Book Reviews - Random Olive

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Weekly Reads: September 22 to 28, 2025

Sep 30, 2025

The Truth About Lord Stoneville by Sabrina Jeffries (2010)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Hellions of Halstead Hall series. Oliver and his siblings are given an ultimatum by their grandmother to all marry within the year to maintain their allowance and inheritance. Oliver tries to force the grandmother to back off by bringing home a totally unsuitable fiancee in the form of a brash and outspoken American woman. Maria is only in England to find her actual fiance and gets entangled into Oliver’s schemes. Lucky for them that they ultimately fall in love, plus all of Oliver’s siblings are loads of fun. Lots of drama and scandal in terms of the circumstances of how their parents passed away.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Road Trip with a Vampire by Jenna Levine (2025)

Paranormal romance. Book 3 of the My Vampires series. Witch Zelda is just trying to live her yoga studio life without magic, but her old friend Reggie sends the amnesiac vampire Peter to her door. He needs help finding his memories and she needs to let some magical steam off, so they go off on a road trip to meet at a mystery location in a threatening note he received. It’s chaos and humor as they try real hard not to hook up with each other. I loved this soft and funny approach to interacting with vampires. And Zelda’s backstory is loads of fun to learn about. Fun and easy read.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

Through the Storm by Beverly Jenkins (1998)

Historical romance. Civil War America. Book 1 of the Le Veq Family series. Loads of drama here. Sable is a slave who is about to sold to a cruel master, so when her great aunt provides a distraction, she runs away. She meets the charming Raimond at a refugee camp and they almost maybe sort of start a romance. The flirting between these two is really fun to watch though, with the brazen and outspoken Sable not giving in and fawning all over the handsome Raimond. But danger comes calling again and she runs off, possibly betraying him in the process. They cross paths many months later when Sable is going by a different name and having befriended Raimond’s mother in New Orleans. From there, we’ve got an arranged marriage, more flirting and fighting, and maybe they finally fall in love. Oh and don’t worry, that nasty villain from the beginning of the book is lurking throughout.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Kitty St. Clair’s Last Dance by Kate Robb (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. I would say the romance plot here is secondary to Jules getting her life together and learning more about her late friend Kitty. Prologue has a one night stand between Jules and Reeve that seems magical, but does not work out, for reasons to be explained later. Two years later, Jules is at a funeral for Kitty St. Clair, lively resident at the retirement home where Jules works. And unexpectedly, Jules inherits the abandoned dance hall next door. We get glimpses of Kitty’s past through her super old diary that Jules has and through Jules’ super-realistic dreams where she’s transported to the past as Kitty’s best friend. Jules has lots of decisions to make regarding her application to medical school and what to do with the dance hall property. She also happens to find a second chance with Reeve who pops back into her life at just the right time. He’s super sweet and almost too perfect, but don’t worry, we’ll have some trust issues later on. I enjoyed the ride of this book and the anticipation of learning what Jules does with the dance hall. I also loved the Kitty back story along the way.

Advance ebook provided by Dial Press via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

The Nanny’s Handbook to Magic and Managing Difficult Dukes by Amy Rose Bennett (2025)

Historical fantasy romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Parasol Academy series. Super light on the fantasy; the nannies just have some basic magical powers like Mary Poppins. Otherwise, this was your fairly standard story about a duke with rambunctious orphaned wards who falls in love with the outspoken nanny. Emmeline is a graduate of the prestigious Parasol Academy and accidentally lands a job with Xavier, the clock-obsessed duke with unruly wards. They meet, she’s great with the kids, they fall in love. There’s a bit of drama with a villain trying to sabotage Xavier’s life, but otherwise, it’s a pretty predictable story.

Advance ebook provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley.

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Useful Resources:

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Weekly Reads: September 15 to 21, 2025

Sep 23, 2025

The Gingerbread Bakery by Laurie Gilmore (2025)

Contemporary romance. Book 5 of the Dream Harbor series. Super fun second chance, not-quite-enemies-to-lovers romance. Annie and Mac have been sniping at each other in every previous Dream Harbor book and this book finally lets us know why. Apparently, one December many years ago, Annie and Mac had a quasi-relationship going on. But then Mac leaves town to explore the country and find himself and doesn’t come back when he promises to. Of course this makes Annie write him off for good, and makes his actual permanent return to town chilly and awkward. He’s still totally hung up on her and doesn’t quite know how to win her back. A weekend of wedding hijinks for their friends is the perfect occasion for forced proximity and bringing back all those old feelings. Cute and flirty and steamy.

