

Readers can always depend on Adler’s romances to have a unique premise (the opposite of formulaic). In Wild Goose Chase, she’s written yet another witty, engaging story that stands out in a field of contemporaries. Highly recommended.

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

Glow Job by Kristen Bailey

 

4*

Both Ben and Chloe are workaholics in careers they love but which are wearing them down. When Ben inherits his uncle’s Spanish villa, his sisters convince him to host a retreat which turns out to be less than expected (What, no goat yoga?), but much more than Ben and his stressed out first guests could have ever hoped for. Situated on the gorgeous island of Ibiza (which the author describes so beautifully), this friends to lovers romcom had me alternating between envy, because Ben is such a perfect book boyfriend, and hilarity. There is goat-wrangling, tussles with mean girls at a beach party, DIY face masks gone wrong, and startling discoveries at a tucked away beach complete with natural mud baths. There’s also the sweet and steamy budding relationship that any red-blooded fan of the genre will thoroughly enjoy.

If you’re looking for a light-hearted, laugh out loud romance to read this summer, look no further than Kristen Bailey’s Glow Job.

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

The Shippers by Katherine Center

5*

 

It’s a slam dunk when one of my favorite romance authors writes my favorite trope: childhood friends to lovers. In a nod to The Runaway Bride, Center weaves a story about Jojo, a woman who thinks she’s cursed to love only men who won’t love her back. As a result, she dumps them before they can dump her, including leaving the last one at the altar. In the hopes of breaking the curse, her sister Ashley concocts a scheme based on the idea that Jojo just needs to get the guy who gave her her first kiss, blindfolded, to fall in love with her while on Ashley’s weeklong wedding cruise. So why is Jojo more invested in renewing her friendship with Cooper than capturing Finn’s heart?

 

In Center’s author’s note, she talks about spoilers and argues that romance books always have a happily-ever-after but it’s the journey to love that’s there for readers to discover. So, enjoy the ride as mathematician Jojo applies her life’s work to the theory of love and tying up loose ends. 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.

 

First and Forever by Lynn Painter

5*

I love that, no matter how bad my mood, reading a Painter romance snaps me out of it. First and Forever is a swoon-worthy, hilarious delight that had me laughing from the first scene and didn’t let up. Duffy DiStefano is snarky, tells it like it is, and isn’t one to back down from a challenge. She’s also been friend-zoned with every guy she’s ever dated because she’s so easy to like and doesn’t play the games like other women do. Lucky for her, Heisman-winning tight end Connor Cunningham likes a challenge. What starts out as an agreement to be her fake boyfriend in order to make her grieving and ailing father happy becomes so much more as they get to know each other, whether it’s scootering to White Castle or coaching a kids’ flag football team. Connor, despite his fame and devastatingly handsome looks, is an absolute sweetheart who goes out of his way to make her and her father’s life more comfortable, but is he too good to be true?

I don’t think I’ve ever laughed more while reading a romance. Whether it’s taking on a hoard of zombies or verbally sparring with Duff’s dad, Tony (an absolute hoot!), the humor doesn’t quit. Of course, at its core, this is a romance and Painter delivers incredible chemistry and some spicy scenes, too. This is one of those books that you wish you could read again for the first time, which is the highest compliment I can give. So, pick this one up for the perfect beach read. Highly recommended.

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

Love and Other Side Effects by Deidra Duncan

 

4*

Grief is a powerful thing, and this bittersweet romance is flooded with it. Luckily for Joss, Asher’s steadfastness, kindness, and friendship keep her from drowning in it, although her metaphorical walls are a mile high and nearly insurmountable. This lovely and frequently hilarious story by Duncan strikes a good balance between romance, humor and grief, but the path to love is a very twisted one, with many heartbreaking scenes. Joss’s denialism does start to get tedious, but Mother Nature has a wicked way of leveling the playing field. Asher is a “beautiful unicorn” of a man who has his own insecurities which he hides well behind his charm and affability. Joss's and his friendship is enviable, although I frequently wanted to shake some sense into both of them. Overall, though, I really enjoyed their story and recommend it to fans of Katherine Center, Kate Clayborn, Abby Jimenez and Christina Lauren.

