Tag: Romance

Book Review, Fiction, Romance

And Then There Was You by Sophie Cousens ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪
Genre: Fiction

And Then There was You was such an unexpected take on a romance. On the surface, it looks like a typical romcom: Chloe is embarrassed at the idea of attending her ten-year college reunion while in a dead-end job and fresh off a break up. When her friend recommends an elusive new dating service, Perfect Partners, Chloe decides to take a chance on her match, Rob, as her plus-one to the reunion. But there’s a catch to her so-called Perfect Partner, and it’s a big one. (I didn’t know what it was going into the book, so I’m not including it here, but if you look up other reviews you can see what the deal is – it could be a turn off for some).

I found Chloe to be wonderfully charming and funny. The book includes excerpts of her pros and cons list which added a lot of character. It was interesting to see her grappling with the ethics surrounding the dating service and how it fit into her future. I also appreciated her growth and how she seemed to understand and appreciate herself more as the story progressed.

The romance was a slow burn that didn’t really pick up until later in the book, but it was really lovely. Maybe not the most fiery romance, but very sweet, as I’ve come to expect from Sophie Cousens.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy.

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Book Review, Fiction, mystery

What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5
Genre: Mystery

What a fantastic reminder of how much I love Janelle Brown’s writing. What Kind of Paradise is, at its core, a mystery, but it is also a sweeping exploration of one girl’s unusual life and the dark undercurrents that led to everything she knows.

Jane grew up in a cabin in the woods in Montana with her dad. They were almost entirely cut off from the outside world, with him constantly explaining the evils of technological advancement as well as having regular drills of what to do if and when the FBI came looking for them.

As Jane gets older and has a bit more exposure to the outside world, she begins to question whether her father’s rules and views are actually aligned with her own beliefs. After discovering paperwork in her dad’s study that makes her question everything, Jane sets off for San Francisco on her own and finds herself surrounded by start-ups focused on exactly the type of technological advancement she has been taught to fear.

I was so impressed with how huge this story felt while still only being about Jane. The section set in Montana was so different from that set in San Francisco but they were each so well developed in terms of setting and characters. I felt wholly immersed in both worlds and enjoyed them each equally.

The focus on the possible evils of technology felt so timely but I loved that it was explored at a time when the internet was just getting started. The arguments on each side are still so relevant and it was such an interesting study of someone who saw the downside to the internet so early vs. the people working so hard to expand what it could do. Plopping Jane in the middle, who had been spoon-fed one perspective all her life, was fascinating.

This story had so many layers and explored so many themes. It’s hard to try to capture it all in one review, so I’ll just say read it.

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Book Review, Fiction, Romance

It’s A Love Story by Annabel Monaghan ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪
Genre: Romance
Release Date: May 27, 2025 (Thanks to NetGalley for my arc!)

I absolutely ate this book up. Jane Jackson was a teen television star, playing a super awkward character on a popular show. Now, as an adult, she is still in the industry, but working at a studio trying to get her first project moving forward. She and Dan Finnegan, an attractive but infuriating cinematographer, find themselves unlikely allies in their efforts to greenlight a movie they each deeply believe in. Jane accompanies Dan to his hometown so she can attempt to ask her old costar, Jake, to write a song for their film.

The vibes at the Finnegan household were perfectly written. Dan has a big rowdy family and the way that they supported him while simultaneously giving him a good natured hard time was so lovely. I absolutely fell in love with his family from his kindhearted parents to his sweet niece. And so did Jane. It was wonderful to watch her both open up to Dan and to his family. Seeing her so accepted made me feel all warm inside. I was such a big fan of this romance too. It was a bit of a slow burn but it was absolutely worth the wait. 

I thought the conflict near the end was a little unnecessary/unbelievable, but the rest of the book was so good – with such well written characters and relationships – that I’ll let it go.

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Book Review, Romance

Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪
Genre: Romance

Alison shows up at her ex-boyfriend’s funeral to find that no one knows he dumped her. His mother tearfully embraces her and asks for her support in packing up Sam’s apartment. Upon the urging of Sam’s sister, Alison agrees and soon finds herself back in Sam’s apartment, with his best friend Adam.

You can guess from the beginning where this story is going and I enjoyed watching the romance unfold. Alison is a BRCA 1 carrier and had a preventative double mastectomy, adding a level to her comfort and experience with intimacy. I appreciated the representation, but the way it was addressed started to feel repetitive after a while.

I also found Alison’s insistence that she was a thrill-seeker to be way too harped upon. I get what it was trying to do, but 90% of the references could have been removed and it would have provided the same point.

Alison’s friends were really lovely and I liked that we got to see her life outside of her romance and how her support system functioned as she navigated her strange situation. The ending of the book was also incredibly heartfelt in a way that I was not expecting.

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Book Review, Fiction

Real Americans by Rachel Khong ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪
Genre: Fiction

Real Americans is told in three parts, first narrated by Lily in her twenties, then by her son, Nick, and then by her mother, Mei. In the beginning, she meets charming Matthew, heir to a pharmaceutical fortune, and we follow their love story. I enjoyed their chemistry and seeing how they connected despite their vastly different life circumstances. It was also clear that for some reason, Lily’s parents disapproved of the couple, and I was intrigued to understand why that was the case.

I was surprised by the jump to the future and by the fact that Nick didn’t know who his father was. The first part of the book is told so much like a romance that I was caught off guard by the change (not in a bad way – it made me eager to fill in the blanks of what had happened over time). I found his teenage boy storyline to be less compelling than Lily’s. Her drive as she strove to make it in New York City made me really like her, and I felt like Nick was missing that piece that made me care about him as much.

