Lauren Blakely’s Full Package is a sexy, fun friends-to-lovers romance that provided a reading break I had no idea I needed. Its characters are normal and their relationship evolves in a fairly uncomplicated manner without a lot of the chaos and angst that have been present in some of my most recent reads. But please…
Penny Reid’s Beard Science is awkwardly and wonderfully odd, and no carefully selected combination of adjectives can adequately communicate the mind-bending deliciousness of this thoroughly enjoyable book. The author’s creativity beats to its own drum, and she’s successfully written something different – an original story with an incomparable cast of characters that stands out in…
Leah Martin is a successful baker who also happens to be plus-sized. Sam Cooper has a weakness for both her body and the desserts she makes and in a bumbling attempt to help her defend herself against her sharp-tongued mother, tells said mother that he and Leah are engaged. The problem is that they only…
Paris is one of my favorite cities to visit, so when I learned that the historical portions of The Confectioner’s Tale are set in Paris in 1910 it seemed a perfect book for me to review. I was intrigued to learn that the “contemporary” portion is set in 1988 – mostly in Cambridge, another favorite…
Having failed at multiple service industry jobs, Jessie Robinson decides to make one more last-ditch attempt at saving her crashing life by applying to work at a bakery. Even though she doesn’t have any experience as a baker. Well, she had no experience as a waitress or grocery bagger, either, and her favourite childhood memories…
I was excited to see Virginia Kantra’s latest Dare Island romance on the review list. I’ve read and enjoyed the previous entries and was intrigued by this heroine in the earlier books. While not perfect, I found the hero and heroine strong, interesting characters, and enjoyed this entry as well. The only place Gabe Murphy…
At times reviewing books is like a little kid eating vegetables. You avoid a book as long as possible and then read it in unpalatable hunks just trying to finish, choking and grimacing all the while. Following that same analogy, Carla Kelly’s latest Marriage of Mercy is the dessert, sweet and fulfilling and ending much…
I had a bit of a wake up call last year when I realized I’d reviewed ten series romances – and awarded nearly all of them C range grades (one was a D). Perhaps my go-to “light and easy” reads were becoming neither light nor easy. I backed way off this year; Just One Kiss…
It seems to be my month for happy surprises. When I picked up Gabi Stevens’ As You Wish for review I had a measure of dread because the previous book in the series was Not My Cup of Tea, even though I found it oddly charming. I don’t know how she did it, but Ms….
I love romance (obviously, since I review for AAR) and I love listening to people’s stories about how they met, so I thought the True Vows line would be a lot of fun to read. I’ve only read one so far, and I have to say that The Icing on the Cake just didn’t do…