Fat Stack Friday July 24, 2026

 

Check out my goodies from this week!

Kindle:

Every Version of You by Natalie Messier

I heard good things about this one so I grabbed it to give it a try.

Love You More by Emily Giffin

This one was popular with my NetGalley crowd but I was worried about grabbing an author I didn't know so I waited on it.

A Christmas of Chaos (Hades X Persephone #7.5) by Scarlett St. Clair

Love this world and I didn't even know this existed. Wish I could get it on audio!

NetGalley/Edelweiss/Booktrovert:

Atral Alignment by Randall Sharpe

Won this on Booktrovert. Don't really know what it's about!

Avan Enters the Group Chap by Emma St. Clair

I requested this and was approved in about 10 minutes! I'm so excited because I really loved the last book I read by this author.

Empire (Heir Duology #2) by Sabaa Tahir 

Loved the first book in this series and I was excited to be approved on Edelweiss as I don't get many books on there.

Lost and Found by Tarah Deweitt

I have this on Kindle but I love to do immersive reads! I will start this one today!

Make Me Hate You by Kandi Steiner

I recently read Love Overboard by this author and enjoyed it. This one looks like a kindle book but it's actually audio.

Rabbit Rabbit by Jennifer E. Smith

This author is hit or miss for me with her adult books but I enjoyed the last one so I figured why not?

Save a Horse by Jen Doyle

This one was recommended to me by the publisher and it looks cute. I love a cowboy romance!

The View from Here by Kasie West

I love me some West! I've only read one book by her I wasn't thrilled with so I hope this one doesn't go in that pile.

The Wretched Divine (The Wretched Divine #1) by Adalyn Grace

Haven't read this author yet but see people posting a lot about her books.

In the Mail:

My FairyLoot sub came yesterday. I actually meant to skip this one but kind of happy I didn't because of the Sophie Kim book. I had an early copy of the other book and, while this version is pretty, I actually DNF'd it. So I might put this one up for grabs on one of the sell sites!

What did you get:

ARC Review: Spellcast (A Fire In The Sky #3) by Sophie Jordan

 

New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan is back with an epic romantasy set in the world of A Fire in the Sky, about a girl on the hunt for the witch who cursed her, unaware of her own dormant power…waiting to emerge.

For ten long years, Arden has been invisible, trapped in her village by a spell she cannot break. She listens to friends chatter, watches her family grieve, but can never touch, speak, or be seen. Living like a ghost among those who’ve forgotten her, she dreams of vengeance against the witch who cursed her.

Until one fateful day, her village is devoured in flame, and everything changes.

From the wreckage rises a pride of dragons that can transform into humans. Their piercing eyes slice through her curse, and for the first time in a decade, Arden can be seen.

Swept off to the Crags by the enigmatic alpha dragon, Tage, Arden is forced into a world of fire and power, where danger lurks in every shadow. Though she plots her escape at every turn, Tage’s fiery intensity and undeniable magnetism spark an unwilling response in her.

But Arden’s fate is bound to a secret she has yet to uncover, a magic older and more perilous than she could ever imagine. With war on the horizon, Arden must decide whether to trust the dragon she swore to defy, harness the wild magic around her, or risk losing everything.

Sometimes all it takes to break a curse… is to cast another spell.

Title: Spellcast (A Fire In The Sky #3)

Author: Sophie Jordan

Publisher:

Expected Publication Date:

Review:

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager/Avon, Avon Audio Adult/Avon, and NetGalley for providing me with an audio and kindle copy of this title to listen to/read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I really should have listened to myself when I thought I wasn't sure I wanted to read this. I adored the first book in this series but the second book fell short. I had hope this one would do the series right. But I have a thing for Sophie Jordan and wanted to give this a try because I had hopes she would change my mind after book 2 of the series. This one is set in the same world but it's a totally different cast of characters. And the feel of the story is also totally different than the vibe of the other two books.

I had both an audio and kindle copy of this book so I chose to do an immersive read. I really enjoyed the narrator Fiona Hardingham. I've listened to other books by her and so I knew I'd like the way she would narrate. I will say often times I had to turn the volume down when she turned her vocal volume up because it was jarring on my ears. But overall I did enjoy her portrayal of the characters and the story line.

I will say this story could be read as a stand alone, though having the background of the other two books made it more understandable. I would not say this is a third book. I'd classify this as an extra story in the series.

