Review: A Lot Like Love

I really enjoyed Jennifer Snow's Wild River series, set in Alaska, so I was excited to see her publishing another small town romance series, this one in a much sunnier state on the West Coast. A Lot Like Love is the first in the Blue Moon Bay series, which is set in a small town in California. The town is super cute, the people are great, but, at the end of it all, the overall story didn't wow me. Was it bad? Definitely not! I just don't think it was as good as it could have been.

Here's the book's description:

They have different ideas about the fate of an old inn...until it brings them together.
When Sarah Lewis inherits a run-down B&B from her late grandmother in coastal Blue Moon Bay, the logical thing to do is sell it and focus on her life in L.A. But when she learns that interested buyers will only tear it down in its current state, she feels a sense of obligation to her grandmother to get it back to the landmark tourist destination it once was...even if that means hiring the best contractor for the job, who happens to be her old high school crush.
Wes Sharrun’s life has continued to unravel since the death of his wife three years before. Now with a struggling construction company and a nine-year-old daughter, he sees the B&B as an opportunity to get back on his feet. Unfortunately, despite trying to keep his distance, his daughter has taken a liking to Sarah, and his own feelings are tough to deny.
As they spend more time together painting, exploring a forgotten treasure trove of wine in a basement cellar, and arguing over balcony placement, the more the spark between them ignites. But will saving the B&B be enough to convince them both to take a second chance at love?

In a case of really unfortunate timing, I had recently read Mermaid Inn by Jenny Holiday (another Canadian romance author, like Snow). There were, at first glance, far too many similarities between the two and it took a little bit for me to shake it off. Really, it was a small town and a woman had been willed a B&B that she wasn't expecting from an elderly relative and was thrust together with a guy from her past. All the other little nuances were quite different, which I could see by the end of the story.

I found the character development to be a bit...lacking. Not too much with Sarah and Wes but the secondary characters did not stand out and I don't find myself wanting to get back to Blue Moon Bay immediately. Marissa, Wes' daughter, was the liveliest character in the whole story. I also struggled with a lot of the connections between them. Everyone seemed to have different memories of high school (don't ask me how long ago it was because there seemed to be conflicting timelines that I could not figure out) and I couldn't really understand, at times, why any of them interacted with the others. The whole Lia storyline seemed shoehorned in, even though the event was the catalyst for Sarah deciding what she wanted to do.

Despite all of the above, there were some great points to this romance. I loved that Sarah worked in the tech sector and that she could be a great role model for Marissa, who was obsessed with all things STEM. Wes was a great dad who wanted to support his daughter, even more so after his wife's death, but he's super old school and couldn't understand why his daughter would be into all that, even if he was trying. I appreciated that Sarah's final decision didn't really have anything to do with Wes (and Marissa). He played a part, for sure, but she knew what she needed to do from a career and personal (not romantic) perspective. 

All in all, A Lot Like Love was...fine. I have a strong feeling this could have been a case of right book, wrong time because I really enjoyed Jennifer Snow's other romances. If you're a sucker for small town romances, you might really enjoy this one.

*An egalley was provided by the publisher, Entangled, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Instamom

Full disclosure: I've known Chantel Guertin for a number of years. I've been reading her books since 2011 (um, I did NOT expect it to have been a decade...) and I've seen her at countless book events in the years since. So, it's no surprise that I was THRILLED when I heard she was writing a new adult novel that was going to fall into the rom com sphere. Instamom is out tomorrow and it's a contemporary story that is smart and fun but also really deep as it addresses a lot of heavy and important topics. 

Here's the book's description:

In this #funny, #wise, #emotionally compelling look at modern love and finding your true path, a proudly kid-free influencer meets the ultimate #dealbreaker . . .
It’s the influencer’s golden rule: know your niche. Kit Kidding has found hers on Instagram, where she gets paid to promote brands and share expertly curated posts about her fun, fabulous, child-free life. Kit likes kids just fine, but she passionately believes that women who choose not to become mothers shouldn’t have to face guilt. Or judgement. Or really hot chefs who turn out to be single dads.
Will MacGregor is aggravating, sexy, persistent, averse to social media, and definitely a bad idea. As soon as Kit learns his parenting status, she vows to put their scorching one-night stand behind her and move on. But Will and Kit are thrown together on an Instagram campaign, and the more time she spends with him—and his whip-smart, eight-year-old daughter, Addie—the more difficult it is to stay away, much less sustain what Will so cleverly calls her “Resting Beach Face.” Kit’s picture-perfect career path is suddenly clashing with the possibility of a different future—messy, complicated, and real. Which life does she truly want? Will she have to re-invent herself? And will love still be waiting by the time she figures it out?

