2 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase: This is the first full-length novel of Milan’s that I’m actually unable to recommend. Though there are a lot of good aspects here, there is just too much unevenness... the subplot (helping an abused wife and child escape from a violent, unstable husband) overwhelms the main story. The characters are left without time to fully develop on their own, and we’re left to infer a lot of their romantic journey. The heroine feels very hazily drawn (

4 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase: Secrets of the Heart starts with arguably its most controversial plot line -- I don’t want to give it away for everyone (spoilers below), but let’s just say it’s a breakup that’s quite dramatic and also a bit heartbreaking. Despite that (I’m not usually a fan of my escapist fiction starting with such heady drama), it was a thoroughly interesting and engrossing read. Ten years pass between the initial breakup and the current action, and it’

4.5 out of 5 stars Ana Huang nailed it with the sports romance in The Striker. This book was like watching a high-stakes match and a slow-burning love story happen in real time, and the tension NEVER lets up. From Asher Donovan and Vincent Dubois’s rivalry being petty, intense, and dramatic, to putting Scarlett right in the middle, setting the scene for a perfect binge read. This one had me hooked till the last page at 3 am. As a former prima ballerina with a bright future t

4 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase: There’s lots to like about Proof of Seduction -- thoroughly interesting and believable central characters who have entirely different motivations and back stories. They are multilayered and complex: you’ve got a woman who’s pretending to be a gypsy fortune teller because she was born on the wrong side of the sheets and really has nothing else to do with a ladies’ school finishing education combined with no family name or background. The hero

3.5 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase: Royal's Bride is a bit uneven, with some really smashingly written parts sandwiched between some really forgettable, cliched scenes; it also suffers from having a genuinely mediocre climactic sequence. Still, it’s a solid Martin read, with a lot of her trademark action/plot, strong/driven protagonists, and sensuality. I think Martin fans, who like her particular brand of fast-moving drama, will have few complaints. I thought that the side

4 out of 5 stars Shorter Version: I’m going to admit that I first read Dangerous Masquerade book years ago, reread it, and liked for reasons that were half enjoyment and half nostalgia. This is a good, “old-fashioned”/not terribly sensual/overly dramatic-at-times regency romance: the believably terrible villain, the quiet yet strong hero, the quick-on-her-feet and easy to relate to heroine... if you delve too deeply into any one character or plot point, things might start to

5 out of 5 stars With three best selling books behind him by the time he published Twice , Mitch Albom remains unstoppable with another top-charting — but this time romance — novel: intricately woven, poignant, raw yet beautiful, this love story between Alfie, who can do anything twice, and Gianna had me desperate hoping this is how every romance was (this is probably because I last read Heated Rivalry , which is overwhelming flat in comparison). The novel is told through the

4.5 out of 5 stars (the single book I have reread) Ok so. This book is the definition of “I know it’s toxic, but I can’t deny the attraction.” It’s one of the few books I have reread, which says a lot since I’m always hunting for new books. The cold, morally questionable billionaire and a sunshine artsy girl with unresolved trauma, I eat it up. Finished this book in one sitting. Both times. Yes, it is toxic. If a man like this showed up in real life, I would walk in the oppos

4 out of 5 stars (emotionally…maybe 5/5) A delicious, aching slow-burn set in a small town. Archer’s Voice follows trauma-filled Bree Prescott and silent, isolated Archer Hale. I loved this book. I’ve been thinking about it a lot again recently. It’s a tender, devastating, easy read with the iconic line, “Don’t run from me, I said. I can’t call to you. Please don’t run from me.” What I loved: I absolutely adore how we learn Archer’s story bit by bit, it was like slowly pieci

5 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase: This book is a wonderfully plotted, concisely written, enthralling blend of adventure, romance, fantasy, and (lots-of-creative-license-taken) history. It begins a bit slowly: our heroine Na’amah is a young, innocent girl who takes a bit of patience to get used to initially (she’s just that green and naive). But... and this is a big but... like a classical concerto, it really builds, and though the anticipated flood (the title does after all