Advance ebook provided by Harper Collins via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

To Heist and to Hold by Christina Britton (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Wimpole Street Widows Society series. Heloise and her band of widows plan to infiltrate a gaming hell to save her sister-in-law, and one of those schemes involves seducing one of the owners. Ethan is the very gruff and serious gambling hell owner who is suspicious of Heloise’s motives, but lets her close anyway so he can figure out what she’s up to. They’re both keeping secrets, but it’s clear that they’re totally falling for each other. Lots of sweet caretaking here that goes both ways, plus the added mystery of who’s running a crooked game at the club. Lots of action, both in and out of the bedroom, making this an enjoyable read.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

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An Introvert’s Guide to Life and Love by Lauren Appelbaum (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Loved this book about an introverted homebody finding herself in a quiet little beach town. Mallory is the work-from-home hermit who adores online shopping and staying in her cozy apartment. But her life is a bit blown up when she inherits her a seaside cottage across the country from her late grandmother, in exchange for taking care of Gramps. I loved seeing Mallory grow closer to her grandfather and develop such a strong bond to him and the community where he lives. We also get to see Mallory juggle that remote job she hates and the home improvements she needs to make to the cottage to get it in rentable condition. The romance here comes in the form of a charming property manager Daniel, but it’s really more a story about Mallory’s journey and growth and the Daniel-based romance is just a bonus.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Hachette Audio.

Jewel by Beverly Jenkins (2008)

Historical romance. 1880s Michigan. Book 2 of the Grayson Family series. Eli just needed a pretend wife for one dinner with a big city newspaperman to earn an investment, but ended up with a real wife instead when gossip gets out. Jewel is the only daughter of the gruff and surly lumbarjack and used to caring for her many older brothers. She never expected to marry, and especially not to Eli, the man she’d had a teenage crush on. She tries to make sure this is a marriage in name only, but he’s trying to convince her to make a real go of the relationship. It’s a lot of flirting and seducing on Eli’s part to get Jewel to comply. The romance is here is fairly predictable, but it was nice catching up with this town again and seeing everyone work together to built Jewel and Eli’s new house. Danger comes back into town in the form of cousin Nate’s ex-wife and we get to see all the chaos she brings with her.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Duke of Eccess by Mariah Stone (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Seven Dukes of Sin series. Temperance is on the run from her life as Lady Agatha, daughter of an earl, and known as the Mad Heiress. She’s trying to escape her stepmother’s machinations and just needs to lie low until her birthday when she can claim her inheritance for herself. And that comes in the form of a governess position for Octavius’ wild charges. The three children lost their parents earlier this year and have run off half a dozen governesses. Lucky for them, Temperance is an unconventional sort and they start to bond with her, and become better behaved in the process. Octavius also needs some tutoring in better behavior and turns to Temperance for his own improvement. We get loads of drama with Octavius’ friend also eyeing Temperance, and all that hiding she’s doing from her stepmother. Excellent addition to this series.

Advance ebook provided by Mariah Stone.

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Useful Resources:

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Weekly Reads: September 8 to 14, 2025

Sep 16, 2025

The Honeycrisp Orchard Inn by Valerie Bowman (2025)

Contemporary romance. Book 1 of the Honeycrisp Orchard Romance series. Super cute little small town romance. Ellie has a dramatic firing from her big city job and luckily has a place to land at her family’s small town inn, where she’ll be helping to plan the autumn harvest festival. But she’s paired up with grumpy apple farmer, Aiden, who is skeptical of her return. They were childhood friends who drifted apart in high school and he’s a bit resentful that she left for the big city and never looked back, even though he’s stuck around and supported both their families’ businesses. It’s tons of flirty banter here, even with very different dreams and goals. We’re mostly just waiting for Ellie to realize she can achieve her dreams right there in town, with a built-in partner and community.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Libro.fm.