Let's get the heavy stuff out of the way first. I, like Kit at the beginning of this novel, am childfree. I do not want kids and have felt this way for probably over ten years but have been super firm in my decision for I'd say about eight. I've had so many people tell me that I'll change my mind (pro tip: never tell a woman that. Ever.) My boyfriend (of sixteen years) also doesn't want kids and people in his world often say "but doesn't your girlfriend want kids?" There are countless other frustrating and nosy questions and comments I've gotten and it all comes down to this: society finds it really weird and hard to understand when a woman does not want to have children. So it was great to hear that some of Guertin's characters were also feeling those frustrations - it was so incredibly true to life and I appreciated it so much. But. This is where it gets tricky. (And slightly spoilery. But this does have a romance at it's core and if you can't figure out that there's a Happily Ever After at the end of this one, well, I can't help you.) I really, really didn't want Kit to change her mind. And I kind of felt like an asshole about that. One of the main points of this story is that women are allowed to change their mind about having children (or not). I truly do believe that. One of my very best friends did and I'm thrilled to bits for her and her little munchkin. BUT. I don't get to see myself and my views on not having kids reflected in fiction very often and the fact that this one was so close and then wasn't? I think I felt hurt. It's been a very complicated time for me to sort out these feelings, let me tell you. At the end of the day, Guertin's novel nails the judgment women receive because of their decisions on motherhood and how they're questioned because of those decisions. I may have felt way too close to the storyline but that doesn't take away from how important it is for stories like this to be out there, that challenge the status quo and explore what it's like to be a woman - with or without children. 

I love that contemporary novels are finding a great balance between fun and light and serious and heavy. Should we be calling them all rom coms? Hmm, maybe not. Romantic comedies are going to have more real life topics to deal with than straight romance novels but they should still be super heavy on the romance and the comedy. Once you add in struggles with, in the case of Instamom, deciding whether you want to completely change your values when it comes to having children? Can it really be a rom com? This one wasn't laugh out loud funny like I expect from those kinds of books but it was still smart and witty - which I love. I don't have an answer for "what should we call these kinds of books?" and I'm still not sure if we really need one. I struggle with it, too, because a book by a man with these kinds of themes would just be fiction. No need to throw a subgenre on there. Anyone else feel like that? 

The other part of the storyline, apart from the childfree business, explored Kit's job as an influencer. I am so small time but I'm still in the influencer world a little wee bit so I understood some of what she was feeling. Authenticity seems to be what people want to see but it also appears they still enjoy the carefully curated photos and captions more than every day views. Influencers feel they have to have a niche so followers know what to expect. And it all gets to be a bit...exhausting. Guertin doesn't hold back in describing how conflicted Kit was and the issues she was facing as an influencer and it was great to read - really real and impactful. I don't know what's going to happen with our influencer heavy world but I think something has to change.

Kit was a really interesting character to read. She's about my age, which I always appreciate, and smart and a book lover. I was pretty sure we would be friends if we ever met in person. I was really emotionally connected to her and her story and I felt all the feelings right alongside with her. I did feel a little differently about Will than she did. Quite honestly...er...well...I didn't like him. I felt he never listened to Kit and brushed off her concerns as if they were silly or hysterical. I do think he truly cared for her but I couldn't help but think he had some shit to figure out before he'd be good enough for Kit. And Addie? She was an absolute delight. I've read three books in the last two months where there's a daughter who's about seven or eight and they've all been so smart (sometimes too smart) and fun to read about.

I also absolutely loved that this book was set in Toronto. We're seeing that more and more in contemporary reads from Canadian authors and I'm SO HAPPY. Next we need to have more cities and towns represented from across the country. Publishers may have some backwards notion that readers in other countries (cough, the USA, cough) don't want to read books set in Canada but I think that assumption is slowly changing. 

Instamom had me feeling all of the feels and I think Chantel Guertin's latest novel is going to stick with me for a long while. It's a perfect book to throw in your beach bag or dive into while sitting in your backyard. It'll make you think and smile the entire way through.

*Am egalley was provided by both the Canadian (Doubleday Canada/PRHC) and American (Kensington Books) publishers and a print copy was provided by Doubleday Canada in exchange for review consideration. All opinions and honest and my own.*

Review: A Brit Player

I first read Brenda St. John Brown back in 2018 when I picked up A Brit on the Side, the first in the Castle Calder series. I loved the setting she created in small town England and the characters she wrote. I haven't read books two or three but when I had the chance to read book four, I was happy to do so! I knew this isn't a true series and I could read the books in any order so I wasn't bothered by jumping back in with A Brit Player. I was rewarded with a steamy second-chance romance that I really enjoyed reading.

