Recent Reads: Romances
This is the first of a 3 part series to highlight some of the books I read June-August of this year. I moved to a new house and adopted another rescue dog so things have been a little too chaotic for monthly wrap-ups this summer, but they’ll return starting September. For the next few weeks I’ll be playing catch up on everything I’ve read since May which was way too much for one post so I’m splitting them by genre. If romance isn’t your thing feel free to pop back when I post my recent thriller reads or my hodgepodge list of fantasy and contemporary reads. However; I believe at least a few of these books will be appealing to those that don’t normally drift toward romance.
Take a Hint, Dani Brown, and Act Your Age Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert - These are books 2 & 3 of the Brown sisters series. The first one is Get A Life Chloe Brown which I read last year and didn’t super love. I kept hearing about these books though so I thought I’d pick up the others and I thought they were so great. Having loved these I may go back and give Chloe’s story another try.
Take a Hint, Dani Brown follows middle sister Danika as she works her way up the academic ladder. Having achieved a masters degree she is working toward her Ph.D and the upcoming opportunity to speak at a symposium with one of her heroes. She doesn’t want any distractions from her goals and she doesn’t believe she has the emotional ability to be a good girlfriend so she finds herself seeking a friend with benefits and looks no further than the security guard at the building where she teaches her classes. Unfortunately for Dani, Zafir, current security guard and former rugby professional, sees Dani as perfect girlfriend material, or at least fake girlfriend to keep up appearances after a video of them goes viral. This book was equal parts funny and heart wrenching and I really enjoyed it. 3.75/5 stars
Book 3 in this series features Eve Brown. Eve has struggled to find her passion and follow through with her goals thus far in her life, but when her parents give her a wake up call she runs away to the lake district where she finds a delightful B&B in need of a cook. The owner, Jacob, is not interested in hiring someone who wandered in off the street with purple hair and an obscene t-shirt no matter how qualified she is or how desperately he needs help but when she accidentally hits him with her car as she’s leaving he has no other option but to have her stick around and assist until he recovers. Of course, in the way that romance novels go they don’t stay mortal enemies for long. 4.25/5 stars
Reputation by Lex Croucher (Available now in the UK, coming to the US April 2022) - This was such a fun read! It follows Georgiana Ellers who has been left with her aunt and uncle after her parents decided to move to the seaside without her. In a new town, Georgiana is thrilled to find a group of friends that bring the fun and debauchery she had been craving in her lonely bookish life. However; she soon learns that things are a little more high stakes than she signed up for. This book is like Mean Girls meets Jane Austen and goes off to a college known for its raging parties. It has an anachronistic charm and characters that are fleshed out and well-rounded. I’ll say the central romance wasn’t nearly as prevalent as I expected it to be. It felt less like Georgiana’s love story and more of her coming of age tale featuring a dashing gentleman, but I nevertheless enjoyed it quite a bit! 4/5 stars
Roasline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall - I’ve been looking forward to this book for a while. I read Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall last year and it was one of my favorite books of 2020 so when I heard she was publishing a new book that takes place in a fictional version of my favorite show Great British Bake Off I knew I had to read it ASAP. Rosaline Palmer is a single mother who has been picked to be a contestant on a televised baking competition. She is in desperate need of the funding and business opportunities that would come from winning the grand prize, but she is distracted from her goals by a fellow contestant (or two).
I loved the setting of this book and the characters were delightful. The only thing I didn’t love is that I felt one third of the love triangle present throughout the story was too clearly a villain. I think it was made a little too obvious to everyone (except Rosaline I guess) how terrible he was. Other than that I loved the characters, particularly Rosaline’s daughter Amelie, and how well paced the story was. The parts set inside the world of the show and the parts outside the show with friends and family troubles blended together seamlessly and I think it was very well done. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy contemporary romance/romcom books and also Bake Off, but I wouldn’t necessarily shout from the rooftops about it like I would for Boyfriend Material. 4/5 stars
Isn’t It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams - This is the fourth book in The Bromance Book Club series which is one of my favorite romance series. I’ve talked about these books quite a bit, but they’re centered around a group of Nashville’s elite men (professional athletes, business owners, musicians, etc) who all meet together to read romance novels to help them find or fix the romantic relationship of their dreams. This particular installment focuses on the Russian hockey player Vladimir who is involved in a marriage of convenience. His wife, Elena, is a childhood friend from their hometown in Russia. Her father was a journalist who suddenly went missing and when Elena needed to leave the country Vlad married her and brought her to the US. Vlad was hoping their marriage convenience would lead to one of love but in the years since they moved to the US that hasn’t happened and now Elena is planning to move back to Russia to figure out the truth of what happened to her father. Her plans are put on hold when Vlad breaks his leg and needs someone to help him out around the house. This gives them the opportunity to figure out once and for all what they mean to each other and what the future holds for them.
I absolutely love these books and this one was no exception. The guys are so funny and such great friends to each other and the story was both heartwarming and thrilling in a really interesting way. I recommend this series to any romance fans. 4.5/5 stars
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang (Release date August 31, 2021) - This was my August Book of the Month pick. I’d previously read Hoang’s book The Kiss Quotient and this book features the best friend of the love interest from that story so it was fun seeing that couple pop up peripherally. The Heart Principle is about violinist, Anna, who had a video of her playing go viral on the internet and is now floundering under all of her newfound fame and success. Her long term boyfriend informs her that he wants to try having an open relationship so he can be sure that Anna is really the person he wants to marry. Anna takes that news and decides to channel her hurt and anger into having a string of one night stands. However; when she meets Quan on a dating site their first (and second and third) attempt at a one night stand fails and then suddenly Anna finds herself more deeply attached to her fling than she intended.
This was an enjoyable read. I wasn’t completely obsessed with it though. I think that it was almost too similar to the dynamics of The Kiss Quotient. However; I do appreciate the exploration of mental health and the commentary on the weight of familial obligations and expectations that it provided. 3/5 stars
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston - Casey McQuiston’s previous novel Red, White, and Royal Blue is beloved and much hyped so this was a highly anticipated release for many people. It follows August, a 23 year old who hasn’t really found her passion or direction yet in life. She has recently moved to Brooklyn to try a new school. As she settles in with her new roommates and her new diner job she begins noticing a girl, Jane, who is always on the subway when she commutes. As August’s train crush develops she realizes that Jane is actually displaced in time. She got on this train in the 70s and has been stuck ever since. Suddenly their burgeoning love story becomes an effort to free her from the loop she’s in, but they don’t know the consequences that could come if they succeed.
This book was funny and lighthearted while also managing to maneuver some heavy topics and I loved the conflict presented with the dilemma that if they manage to get Jane off the truck and unstuck in time she could end up back in the 70s or gone forever. I haven’t read a lot of contemporary romance that also features an element of supernatural so that was interesting to try even if it’s not something I’ll seek out again. There were also some romantic entanglements that I would certainly not ever want to be involved with anywhere near the cesspool that is a New York City subway car, but other than that I really liked this one! 3.5/5 stars
Have you read any romances lately? Let me know!
