Review – Sweet Thing

17 Thursday Jul 2025

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Book Review, Chicago Players series, Kate Meader, Sweet Thing

Sweet Thing

Chicago Players #1

by Kate Meader

Blurb:

My dad’s teammate needs a nanny and I need a job. Sounds perfect, right? Except for my massive crush on him … the one he knows all about.

LARS

I just found out I’m a dad.

My one-night stand dropped a baby bombshell in my local bar where I was celebrating my team’s win. Then she fled, leaving me holding my new daughter.

Thank God for Adeline. The daughter of my teammate and closest friend on the Chicago Rebels, she practically raised her little sister and knows exactly how to deal with this situation. I need a nanny; she needs a job. Problem sorted, right?

Not so fast …

ADELINE

I think you’re the sexiest guy alive.

That’s what Lars Nyquist overheard me say while recounting my embarrassing crush on him. Yeah, that Lars Nyquist. Defenseman for the Chicago Rebels. Owner of the thickest thighs in the league. More than a decade my senior. Oh, and my dad’s teammate.

My only option? Leave the country, of course. Luckily, I’d already planned a round-the-world trip with my bestie and by the time I returned to Chicago a year later, I expected my blunder would be long forgotten. Shows what I know. Now I’m lying awake in the bedroom next to his while playing nanny to his surprise little girl. But I can ignore this stupid infatuation. I have to. Even though the sight of Lars learning to be a dad leaves me breathless and takes that crush to a whole other level.

One that has the potential to break my sorry little heart …

Sweet Thing is the first book in the brand new Chicago Players hockey series from Kate Meader, the USA Today bestselling author of the Chicago Rebels and Rookie Rebels series.

https://geni.us/sweet-thing

*****

Review:

I’m a little conflicted about this one. I liked the slow burn and the characters are interesting, with their hangups and troubles (although I do wish both of them had gotten some professional help). Plus his daughter, and the relationship he develops with her, is just the absolute cutest. I also like the idea of Addy and Lars together, the way they are brought together and even the way things are resolved between them. It is a little predictable but aren’t most romances 🙂

I did find the age gap a little much for me, just a personal preference when its anything over 10 years and one of them is that young. It helps that Addy is a bit of an old soul so most of the time I didn’t even really think about it unless they brought it up. Some others found issue with the friendship between her dad and Lars but it didn’t really bug me all that much. I found their relationship kinda fatherly anyway.

Overall I liked these two together, loved little Mabel, and enjoyed them figuring out a way to a HEA. There are some hints leading to future books, including a cliff-hangerish moment in the epilogue. I’m definitely intrigued and excited to see where Meader is going to take things.

(There’s a lot of characters that returning readers will know but I got a little jumbled for me as a newbie. But the romance itself will stand on its own.)

*****

Author Info:

Originally from Ireland, USA Today bestselling author Kate Meader cut her romance reader teeth on Maeve Binchy and Jilly Cooper novels, with some Harlequins thrown in for variety. Give her tales about brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron, a fire hose, or a hockey stick, and she’s there. Now based in Chicago, she writes sexy contemporary romance with big-hearted guys and strong heroines – and heroes – who can match their men quip for quip..

Connect with Kate Meader:

https://www.katemeader.com/links

Review – Tempting Me

15 Tuesday Jul 2025

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Asher Family series, Book Review, Jami Rogers, Tempting Me

Tempting Me

The Asher Family #3

by Jami Rogers

Blurb:

Luca Asher is my brother’s ex-best friend, the best contractor in our small town of Lovers, a walking dream when he doesn’t have a shirt on—heck, with it on, too, and he was the first boy I ever loved.

He just doesn’t know that last part.

On the rare occasions I converse with him, I get a comeback for everything.

Our banter is my favorite thing. He’s so clever and quick and, again, sexier than any man I’ve ever met.

But none of that changes the fact that he betrayed my brother. My family. Me.

And none of those facts would matter except for my one little problem.

I had this plan to save my family’s marina, which backfired. Now, my parents have given me a deadline to prove to them it’s still worth saving. If I don’t make it, they’ll sell everything, and I’ll lose my dream to keep the place.