The first part of this book is Arden going through the motions of being totally invisible to all those around her after wishing it to be true. Chapter after chapter of her doing the same thing over and over again and nothing changing. What's the definition of insanity again? It was SO SLOW. I literally didn't even want to keep turning pages. I almost opted to DNF many times but pushed through. I really think this could have ben shortened and tightened up. The second part definitely takes a better turn but I still wasn't totally happy with how long it took to get there. It put a bad taste in my mouth and kind of ruined what could have been a great story for me.

I did love the dragon part and I can see what Jordan was trying to do with this story. And, as with the other two books, I enjoyed the magic of it all.

Overall, I'm not sure I will continue with this series as I've now had two duds with it. I really want to love it but I just am not sure Jordan can turn it around for me.

2.5 stars rounded to 3

Author:

Sophie Jordan took her adolescent daydreaming one step further and penned her first historical romance in the back of her high school Spanish class. This passion led her to pursue a degree in English and History.

A brief stint in law school taught her that case law was not nearly as interesting as literature - teaching English seemed the natural recourse. After several years teaching high school students to love Antigone, Sophie resigned with the birth of her first child and decided it was time to pursue the long-held dream of writing.

In less than three years, her first book, Once Upon A Wedding Night, a 2006 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Nominee for Best First Historical, hit book shelves. Her second novel, Too Wicked To Tame, released in March 2007 with a bang, landing on the USA Today Bestseller's List.

ARC Review: Wild Goose Chase by Sarah Adler

 

An antique dealer and his inconvenient(ly irresistible) new colleague must contend with an illicit stuffed goose and their sizzling attraction, from USA Today bestselling author Sarah Adler.

Antique store owner Callahan Leitner has an illegal taxidermy goose in his living room.

Why? It’s…complicated.

But it may end his career unless he finds a legitimate way to dispose of the bird ASAP. Unfortunately, there’s an unexpected wrench in his plans—the frustrating, effervescent Annie O’Neill.

Annie is happy to fill in for her uncle at his antique store; it’s the perfect opportunity to gain more experience before opening a shop of her own, and to finally meet his handsome young business partner. Unfortunately, Cal is nothing like the charming man she expected. She’s tempted to take his apparent dislike personally, until she stumbles upon the source of his the contraband waterfowl hiding upstairs.

When the goose goes missing, it puts both of their professional reputations on the line. As Cal and Annie attempt to track down the bird before it can be traced back to the store, their tentative alliance turns into something much deeper. Will the hunt for their felonious fowl lead to true love, or end in ruin?

Title: Wild Goose Chase

Author: Sarah Adler

Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group

Expected Publication Date: July 28, 2026

Review:

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Who doesn't like a good goose hunt? This was my first Sarah Adler book and it was fun. 

Callahn Leitner spent 15 years with the same woman until one day, it wasn't working. But when she calls him to come help her and her husband with something, he doesn't hesitate. And when that something is a very illegal stuffed goose, he assures her he can set things right. Annie O'Neil is Cal's partner's niece and has come to help him for a month while the partner is off getting married. When Annie accidentally finds out about the goose, she agrees to help Cal figure out the mystery of where it came from and how to handle it. When the goose goes missing and they start chasing it's whereabouts all over Baltimore, an attraction ensues.

I have to say I did like the characters in this book. They were fun and quirky. I did feel like Cal was different on the page in many of the chapters. Sometimes forward, sometimes bashful. But all the time tightly wound. Annie is a free spirit who has always relied on her looks and sexual prowess to keep her moving forward, making herself smaller than who she truly is. But she's tired of it and has decided to just be herself and have that be enough. The character development is mostly there but not totally there. I wish Cal's background was more concrete than what Adler chose to give us. And Annie's background just revolves around all the boyfriends she's had to make herself small for, but we don't see how that initially happened.

The side characters were fun. I wish we could have gotten to know some of them a bit better.

I didn't truly feel the chemistry in this book. It was all tell and now show. I needed more tension. I wanted to feel them falling for each other but it just wasn't totally there for me.

The banter was cute. I giggled a few times. 

The pacing was a bit slower for me. While the goose chase was fun, sometimes the chapters felt stagnant.

I liked the flashbacks to Ora and her involvement in the goose debacle.

