As a lover of romantasy novels I was excited to see this synopsis about a young woman, unlucky in love, who loses herself in her favorite romantic fantasy novels Elytheum. In a fantasy world your dreams of the perfect man are delivered via fiction, keeping the hope alive that someday you’ll find your own hero, albeit unwinged. When Jennifer gets dumped by her current boyfriend, her week is free for her to go live out her fantasies at an immersive Elytheum event. She hopes to leave all her real world troubles behind, but when she gets to the event she discovers her work nemesis wearing leather. Scott is determined to solve his own relationship troubles and is determined to turn himself into a perfect book boyfriend. Jennifer wants nothing to do with Scott yet he keeps turning up and the notes he’s taking seem to be working in his favor.
There were some really fun elements to this story. Who wouldn’t want to immerse themselves in their favorite fantasy world, including their dream boyfriend? My hand is raised right along with yours! There were some cute moments where Jennifer is living out her dream, meeting people and making friends, but there were moments where it felt like the author’s leaned a little too hard into the fantasy taking me out of the story. I struggled with some chapters where the story felt a little cumbersome and the budding relationship was more antagonistic than frenemy. The story was a little problematic for me and I had trouble feeling good about Jennifer and Scott as a couple.
There were some happier moments. I loved that Jennifer, who seems to have trouble making friends and meeting people, seemed to be in her element. She put herself out there and really let herself enjoy the experience with a new group of non-judgemental friends. Those scenes were great and I loved the women helping women theme but unfortunately this was a romance novel and I couldn’t get past not liking this pairing as a couple. Maybe you’ll feel different? ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!
Lyla’s life is not going as planned. Her post-doctoral research job is looking like a dead end and her relationship with her actor-boyfriend Nico is running out of steam. When he suggests that they try out for a reality show called One Perfect Couple in order to help out his career she reluctantly agrees. They will compete with four other couples in order to win a cash prize while on a deserted island. After the first challenge the contestants are left feeling angry and after a storm blows through that night they find themselves facing more reality than they’d counted on. Not able to reach the production team or the mainland, they have only enough water to survive a few weeks and the stakes have risen to life or death.
This is the second time I’ve listened to one of Ruth Ware’s novels and again I had trouble going about my work day without wanting to plug in and hear the next chapter. Imogen Church’s narration was amazing and her characterizations of each individual really gave them life. I knew who each person was by the sound of their voice, which kept me immersed in the story instead of trying to figure out who was saying what line.
This was one of those mysteries that wasn’t very mysterious, but despite the reader being in on who were the good guys and bad guys, Ruth Ware still did a great job at building the tension in each chapter and I still wanted to know what was going to happen next and how these characters were going to save themselves from a murderer, but also get off the island. I loved that Lyla’s POV was used for the narration because even though she was one of the more timid characters, she was also a realist and her voice gave insight into some of the characters actions and reactions. I personally identified the most with her as well, which is probably the case for a lot of the readers of this book.
I really don’t want to get into any of the intricacies of the plot or even talk about individual characters too much because it would give too much of the story away and truthfully, even though the reader is let into who the murderer is, the build-up to that moment is just too good to spoil it for everyone- so open the book, or click the start button and enjoy the ride. This is a good one!
Detective Casey Duncan and Sheriff Eric Dalton are living out their dream in the Yukon in the town they helped create, Haven’s Rock. They are starting a family and is nearing the end of her pregnancy, when one of their residents is drugged and abducted into the forest. She’s saved in the nick of time, but Casey launches an investigation, despite Eric’s worry over her own health and safety. When a huge snowstorm hits town during their investigation, they stumble upon a naked body in the middle of the lake and realize they have a killer in their midst.
I’m completely invested in these stories after reading the Rockton series and now Haven’s Rock. Casey and Eric’s romantic partnership is always a part of each novel, but it’s a mystery that cements each story and keeps me coming back. Cold As Hell wraps the two things together. Casey’s pregnancy is problematic and her doctor wants her in a city closer to a hospital when they find the body frozen on the lake. Reluctantly they leave town in the capable hands of their deputy, Anders, but Casey’s detective instincts never turns off and she’s able to investigate from afar and finds out some things that lead them back to Haven’s Rock away from the safety of healthcare nearby. This adds to the tension of the mystery keeping the reader on the edge of their seat.
The fact that each person in town was handpicked and not supposed to have any predilections to violence is also an added twist to the story. How could this happen? How do they ensure the safety of their residents in the future? etc. It opens the door to more re-creations to this town they want to build and call home. I relished being back in Haven’s Rock and can’t wait to see what future installations will bring. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!