They gave me one rule: do not hire that Asher boy.

At this point, I have only one option left to make this happen.

Hire Luca and beg him not to tell a single soul about it.

My heart forgave him years ago, but my head knows better than to trust the enemy.

And yet, in a matter of weeks, he starts to remind me of the old us, and I find myself falling for him all over again.

The idea of me and Luca is … tempting.

Tempting Me is a small-town, steamy, enemies to lovers romance with his ex-best friend’s sister, lots of banter, and a secret agreement.

Buy Link:

https://geni.us/AmazonTM

Available in KU

*****

Review:

I liked Luca and his blunt truthfulness. His straightforwardness is refreshing and leads to some fun (and awkward) moments with Shay. And I can’t blame him for his hurt over the past and the want to feel like enough as he is. Who doesn’t want to be trusted and liked for all they are.

Shay definitely comes across as a bit childish in spots. Especially in her treatment of Luca. I understand where she’s coming from, trying to hide her crush and follow the wishes of her family. But come on girl! I do feel for her with the way her parents treat her attachment to The Marina. The way that plays out is harsh … but also sweet.

This is my first book by Rogers and I enjoyed it. I found the characters a little immature in some places and I felt like a few places needed a bit more resolution, but I’m definitely interested in more from her.

*****

Author Info:

Just a girl who loves to write small town romance books and wants to share them with the world.

Connect with Jami Rogers:

https://linktr.ee/authorjamirogers

Spotlight – Penn

15 Tuesday Jul 2025

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Penn, Pittsburgh Titans series, Sawyer Bennett

Penn

Pittsburgh Titans series

by Sawyer Bennett

Blurb:

Penn Navarro is the best player in the league—unstoppable on the ice, untouchable off it. But the moment the game ends, so do the celebrations. Because no amount of goals, no number of wins, can silence the demons that haunt him.

Hockey is my life. It’s what I was born to do. That’s not ego talking, just fact—I’ve spent years honing my skills, earning my place among the elite. But talent doesn’t erase my mistakes, and no amount of success will make me forget the damage I’ve done. It’s why I keep my distance from my teammates, because if you never let anyone in, you’ll never get hurt. Or those are the lies that I tell myself.

Mila Brennan represents the darkest parts of my history. She’s a ghost I’ve tried to bury, the reminder of everything I’ve lost. When she shows up in Pittsburgh looking for me, I know nothing good will come of it, because our sins don’t stay forgotten. They fester, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, and Mila’s arrival means my time is up.

The past isn’t just knocking at my door—it’s kicking it down, crumbling all the walls I’ve built around myself in the process. And when the danger comes for us both, I’m forced to do the one thing I swore I never would. Let her in.

Buy Link:

https://geni.us/SB-Penn

*****

Author Info:

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Sawyer Bennett uses real life experience to create relatable stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From contemporary romance, fantasy romance, and both women’s and general fiction, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.

A former trial lawyer from North Carolina, when she is not bringing fiction to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to her very adorable daughter, as well as full-time servant to her wonderfully naughty dogs.

If you’d like to receive a notification when Sawyer releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter (sawyerbennett.com/signup).

Connect with Sawyer Bennett:

https://geni.us/SawyerBennett

Spotlight – Karma’s a Beach

15 Tuesday Jul 2025

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Karma's a Beach, Samantha Chase

Karma’s a Beach

by Samantha Chase

Blurb:

It’s bad enough I have to fly home for a funeral.

Not just any funeral either. My ex’s funeral. Where I have to give the eulogy.

Let’s just say he was an ex for a reason, and I’d much rather write a speech about his flaws than wax poetic about what a great person he was. But I just couldn’t bring myself to say no to his mom when she asked.

So here we are.

I just have to get through the funeral and then it’s a whole month of relaxing on the beach with my oldest friends.

But of course, nothing ever goes according to plan.