The underlying conflict in this book that tied together all the characters was unexpected and fascinating. I especially appreciated learning about Mei’s past, her life in China, and the choices she made to lead her to her life in America. Her section, which read like historical fiction, provided a lot of context to Lily and how the future unfolded. I especially appreciated this and how it was included at the end of the book.

It’s unusual to find a book with three so distinct sections in terms of story and tone. I enjoyed how each of them helped to explain the other sections and how the information we know about the central family grows and changes.

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Book Review, Fiction, Romance

Is She Really Going Out With Him? By Sophie Cousens ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪
Genre: Romance

When the newspaper column Anna writes becomes threatened by a rival columnist, Will, she finds herself suddenly agreeing to have her two small children set her up on dates for future stories. Meanwhile, Will writes an opposing column about meeting women online.

I’m a big fan of Cousens’s previous books and the writing in this one was no less delightful. Each chapter started out with a series of Anna’s recent Google searches which always made me chuckle.

Anna’s relationship with her kids and with her ex husband were so well written and I enjoyed watching her navigate the changing landscape of her family. Her snarky unfiltered feelings about her ex and his new life made her so relatable.

The romance in this book was so well done. It was sexy, but not over the top and kept me flying through the book waiting for the two to get together. The build-up was predicated by work outings which made it a little bit scandalous and very fun to read.

Another wonderful romance by Sophie Cousens!

Thank you to NetGalley for my Arc!
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Is She Really Going Out with Him? on Goodreads
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Book Review, Fiction, Romance

This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪 🍪🍪
Genre: Romance

I was immediately on board with the premise of This Summer Will Be Different when Lucy arrives for her vacation on Prince Edward Island (PEI) and sleeps with a hot bartender only to find out he’s her best friend Bridget’s brother. Her chemistry with Felix is palpable and when their tryst is cut short I wanted to scream knowing the heat between them was going to be put on hold.

First of all, I recently watched the Anne of Green Gables movie for the first time so I was delighted by all the references to it throughout the book (although there were some spoilers!). The PEI setting was so picturesque and I lived for the memories of Lucy’s annual visits (during which she tries in vain to stay away from Felix). The narrative is split between these past summers and the present, when Bridget has unexpectedly fled to PEI days before her wedding and demanded that Lucy join her and Felix there.

I really enjoyed Lucy – she was fun and felt distinct enough to be believable. Her friendship with Bridget was very special and I loved seeing their closeness.

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Book Review, Fiction, Romance

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪
Genre: Romance

The Paradise Problem is a delightful fake-dating romance following Anna and Liam “West” after their marriage of convenience. The two virtual strangers have gone their separate ways and, so thinks Anna, divorced. Little does she know that West is keeping their marriage intact to gain his inheritance. Over the years, his family has come to grow suspicious and, in an act of desperation, he shows up on Anna’s door desperate for her to step in and play the role of his wife.

Much of this book takes place on a tropical island, making it an ideal summer read. The luxury of the couple’s surroundings was such a lovely setting and a wonderful backdrop for their unfolding romance. Their flirtiness and banter was so fun and there was the perfect amount of steam (read: a lot).

West is the heir to a huge supermarket chain and his extended family is very over-the-top wealthy. There’s a lot of focus on inheritance and catty family drama, which for the most part I loved (although the back and forth about joining the family business got a littttle old by the end).

This book would make such a perfect movie and was a great choice for me to read on vacation by the pool.

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Book Review, Fiction, Romance

Funny Story by Emily Henry ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5
Genre: Romance

It’s taken me a few weeks to get to writing this review (life has been a lot lately) and I’ve somehow managed to forget almost this entire book, which says a lot about my thoughts on it. Daphne’s life is upended when her fiance Peter runs off with his childhood best friend, Petra, and Daphne moves in with Petra’s ex, Miles. Did you get all that? It’s a pretty standard set-up for a contemporary romance and you know exactly where it’s going from the jump.

As always, Henry does witty banter extremely well and I found myself charmed by Miles and Daphne’s dialogue much of the time. (Not so much when he was commenting on her moaning while enjoying food…why was that mentioned so much).

I found Daphne and Miles’s thoughts about their respective exes to be sometimes problematic. They clearly hadn’t had time to process what happened before they were falling for each other and it worried me from a logical perspective.

This was a solid romance, but ultimately nothing really stood out to me. It felt predictable and a bit uninspired. Definitely one of my bottom two Henry books.

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Book Review, Fiction, Romance

This Spells Love by Kate Robb ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪
Genre: Romance

When Gemma finds herself drunk and crying over her breakup, she enlists the help of her sister, aunt, and best friend Dax to help her conduct a cleansing spell to erase her ex from her life. Lo and behold, Gemma wakes to find out that it was a little too powerful, and has sent her to an alternate reality where not only does her ex not know who she is, neither does Dax.

I appreciated the message behind this story about being thankful for the things you have in your life at the present moment. As Gemma sees what her life could be, she has to weigh that reality against the relationships she has lost because of the spell.

The romance in this book was so unrealistic. Dax goes from thinking Gemma is breaking into his store to suddenly being really into her pages later. Their flirting was so cringey and nothing about the relationship felt organic.

One thing that I love about this kind of book is seeing the person who time/line travels needing to navigate their new life and inevitably making mistakes. This was almost entirely glossed over in this book. Gemma picked everything up way too quickly, eliminating what could have been a great opportunity for more connection between her and her friends and family.

If you’re interested in a timeline hopping story, I’d suggest finding another one.

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