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Can I admit that historical romances are a guilty pleasure? My taste in subject matter has changed a bit since I was a teenager sneaking my older sisters books to read late into the night. I’ve come to appreciate a more diverse cast of characters and often look for historicals that are racially diverse or break the class barrier. Yes, those “Duke is a Scoundrel” romances are still fun occasionally but really I want my view of historical time periods to be a bit more educational, even if it’s just seeing how the lower classes lived. I had run across a group where the question was asked if anyone could recommend a historical romance that didn’t involve the upper crust and Alice Coldbreath’s Victorian Prizefighter series was recommended twice, and the third book was both of these reader’s favorites. Seeing that there were actually three books in the series, and because I’m a Virgo and I like to read things in order, I started with book #1 A Bride for the Prizefighter and cautiously started reading.
Mina’s dad is on his deathbed when he drops a bombshell, notifying her that she has a half-brother whom he has written on her behalf. When dad dies, Mina will be broke, with no chance to support herself. When her brother shows up, he’s two sheets to the wind and takes her immediately to an inn in the countryside and marries her off to the innkeeper, a prizefighter named William Nye. Mina finds herself going from teacher at her father’s school to running an inn with a man who only married her because her brother held something he desired and that was the only way he could get it. The story that unfolded showed Mina’s strength of character. She worked hard, didn’t hold herself above anyone else at that inn, and provided a little polish to a kind of rough tavern. Her husband at first had very little to do with her and left her alone, but he provided her with small things that brought a little joy into her life. A small parlor filled with furnishings, some fabric to make curtains, a place for her to put her mother’s fine china tea set. Inside that gruff exterior was a mushy teddy bear. This book gave insight into those establishments in England, but also that class of people. I enjoyed this book tremendously! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Plain, Lizzie Borden, was the poor relation dependent upon her Aunt and Uncle to keep a roof over her head. At a dinner party she sees something that she shouldn’t and instead of staying quiet, she speaks up and tells the truth. Unfortunately it’s a truth no one wants to hear and she gets cast out of the house. At this dinner party is her cousin’s new fiancé, Benedict Toomes. Benedict is an ex-prizefighter who wants to raise his station in life by marrying well, but this incident turns his stomach and instead of marrying her beautiful cousin, he proposes a scheme to Lizzie that will keep her out of the workhouse- marry him. Instead of living in a nice house, though, he plans to hit the fair circuit with his family. Something that Lizzie may have looked down on in the past, but now looks at as a challenge and an adventure. This novel was my favorite in the series. Not only did I love Lizzie and her fearlessness at living in a wagon, like a gypsy, but because Benedict protected her and had such care for the sanctity of their marriage. The setting was unique, but so were the characters. This is one of those books where you’ll go back and read it again just to see if it has that same magic as it did the first time you read the book. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
This story was the favorite pick in the series by the two reviewers I mentioned above, and I can see why. Theodora was unlike any other character I’ve read. She was raised in an acting family, but no one else in her family sees her talent and will not give her a break. It’s not until she meets Clem Dabney, who owns a competitive music hall that she sees her chance and she’s going to take it. She proposes a deal to Clem, marry her and allow her a chance on the line-up at his music hall, and he’ll receive her 25% stake in her families theater. What makes her completely unique is that her talent lies in male impersonations, and once she gets on stage- she steals the show. The more complicated part of this story is the romance between Clem and Dora. Dora is so truthful and there isn’t one hint of artifice in her persona, but Clem was a prizefighter and he has learned to con and scheme and he feels awful for how he has not believed in Dora. Just like book #2, I know I’ll come back and read this one again as well. Shoot, I’ll re-read the entire series since I bought all three books. They were just so unique and fresh. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
As I do with most new author’s who I haven’t read and have a backlist of books, I took a look at the other series. At some point I know I’m going to give them a try, but you know, I think it will be really hard for her to write better characters and stories as she did with the above three books. They were not perfect but they were really enjoyable and gave me that fix that I needed at the time I was looking for something different to read.
Copyright 2025 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved
Aiden Valentine is a little jade when it comes to love, which is why his Baltimore call-in radio show has been suffering in the ratings lately. Things look up when a child calls in on behalf of her mother asking him for love advice and when Lucie Stone gets on the phone their conversation is heartfelt and speaks to his audience, going viral. His station manager takes advantage of a good thing and invites Lucie onto his show temporarily, with the premise that they’d help her find a match. What Lucie doesn’t count on is that her perfect match may be sitting right next to her.