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

Big Nick Energy by Kristen Bailey

 

5*

Bailey has become one of my absolute go-to favorites for charming Christmas romances with a bit of spice. Her latest offering, Big Nick Energy, which takes place in and celebrates my favorite city, London, is a combo of love triangle, second chance romance, and grumpy/sunshine with a kind, thoughtful and hot tree farmer (New Nick) and a former college love (Old Nick) who broke Kay’s heart. When she runs into him 10 years later, she wonders if fate has a hand in it. Yet, there’s also this handsome grump who doesn’t get her jokes and seems to be lacking in holiday spirit. However, the more time she spends with him, she realizes that first impressions are misleading. Lucky for her, she has guidance and encouragement from her beloved Nana, who is in the early stages of dementia, her zany friend Lucy, and her colleagues at the library where she works to help her see things clearly.

If you love closed door romances with a load of humor (cue the Christmas tree netting fiasco meet-cute), set in the most magical city during the winter holidays, and you haven’t yet discovered Bailey’s books, now’s your chance. You won’t be disappointed.

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

We Three Kings by Kristen Bailey

 

5*

Last year, I read a beautiful Christmas romance called Five Gold Rings and wondered if Bailey’s newest book, We Three Kings, could ever begin to rival it. I’m happy to say it does. It’s also set in London, which I still maintain is the most beautiful city in which to celebrate the holiday. It’s also a workplace romance but features Maggie and her three male employees in the IT department of a London firm who have become friends in their four years together. So, it’s no surprise how torn she is when she’s told, at the start of Christmas break, that she’ll have to lay off (make redundant) one of these lovely men who are like family. The painful decision is complicated by the plans these three proposed when they learned she’d be spending Christmas alone, and she doesn’t have the heart to ruin them by revealing the sad news. Her new and budding feelings for Leo also compound her decision with the worry about crossing ethical lines as boss and employee. From attending awkward (probably autistic) Frank’s sister’s wedding as a fake girlfriend and then joining eccentric Jasper’s posh but dysfunctional family for a Christmas party and foiling a fox hunt (cue the adorable baby foxes) to visiting Leo’s warm and welcoming family for a raucous Christmas Eve and Day and participating in an annual donkey abduction, Maggie comes to love this trio of wonderful, quirky men as she learns more about their lives and the influences that have formed them into the true “kings” of men they are.

If you’re looking for a truly heartwarming and humorous Christmas story that is full of kindness, love, laughter, loyalty, fade-to-black romance, and a high degree of silliness, I highly encourage you to check this one out. I guarantee you will be absolutely charmed.

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

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

 

5*


I can’t believe I waited so long to read this wonderful book. Rowley strikes the perfect balance between drowning in grief and finding the joy, laughter, and will to live by connecting with family and friends (old and new).

When Patrick’s best friend and sister-in-law Sara dies of cancer, his younger brother Greg asks him to take care of their two children (Maisie, 9, and Grant, 6) for the summer while he checks into a nearby rehab center to overcome his pill addiction. He feels ill-equipped to take care of two grieving children as a 40-something, childless gay man who is mourning both her loss and his unaddressed grief over the death of his boyfriend Joe almost a decade prior. However, Patrick accepts the responsibility and treats his niece and nephew like two little adults, not altering his extensive vocabulary of big words, his frequent references to pop culture from earlier times, his “colorful” language, or his penchant for bright caftans and comforting cocktails.

Whether it’s celebrating Christmas in July (complete with a towering pink tree), visiting kitschy Palm Springs tourist attractions, sharing useless facts (“distraction bombs”) and silly selfies, doling out “Guncle rules.” or just lounging in the backyard pool, he learns that he has an innate understanding of what these kids need to cope with the grief of losing their mother, making mistakes along the way, but also finding a way out of his self-imposed isolation and back to the world of acting he walked away from four years back. His methods may be unorthodox, but they’re also very thoughtful and effective.

I love how naturally funny Patrick is and how Rowley portrays his journey and re-awakening, so to speak. I also appreciate the insight into how hurtful it was for Patrick, with his platonic love for Sara, when she chose his own brother to spend the 2nd half of her life with after Patrick moved across the country to follow Joe and pursue his acting career. One of the reasons he is able to connect so well with Maisie and Grant is because she lives on through them. Rowley also raises the curtain on the struggles Patrick has endured as a gay man, especially when he lost Joe before same-sex marriage was legalized. Not gonna lie…that brought tears to my eyes! Rowley elicits a range of emotions, but I couldn’t help but think of my own life’s mantra borrowed from late comedienne Erma Bombeck: “If you can laugh about it, you can live with it.” And Patrick O’Hara really knows how to live. I can’t wait to read the upcoming sequel, The Guncle Abroad. Highly recommended!!

