Category Archives: Love Story or Romance

All I Want For Christmas is the Girl Next Door [Book Review]

October 27, 2021

All I Want For Christmas is the Girl Next Door by Chelsea Bobulski

All I Want For Christmas is the Girl Next Door by Chelsea Bobulski (cover) Image: white text on a red background.....a scene of snow and small homes at the bottom margin

Genre/Categories/Setting: Fiction, Contemporary Romance. YA, Christmas, Virginia

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thanks #NetGalley @WiseWolfBooks for a complimentary eARC of #AllIWantForChristmasIsTheGirlNextDoor upon my request. All opinions are my own.

Sixteen-year-old Graham has been in love with Sarah, the girl next door, for several years. However, she’s been dating his best friend for the last two years. Graham makes a wish upon a star….all he wants for Christmas is Sarah. In the morning, Graham wakes to a new reality…..he is the one that has been dating Sarah for two years, not his best friend. As he spends more time with Sarah, he wonders whether or not they are right for each other. Further complicating the situation is that Graham is spending a lot of enjoyable time with the new girl in town.

My Thoughts:

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The House Swap [Book Review]

September 24, 2021

The House Swap by Jo Lovett

The House Swap by Jo Lovett (cover) Image: white text on a salmon background...graphic images of a young man and woman above the title

Genre/Categories/Settings: Light Women’s Contemporary Fiction, Romance/Rom-Com, Luxury Flat in London/Beach House in Maine

My Summary:

Cassie needs to work with her agent in London for a few months and James needs a break from London and has work he can do in Boston. They meet on a house swapping website when each other’s home seems like the answer to their search. They are quite opposite in every way: personality, lifestyle, and attitudes. This deal leads to humorous communication and house swapping experiences. Do opposites attract?

My Thoughts:

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Snowflakes Over the Starfish Cafe [Book Review]

August 27, 2021

Snowflakes Over the Starfish Café by Jessica Redland

Snowflakes Over the Starfish Cafe by Jessica Redland (cover) Image: a young man and woman sit outside at a table near a rustic cafe near a cove of water and a lighthouse

Genre/Categories/Setting: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Family Life, Romance, North Yorkshire Coast

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thanks #NetGalley @bookandtonic @boldwoodbooks for a complimentary eARC of #SnowflakesOverTheStarfishCafe upon my request. All opinions are my own.

“Mum had built a legacy around warmth and friendship and I was determined to keep that going.”

Hollie has inherited the Starfish Cafe and works hard at retaining the traditional warmth and friendliness of the small, family-owned, community cafe where everyone knows your name. A fluffy, cute dog causes Hollie and Jake to meet. Both Hollie and Jake are dealing with loss and grief and are hesitant to risk love again. Will they find the courage to trust each other, build a strong friendship, move past loneliness and fear, and find love?

My Thoughts:

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Wait For It [Book Review]

August 6, 2021

Wait For It by Jenn McKinlay

Wait For It by Jenn McKinlay (coveer) Image: a young man and young woman float in a pool surrounded by desert landscape

Genre/Categories: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Romance

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thanks #NetGalley @BerkleyPub #BerkleyBuddyReads #BerkleyWritesStrongWomen for a complimentary eARC of #WaitForIt upon my request. All opinions are my own. (Pub Date 8.10.2021)

Annabelle is looking for a fresh start after breaking up with her boyfriend and moves from Boston to Arizona to work as a creative director in a graphic design company that her best friend owns. She rents a guest house on a beautiful property from a quirky, rule-centered, and reclusive landlord, Nick. Annabelle has some surprises in store when she meets Nick and also faces challenges on the new job with a hostile, undermining, and jealous co-worker. Will this move to Arizona work out for her?

My Thoughts:

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A Place Like Home [Book Review]

July 26, 2021

A Place Like Home by Rosamunde Pilcher

A Place Like Home by Rosamunde Pilcher (cover) white text on a dark blue background, a group of large light colored blossoms fill the center right

Genre/Categories: Fiction, Short Story Collection, Women’s Fiction, Up-Lit

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thanks #NetGalley @MacmillanAudio for a complimentary ALC (audio) of #APlaceLikeHome upon my request. All opinions are my own.

A Place Like Home is a collection of fifteen short stories by popular author, Rosamunde Pilcher (most likely your mother’s favorite author!). These stories were published in magazines and are now in book form for the first time. Each one explores different romantic stories (chaste) between couples that are married or courting or meeting for the first time (insta-love).  All are poignant and quietly told with Pilcher’s trademark skill for describing time and place.