Here's the book's description:

Whoever said taking a second chance on your first love was a good idea obviously had nothing to hide…
They say the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else. But shagging a guy with a “Bad Decision” tattoo is never a good idea. It’s a warning label. Trust me.
So when a friend coerces me into taking part in a charity dating auction, I jump at the chance to leave London - and my bad decisions - behind for a weekend.
But Max Foster is there and he’s bidding on me like it’s his job. Max isn’t just a guy. He’s THE GUY - my first love who I haven’t seen since the day he left high school to go play professional football in Spain.
I shouldn’t see him again, never mind want to. Because letting him find out about the secret I’ve kept from him these past twelve years? That has “bad decision” written all over it.

My mid-thirties old lady feeling self was a bit...concerned that the initial relationship between Tara and Max happened when they were sixteen. You cannot fully know yourself at sixteen but you can have intense emotional connections. And the pair had that. Of course you're not going to forget someone like that over the last decade plus. Neither Max nor Tara expected the other to be exactly like their teenaged self (ugh can you imagine if you reconnected with someone in your twenties and they were exactly the same as they were in high school?) and they did seem to want to get to know the person they had become. That helped with my "ahh they were so young" feelings. Plus you could just tell they were meant to be together so I put my old lady judginess away and went along for the ride.

There are triggers in this book and two of them I feel I can't mention because they're central to the plot how the story is told. If you want to read this and are really concerned about what they are, please DM me on Instagram! (@KaleyS23, if you're not following already!) I will say they are relationship based and do not include abuse. Other triggers could include feelings of abandonment, being unable to commit, and a second chance at a relationship. 

It had been awhile since I had read a true romance (true = the end goal is a Happily Ever After (or a Happily Ever After For Now) where the two main characters end up together in coupled bliss) that was also on the steamier side. Yes, please, doors open sex scenes. There's a place for all kinds of sex scenes, of course, but sometimes you want to actually see (er, read) the sexual attraction instead of just imagining it. (Which, I guess, you're still technically doing while reading it...) Anywho. St. John Brown wrote the scenes really well and you could feel the pent up emotions between Tara and Max just leaping off the page.

Tara and Max were lovely characters to read about. Sometimes when a friend of a friend type series gets into the later books, the characters might not be as engaging or entertaining as the author might have hoped. I liked reading about both past and present day Tara and Max and were rooting for them, both as a couple and for Tara personally as she worked on her issues. 

I think I know who might be the stars of the next book and I'm excited to see if I'm right.

If you're a romance reader, I encourage you to check out Brenda St. John Brown's novels, especially her Castle Calder series. A Brit Player was just the book I needed at the time and I flew through it. I'm looking forward to finding the time to go back and read the books I've missed and check out some of her others.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the author via Give Me Books Promotions in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Once Upon a Puppy

I really enjoyed Lizzie Shane's holiday romance that kicked off the Pine Hollow series. So, after enjoying The Twelve Dogs of Christmas, I was happy to pick up Once Upon a Puppy and revisit the town (and doggos) to see what had been happening since the holidays. It was a delightful romance and I already can't wait for the next book in the series!

Here's the book's description:

Opposites attract when a straitlaced lawyer and whimsical party planner must fake-date as co-parents of a rambunctious Irish wolfhound in the second book of this im-paw-ssibly charming small-town romance series.
Connor Wyeth has a plan for everything. But when he adopts Maximus, an unruly Irish wolfhound mix, he gets more than he bargained for. If he doesn't act fast, the big dopey mutt is going to destroy his house. The only person Max ever listens to is the volunteer who used to walk him at the shelter—a perennially upbeat woman whose day job is planning princess parties for little kids. Connor couldn't ever imagine that she'd be able to tame such a beast as Max, but he's desperate enough to try anything.
Deenie Mitchell isn't looking forward to spending more time with uptight, rules-oriented Connor—no matter how attractive he is. But when her sister announces her engagement, Deenie realizes he's the perfect person to impress her type-A family. When she learns he needs a plus-one for his law firm's work events, an unlikely alliance is formed. But as they play the perfect couple, the friendship—and the feelings—that are forming start to feel all too real. Opposites may attract, but can the man with a plan for everything and the misfit who makes her own rules ever find common ground?