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from G.P. Putnam's Sons through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck by Kylie Scott

 

5*

After saving Good Witch Willow’s life, Lilah Goodluck (oh, the irony!) is given 5 predictions, whether she wants them or not. Her boyfriend will cheat on her, she’ll be passed over for a promotion at work, she’ll win the lottery (if she can remember the rapid-fire numbers the witch spouts), her soulmate’s name is Alistair George Arthur Lennox, the illegitimate and hot as hell son of the reigning King of England, and she’ll die in 9 days. After the first three come true in a matter of hours, she begins to worry that her days are truly numbered. When a distracted Lilah totals her car to avoid hitting Alistair’s, this serendipitous meet-cute with her own Prince Charming leads to 8 days of checking off items on her bucket list while trying to fight their growing attraction and feelings, lest they discover they’re soulmates and the final prediction of her death becomes inevitable.

I thoroughly enjoyed this first-person POV, light-hearted, instalove, grumpy/sunshine romance featuring a curvy librarian in Los Angeles and a prince with some serious trust issues and a need for control. It reads like a modern-day fairytale a la Pretty Woman, including a Rodeo Drive shopping spree, complete with a fake relationship, parental abandonment by the King, and some pretty steamy scenes given the intense chemistry between the two. I love the witty banter, not just between Lilah and Alistair, but also with Alistair’s free-spirited mother Lady Helena and her everyman Dougal. I really hope they make this into a movie with great actors because it would be a hoot and harken back to the golden age of romantic comedies. If you need a mood lifter and like romances with no third quarter break-up where the MCs have open, honest communication and bring out the best in each other, pick this one up. Highly recommended.

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

Grace After Henry by Eithne Shortall

Spoiler alert:




Grace and Henry’s happily ever after comes to an abrupt end when he is gruesomely killed in a biking accident on his way to an open house. In the weeks following his death, Grace keeps thinking she sees Henry around Dublin until the day a plumber comes to her door who is his spitting image. Andy has come in search of his birth mother only to find that both she and the identical twin he knew nothing about have died. An unorthodox relationship builds between the two as Grace’s grief process is stalled by this Henry substitute and Andy’s search for his past morphs into a chance to create an “alternate life” from the ashes of his brother’s. As Grace says, Andy “was a bridge between the life I had chosen and the one fate had given me.”

In a less talented author, this book could have been very maudlin and tragic. Instead, Shortall has gifted us with a heartwarming and captivating story which balances heart-breaking grief with a big dose of the humor the Irish are famous for. As Grace struggles to keep her grief from consuming her, she has the support of a stellar group of secondary characters who provide ample comic relief. There are the Three Wise Men at the cemetery who share her experience of having lost their partners and create a safe haven with their sage advice and tired jokes; irascible next-door neighbor Betty who has a deeply-camouflaged warm heart but provides a welcome distraction from lonely nights; best friend Aoife who drags her back into the land of the living; boss Dermot who hates his restaurant customers and refuses to give up his dream of acting; and her sweet and loving parents with their fancy date night at Nando’s and moth extermination attempts. There are also several memories of conversations Grace had with Henry full of bickering, teasing, joking and love that are a bittersweet reminder of all she has lost.

Despite the humor, Shortall doesn’t shy away from exposing Ireland’s tragic history of forced adoptions. As Andy uncovers details of his past, we see the devastation this practice wrought on generations of young Catholic women and the children taken from them. Grief comes in many forms, and late in the book Grace realizes that hers might not have been as great as Henry’s parents and that Andy has also suffered a huge loss by being separated from his twin and denied the opportunity to be raised as part of a loving family because he was considered “unexpected, surplus”.

It’s a tribute to an author when the reader wants to be a part of the characters’ lives. Laughing along with Grace’s parents and spending time with her friends makes me want to move to Dublin yesterday. This beautiful book would appeal to fans of Maeve Binchy and Cecelia Ahern. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I wasn’t happy with the ending and would love a sequel. Sadly, I’m not holding my breath.


I received a complimentary ARC of this book from G.P Putnam’s Sons through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.