Overall this one had a great premise but kind of missed the mark for me. I felt like some of the chapters really didn't push the story forward. And the spicy scenes weren't really vibing for me, probably due to the lack of chemistry I felt between the FMC and MMC. I won't rule out reading more books by this author in the future because I did enjoy the writing. And I seem to be the minority with my rating so give it a try if you find the premise interesting or love the author.

Author:

USA Today bestselling author Sarah Adler writes romantic comedies about lovable weirdos finding their happily ever afters. She lives in Maryland with her husband, daughter, and very mischievous cat. When not working, you can find her attempting to course-correct an ill-advised late afternoon nap with an equally ill-advised late afternoon coffee, as she is incapable of ever learning a lesson.

ARC Review: Yes, Chef by Grace Reilly

 

The Bear meets It Happened One Summer in this delicious new romance from USA Today bestselling author Grace Reilly, in which a down-on-his-luck chef and a determined social media maven strike a reluctant deal to bring a beloved restaurant back to life.

If you can’t take the heat…get out of the kitchen.

After a public meltdown in the dining room of one of Manhattan’s most elite restaurants, Chef Jack Hartman is back in his South Florida hometown. Angry, grieving, and saddled with the unwanted storefront his late mentor left him, his life is spinning out of control. And that’s before Poppy Winfield, the blond, bubbly, utterly infuriating daughter of his former boss, shows up at his dock.

Poppy needs to escape. From her disapproving family, her horrible ex-boyfriend, and her reputation as someone who has never taken anything seriously. But more than that, she wants to prove herself—and she has just the plan to do it. Unfortunately, that plan involves Jack Hartman, the most arrogant, prickly, intimidating man she’s ever had the pleasure of throwing a shrimp at.

She knows Jack is desperate to come back from his unceremonious firing, so she proposes a working together to open a revamped version of his mentor’s restaurant. He’ll handle the menu, and she’ll use her skill as a social media influencer to sell the hell out of its grand opening. If she and Jack can make the restaurant a success, it’ll be an accomplishment no one can deny—and a ticket for them both to return to New York.

Jack is intrigued, but only on his if Poppy’s going to work for him, she must learn the ropes of the entire business. Including how to cook. From him.

As sparks fly both in and out of the kitchen and tensions reach a boiling point, Poppy and Jack are left wondering--could they be a perfect pairing? Or is this whole experiment a recipe for disaster?


TROPES

Grumpy-sunshine

Forced proximity

Friends with benefits

Opposites attract

Found family

Title: Yes, Chef

Author: Grace Reilly

Publisher: Harper Audio Adult/Avon/Avon Harper Voyager

Publication Date: July 21, 2026

Review:

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Adult Audio/Avon/Avon Harper Voyager for providing me with a copy of this title to read/listen to and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I will be honest and what drew me to this title was the cover. It is just stunning. And once you get into the story a bit, you start to understand the symbolism of it. This is my first Reilly title and I was excited to give her a try. 

I'll start by talking a bit about the narration portion of this title. I didn't love it. While I liked the narrators enough, it was super hard to hear the male narrator much of the time as his voice was super low. I kept having to turn the volume way up and then rewind over and over again to catch what he said. I got about 10% into the audio before I gave up and decided to switch to print. I will say the print read much better than the audio for me so if I were to suggest this book to anyone, it would not be to read it in the audio format.

I loved the concept of this book. I don't know much about being a chef, but I've seen some shows that have caught my interest and I wanted to see how something like that would play out on paper. I enjoyed the food part, the preparation, etc. It was interesting and I learned a thing or two I had no idea about. But once the story got going, I had a really hard time staying focused enough to care about what was happening. 

Poppy is a social media influencer whose family is in the restaurant business. When she has a blow out with her boyfriend for all to see, she steps back to try and figure out her life. Enter Jack Hartman, a chef at her father's well known restaurant, who also has a blow out at the same restaurant, at the same time, and loses his job over it. With nothing to lose, and a restaurant inherited from his father figure, Jack goes to Florida to try and revive the restaurant and Poppy ends up tagging along with him. As the two spend time together, they grow closer and eventually give in to their mutual attraction. 