Based loosely on the movie Sleepless in Seattle, First-Time Caller gives you all the same warm and fuzzies as the movie and even more heart. Aiden’s jaded view on love was built into his back story and revealed in increments while Lucie’s need for that happily ever after falls in line with what all little girls dream of having in their future. It wasn’t until her daughter calls in to the radio station that she takes a good look at her life and realizes that yes, something is missing and that dream she has had won’t happen unless she takes chances and leaves her safe place, home with her daughter. I loved reading about Aiden and Lucie’s journey, their self-discoveries seemed realistic and not so outrageous giving more impact to the story.
You can’t help but love a book with great side characters- the charming daughter, the lovable ex, the manager with a mushy heart, and the work friends who root for your happy ending. This book had all of the above and those characters helped deliver a loving, warm romance where the happy ending was guaranteed. I could read this book over and over. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest.
Jessie Wylde has a secret. Her brother is missing. She hasn’t told any of her friends because it’s a family matter but she’s made friends with the homeless hoping that they can give her information that will help her investigate his disappearance. Her friends may not know what she’s up to, but Eric Turner, a member of Nightingale Investigations, understands how dangerous her situation is and he’s going to step in and give her a hand. Whether she wants it or not. There is more going on in Phoenix than Jessie is aware. People have gone missing and it will be up to Jessie and Eric to uncover the truth.
I’m loving the old school feel to this Avenging Angels series. It’s an offshoot of Kristen Ashley’s original Rock Chick series and Jessie and her girl gang may not be as crazy as those Rock Chicks but they have their own brand of fire to bring to these pages but even more importantly they have what this author writes best, friendships. As we found out in the first series, Jessie and her friends make up a group called the Angels, financed by an unknown source, kind of like the tv show Charlie’s Angels. They provide them with the funds, cars, and stun guns to clean up a few problems on the street. In this novel it’s tied to homeless people going missing, and ultimately, Jessie’s lost brother.
Side by side with the girl gang are the hot men from Phoenix’s branch of Nightingale Investigations. These men are alphas and just like in the original series, they know their woman when they find them and it seems each of these ladies will be paired off with each of these men by the time this series reaches its conclusion. Jessie and Eric’s story is pretty straightforward and as with all the others is quick paced, fun, has some great girly dialog, and a hint of dangerous activity. This book was a fun ride and I’m already eagerly anticipating the next one! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
When Claire Walker is chosen to be a contestant on the popular cooking show Britain’s Battle of the Bakers, she is thrilled. She’s excited to be on the set at Blackfirth Park using historical methods to wow the judges and hopefully launch her baking career. The Viscount of Colburn, Jonathan Ainsley, reluctantly agrees to let the show use his home for their new season. He needs the funds in order to fund his families dwindling finances. He wants nothing to do with the show and contestants and plans to never cross paths with any of them. Those plans change when one of the contestants is found dead in a way that is eerily similar to one of his ancestors two hundred and fifty years ago. Claire and Jonathan’s paths cross and they strike up a friendship and agree to help the local constable investigate the death.
This cozy mystery with a hint of romance was right up my alley. I love reading and baking and to come across a novel that combines my two loves made my heart warm. I definitely felt the Great British Bake-Off vibes and loved those scenes where Claire and the contestants were using those pre-1900’s implements to craft their bakes. I also loved that hint of heat I felt when Claire and Jonathan met for the first time. There was quite a bit of flirtation, and as the investigation progressed and those real feelings developed? Yum.
The romance was sweet, but what about the mystery? I actually really enjoyed following along with our two main characters, their interactions with the other bakers, producers, and staff, and thought the author found the right note to keep this strictly in the cozy mystery genre. I wasn’t surprised by the ending, but the author led us gently to the conclusion. I can’t wait to see what new mystery Claire (and hopefully Jonathan) can solve!
❤️❤️❤️❤️
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest.
When Aileen finds fae trespassing in her woods and her best friend attacked on the same night she is soon neck deep in trouble. The local werewolf pack has been taken hostage and the fae barrow has fallen. In order to help Caroline, she travels to Las Vegas, the territory of a dangerous supernatural. Surrounded by her own family of vampires, she soon finds herself also having to save her entire family line. Aileen has to embrace that darkness inside in order to save those she loves.
I’m going to admit that this series, for me, started off a little rough. As this is the seventh book in the series and I’m still reading it, I’ve obviously gotten invested in Aileen’s story and care about each characters storyline. Caroline, her best friend, was turned into a werewolf early in the series- actually not too long after Aileen was turned into a vampire, so we’ve gotten to watch both of those characters evolve, although as the main character we care a bit more about Aileen’s outcome. In this story the lives of both of these characters will be affected by the outcome of their interactions with this dangerous new character in Las Vegas and I have to admit the descriptive scenery of the fae barrow grabbed me and I knew we were going to be in for a fun ride.
