contemporary

A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan

3.5 rounded up to 4

This is a cute contemporary romance between two hyper focused people intent on building their businesses, even to the detriment of their love lives. Hailey and her ex-boyfriend are over, but her dream of opening up a salad shop is not. Her launch is not what she thought it would be, but she’s decided to do everything she can to make it a success. She’s got good ideas, but limited experience in running a business.

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April 8, 2023 0

The New One by Evie Green

This is an interesting Mystery/Thriller . Tamsyn & Ed barely make a living. They live in a cramped camper van with their teenage daughter Scarlett. The last year she’s been drinking, taking drugs & lashing out at her parents. One night as Scarlett flees home she’s hit by a car. She is on life-support & not getting better. Then a miracle happens. Ed & Tam are approached about a medical trial in Switzerland. An AI replacement will live with the couple as their daughter & if Scarlett gets better she will replace the AI in the family. They jump at the chance of a new life & are whisked away to Geneva where they are set up with everything they need to live a comfortable life. Better yet, the AI replacement, Sophie, looks & acts just like Scarlett before she changed into a hostile moody teenager. But, all is not as it seems, & as cracks in their new life begin to appear, they must decide if they want to know the truth, or stay in their blissful new life.

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April 8, 2023 0

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay

This was a fun, twisty mystery about three adults that grew up together in an abusive group home. After several kids went missing the group home was shut down and they all went their separate ways. All three became successful but troubled adults and had no contact with each other until someone started trying to kill them. They eventually get together to solve the mystery, causing them to re-live some of the trauma they endured growing up.

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March 23, 2023 0

It’s All Fun & Games (The Avernus Greys Book One) by P. Roper

I am a honored to be a stop on Romance me with Books’ book tour for this fun high school opposites-attract high school romance.

Malcolm is a star baseball player that is in danger of losing his eligibility to play due to bad grades. Malcolm’s father, the town’s mayor, hires another high school senior, Lennox, to tutor him. Malcolm is not interested in having a tutor or studying, but there is something about quirky, pink-hair, hippie-dressing Lennox that sparks his interest. Before long Lennox has Malcolm on a strict schedule and he’s making progress. But the gig does not come without problems. Bully cheerleader Melissa, who Malcolm had a one-night stand with, is jealous of Lennox and Malcolm spending time together. She and her minions set upon Lennox like the mean girls they are. When Lennox and Malcolm finally get together, they don’t know how to define their relationship, which causes friction between the two. Can an intelligent outsider and a popular athlete beat the odds and have a happily ever after?

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March 20, 2023 0

How I’ll Kill You by Ren Destefano

What the heck did I just read??? I finished the book a few days ago and had to just sit with it for awhile before I could write my review. The book is a a fascinating mystery/thriller/romance that I couldn’t stop reading it.

Sissy is one of a set of identical triplets. They were abandoned when they were newborns and lived their youth in separate foster homes until they aged out. Fiercely protective of each other, once they were free of the system they were determined to never be separated again. No matter what. When Iris is hurt by her boyfriend and kills him in a fit of rage, Sissy steps in to clean up the scene and the triplets’ plan to love men and leave them….dead, is born.

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March 19, 2023 0

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

3.5 stars

This was a dark mystery/thriller centered around five women’s attendance at a writing retreat with a famously reclusive writer. Once at the retreat location, they discover they need to complete an entirely new novel during their stay. They are given a strict writing schedule and seemingly impossible daily deadlines, but if they succeed, the winner will get a seven figure publishing deal and the mentor’s stamp of approval. It’s every woman for herself – until they start to die.

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March 19, 2023 0

Always the Almost by Edward Underhill

I loved this book so much!! Miles recently came out as trans, prompting his football star boyfriend Shane to break up with him. Miles is determined to get Shane back and beat his archnemesis in the Midwest’s biggest classical piano competition, all before the end of the year. To that end, Miles begins taking lessons with a new, terrifying piano teacher who tells him that he’s playing like he doesn’t know who he is. What? As Miles struggles with all the changes in his life, he meets new kid Eric. Eric is a talented cartoonist that is comfortable in his own skin and seems to get Miles, something Miles is not used to since he came out. After pretending to be a couple to get invited to a popular couples-only Valentine’s Day party, Miles and Eric’s fake kiss turns into something real. But this doesn’t fit into Miles plans, and besides, there has to be a catch as to why Eric likes him. Right?

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March 19, 2023 0

Wilder at Last (Wilder Adventures, #5) by Serena Bell

This is a cute opposites-attract, enemies-to-lovers rom com that is book 5 in a series, but can be read as a stand-alone. The book is an easy read and the cute teasing and banter between the main characters, Hannah and Easton, is a fun read.

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March 12, 2023 0

A Killing of Innocents (Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James, #19) by Deborah Crombie

This is a very good mystery/thriller set in London following the investigation of Scotland Yard detectives into the murder of a young medical resident. As they look into the victim’s personal life, another stabbing occurs, putting the City in a panic. This is the 19th book in the series, but can be read as a stand alone. I admit I was a bit lost on most of the character interplay and their personal lives, but there is enough back story that I got the basics of what was going on. Even though I wasn’t familiar with the characters, I still got caught up in what they were going through and liked them.

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February 8, 2023 0