Is This Real or Just Pretend by Emily Sullivan (2025)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Follow up to Duchess Material. I love a fake courtship romance, especially one with a virgin MMC. Lucien is back in town after his supper club business collapses in Paris (not his fault, his partner did him dirty) and instantly becomes re-smitten with his longtime crush Freddie, the daughter at the estate where he grew up. But Freddie is nearly engaged to someone else and her big sister Alex wants to keep it that way. So Alex declares that there’s nothing going on between Freddie and Lucien because he’s courting her instead. She somehow manages to convince him to go along with the fake courtship so that he can make some business connections in London and so that Alex can continue working for her father’s company without as much criticism. And of course these two are attracted to each other and fall in love along the way. It seems that Alex is the insecure one in the relationship though, knowing that Lucien has long crushed on her sister and believing that she’s only good for business and not for love. It’s heartbreaking and emotional to see her suffer here, but also lovely to see her soften and fall in love.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Game Point by Meg Jones (2025)

Contemporary Romance. Book 2 of the Game, Set, and Match series. Ooh, I loved this friends to lovers romance. Dylan is a tennis star who has lost so many grand slam finals and is almost ready to quit the sport. Somehow, she strikes up a friendship with Oliver, who also somehow convinces her to let him coach her. The development of their friendship and the slow burn into more is so good. The banter, the flirting, the ease of communication and joking. I loved it so much. Not much to say except it was an excellent read.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

People Watching by Hannah Bonam-Young (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Watch out for heavy themes amidst the flirty banter here. Prue has lived the small town life working at her family gas station and grocery store and caring for her mother with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Her father is trying to encourage her to get a bit more of a life, and she finds that in Milo, new to town to help his brother open a brewery. Milo has his own issues with emotionally and physically abusive parents and guilty at leaving his younger sister behind when he left the family home. But he’s a massive flirt and definitely makes Prue’s life a bit lighter. They embark on a friends-with-benefits scenario and try real hard not to catch feelings. Except the feelings are blooming strong and there are these bits of fate tying these two together. Loved this book.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

How to Sell a Romance by Alexa Martin (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Super steamy one night stand romance. Emerson is a kindergarten teacher who gets recruited into a skincare company by her boss and school principal and meets a stranger at a rooftop bar after the convention. Luke is all sorts of skilled and handsome and it all blows up when she realizes that he’s got disparaging things to say about the new company she just joined. Oh, and then we find out that he’s the father of one of her students. Oops. We get to navigate the world of sisters in skincare and learn just how sinister these companies can be, all while dealing with all of that tension between Emerson and Luke. Lots of cute and flirty banter here and everyone is probably a little too good to be true.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Thanks for reading Random Olive Reads! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Sins for All Seasons Historical Romance Book Series by Lorraine Heath

Sep 10, 2025

Beyond Scandal and Desire by Lorraine Heath (2018)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Sins for All Seasons series. One of my favorite tropes is the revenge plot, and Lorraine Heath does it so well in this book. Mick Trewlove is the illegitimate son of a duke who won’t acknowledge him, so he sets his sights on financially ruining the legitimate heir and ruining the man’s fiancee. Lady Aslyn is basically a sheltered miss, the ward of the duke, and has had an understanding of an arranged marriage with the Earl of Kipwick her whole life. Except a chance encounter with Mick has her questioning basically everything, especially her own attraction to the man. Loved seeing the tough and grumble Mick turn into a doting suitor around Aslyn and the build up of his revenge. Although the idiotic earl makes everything much easier. Get ready for a really good final confrontation with the duke too. Loved it so much.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