My Thoughts:

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A Summer Wedding For the Cornish Midwife [Book Review]

June 29, 2021

A Summer Wedding For the Cornish Midwife by Jo Bartlett

A Summer Wedding For the Cornish Midwife by Jo Bartlett (cover) Image: a young woman stands on a bluff holding a bouquet of flowers and overlooking a small coastal village

Genre/Categories/Setting: Light contemporary women’s fiction, Romance, Small town/Cornish coast, Midwifery, Up-lit

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

#2 in the Cornish Midwives series. The highly anticipated wedding of Anna and Brae needs to be postponed due to a fire at the venue. However, close friends and community pull together to save the wedding.

My Thoughts:

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Very Sincerely Yours [Book Review]

June 11, 2021

 Very Sincerely Yours by Kerry Winfrey

Very Sincerely Yours by Kerry Winfrey (cover) a graphic image of a young man and young soman sitting on either side of a large red typewriter

Genre/Categories: Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Friendship, Chick-Lit

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thanks #NetGalley @BerkleyPub #BerkelyWritesStrongWomen #BerkleyBuddyReads for a complimentary eARC of #VerySincerelyYours upon my request. All opinions are my own.

A new release from the author of Waiting For Tom Hanks, Kerry Winfrey. Thirty-something Teddy Phillips works at a vintage toy store. She has just been unexpectedly dumped by her boyfriend and her guilty pleasures are Taco Bell takeout, Bath and Body Works pumpkin pecan waffle scented candles, couch pillows, and watching a children’s (muppet) TV show hosted by Everett St. James, a hot and irresistible Mr. Rogers. Everett often reads letters from children who write to him with questions, so one day Teddy decides to email  Everett with her own questions. Everett is charmed by her emails and Teddy appreciates his sensible and wise advice. They develop a lovely online friendship, and Everett suggests they meet. Before they can arrange it, their worlds accidentally collide (meet-cute gone wrong). Of course only one of them knows the truth. As this story is inspired by You’ve Got Mail, we can predict that their identities will be fully revealed and then they will need to navigate a new IRL relationship.

Bath and Body Works pumpkin pecan waffles scented 3 wick candle

My Thoughts:

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Talk Bookish To Me [Book Review]

May 26, 2021

Talk Bookish To Me by Kate Bromley

Talk Bookish To Me by Kate Bromley (cover) (mage: yellow title against a blue background.....a graphic of a young woman riding a bike across the pages of an open book

Genre/Categories: Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Romance, Rom-Com

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thanks #NetGalley @HarlequinBooks for a complimentary eARC of #TalkBookishToMe upon my request. All opinions are my own.

Kara is a romance writer and her best friend is getting married. Pressure mounts as a deadline for her next novel is approaching along with the typical wedding stress and activities. What she wasn’t expecting was for her first love, Ryan, to be a part of the bridal party. Although this unexpected meeting is uncomfortable, his appearance does spark some creative writing and adds some steam to her historical fiction work in progress. Maybe she should embrace this turn of events which would facilitate her writing and ease tensions in the wedding party. Could she save her career and create her own happy ending?

My Thoughts:

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Beth and Amy [Book Review]

May 25, 2021

Beth and Amy by Virginia Kantra

Beth &n Amy by Virginia Kantra (cover) Image: pink text on a seafoam green background...graphic images of young women (playing a guitar, walking a dog, walking, standing next to a goat)

Genre/Categories: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Retelling

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thanks #NetGalley @BerkleyPub #BerkleyWritesStrongWomen #BerkleyBuddyReads for a complimentary eARC of #BethAndAmy upon my request. All opinions are my own.

Beth & Amy, a modern retelling of Little Women, is the sequel to Meg & Jo. For full reading satisfaction, I recommend reading them in order.

In this modern retelling, Amy March is a fashion designer in New York and Beth. a talented singer and song writer, is touring with a country music super star. The family reunites for Jo’s wedding and the March sisters once again appreciate the love and support of family as well as the strong bonds of sisterhood.

My Thoughts:

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The Ballynoon Friendship Circle [Book Review]

May 20, 2021

The Ballynoon Friendship Circle by Pauline Morgan

The Ballynoon Friendship Circle by Pauline Morgan (cover) Image: text above and below a graphic image of a quaint small village

Genre/Categories/Settings: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary fiction, Quirky Characters, Romance, Ireland

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Recently widowed and fifty-year-old retired teacher Edel Marston finds a dream cottage in a magazine and makes an impulsive, life-changing decision to move back to Northern Ireland. Faced with a decrepit cottage, a rude neighbor, and no friends, Edel questions the wisdom of her decision and worries that a past secret from her youth might make her the subject of town gossip. Collecting her nerve and embracing a proactive mindset, she joins the local over 50s club (self-named the “Stitch and Bitch” group). The ladies are friendly but gossipy, so she’s reluctant to share details of her private life…..especially a romantic interest in her neighbor, an unpopular member of the community. Can Edel trust her new circle of friends or should she keep her personal life private? Is it too soon after losing her husband to pursue romance?

My Thoughts:

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