Entitled passengers, flight delays, lost luggage. Everything that could wrong went wrong. And I might have had a little too much wine and spilled my entire life story to the man in the seat next to me. The incredibly nice, incredibly sexy man sitting next to me.

It’s a good thing I’ll likely never see him again.

Or so I thought.

The stranger who awkwardly comforts me at my ex’s funeral? Airplane guy.

And I’ll give you one guess about who shows up at the beach house.

Kill. Me. Now.

This was supposed to be a relaxing vacation, but now I have to worry about how attracted I am to a man who knows entirely too much about me and only seems to catch me at my absolute worst.

Or maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll be into hot messes.

Buy Links:

https://geni.us/KarmaBeach

*****

Author Info:

Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance that’s hotter than sweet, sweeter than hot. She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than eighty titles under her belt – including THE CHRISTMAS COTTAGE which was a Hallmark Christmas movie in 2017 and THE WEDDING SEASON which was a Hallmark wedding movie in 2023! She’s a Disney enthusiast who still happily listens to 80’s rock. When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Solitaire when she should be writing, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug Maylene…oh, and spending time with her husband of 32 years and their two sons in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Connect with Samantha Chase:

https://linkin.bio/samanthachaseromance

Spotlight – I Could Be Yours

10 Thursday Jul 2025

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Helena Hunting, I Could Be Yours

I Could Be Yours

by Helena Hunting

Blurb:

The best man ghosted me six years ago after kissing me, and now I have to plan every wedding event under the sun with him.

Nate Stiles is the definition of serious. Furrowed brow? Check. Rain cloud personality? Double check.

I shouldn’t be thinking about the fact that our kiss was the best one of my life right now. I should be planning the bachelorette party of the millennium.

I shouldn’t be wondering when Nate became such a good dancer after we got roped into salsa lessons with the happy couple. I should be mentally ticking off boxes on my bridal checklists.

I shouldn’t be wondering what it would be like if I didn’t hate Nate Stiles. I should be holding strong against a man who doesn’t believe in love.

My name is Essie Lovelock. I am a reformed love obsessed fairytale fanatic and I’m determined to be the best maid of honor my best friend could ever have.

And I am absolutely not going to fall for the best man.

*Nate and Essie’s standalone summer holiday romance. This title can be read as a complete standalone.

Buy Link:

https://helenahunting.com/books/icby

Available in KU

*****

Author Info:

NYT and USA Today bestselling author, Helena Hunting lives outside of Toronto with her amazing family and her adorable, emotional cat, who thinks the best place to sleep is her keyboard. Helena writes everything from emotional contemporary romance to romantic comedies that will have you laughing until you cry.

Connect with Helena Hunting:

https://linktr.ee/helenahunting

Review – Crazy Love

10 Thursday Jul 2025

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Book Review, Crazy Love, The Single Dad Playbook Series, Willow Aster

A small town, marriage of convenience, single dad, sports romance from USA Today Bestselling Author Willow Aster

Crazy Love

The Single Dad Playbook Series

by Willow Aster

Blurb:

Penn Hudson. Sexy. Intense. Gorgeous.
The star running back of the Colorado Mustangs.
Well-known playboy and consummate bachelor.
We met in the Bahamas.
I knew exactly who he was.
He had no idea who I was.
Yet for a few blissful hours, it didn’t matter.
We had an unbelievable connection…
Something special that held so much promise.
Then I unexpectedly had to leave and never had a chance to say goodbye.

Fast-forward to today, when I am about to see Penn again,
and he’s going to find out exactly who he was kissing in the Bahamas.
I’m excited about my new job and returning to my hometown of Silver Hills.
But seeing him every day won’t be easy,
especially with the lingering memory of his touch and the attraction that still burns between us.
When he faces an obstacle in adopting a young boy he’s mentored for years,
I offer him a solution I never thought I’d make:
A fake marriage.
He needs to show stability and a squeaky-clean public image,
and I figure, how hard could it be to play house?
But as time goes by, nothing feels fake anymore.

I’d always planned on getting married for love,
but sometimes we make once-in-a-lifetime sacrifices.
I just hope I won’t be devastated in the process.

