I’m not the Bah!Humbug! type, but I’m also not one to seek out Christmassy romances just because they’re set in and around the festive season, although if I like the sound of a story and it happens to be set around Christmas then I might give it a go. And if I do pick up…
Christmas Mountain is a sweet, sexy and emotional opposites-attract/second-chance love story featuring two guys who sort of ‘just missed’ each other when both their lives took unexpected turns before they could get around to going on a date. Their rekindled romance is a slow-burn with lots of longing and pining, the family dynamics – both…
Warning: this book is filled with serious discussions about, and memories of, various characters’ domestic abuse. There are no active descriptions of abuse on page (everything is related via memories or off-page), but one of the minor characters does die at the hands of her abuser. This is one of those books that really should…
Freya Marske’s inventive and impressive début, A Marvellous Light, is an enchanting blend of magic, mystery and romance set in England in 1908, in which a newly-appointed civil servant finds himself suddenly part of a mysterious and fantastical world of deadly curses, spells and secrets. It’s a clever, well-written story featuring two attractive and strongly…
Note: This is the thirteenth full-length novel in the Hazard and Somerset series, so new readers are advised not to start here. There are spoilers for the previous books in this review. I think, if I had to write a one-word review of Gregory Ashe’s Custody Battles, it would be OUCH. I spent most of…
The Wrangler and the Orphan is book four in Jackie North’s Farthingale Ranch series; I haven’t read any of the others, but although characters from the other books appear in it, this one stands alone. It’s a hurt/comfort age-gap romance in which the two leads bond over just how far their lives mirror each other…
Lily Morton’s The Cuckoo’s Call is a charming and heartfelt age-gap, opposites-attract romance that looks at what happens to a holiday romance after the holiday is over. You generally know what you’re getting with a Morton book – steamy sexytimes, witty banter, engaging characters and a good helping of feels – which is exactly what’s…
Note: There are spoilers for previous books in this review. Jenn Burke’s Ashes & Dust – a sequel/spin off to the Not Dead Yet series – got off to a strong start earlier this year with All Fired Up, which finds Wes, Hudson and Evan running a successful PI business in Toronto five years after…
A Winter’s Earl is a big, loud, crashing melodrama of a book. The romance between our heroes is, to a degree, disappointingly gaslighty – and you’ll have to accept a number of things about their relationship if you want to fully indulge in this story. A few redemptive touches keeps this away from D territory,…
Annabeth Albert’s The Geek Who Saved Christmas is a charming confection of seasonal goodness featuring a sweet and steamy grumpy/sunshine romance and lots of warm and fuzzy Christmas feels. It’s a light-hearted, undemanding read, but the low-angst nature of the story don’t mean it lacks depth or a bit of bite; even when she dials…