When a Duke Loves a Woman by Lorraine Heath (2018)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 2 of the Sins for All Seasons series. The Duke of Thornley is having a no-good very bad day when he gets left at the altar, attacked by thugs, and left for dead in the alleyway behind a tavern. Luckily, tavern-owner Gillie rescues him and sets him back to health. She’s never felt attraction for a man before and generally keeps to herself and is the rough and tumble tavern owner, but she’s instantly attracted to Thorne when he shows up in her life. Learning that he’s a duke has not deterred her attraction, even as she knows it’s a terrible idea to get involved with him. But he needs help finding his missing fiancee and believes Gillie can provide that assistance. He’s realizing that he prefers Gillie’s company over anyone else’s, but it’s still all a bad idea due to their differences in social station. I loved seeing these two people banter and communicate and finally come together.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Scoundrel in Her Bed by Lorraine Heath (2019)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 3 of the Sins for All Seasons series. Fairly typical setup here with a second chance romance between the daughter of an earl and an impoverished illegitimate commoner. We get the story in a split timeline, starting with Lady Lavinia at present day where she has run away from her wedding to a duke a few months ago and now lives in a foundling home and buys babies back from baby farmers to save. She gets into a tussle one night and Finn, her former love, comes to the rescue. They haven’t seen each other in eight years and both believe that the other person betrayed them (but in a predictable fashion, we know that’s not the whole story). In the past, we learn how these two met, became friends, and then more, leading up to a plan for an elopement that never happens. In the present day, Finn is trying to figure out why Lavinia has changed so much and why she has run away from her family. I enjoyed reading about all the experience each one had in their years apart and how they come to the point they’re at now. The romance here was fairly straightforward and I was more interested in learning the secrets that Lavinia was hiding. A solid addition to the series.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Duchess in His Bed by Lorraine Heath (2019)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 4 of the Sins for All Seasons series. Widowed duchess Selena is at the ladies’ club on the prowl for Aiden Trewlove, the owner and bastard son of some unnamed lord. We get to see their flirty and seductive first meeting, before finding out Selena’s real reason for being there. She needs to get pregnant and quick, so she can pass the baby off as her late husband’s to keep her position and fortune. It’s dramatic and angsty and we get to catch up with the whole boisterous Trewlove family. So much steam and longing within these impossible circumstances and it was so much fun to read. Pulls at all the heartstrings just right. Loved it.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Earl Takes a Fancy by Lorraine Heath (2020)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 5 of the Sins for All Seasons series. So, the Earl of Rosemont is a widower who was tricked into marriage by his late wife and then for unknown reasons, his dying wife sets in motion a letter to be published in the newspaper a year after her death, basically seeking a new wife for the earl. He’s totally fed up with all the gifts and callers and young ladies, so he leaves his London townhouse and takes up residence in a totally different part of town where no one knows who he is. And so, a mere mister Matthew goes to visit his neighborhood bookshop, where he meets and is smitten by the shop owner Fancy. She’s about to have her debut with the support of all her siblings, who have always prepared her for marrying into the nobility. But she’s equally smitten with Matthew, and is worried about letting down her family by not marrying a lord. This book was filled with yearning and secrets and I loved it all.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Beauty Tempts the Beast by Lorraine Heath (2020)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 6 of the Sins for All Seasons series. Well, I loved this book too. And sad to be at the end of the series. The former Lady Althea Stanwick has had a major reduction in circumstances when her ducal father is found guilty of treason, hanged, and his family stripped of their titles and kicked out of their home. Now, Althea lives in Whitechapel and works as a serving maid at a bar where she meets Beast. (because it’s his sister’s Gillie’s bar, if you’ve been following along with this series). Beast immediately recognizes Althea’s demeanor as someone of quality and recruits her to tutor the ladies who work at a brothel, so they can better their circumstances, and she demands some tutoring of her own from Beast. It leads exactly where you expect it to lead in terms of their romance, but oh man, the emotional moments of this book are so good. And when we finally learn about Beast’s parents (because we’re destined to tie up this story that way), everything comes full circle.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Thanks for reading Random Olive Reads! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Weekly Reads: September 1 to 7, 2025

Sep 9, 2025

Pitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey (2025)