Crazy Love is book five in the standalone The Single Dad Playbook series.

Goodreads: https://geni.us/CrazyLoveGR

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://geni.us/Crazylove

*****

Review:

Honestly, I don’t think I even read the blurb before signing up for this one so I was a smidge disappointed that we went the obvious fake marriage route. The trope can be fantastic but it can also be bad, depending on how it’s written, but I shouldn’t haven’t doubted Aster because she handles it like a dream. And really the story is about so much more.

It’s full of humor and feels, with adorable kids and a just as adorable dad Penn, and I couldn’t have been happier with how everything goes. Crazy Love is low angst and so satisfying as we get to be there while Penn figures out how to be a dad and a husband, from the first meet cute with Addy to the sweet ending for this adorable family.

I am so sad to see this series end. I absolutely loved these guys. The way that they support each other, stepping up when they needed to, giving themselves whole body to their kids and their women. And Penn is no different. He comes into himself so much here and I loved every minute of it.

Aster was a new to me author when I picked up my first Single Dad Playbook story but she quickly found a place on my must read author list.

Spotlight – The Wildest One

10 Thursday Jul 2025

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Marni Mann, The Wildest One, Weston Group series

A scorching hot, hockey, forbidden, billionaire romance from USA Today best-selling author Marni Mann …

The Wildest One

The Weston Group #2

by Marni Mann

Blurb:

I’m not the calm before the storm. I am the storm. And only she can tame my wild ways.

Hockey is my religion.

My body is my temple.

My only goal in life is to win another Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Whales, so women are just a sexy distraction.

Until her.

The fiery redhead I see across the bar while I’m at an away game.

With one look, I know I have to meet her.

With one touch, I need her beneath me.

With one bat of her long lashes, I want those eyes gazing up at me as she kneels before me.

And with booze flowing through my veins, I do something I’ve never done. I offer her a proposition—to spend a long weekend with me.

What is only supposed to be three nights of sizzling passion turns into much more, and when I leave for my next away game, I find myself wanting her in ways I’ve never felt.

She’s a young heart with an old soul.

My dream woman in every way.

The only thing I’ve ever encountered that my family name, talent and money can’t attain.

But there’s too much distance between us, and I realize that maybe we just aren’t meant to be.

Until a chance meeting skates us right back together and our time is suddenly now.

Except all of that changes when I learn the truth …

She’s forbidden, untouchable, and off-limits.

With my heart on the line, can I score the most crucial goal of my life, or will she realize that being with the wildest one isn’t worth the sacrifices she’ll have to make?

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/4ib3r2d

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://geni.us/TheWildestOne

Audio: https://geni.us/TheWildestOneAudio
Narrated by: Sean Masters & Savannah Peachwood

Spotlight – Shattered Promise

10 Thursday Jul 2025

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Avalon Falls series, Penelope Black, Shattered Promise

Shattered Promise

Avalon Falls series

by Penelope Black

Blurb:

Mason Porter: Avalon Falls’ hottest single dad, my brother’s best friend, and the only man who’s ever broken my heart.

Oh, and now he’s my neighbor.

I came back to town without telling anyone—just me, a half-forgotten cabin I inherited, and the quiet hope that a few stolen weeks might be enough to outrun the pressure closing in from all sides.

I didn’t expect to run into Mason and his son by the creek. I didn’t expect him to keep my secret. And I definitely didn’t expect the way it would feel to slip into his life like I’d always belonged there.

Now I’m living next door, falling into a rhythm that feels dangerously close to peace. I watch his son while he works, cook dinner more nights than not, and for the first time in years, I don’t feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.

For a little while, it works.

Until it doesn’t.

Because this town has secrets, and I’m not the only one running from something.

Someone is watching me.

And the danger I thought I left behind might be closer than I ever imagined.

He was never mine to begin with.