Aileen’s vampire family continues to grow and her relationships to each of them while still contentious, seems to also mean more to her. I like that they are becoming “family” instead of vampires that she just has to deal with to survive. Her hesitation to become involved or allow herself to care about them seems to be crumbling which makes me look forward to the next book even more. What will her relationships look like? How will her character keep evolving? Will the other paranormal species continue to be threatened by her? Those unanswered questions as well as the non-stop action will keep me coming back to the next novel. I’m kind of surprised because I didn’t start out the series feeling this way, but I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next for Aileen.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Seventeen year old Anna is chosen to enlist in The Unity Project, a government run team-building exercise to promote unity between the species. She’s on a team with another human, a werewolf, fae, shapeshifter, and a spirit who only she can hear. It’s a race to the death in a competition between other interspecies teams to complete the course and hold the Vessel of Unity, which allows them to leave the game alive, that species to skip the next game, and gives them a voice during interspecies talks. Anna’s gift of speaking to the spirit world makes her an invaluable tool that all of the teams would like to use but Anna only wants to help the species find peace. Of course, she’ll have to avoid being killed by everything and everyone around her.
The Unity Experiment had elements that were reminiscent of other books I’ve read like The Divergent Series and The Hunger Games, but with a fantasy twist, introducing multitudes of species whose interactions are rife with secrets, distrust, and violence. Anna has lived a pretty mundane human life in comparison with her other teammates, with the exception of her childhood when her father performed experiments on her in their basement, and then again when she became of age and became eligible for the Unity Experiment lottery. I say mundane, but the world she lives in is much darker than our own world yet the humans live and work in “regular” jobs in between lottery picks. When Anna gets dropped into the experiment and lands in the jungle full of violence and subterfuge she relies on those instincts that her father helped her develop. As her character moves forward in the experiment you can see a light bulb turn on and her drive to know what happened to her father when he entered the experiment becomes her driving force- besides surviving, of course.
On her team, everyone has an ulterior motive, but she is drawn the most to Dylan, the werewolf who has sworn to protect her and keep her alive. There are elements of an attraction that makes this novel feel at times somewhat romantasy, but the author seems to have more interest in other aspects of the plot and leaves the readers emotions hanging a bit, which if there’s another novel is totally ok by me. There was enough action, and subterfuge to engage my mind and keep me reading. In fact, I blew through this novel in about four hours I enjoyed the writing so much.
As with any new world that I enter as a reader, there were moments of confusion. At times, Amura who could shapeshift, would turn into quite a few different insects, birds, etc. that a couple of times it took me a moment to catch on to who and what was going on. Despite a little confusion with that character, I loved how the author made each team member a different species (with the exception of Chris who was human) and gave the reader a new world to explore with each characters back story. So interesting!
Needless to say, I really enjoyed this novel! There were only a couple of moments where something happened from Anna’s viewpoint that took me out of the story and I said “what just happened?”. It was a new novel by a new to me author and I thought it was practically perfect in every way. Unless there isn’t going to be a second book. If that’s the case I may need to re-think my feelings for that ending! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️
I received a copy of this ARC from the author for an honest review and it was honest!
Bestselling mystery author Kate Valentine is off to a remote island for the wedding of her editor, who also happens to be her ex-fiancé. It sounds like it will be an absolute nightmare, but with the help of some free champagne she figures she can put a smile on her face and hope that the setting gives her inspiration for her newest Loretta Starling mystery. She gets a little more than she bargains for when someone tries to poison a guest and pen the murder on her! Channeling her fictional character and with the help of her friend, fellow author Jake Hawkins, they investigate the scene and uncover bitter resentments and long-held grudges that give them more suspects than answers. She does however, get a fabulous plot for a new book.
As I was reading this novel I definitely was getting Clue vibes, “It was Professor Peacock in the library with the brass candlestick!” There were so many crazy family members and wedding party guests that it felt kind of comical, but slowly the plot tightened up and became a little easier to follow. Kate was a bit of a mess, but when she channeled her fictional character Loretta Starling she had moments of lucidity, but too much champagne, always running into someone who had nefarious intentions, and fighting her mixed feelings about her ex getting married and her attraction to Jake gave the book a rather hectic feel that both made me eager to turn the page and find what happened AND turn the page so that I’d be closer to the end of the book. I had mixed feelings while reading this and I think it may have been the rather hectic nature of the pace that gave me a few misgivings.
Despite that hectic pace and Kate’s flighty nature, there was still something to like about this story. The characters were eccentric and interesting, the gossip was fun and engaging, and Kate and Jake’s budding romance both fun and sizzling. The tension held up through the conclusion of the mystery and I found myself liking the book by the end of the last page, but whew, it was quite the journey! ❤️❤️❤️❣️
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!
The Reading Chick 
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