Contemporary romance. Book 4 of the Big Shots series. This book was quick and punchy and steamy and I loved it. Skylar is a college softball pitcher who is dragged to an impromptu ball game between her baseball player brother and a bunch of hockey players. Of course, she overhears Robbie, a rookie hockey player, saying some sexist bullshit before the game and gets all indignant about it. And he is smitten at first sight. Somehow, this all turns into Robbie inviting himself to her house over Spring Break to be her partner in her family’s chaotic outdoorsman challenge and also be her fake boyfriend so she can make her brother’s best friend notice her. Oh, and then she decides to ask him for flirting lessons while they’re at it. I loved how fast-paced this was, even if totally unrealistic, and it’s very clear that he fell first and harder.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 3 of the Belvoir’s Library series. Something suspicious is going on when two anonymous writers are publishing very similar gothic novels. Lady Georgiana is ready to fight this woman who is quite possibly copying her, but then gets all tongue-tied when she finds out it’s her teenage crush and former family butler’s daughter Catriona. They spend most of the book bickering and misunderstanding each other’s circumstances and there’s a huge element of self-denial for Georgiana who believes herself the cause of harm for the people around her. The banter and flirting is great though and I loved this awkward crush and slow-burn romance. There’s a bit of underlying mystery plot at a creepy manor house they’re visiting, so expect some problem solving from our Belvoir’s crew at some point. Overall, loved this book.

Advance ebook provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Libro.fm.

Vivid by Beverly Jenkins (1995)

Historical romance. Post-Civil War Michigan. Book 1 of the Grayson Family series. A female doctor in this era is a tough sell, but Dr. Viveca Lancaster (Vivid to her family) is ready to prove herself in a small town in Michigan. It doesn’t help that the town sorta-mayor Nate is skeptical of her wanting to stick around. He’s got his own hang-ups after his city-bred wife divorced him. But Viveca fits right in and definitely shows her competence to all the townsfolk. Of course the angry bickering between Nate and Viveca turns into flirting and so much more. Not much in the way of external plot for most of the book, but once we have our sights on a villain, Ms. Bev makes sure they get their comeuppance.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

Every Step She Takes by Alison Cochrun (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Sadie has the pushiest family ever, forcing her on dates with men she’s not into, and basically making her feel bad for working hard to keep her inherited antiques business afloat. So she takes advantage of her travel blogger sister’s injury and goes on a walking tour of the Camino. But of course, having never traveled before, she freaks out during some rough airplane turbulence and word vomits onto her seatmate Mal and is totally embarrassed. Bonus, Mal is also on the Camino tour and has her own issues with a recently deceased estranged father and an inheritance she doesn’t want. It’s a wild ride of self-discovery and learning to let go of all your hangups along this trip, plus a great cast of side characters along the way. Awkward Sadie learns to be a lot less awkward and we get to journey right alongside her discovering her newfound queerness.

Advance ebook provided by Atria Books via NetGalley. Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Earl That Got Away by Diana Quincy (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Sirens in Silk series. We start with an awkward first re-meeting between Naila and Hawk at the pre-wedding ball of her sister and his friend. Basically, everyone is surprised to see each other after 8 years, especially since Naila had rejected Hawk all those years ago due to his lack of title and fortune and now he’s a wealthy earl. And somehow the situation is made more sad by the fact that Naila has turned into a drab spinster who has been heartbroken all these years and regretting her mistake. We get this story told in flashbacks interspersed with their present-day experiences. So much angst and underlying resentment for Hawk and underlying guilt for Naila. We just need to be patient and see Hawk’s walls eventually come down.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley.

Thanks so much for reading this post! Looking for more bookish resources and romance book reviews? Read the archives!

Useful Resources:

Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited

Want an intro to historical romance series? This post will help!

Affiliate links may be used within this post. If you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Thanks for reading Random Olive Reads! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

New Releases for August 2025 – Historical Romance and Contemporary Romance Books

Sep 5, 2025

An Unforeseen Kiss by Alexa Aston (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 4 of the Captivating Kisses series. Tragic backstory for Eden who’s mother is paralyzed after a horse riding incident when she was young, plus the sudden death of her father when she is on the cusp of making her debut. She ends up as a governess to two young ladies, but definitely wary of her circumstances. Val is the newly inherited duke who is learning his responsibilities after the sudden death of his father. His aunt is keeping his mother company during her mourning period and sends for her daughter and their governess to stay. Val is instantly smitten with Eden, but she wants to maintain her distance due to their stations. Lucky for her, he’s only got honorable intentions. Loved this romance.

Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Books via NetGalley.