I've recently started coming around to the enemies-to-lovers trope, but only if they're done in a certain way. I cannot understand it when the couple-to-be is fighting constantly and almost cruel to each other but a little bit of sniping and banter that turns into a romance? That I can handle. Especially when they don't really know each other to start and don't actually want to dislike the other person. With Connor and Deenie, their lives are so vastly different, they get on each other's nerves because they can't understand each other. But once they get to know each other and the why behind their lifestyles? Opinions change and sparks start to fly. And that's really enjoyable to read in a romance. Plus there was also a fake dating trope and I enjoy that one too. You know there are going to be issues but OF COURSE they're going to realize they should actually be dating each other. I love it!

Connor and Deenie were so great to read about. They were both wicked smart but showed it in different ways. They were also both hiding major parts of themselves and I loved reading as they were encouraged to really look at what they love and learn it's OK to feel certain things and want different things than maybe you'd always wanted. The feelings between the two seemed really genuine and watching them grow from annoyance to acceptance to friendship to romantic was lovely. 

It was really nice to see what was happening with the rest of the residents of Pine Hollow, too. Shane has created a really great little town and residents that I care about. I can't wait to read the next book in the series. I think I know which couples are up next and both will provide lots of swoon and amusement!

Once Upon a Puppy was such a fun read and the romance is perfect if you want something that you know will put a smile on your face. Lizzie Shane has created such a great romance series and I'm really looking forward to book three already!

My review of The Twelve Dogs of Christmas is here if you missed it! 

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Forever, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Spoiler Alert

I was super excited when I heard about Olivia Dade's novel Spoiler Alert. Body positive with unapologetic nerdy main characters? Sounded great! Ultimately, I enjoyed reading it but it didn't blow me away as I expected it to. Maybe my expectations were too high? I was entertained and would probably still recommend it to those who are looking for heroines who aren't typically seen in novels and those who love fanfiction and all the fun that goes along with it.

Here's the book's description:

Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. While the world knows him as Aeneas, the star of the biggest show on TV, Gods of the Gates, he's known to fanfiction readers as Book!AeneasWouldNever, an anonymous and popular poster.  Marcus is able to get out his own frustrations with his character through his stories, especially the ones that feature the internet’s favorite couple to ship, Aeneas and Lavinia. But if anyone ever found out about his online persona, he’d be fired. Immediately.
April Whittier has secrets of her own. A hardcore Lavinia fan, she’s hidden her fanfiction and cosplay hobby from her “real life” for years—but not anymore. When she decides to post her latest Lavinia creation on Twitter, her photo goes viral. Trolls and supporters alike are commenting on her plus-size take, but when Marcus, one half of her OTP, sees her pic and asks her out on a date to spite her critics, she realizes life is really stranger than fanfiction.
Even though their first date is a disaster, Marcus quickly realizes that he wants much more from April than a one-time publicity stunt. And when he discovers she’s actually Unapologetic Lavinia Stan, his closest fandom friend, he has one more huge secret to hide from her.
With love and Marcus’s career on the line, can the two of them stop hiding once and for all, or will a match made in fandom end up prematurely cancelled?

I've never gotten into fanfiction for any of the various series I enjoy but I love the idea of it. The communities that are created from an intense love of a book or show or movie or game are so wonderful. I have something a little similar with my book blogging and bookstagram community so I completely understand how it is possible to create friendships with people you only know online. I was really happy to see the fanfiction and cosplay have such a focus in this story.

I ended up listening to this one even though I had an egalley. The narration was...fine. One of my pet peeves (and I'm probably not alone in this) is when the narrator is voicing the gender opposite to their own and it just...doesn't work. That was the case with this one - the female narrator's male dialogue was not great. The rest of it though was good and the story, with my handy sudio earbuds, made for excellent background noise for walks and chores around the house.

The audiobook also made it harder to follow the parts at the end of each chapter - script excerpts, fanfic descriptions, DMs, and so on. That said, I loved the idea of them because it added an extra element and allowed the reader to get an idea of what else had been going on in the past. The audio execution just wasn't as great as I'd like.

The TV show the whole story is based around, Gods of the Gates, was very Game of Thrones-esque - an adaptation of a fantasy series where the shrowrunners had to go off book and the whole thing went kind of downhill. Sounds familiar, right? I found it entertaining to think about how the real actors would have dealt with the situations the characters found themselves in. I got into GoT late but I enjoyed the show (I'm not enough of a fantasy reader to make it through Martin's massive tomes). The similarities had me convinced that it was just Dade making up her own show because, reasons, but then there was a throwaway line at the end where the show was compared to GoT. Say what? It was so weird. 

If you think about the romance between Marcus and April too much it becomes far-fetched simply because he's a massively popular actor and she's an everyday woman. But once I got over how they met and so on, their relationship is major goals. There's sexual attraction, of course, but there is such respect and that is incredibly attractive. They're both so smart and passionate and they brought out the best in each other. You couldn't help but root for them to have the most perfect Happily Ever After.