I can honestly say I didn't love either of these characters. Poppy is interesting enough but she just doesn't grow enough in the book for me to care about her development. She's definitely a spoiled brat who is learning a hard lesson but I didn't connect with her at all. Jack was just a jerk overall. and honestly quite mean. I understand he has trauma and he wasn't really dealing well with it, but there's a point where it just gets old and you want the character to start to learn some lessons. He needed to earn my trust and show me he could be better than he originally comes off and that just never happened for me. I didn't care for him at all. I thought I would warm up to him eventually, as he and Poppy got closer, but he just rubbed me the wrong way. I love a grumpy x sunshine book but it just wasn't fun to watch their interactions.

I also had issue with the romantic chemistry in this book. I see the author was trying to make it a slow burn but it really just came off as slow in general. There was no real foundation for their romantic interest in one another. The characters just kept telling us about how sexy the other character was or how pretty or muscular. While they actual romance didn't take place until half way through the book, I never really felt the build up before that. I wanted banter and push and pull but all I got was descriptions of how their close proximity while in the kitchen made them want each other. 

I also had issue with the ADHD representation. This book could have been such a great opportunity to address this neurodivergence but it just felt like it was used to try and make the book interesting rather than showing the research I wanted to see the author put into it. For someone who has a neurodivergent child, it was totally unrealistic and misrepresented.

I do see a lot of great reviews for this book so even though it wasn't my cup of tea, I'm sure it will resonate with others. There were times it was good, and I thought I'd get into it and it would take off for me. But then that momentum would come to a grinding halt and I just didn't care what was going on.

2.5 rounded to 3 stars

Author:

Hi! I’m Grace.

I’m so glad you’re here! Originally from Long Island, I now live in Florida, where I pretend the lizards in my backyard are miniature dragons and soak up the sunshine. I can usually be found with a notebook in one hand and a paperback (or my Kindle!) in another. A storyteller at heart with a deep romantic streak, I write what I love to read: stories filled with swoon and steam, laughter and love, family and friendships, and authentic, earnest emotions and growth. I love drawing on my personal passions for my books, which is how my sports fanaticism resulted in the Beyond the Play series.

More about me: I collect earrings, the quirkier the better. I never turn down a good mint chocolate chip ice cream. I listen to way too much sports talk radio. And I adore writing about couples who are stronger together.

Most Anticipated Releases Tuesday July 21, 2026

 

Here are the books I'm excited about this week.

Not That Kind of Proposal by Victoria Lavine

Lavine's first book cemented her as an auto-read author for me. I was super excited to see her publishing a second book. I got to read it early and I was not disappointed in the least. Let me tell you it has one of the sexiest sex scenes I've ever read. Check out my thoughts HERE.

Married With Benefits by Ellie Palmer

I've loved all the books I've read by Palmer. I was excited to get an early copy of this and you can see why I loved it HERE.

Yes, Chef by Grace Reilly

This book has such a cute premise. I got both an audio and kindle early read and, while it had it's moments, it was just ok for me. See why HERE at 8am ET today!

What about you?

ARC Review: Married With Benefits by Ellie Palmer

 

"I’ll devour anything Ellie Palmer writes." —Jessica Joyce, USA Today bestselling author of The Ex Vows

A trope-filled delight of a rom com about two strangers who enter into a marriage of convenience that becomes anything but convenient.

For better or worse is just the beginning.

Lainey Davis can't wait for the day she'll be able to escape her tiny Wisconsin town. But she’s not even close to covering her health insurance premiums and pricey migraine medication, let alone saving up enough to start over some place new. That is, until Lainey learns that through the archaic legal doctrine of adverse possession, she’s inadvertently squatted her way into owning a marvel of modern architecture.

But Lainey owns only the house. The surrounding property, a lakeside money pit the previous owner used as a front to deal illegal reptiles, has been willed to Elliot Hodges, a D.C. architect who wants to rent out the place to fellow architecture lovers. Their assets are tied together, but neither can move forward without the other.

Desperate, Elliot proposes an unconventional arrangement: marry him for health insurance and in exchange, Lainey will allow him to buy her out. Win-win: Lainey will finally have a way out of town, and he’ll own the house designed by his idol. Married in name only and living together while fixing up the property, Lainey and Elliot find themselves unable to keep their hopes, dreams, or bedsheets from getting entwined. And as their connection grows, Lainey’s no longer sure what’s more terrifying: leaving Elliot behind or letting him in.

Titel: Married With Benefits

Author: Ellie Palmer

Publisher
Expected Publication Date:

Review:

Thank you to Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Ellie Palmer quickly moved into my auto-read/auto-buy author nook when I read her first book. She hooked me and reeled me in. So I knew I would love anything else she writes. And I wasn't wrong. This book hit me with all the feels!

