The Ex Talk is an enemies-to-lovers fake relationship romance set in the world of public radio. It is also something of a belated coming of age story. Shay Goldstein has been working at Pacific Public Radio for ten years, beginning as the ‘wunderkind’ intern, and rising to the role of producer of the station’s flagship show, Puget Sounds. She loves public radio for its ability to tell stories that connect personally with listeners, and for … Continue reading The Ex Talk by Rachel Solomon →
Mr Right Across the Street is a very sweet, very hot, slow-burn romance. Mia Abbott is building a new life in Manchester, where she has moved after her last relationship ended in the kind of unpleasantries that lead to changing cities and phone numbers. For the first time in her life, she is living alone and far from her family, and she is enjoying the opportunity to rediscover herself as an independent woman. She is … Continue reading Mr. Right Across The Street by Kathryn Freeman →
CW/TW: The hero’s client is a piece of work, who sexually harrasses his assistant, among many, many other women. This happens off the page, but we do see the fall out, and it isn’t handled as well as it could be. Proceed with caution. The Way You Hold Me is a gentle, low-tension, second chance romance between publicist Skye Palmer and crisis manager Garrett Steele. They dated ten years ago, but then Garrett’s mother died, … Continue reading The Way You Hold Me by Elle Wright →
Her Pretend Christmas Date is a novella comprised almost entirely of Catherine catnip. I am an absolute sucker for White Christmas settings, I love me a Fake Relationship (especially when they come with Only One Bed), I adore a buttoned-up hero who gets completely unravelled by a messy heroine but do you know what I really love? A Christmas gathering that devolves into a gingerbread house making competition that is run, commentated on and judged … Continue reading Her Pretend Christmas Date by Jackie Lau →
CW/TW: abortion consideration, biphobia from parent Finn is out of prison, building a new life for herself far away in Austin. When she visits a low-income clinic to get a prescription for migraine meds, Finn runs into the one person she least expects to see: Vivi, the nurse Finn worked alongside for two years at the prison’s pharmacy. Finn was devastated eight months ago when Vivi stopped showing up for work one day with no … Continue reading Get It Right by Skye Kilaen →
This seems to be the year of great romances between fabulous fat women and Hollywood heartthrobs. If The Boot Fits continued the party Olivia Dade’s Spoiler Alert started for me. This second book in Weatherspoon’s Cowboys of California series returns to a luxury SoCal ranch setting, with two characters who are stuck in their Hollywood careers. Sam Pleasant is a movie star who just won an Oscar for a film he’s ambivalent about, and is … Continue reading If the Boot Fits by Rebekah Weatherspoon →
Tara: This book is so freaking cute, it should be illegal. And luckily, Aarya agrees with me, so we’re talking about it together! Written in the Stars is an opposites attract, fake relationship romance between Darcy Lowell, an actuary, and Elle Jones, an astrologer. Elle is working with Darcy’s brother, Brendon, on a project and he insists on setting them up on a blind date because they’re both single (also, as the founder of the … Continue reading Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur →
Wrong Number, Right Woman came to me at exactly the right time. I was ready for a romance with zero angst and adorkable characters, and boy howdy did this deliver. It’s so gentle and sweet, it’s like a warm hug and I enjoyed it very much. Denny is a thoroughly lovely, super-awkward butch lesbian. She’s co-raising her niece with her sister, works at a grocery store, and has a giant crush on her niece’s cute … Continue reading Wrong Number, Right Woman by Jae →
The Secret Ingredient’s premise appealed to me because it has two chefs falling in love in a small town. I expected a fun comfort read and was pleasantly surprised when it delivered more than that, especially through one of the leads, Adah. Adah Campbell’s excited for a fresh start with her son, Pete, in South Bay, Maine. After working her way up from greasy spoons to fine dining restaurants in Chicago over the last decade, … Continue reading The Secret Ingredient by KD Fisher →
With thanks to Tara. The Love Study is a romance between Declan, who swore off romance after leaving his boyfriend at the altar six years ago, and Sidney, who has no interest in dating, but who does have a YouTube channel called ‘Your Spinster Uncle’ where they provide relationship advice. (Sidney is gender nonconforming and prefers they/them pronouns). Declan might be commitment-phobic, but he is also 29 and beginning to wonder if he would, in … Continue reading The Love Study by Kris Ripper →
Content warnings: Everyone in this book is reacting, one way or another, to the death of Susan’s mother at the start of the book. There is a character with disordered eating and she plays a large role in the book. Another character has untreated anxiety which manifests itself as hypochondria. There is also an enormous amount of snobbery and classism. 2020 seems to be the year for food-themed, contemporary re-tellings of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, and … Continue reading All Stirred Up by Brianne Moore →