5 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase: A novel within a novel with little stories nested in between, this is an intricately woven tale about two sisters’ loves and lives, spanning over six decades. There are three distinct sections to this novel: a series of flashbacks by an octogenarian who initially claims she’s unsure who she is or why she’s cataloguing all of this, a series of local newspaper articles detailing the social events, political ambitions, and deaths of some of the

Full Disclosure, my basis for judgement: As usual, I haven’t read everything by Olivia Hayle, but I have read a LOT: 5/6 New York Billionaires (5/5 of the main ones, I skipped the 12 Days of Bossmass because I don’t usually enjoy those novella/extended epilogue type of books): Think Outside the Boss, Saved by the Boss, Say Yes to the Boss, A Ticking Time Boss, Suite on the Boss 3/3 Connovan Chronicles: Best Enemies Forever, The Perfect Mistake, One Wrong Move 1/4 Seattle B

2.5 out of 5 stars Because You’re Mine is split into two parts. In the first half, we have wonderfully believable protagonists (an innocent, overly optimistic girl of eighteen and a famous, jaded theatre actor) who meet, are drawn to one another, and fall in love. The characters are well developed, the story is engaging, and there’s just the right amount of side plot and theatre details to fill out the landscape. Then comes the second half. After a two-month time lapse, o

2 out of 5 stars (and the yearning did all the heavy lifting ) Give Me a Reason is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion , following Korean-American actress Anne Lee as she returns to the U.S. and reconnects with her first love, firefighter Frederick Nam, ten years after breaking up to save her family from bankruptcy. It’s a contemporary second-chance romance with lots, and I mean LOTS, of yearning. I hate to say this, but I genuinely think that the cover art migh

I was sooooooo close to not finishing. And I almost always finish. The general theme and idea for this book was on point (anonymous dating app, best friend’s brother, and office romance) and intriguing, but the execution? Not so much. The first chapter, where you can already tell how head over heels June is for Beau but she feels like they could never be together? I loved it. That being said, the chemistry and reasons why they couldn't be together felt so forced, which real

5 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase: While I don’t think that this book is for everyone (not even everyone who normally likes historical romances), it’s well-written, excellently executed, and sparkles with both wit and a certain melodramatic flair (costumes, scandals, and runaways -- oh my!). Chase has given us a strong, thoroughly independent female who’s ambitious and driven... about dressmaking, as well as a boring (initially classified as just plain stupid) male lead whose

0.5 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase This is a bit of a fake-out. Calling a series of women fallen implies to me that they actually should be... fallen, and thus different and distinct from the youthful virgins and/or managing spinster virgins we so often get within the genre. Instead, this particular novel would probably be more enjoyable for a male, rather than a female, reader: Zoe, our heroine, is a girl who’s spent the last 12 years in a harem, being trained by experts in

Hilarious, Witty and Heartfelt 4.5 Stars So this is a super solid romance with chaotic side characters (Weronika and Lorelai get shout-outs), some lovely found family (the Grad or Die girls, the stray who she names The Dog) some lovely rebound/revenge stuff (where she's getting over not only her cheating ex, but that she let that happen for so long) some light family tension (this part was refreshing, instead of the stereotypical Chinese Tiger Mom, Daisy's mother is actually

Full Disclosure, my basis for judgement: I haven’t read everything by Elle Kennedy, but I have read a LOT (maybe too much?) because I feel like even when sometimes the MMC can be a little interchangeable, Kennedy always delivers on the well-written spice, the just-enough-drama/trauma to keep things interesting and there's often actual emotional development. That said, before I delve into the whole thing, here are the 20 books this post refers to: 4/4 (or 5 I guess) of origin

2.5 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase: There are some lovely details and characterization, not the least of which is a female protagonist who is ambitious, confident, determined, and very, very intelligent. The way she’s described she could almost be the male lead, which is kind of great! Also, there are some nice side plots and characters who are interesting and are allowed to act in sometimes surprising ways... but what ultimately weighs this novel down is a male protagonist