You can probably tell I was just feeling OK about Spoiler Alert. I'm so glad Olivia Dade's book exists but it didn't hit the high notes for me. It's still worth a read but don't rush out and buy a copy for yourselves - use the library for this one. And all that said? I'm also likely still going to check out Dade's other novels too!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own*

Review: Anne of Manhattan

I have loved Anne of Green Gables for a long, long time. It's one of the first big girl books I remember reading and it was so long ago that I can't really remember when I first picked it up. But I remember the feeling of reading the series and how much I loved the wonderful, descriptive world L.M. Montgomery created and the dreamy red-headed orphan who inhabited it. I've reread them all and have watched most adaptations. I've seen a stage production. I've visited Montgomery landmarks - though Green Gables still eludes me. Maybe in 2022? Even though I'm a really big Anne fan, I welcome additions to the Green Gables world so it was with cautious optimism that I requested to review Brina Starler's Anne of Manhattan, just published earlier this month. And, friends? I adored it.

Here's the book's description:

After an idyllic girlhood in Avonlea, Long Island, Anne has packed up her trunk, said goodbye to her foster parents, Marilla and Matthew, and moved to the isle of Manhattan for grad school. Together with her best friend, Diana Barry, she’s ready to take on the world and find her voice as a writer.When her long-time archrival Gilbert Blythe shows up at Redmond College for their final year, Anne gets the shock of her life. Gil has been in California for the last five years—since he kissed her during a beach bonfire, and she ghosted him. Now the handsome brunette is flashing his dimples at her like he hasn’t a care in the world and she isn’t buying it.
Paired with the same professor for their thesis, the two former competitors come to a grudging peace that turns into something so much deeper…and sexier than either intended. But when Gil seemingly betrays her to get ahead, Anne realizes she was right all along—she should never have trusted Gilbert Blythe.
While Gil must prove to Anne that they’re meant to be together, she must come to terms with her old fears if she wants a happily-ever-after with the boy she’s always (secretly) loved.

One thing you must know is that Anne of the Island is my favourite of the series and I've been hoping for years that someone would do a true adaptation of that book. Anne with an E didn't get that far into the series and the mini-series from the '80s didn't quite interpret the third book in the series  as I would have liked. So. I was really, really excited when I realized that Starler's novel was essentially going to be a modern Anne of the Island. It's just the island in question is in New York, not Canada. And, you know, it's present day, not the late 1800s. I liked that Starler aged Anne for the story, too. She's in her mid-twenties in the book and is working on her Master's so she's not a new college student. She's still young but she's grown up, too. All of that made for a story that just hit a lot of my favourite things so it's no real surprise that I enjoyed the book.

For the most part, Starler did a good job at honouring the feeling of the characters Montgomery created. Though I did find Anne to be a bit more...organized and precise than she should have been. I didn't really expect to see the dreaminess of a young girl but she seemed to be more controlled and, dare I say boring, than I thought that girl would have grown up like. But the friendships with Diana and Phil and Jane were just as you'd expect (even if the story is more about Anne and Gil than Anne and her bosom friends). The women are ride or die and even if they weren't in the story as much as I wanted, you knew they were in Anne's corner. Marilla and Matthew were as delightful as ever and Rachel's busybody-ness was softened. Starler updated the characters' skin colours and sexual preferences, as you may expect from a book set in present day NYC. And Gilbert? Still my OG Book Boyfriend. I was swooning constantly.

Speaking of...it was a bit weird to be reading as Anne and Gilbert had sex because, well, this is ANNE. But it's also a modern day love story and a girl has needs. The romance was swoonworthy and you'll probably need a fan during the steamier scenes. And even though I knew how things turn out for Anne and Gilbert in the original story, I was still super invested in discovering how their Happily Ever After would turn out in this adaptation.

The novel has both present day and flashback scenes and both Anne and Gilbert have chapters from their perspectives. The "then" chapters tell the modern day version of Anne of Green Gables and outlines how Anne came to arrive at Green Gables and the interactions between her and Gil when they were younger. I liked having past and present come together and appreciated seeing the story from each character's point of view.

I enjoyed Anne of Manhattan so much. Adaptations of beloved classics aren't for everyone and they aren't always well done but I was happy with Brina Starler's novel. It was a familiar story that made my heart so happy but it was modernized just enough to be a fresh story for today's readers. I'd recommend it to those who enjoy adaptations. If you're more of a purist, maybe pass on it.