But loving him now might cost me everything.

tropes:
brother’s best friend
small town
single dad
forced proximity
who hurt you?
one MF bed

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3XIFNT4

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://bit.ly/4i67Va5

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/XLNc4x

Review – Guarded From Havoc

08 Tuesday Jul 2025

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Blade & Aroow Bravo Team, Blade and Arrow Security Bravo Team, Book Review, Gia Cobie, Guarded From Havoc

Guarded From Havoc

Blade and Arrow Security Bravo Team #6

by Gia Cobie

Blurb:

I knew it was a risk venturing over to my new neighbor’s cabin during the storm.

After all, I barely knew him. All I’d learned from our chance meeting in the woods was that he was visiting the Adirondacks on a well-deserved vacation, he used to serve in the Army, and he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen.

The last part definitely made the whole knocking on a near-stranger’s door offering food and flashlights idea more appealing.

When he invited me inside, I nearly said no. But there was just something about Erik that told me I could trust him. That if I didn’t accept his offer, I’d end up regretting it.

Then four masked intruders stormed the cabin, with both of us in it. And nothing could have prepared me for what would come next.

I should have been able to defend myself from anything.

I used to be Special Forces, after all. Now I work for one of the top private security companies in the country. But when Tatum’s life was threatened, I had no choice but to concede. To accept whatever was waiting for me after.

Waking up in the middle of the woods with an unconscious Tatum nearby wasn’t a promising start.

Finding out we’ve been dumped into the middle of a sinister game is even worse. A deadly game it’s clear we’re not supposed to survive.

But there’s no way I’m letting anything else happen to Tatum. I’m getting her out of here, no matter what it takes. And once we escape, I’m going to see her again. Because I’m not losing the first woman I could see a future with.

Buy Link:

https://a.co/d/aivAvdj

Available in KU

*****

Review:

I think the blurb is a little off. I went into it thinking it would be mostly about them trying to survive, while falling in love of course, and then bringing the bad guys to justice. And it does happen, but not in proportions I expected. It was about 25% getting kidnapped, surviving, & then rescued. The next 50% or so was the guys working together to figure out who did it, helping Tatum come to terms with the experience, and falling for each other. The last bit was wrapping up their romance and everything that has happened & where their future is going. I enjoyed it but I think that there was a little disappointment over the limited action after that first bit.

Buuuut if I had gone into it with the proper expectations I think it would have hit even better. Because I like these two. Erik is sweet and caring, obviously loved by the guys on his team and their spouses, very capable in the field and eventually as a boyfriend. Tatum is amazingly strong, doing all the things to work through what she’s experienced, as well as being there to support Erik when he needs it.

Overall, Guarded From Havoc is a really enjoyable read but slower paced with less of the danger element that I expected. I just think that readers need to approach it as a slower paced romance and not the romantic suspense it originally comes across as.

(Part of a series but can be read as a stand alone.)

Spotlight – Let It Be Me

02 Wednesday Jul 2025

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Kristen Vail, Let It Be Me, Shafer U series

Let It Be Me

Shafer U, Book Two

by Kristen Vail

Blurb:

All I did was agree to be there for my best friend during a routine surgery. How could I have known his first words when he woke up would change our friendship forever?

To everyone else on campus, Lorenzo Rossi is the star football player with the promising future. To me, he’s the other half of my heart. My source of strength since I was a kid. Oh yeah, and the only man I’ve ever loved.

But he doesn’t need to know that.

Because Lorenzo isn’t just tall, dark and covered in hot tattoos, he’s perfection. Totally unattainable for a girl whose biggest accomplishment is landing a job cleaning aquariums.

Until the day Lorenzo goes into surgery… and comes out saying the words I’ve spent a lifetime longing to hear.

Suddenly I have everything I’ve ever wanted and one long, steamy summer to enjoy it—warm days under the sun with Lorenzo, hot nights in his bed, and scorching games of truth or dare.

But as sultry kisses give way to heartfelt words, a secret slips out… and suddenly our more-than-friends experiment is a game of all-or-nothing. Either I fight for the one thing I’ve always wanted, or I lose my best friend—and with him, everything I love.

Buy Link:
https://a.co/d/g5F1H58
Available in KU

Connect with Kristen Vail:
https://www.instagram.com/kristenvailbooks/