My Best Friend’s Earl by Bethany Bennett (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Bluestocking Booksellers series. If you’ve been looking for scenes with yearning, you need to read this book. First off, Constance and Oliver are total opposites and also cannot seem to stop thinking of each other. Secondly, Oliver has been engaged to his childhood friend and neighbor due to a deal their fathers made over cards many years ago and he’s being super honorable and sticking to the arrangement. But his fiancee is actively trying to get out of the engagement and even asks Constance for help in how to get Oliver to jilt her. It’s messy and chaotic and at some point when Oliver and Constance realize they have true feelings for each other, it’s all blocked by his honor and prior entanglements. Loved this book so much.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Print book provided by Forever Books.

Zomromcom by Olivia Dade (2025)

Paranormal romance. Book 1 of the Supernatural Entanglements series. This book was so much fun to read. Just the right amount of action and adventure and danger. And oh my gosh, the steam. Edie is trying to fight off a zombie and protect her dimwitted neighbor, but it turns out her neighbor is secretly a vampire named Gaston. He goes by Max, but get ready for all sorts of iterations of the Gaston song throughout the book. They’ve got loads of zombie danger to deal in trying to save the neighborhood and we meet all sorts of wacky side characters along the way. It was an absolute delight to read.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

Gabriela and His Grace by Liana De la Rosa (2025)

Historical romance. Victorian-era England and Mexico. Book 3 of the Luna Sisters series. I can’t believe this is the last book of the series and we need to leave the Luna sisters behind. I am super glad that Gabby finally meets her match in Sebastian, the duke who we knew would be trouble for her on their very first meeting. Gabby’s on her way to Mexico, fleeing a bad situation in England, and Sebastian is on the ship right along with her. Even though they start the journey as somewhat enemies, she definitely softens towards him when she realizes that he isn’t exactly the rake he seemed to be in the past. And of course, Sebastian is just trying to keep his sanity around him since it’s clear he’s totally besotted by Gabby. Loved seeing the flirtatious banter between them and the undeniable attraction here that they’re trying so hard to fight. Loved seeing it all wrap up and all our Luna sisters so happily wed.

Advance ebook provided by Berkley via NetGalley. Advance print book provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

Anywhere With You by Ellie Palmer (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Present-day Charley is a high strung intellectual property lawyer who is recently divorced and trying to stop her sister from getting engaged. Lucky timing for her, her best friend Ethan is in her driveway with his van and they go chasing after the sister together. While Charley and Ethan have never been anything more than platonic best friends, there’s definitely an undercurrent of something in the background. It’s just that Ethan is the kind of guy that is way too much for flight risks for Charley’s tastes, especially when we flashback to her nomadic childhood and her absentee father. We get all sorts of hilarious road trip adventures here with a dash of sexual tension. Solid read, but I’m not entirely sold on them making it for the long haul with their opposite personalities.

Advance ebook provided by Penguin Random House via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

A Waltz on the Wild Side by Erica Ridley (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 6 of the Wild Wynchesters series. Solid conclusion to the series, but a lot of the story could have been resolved earlier if Vivian communicated more clearly about her missing cousin’s adventures. Vivian and her young cousin always argue over his and his friends’ hero worship of the Wynchester family, with good reason, since Vivian is worried that a bunch of law-breaking adolescents will not have the same privileges as the wealthy family of a baron. He goes missing one day and Vivian pretty much lands on the Wynchester doorstep to ask for help. She’s terribly prickly and judgmental and spends most of the book getting to know each of the siblings (and their respective spouses) to learn that they really are more honorable than she originally judged. Her romance is set with Jacob, the animal trainer and poet of the group, and it’s pretty much attraction at first sight, even with her being totally closed-minded. He’s smitten from the jump and wants to do anything he can to help her. We end up with a lot of wacky miscommunication and go through a lot of hoops to find the cousin.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

The Gilded Heiress by Joanna Shupe (2025)

Historical romance. Gilded Age New York. Standalone novel. This one is a really good Anastasia retelling with mystery and intrigue and steam. Leo is your basic con-man in Boston, and when he sees Josie singing in the street, he has a glimmer of an idea to pass her off as a long-lost heiress. And she has no idea that’s his game because he’s pretending to be a talent manager to get her on Broadway. They go to New York together and try to keep things professional, but that only works for so long when they spend literally all their time together. We get to uncover the mystery of the lost heiress and how Leo’s late father is involved in the mess. This book was so much fun to read and listen to.