*An egalley was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, via Edelweiss in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Seven Days in June

I know I've said recently that second chance romances have slipped from the top spot on my list of favourite tropes. But I was really intrigued when I head about Tia Williams' Seven Days in June. Sure there's a second chance romance to it but this novel didn't seem like a typical romance. It seemed deeper and more angsty and it made for a read that I was totally invested in.

Here's the book's description:

Brooklynite Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer, who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award-winning literary author who, to everyone's surprise, shows up in New York.
When Shane and Eva meet unexpectedly at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their past buried traumas, but the eyebrows of New York's Black literati. What no one knows is that twenty years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. They may be pretending that everything is fine now, but they can't deny their chemistry-or the fact that they've been secretly writing to each other in their books ever since.
Over the next seven days in the middle of a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect, but Eva's not sure how she can trust the man who broke her heart, and she needs to get him out of New York so that her life can return to normal. But before Shane disappears again, there are a few questions she needs answered. . .

While the second chance thing had me intrigued, I was also looking forward to reading about a couple of authors. I just love bookishness in my reading material. I'm not totally sure why. I mean, I know I'm totally obsessed with books so that's a huge part of it. But it's kind of...meta, I guess?...to read a story by an author about authors. I loved that Williams threw the characters into so many Black Literati events and had every type of book lover and industry professional depicted. There were the hardcore readers who embraced the fandom, genre authors and literary darlings, publishers, editors, book reviewers and influencers. It was great. It also really made me miss book events!

Eva and Shane's relationship was, in a word, intense. It was off the charts bananas and the truth of what had happened to them fifteen years prior (the first seven days in June) just about broke my heart. It was a tough situation to begin with but then you learn more about it and I was so sad and so infuriated. And the romantic in me was distraught over all the lost time (but the realist in me understood, as the couple did, that maybe they can only work because they're older and aren't reckless teenagers). Their attraction almost seemed far-fetched but the comments from the people around them, like Audre, Eva's daughter, and Cece, their editor, made it clear that they were so much happier and healthier when they were together. That means something.

I don't know if I think all books need to be classified into a specific sub-genre but I still found myself sort of struggling to fit this novel into a box. I wouldn't call it a romance and it's not a rom com - though it does have super steamy romantic elements and it's wicked smart, it's just not laugh out loud funny. It falls into that large, vague contemporary fiction space that gets defined very differently if you're a man or a woman. And, I imagine, if you're a white woman or a Black woman. Regardless of what genre you could shove this into, it's a really good read that hits all the emotions you encounter in life.

I don't have an invisible illness like Eva, who suffered from debilitating migraines, but I do know that those kinds of disabilities (among many, many others) aren't seen in fiction all that often. I hadn't realized until the last several years how important it is to be able to see yourself reflected in the fiction you consume (whether that's books, TV, movies, and so on) because I'm straight, white woman. Eva's illness is a large part of her life, of course, but it doesn't define her and it doesn't define the novel and I think Williams found the perfect balance in this book (she does thank her own migraine doctor in the acknowledgements). 

Seven Days in June is worth a read. It's raw and real. It's sexy and smart. It's probably a few other alliterative adjectives. Tia Williams has written a few other adult novels (and YA novels) that I'm going to have to check out because I really loved her voice and writing style. 

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Hachette Book Group Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Sisters of the Resistance

I'm not sure I knew the sister of Christian Dior was involved in the French Resistance until I read Natasha Lester's (amazing) The Paris Secret. Catherine Dior was a passing secondary character in that novel so when I heard that Christine Wells was writing a novel that focused more on Dior's role in World War II? I was immediately intrigued. Sisters of the Resistance was a riveting read that shines a light on the women who worked behind the scenes, at a great risk to their own lives, as they fought to liberate their country from Nazi Germany.

Here's the book's description:

France, 1944: The Nazis still occupy Paris, and twenty-five-year-old Gabby Foucher hates these enemies, though, as the concierge of ten rue Royale, she makes it a point to avoid trouble, unlike her sister Yvette. Until she, like her sister, is recruited into the Resistance by Catherine Dior—sister of the fashion designer, Christian Dior.
Gabby and Yvette are both swept into the world of spies, fugitives, and Resistance workers, and it doesn't take long for the sisters to realize that their lives are in danger.
Gabby discovers an elderly tenant is hiding a wounded British fugitive, and Yvette becomes a messenger for the Resistance. But as Gabby begins to fall in love with her patient and Yvette’s impulsiveness lead her into intrigue at an ever-higher level, both women will discover that their hearts and even their souls hang in the balance as well.

