Fans of New Adult sporty romances set on college campuses likely have writers like Elle Kennedy on their auto-buy lists and I’m definitely one of them. With her current series, Briar U, she’s been profiling some good guy hockey players, young men with an eye for the ladies as much as the game. Now it’s…
College is a much better fit than high school for odd, self-contained Penny Lee, getting her away from her bland high school boyfriend and her teenybopper mom. While getting a fresh start at the University of Texas, she meets Sam Becker, who’s living above the coffee shop where he bakes and makes hot drinks. Sam’s…
Elle Kennedy returns to the new adult hockey romance world with The Chase, a spinoff from her Off-Campus series, that is set to launch at least two (please more) books into the much loved setting of Briar University. While there are returning characters and a few events referenced, as well as some pre-existing dynamics from the previous series,…
It is a truth universally acknowledged that I will read just about any Pride and Prejudice redux that comes my way. It is also a truth that very, very few of them are worth my time, so imagine my delight when A Higher Education resoundingly was. The small changes made to the original only served…
A fictional spin on the courtship of Kate Middleton and Prince William, The Royal We doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable aspects of royal life and has more details and heft than your typical pauper-meets-prince romance. The supporting cast (his brother, her sister) truly shines. However, the leads were bland, and the deviations from the…
The first book I ever read by Kelly Jamieson, Shut Out, didn’t sit very well with me. I’m happy to say that the second book in the series, Cross Check: A Bayard Hockey Novel, is an improvement, but there are still some aspects that simply grated on me. Ella Verran has made some bad choices…
Written from a beautiful and intimate ‘own voice’ perspective, Liz Jacob’s Abroad is a delight. Accurate and nuanced writing is becoming the norm with Brain Mill Press, and Abroad continues this trend, and raises the bar higher. Although the novel subtly changes points of view throughout, the strongest voice is that of Nick Melnikov. When…
I know a lot of romance readers steer clear of NA books. I get it, I do. It’s difficult to achieve the right balance writing about college kids maturing into adulthood – and not a lot of writers are able to do it well. One writer who does successfully navigate this transitional time period is…
What a treat to read a genuinely sweet romance that includes a gay male and a trans main character. Hopeless Romantic is a genre romance. Boy meets girl, boy courts girl etc., etc. complete with HEA. Nick Fraser is a gay guy who wants all the trappings of the rom-com movies he loves, except with…
I picked the first book in the Burnham College series, Undecided, as one of my favorite books in 2016, and guess what? Ms. Keyes has followed it up with another winner! Undeclared is funny, sexy, awkward, addictive, and frustrating… just like its principal character Kellan McVey. This time Ms. Keyes takes a character you sort…