Lainey Davis makes her way in the world one moment at a time: scheming and finding any way she can manage to make a buck. She wants to escape her small town in Wisconsin but just can't find a break. Especially when it comes to affording the medicine for her chronic condition. Enter Elliott Hodges, an architect from Washington D.C. who has been willed the property on which the architectural genius of a house Lainey has been living in all her life resides. The two strike a deal to make some money, get Lainey the medication she needs, and eventually sign Lainey's house over to Elliott by agreeing to get married, in name only. But with the close proximity of living together and fixing the house up as a rental, the two find their arrangement melting into something more than just a marriage with benefits.

Oh boy can Palmer write characters who you just cannot help but love. Lainey is a bit of a con-artist/hustler with a penchant for being artistic. She fights her way through life in the small town where everyone knows her, and her grandmother's, names. She's spunky and easily manipulates situations to her advantage. But her chronic condition for which she cannot afford medication is often debilitating, keeping her from doing what she must to survive. Tack on the underlying feeling of her unworthiness and you have a recipe for a woman who needs to be shown just how wonderful she truly is. Palmer handles the chronic condition with great care, and truthfulness. Being the wife of someone who suffers from this condition, it was easy to relate to what Lainey was going through and how hard it would be to stay on top of it without having the proper insurance to cover the costly medication needed to do so.

Elliott, OH MY! He's a golden retriever/cinnamon roll for sure. While at first he comes off as a little hard around the edges, he has such tenderness about him. How he cares for Lainey in her times of need is top notch romance! He was my favorite character in this story.  And he, too, has some underlying trauma that makes him rigid and somewhat predictable. But he slowly sheds that rigidness to show his soft underbelly.

Lainey and Elliott has undeniable chemistry in this book. You can feel it from their first encounter but also in the way they banter. Every encounter they have opens them up more and more to each other until they cannot fight what has been brewing between them.

Add a cast of characters who ramp up the banter but also give great background and the story rounds out well.

I will say there were a few unresolved plot lines I would have liked to see more about including Lainey's relationship with both her mother and (potential) father. While these characters are talked about or introduced, the issues surrounding the relationships with them never come to a head or lead anywhere and this was a bit frustrating. I also felt the story wrapped up a little too easily for me. The tension created by the third act break up didn't really coincide well with the resolution. I needed more to happen. More fleshing out of the ultimate consequences surrounding the issue that caused it. 

But overall, these things did not bring down my rating for the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the characters. The pacing was fast and kept me turning pages to find out how things would work out in the end. Palmer remains an author I will continue to read. I cannot wait to see what she might come up with next!

Author:

Ellie Palmer is a lifelong lover of love stories, a carrier of the BRCA1 mutation, and a prototypical Midwesterner who routinely apologizes to inanimate objects when she bumps into them. When she’s not writing romantic comedies featuring delightfully messy characters, she’s at home in Minnesota, eating breakfast food, watching too much reality television, and triple texting her husband about their son.

ARC Review: Not That Kind of Proposal by Victoria Lavine

 

From the internationally bestselling author of Any Trope but You comes an enemies-to-lovers rom-com about a hopeless romantic wedding planner and the cynical divorce lawyer forced to help her plan her ex’s wedding.

Gracie Holland lives for Happily Ever Afters—just not her own. After a crushing breakup, she’s thrown herself into planning weddings at Larkwood, the ivy-covered Rhode Island estate where she also lives in the guest cottage. But when her beloved boss passes away and leaves the estate to her grandson, Gracie’s carefully rebuilt life is suddenly on the line. Jude Larkwood is everything she’s sworn ruthless, practical, and immune to romance—he’s a divorce lawyer, for crying out loud! Worse, he plans to sell Larkwood by the end of the summer.

Jude has spent his life cleaning up other people’s romantic disasters—and he has no interest in watching another love story fall apart on his family’s lawn. But inheriting Larkwood comes with one its maddeningly optimistic wedding planner. Gracie’s sunshiney faith in love unsettles Jude almost as much as her ability to push through his defenses. He’s built a life on keeping emotion out of the equation—but something about her keeps slipping past his guard.

When Gracie’s ex calls out of the blue asking her to plan his wedding, she sees an unexpected opportunity. Jude reluctantly agrees to give her until the wedding to change his mind, and in exchange, she drags him into a two-month crash course in love to make even the most hardened cynic start to wonder if love might not be such a scam after all.

But as cake tastings and vendor emergencies give way to late-night confessions and undeniable chemistry, Gracie and Jude must confront the fears they’ve spent years avoiding. But can a hopeless romantic and a confirmed cynic find a future they both believe in?

Title: Not That Kind of Proposal

Author: Victoria Lavine

Publisher: Atria

Expected Publication Date: July 21, 2026

Review:

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I truly enjoyed Lavine's debut book when I read it and knew she would go on my auto-read author list as soon as I finished it. I was excited to be approved for this one because I knew she would make my heart stutter with this story just as she had with the first one, I didn't even have to read the blurb. I just requested it because it was written by her. And I was not disappointed in the least.

I will admit, I didn't read the author's note prior to starting. I didn't want to have any spoilers since I also didn't read the blurb. So I went into this one completely blind of what the tropes might be. I have zero triggers so I was ok with doing this.  But if you are one who needs to know triggers, I highly suggest reading the blurb and the author's note so you know what this book includes because I can see how the themes might be hard for some to read: implied physical and emotional abuse. Lavine includes serious and real topics that need to be spoken about.

Gracie Holland is a wedding planner for the last three years after her bridal dress business tanked. She loves what she does. But when she suddenly finds herself fighting for her job after the death of her mentor, she is determined to ensure her mentor's vision continues. Jude Larkwood has other plans. Having inherited the wedding venue, he plans to sell it off to a private client. He has no love of marriage or weddings as he's seen more than his share of dissolution in his job as a divorce attorney. Gracie and Jude are enemies from the start but agree to work together to see if things can be salvaged. What they don't expect is the connection they feel or how it will change what might happen in the end.

Lavine just knows how to write complex and deep characters that grab your heart. Gracie is a people pleaser. She's messy and has so much baggage. Having grown up in a family who don't seem to appreciate her, she is determined to ensure everyone is always happy. It drains her battery but she feels like this is the only way people can love her. I loved her outlook but also felt so badly for her as people totally stepped all over her. She just wanted to be seen and known for how wonderful she truly is, but ended up being taken advantage of at so many turns. I wanted to hug her and slap her all at the same time.

Jude, ugh! He's a total cinnamon roll. You absolutely do not get this from him at the start. He's stoic and closed off. He is a no holds barred kind of person who jumps in and gets what he wants. He has no time for love or romance. But he also holds a huge secret. Lavine chooses to keep this from us for most of the book, which is fine by me as it really helped build the tension between him and Gracie.

Add in a slew of amazing side characters that truly add so much to the story. Best friends, family members, mentors, and others. I enjoyed them all. I never met a character that didn't somehow add to the story. Lavine uses her side characters well in creating tension and side information in the story, adding to the over all plot.

THE BANTER! If you love a true enemies to lovers story, this is it. Lavine does banter so very well. I had so many laugh out loud moments in this book. The ire between Gracie and Jude was palpable. Every scene where they interacted was fraught with tension and fun. You could feel their attraction and chemistry despite how much they tried to hate one another.

I had a hard time putting this one down. The pacing was on point. If I could have stayed up all night to read it, and not totally ruin the next day, I would have. It was very fast paced and had me turning pages quickly. 

And the spice! OOF! Lavine has written what I would call one of my all time favorite spice scenes in a romance. These two were so freaking sexy together. I loved Jude's kink (not going to spoil it but let's just say it's a green flag). And I loved how Gracie came into her sexuality in this book, realizing what she liked and what she needed from her partner. I was squirming in my seat whenever the two wer together. 

If you're looking for a book where hurt people hurt people, this one is it. It's strewn throughout this book. While I did give this book all the stars, there were some betrayal themes I wasn't 100% happy with. At the same time, I truly understand the FMC and MMC's inability to stay away from each other.

Lavine has cemented herself as an auto-buy author for me. I devoured this story just as I did her first book. She has top tier yearning her books for sure. I love her characters, her themes, and how she can absolutely make me laugh despite her tough tropes. I cannot wait to see what else she brings to the page in the future.

Author:

After many years and bookshelves crammed with Romance novels, Victoria has finally taken things to the next level by writing her own. When she’s not reading, writing, or enjoying the great state of Maine with her family, you can find her coming up with excellent reasons to make the next pot of coffee.