I may have been interested in this book at first because of the Catherine Dior connection but the novel isn't actually about her. Sure, she plays an extremely important role and is featured prominently but the story isn't told by her. The reader follows sisters Gabby and Yvette as they each do work to help Dior's resistance network. It shouldn't matter that it wasn't really about Dior. I believe I've read that there isn't actually a lot of material on Dior and her part in the resistance for researchers and writers to pull from. It makes sense that authors, like Wells, don't want to put fictional thoughts in the minds of real people when the information just isn't there. That's all fine. What I don't love is when publishers try to capitalize on a Big Name in History to sell books. I think historical fiction fans are interested enough in learning more about the people (women especially) that we haven't read about before. Those lesser known stories that are only just being talked about now, decades later. None of this is a bad thing, exactly, but I think readers need to temper their expectations when going into this novel as it is not told from Dior's point of view.

All that said, this novel is a fascinating look at what it would have been like in Paris during the Occupation and as residents worked together to fight back. The French Resistance is so interesting. The number of people, especially women, who put their lives in danger to protect their Jewish neighbours or to provide a safe house for injured Allied soldiers or pilots is astounding. And many of them believed that they were just doing what any normal person would do. But the thing is, a lot of people didn't do anything. It was a terrifying time so it's understandable that some people just weren't able to justify risking their own lives to save someone else's. So many women were left widowed because their husbands had to go off to fight at the front. Why would they risk what little they had left? But others? Like Catherine and the other Resistance Fighters? There was no question. They did everything they could. And there were so many ways that people were helping. I don't want to spoil anything but Wells does a good job of highlighting the many different types of things Parisians were doing to save their city. It was awe-inspiring. 

The story is told from both Gabby and Yvette's perspectives (third person) and in two time periods. During the war, in 1944, and afterwards, in 1947. It's similar to what Kate Quinn did in The Rose Code but it wasn't quite as nimbly done. I listened to both novels - they're actually narrated by the same person, Saskia Maarleveld, who I find incredibly talented - so I know it wasn't a listening vs reading thing that had me comparing the two. I can't put my finger on what didn't work but it wasn't as well done as I was expecting. Not to say that it was bad! I find the post-war period really interesting because it did take years for Europe to emerge from the shadow of war and I think that's a time period that should be explored a bit more. *searches for more novels set in the late 1940s*

As I said, I listened to the audiobook of this novel. Maarleveld put on a French accent (Parisian, not Quebecois like I'd be used to hearing in my own country) when the sisters and other French characters were speaking. It was a bit more of a reminder that, technically, they would have been speaking French most of the time and yet I was reading (listening) in English. It's always a bit weird to read novels like that but what else is there to do? I can't read a book in another language! (Even if I am trying to learn French online. It's slow going.) Maarleveld has a really pleasing voice and I'll definitely be looking into more of the novels that she narrates.

Overall, Sisters of the Resistance was an interesting read that shone a light on the important work French Resistance members, like Catherine Dior, did during World War II. Christine Wells' novel is a good one for historical fiction fans who are looking to learn even more about the time period.

*An egalley and an advanced listening copy of this novel were provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada/Harper Audio, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Hang the Moon

I was completely delighted by Alexandria Bellefleur's debut rom com Written in the Stars when I read it at the end of 2020. I was immediately excited for the next book in the sort of series but also worried Hang the Moon wouldn't quite live up to my expectations. I read a lot of rom coms in May. A LOT. Not to mention the number I read prior to May. But Hang the Moon? It's my favourite. I absolutely loved it. 

Here's the book's description:

Brendon Lowell loves love. It’s why he created a dating app to help people find their one true pairing and why he’s convinced “the one” is out there, even if he hasn’t met her yet. Or... has he? When his sister's best friend turns up in Seattle unexpectedly, Brendon jumps at the chance to hang out with her. He’s crushed on Annie since they were kids, and the stars have finally aligned, putting them in the same city at the same time.
Annie booked a spur-of-the-moment trip to Seattle to spend time with friends before moving across the globe. She’s not looking for love, especially with her best friend’s brother. Annie remembers Brendon as a sweet, dorky kid. Except, the 6-foot-4 man who shows up at her door is a certified Hot Nerd and Annie... wants him? Oh yes.
Getting involved would be a terrible idea—her stay is temporary and he wants forever—but when Brendon learns Annie has given up on dating, he’s determined to prove that romance is real. Taking cues from his favorite rom-coms, Brendon plans to woo her with elaborate dates straight out of Nora Ephron’s playbook. The clock is ticking on Annie’s time in Seattle, and Brendon’s starting to realize romance isn’t just flowers and chocolate. But maybe real love doesn’t need to be as perfect as the movies... as long as you think your partner hung the moon.

I had a feeling the second book would be about Brendon and Annie when I finished Written in the Stars (which is about Brendon's sister/Annie's best friend Darcy and Elle, who sort of works with Brendon) and I was SO excited. I really enjoy the sibling's best friend trope (or best friend's sibling, however you want to talk about it) so looked forward to what Bellefleur would write. The pair have history but they haven't seen each other in eight years and when those eight years span your twenties, a lot can change. I loved reading as the pair reconnected and realized that there was something to Brendon's crush all those years ago.

While I'm loving the rom coms that are more serious these days, I also still love the romances that make me literally laugh out loud. This story was as clever as it was charming and it made for such a delightful reading experience. That's not to say there aren't some serious moments, as there are. Both Brendon and Annie have some romantic hurdles to overcome and that makes things...tricky...for them. But the promise of them being together has them working to do whatever they can, even if it scares the hell out of them.

You don't have to have read Written in the Stars to enjoy this one. But for those who have, there is just enough of both Darcy and Elle to satisfy the reader's curiosity about how the pair are doing now without it overwhelming Annie and Brendon's story. They're involved, of course, because Darcy is Annie's best friend and Brendon's sister but they're doing their own thing while the main couple of this book are doing theirs (and, ahem, each other). (My review of Written in the Stars is here if you missed it.)

I've never been to Seattle but these books are making the wanderlust even stronger than it was. The boyfriend and I keep meaning to make concrete plans to go when the Blue Jays are in Seattle but other things got in the way (bills, mostly, but also not enough vacation time on my end) and then, well, COVID-19 hit. There's something about the city that intrigues me and Bellefleur seems to capture the energy so well - or at least well enough that it really makes me want to visit.

I finished reading Hang the Moon with a smile and an overwhelming sense of pleasure. I loved every second I spent reading the story Alexandria Bellefleur had written and was also kind of sad when it was over. Brendon and Annie were a great couple to read about and while I know Bellefleur will give Margot the Happily Ever After she deserves in the next book, I know I'm going to want even more of Brendon and Annie!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, via Edelweiss, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Cover Reveal: A Brit Player

It's been awhile since I've done a cover reveal and I'm excited to share the cover of Brenda St. John's upcoming novel A Brit Player! I've read a few of St. John's novels and have found them really enjoyable. One of those reads was the first in the Castle Calder series, A Brit on the Side. Because I liked that one so much, I knew I wanted to share the new cover of book 4 with you all.

The series isn't a "true" one so you can hop in and out of the series without feeling like you'll be missing anything by not having read the others. Which is good since I haven't read books two or three! But I'm still looking forward to #4! This one, which publishes June 23, is a second chance sports romance which is kind of my jam.

Before I share the cover, here's what the book is all about:

Whoever said taking a second chance on your first love was a good idea obviously had nothing to hide…
They say the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else. But shagging a guy with a “Bad Decision” tattoo is never a good idea. It’s a warning label. Trust me.
So when a friend coerces me into taking part in a charity dating auction, I jump at the chance to leave London - and my bad decisions - behind for a weekend.
But Max Foster is there and he’s bidding on me like it’s his job. Max isn’t just a guy. He’s THE GUY - my first love who I haven’t seen since the day he left high school to go play professional football in Spain.
I shouldn’t see him again, never mind want to. Because letting him find out about the secret I’ve kept from him these past twelve years? That has “bad decision” written all over it.
** This book may contain triggers for sensitive readers **

Sounds intriguing, right?

Ready for the cover?

Was someone looking for a blond, muscled footie player? 'Cause I found him for us! I love the purple and the gold and shiny font.

If you're already interested (come one, you know you are!) you can add it to Goodreads here. 

And if you're ready to pull the trigger, here are your pre-order links:

Amazon * B&N * Kobo * Apple Books * Books2Read

The rest of the Castle Calder books are below and they're all available now.

A Brit on the Side
FREE on all platforms for a limited time!
Amazon US / UK / CA / AU * B&N * Kobo * Apple Books * Books2Read

A Brit Unexpected

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU * B&N * Kobo * Apple Books * Books2Read

A Brit Complicated

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU * B&N * Kobo * Apple Books * Books2Read

About the Author
Brenda is a displaced New Yorker living in the English countryside. She’s lived in the UK long enough to gain dual citizenship, but still doesn’t understand Celsius. However, she has learned the appropriate use of the word “pants”. And how to order a proper bacon bap/barm/buttie. Because, well, bacon.
Brenda writes contemporary romance to make you giggle and swoon. When she’s not writing, she enjoys hiking, running and reading. In theory, she also enjoys cooking, but it’s more that she enjoys eating and, try as she might, she can’t live on Doritos alone.
For more information or to connect with Brenda visit http://brendastjohnbrown.com

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