Advance ebook provided by Avon Books via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Harper Audio via NetGalley.

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Weekly Reads: August 25 to 31, 2025

Sep 2, 2025

Anywhere With You by Ellie Palmer (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Present-day Charley is a high strung intellectual property lawyer who is recently divorced and trying to stop her sister from getting engaged. Lucky timing for her, her best friend Ethan is in her driveway with his van and they go chasing after the sister together. While Charley and Ethan have never been anything more than platonic best friends, there’s definitely an undercurrent of something in the background. It’s just that Ethan is the kind of guy that is way too much for flight risks for Charley’s tastes, especially when we flashback to her nomadic childhood and her absentee father. We get all sorts of hilarious road trip adventures here with a dash of sexual tension. Solid read, but I’m not entirely sold on them making it for the long haul with their opposite personalities.

Advance ebook provided by Penguin Random House via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

A Waltz on the Wild Side by Erica Ridley (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 6 of the Wild Wynchesters series. Solid conclusion to the series, but a lot of the story could have been resolved earlier if Vivian communicated more clearly about her missing cousin’s adventures. Vivian and her young cousin always argue over his and his friends’ hero worship of the Wynchester family, with good reason, since Vivian is worried that a bunch of law-breaking adolescents will not have the same privileges as the wealthy family of a baron. He goes missing one day and Vivian pretty much lands on the Wynchester doorstep to ask for help. She’s terribly prickly and judgmental and spends most of the book getting to know each of the siblings (and their respective spouses) to learn that they really are more honorable than she originally judged. Her romance is set with Jacob, the animal trainer and poet of the group, and it’s pretty much attraction at first sight, even with her being totally closed-minded. He’s smitten from the jump and wants to do anything he can to help her. We end up with a lot of wacky miscommunication and go through a lot of hoops to find the cousin.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley.

Lady Like by Mackenzi Lee (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Standalone novel. We get the story of two different women in circumstances where they need to marry and end up falling in love with each other instead. Harry is an unconventional sort of woman, born illegitimate to a brothel worker and now an actress with short hair and wears trousers. She’s got an inheritance on the line that depends on her marrying a respectable sort of man. Emily is a country girl with a history of scandal and a betrothal to a cruel much older man in her village, so she’s in London to find a better prospect for her own protection. Of course it turns out that Harry and Emily are after the same man and hijinks ensue. But as they spend more time together, their rivalry turns into friendship and a whole lot more. Fun to read these two get to know each other better and especially fun to read the brash Harry learn to express her feelings.

Advance ebook provided by The Dial Press via NetGalley. Advance audiobook provided by Penguin Random House Audio.

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Weekly Reads: August 18 to 24, 2025

Aug 26, 2025

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite (2020)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Feminine Pursuits series. The slowest slow burn friends to lovers story here. Widowed Agatha is running her print works and finds a swarm of bees where they shouldn’t be, so her mother-in-law refers local bee expert Penelope to help. Penelope is a married woman who’s husband is actually in love with her brother and they go off sailing and catching whales together. Loved seeing Agatha and Penelope’s friendship develop through their letters and subsequent visits to each other’s homes. It’s a super slow build, but well worth the read.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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My Best Friend’s Earl by Bethany Bennett (2025)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Bluestocking Booksellers series. If you’ve been looking for scenes with yearning, you need to read this book. First off, Constance and Oliver are total opposites and also cannot seem to stop thinking of each other. Secondly, Oliver has been engaged to his childhood friend and neighbor due to a deal their fathers made over cards many years ago and he’s being super honorable and sticking to the arrangement. But his fiancee is actively trying to get out of the engagement and even asks Constance for help in how to get Oliver to jilt her. It’s messy and chaotic and at some point when Oliver and Constance realize they have true feelings for each other, it’s all blocked by his honor and prior entanglements. Loved this book so much.

Advance ebook provided by Forever Books via NetGalley. Print book provided by Forever Books.

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Get my massive guide of all the romances I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited