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This Chick Read: No More Secrets (Blue Moon #1) by Lucy Score

After a tour of duty, Carter Pierce is settled back into life on the farm, hoping for a quiet life to recover from his wounds. New York journalist, Summer Lentz, is living with him for a week while she writes an article for her magazine. She’s a fish out of water with her expensive clothes, but willing to try anything to add meat to her story. At first Carter thinks she’ll scare off easily but after a couple of days he never wants to see her go.

When Lucy Score gets into her small town romance groove, you feel the love. The characters are slightly kooky, and in the small town of hippie-filled Blue Moon that certainly applies, but these same people also fill the pages with a lot of heart, making the reader want to travel to a similar type of small town and soak in the love. No More Secrets and the Blue Moon series, is not a new novel from Lucy Score, and in fact, I read this novel five years ago when it came out. I only vaguely remembered the story, but I definitely fell back into the charm, no problem.

Carter and Summer, despite the synopsis of grumpy guy and city girl, actually hit it off right from the start. She may be a city girl but she’s got some insecurities that make her perfect for the love of this gentleman farm, and Carter doesn’t fight his attraction, at all. For all that he’s recovering from his time overseas, he is a pretty charming guy who knows what he wants when he see’s it. He quietly woo’s Summer right from the start. I loved how Carter, his family, and the town all broke down her defenses. The story was simple, sweet, and even thought it was a second time read, I enjoyed it again. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* No More Secrets

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Bananapants by Penny Reid

A spin-off of Reid’s Knitting in the City series, Bananapants is the story of childhood best friends Ava Archer and Des Sullivan. Inseparable until they were fifteen when Des suddenly moves away. Ten years later, Ava is wearing a costume, pretending to be someone she wasn’t, when Des shows up out of the blue and drags her away from the party claiming that he was doing so for her own safety. Her childhood friend is now a thief and he’s in town to infiltrate a secret society that has stolen technology from a friend of his. He’s going to steal it back. Unfortunately, Ava keeps getting in the way.

What a wonderful surprise to find out that the two main protagonists were children of characters from another series I loved so much. I enjoyed getting to know Ava and Des, and also being reminded why I love this author so much. These characters, while wonderful, beautiful, and funny, are also flawed. One of them is dealing with a serious mental health issue that they’ve had since they were young. Being desperately in love, while also dealing with this issue made for an interesting novel, one that I really enjoyed. I like my characters real. Life isn’t a fairy tale and this novel, despite it’s silly name certainly reflects the realness of life.

Not surprising, if you’ve read Reid’s novels before, but there was a bit of an action-adventure type mystery enmeshed in this love story. Des kind of comes off as a swashbuckling hero, but Ava is not shrinking violet. She has a few moves herself, but it’s her shining personality and quirky humor that makes her stand out. As they get to know each other again, there is plenty of great dialog and fun interactions that provide lots of insight into their characters. These interactions also move the plot forward in interesting and new ways that held my interest and kept me reading long into the night. Oh, I really liked this one. I will say, though, that if you have a mental health trigger, reader beware. This may be a difficult story for you to read.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Bananapants

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Holding Out for a Gyro by Mary Ann Marlowe

Chelsea and her best friend Elizabeth are always pushing each other outside their comfort zones, checking fun things off on lists like taking a hike, or talking to a stranger. They’re out in a bar together one night and meet two men and decide to check another off the list. Elizabeth has to fabricate everything she says and Chelsea has to speak only the truth. When a fun night out turns into the possibility of a relationship, Chelsea puts on the breaks. She doesn’t do relationships and she’s very upfront with Basil. He, however, is very persistent and struggles to overcome all of her objections.

I so wanted to like these characters more than I did. Chelsea had an interesting but pretty dark back story and her path to happiness led through her needing to overcome all of her insecurities. Basil was an open book but for some reason he found something in Chelsea that he wanted to shine a light on and love. Both things that aren’t unusual in a romance novel but it was the length of time (literally to the end of the book) that it took for them to work things out was exhausting for me. The cover and title which are so cute and fun, kind of misled me into thinking the story would be light-hearted and funny- it just wasn’t that book for me. I love this author and her other books, but I just didn’t click with these characters. ❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest.

If you’d like to purchase this book, please click this link!* Holding out for a Gyro

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord

June and Levi were best friends as teenagers but drifted apart and haven’t talked for 10 years. After they both have devastating break-ups that spread like wildfire over Tiktok, Levi is back home determined to finish the book he started writing and to make up with his ex-best friend. When a photo of the two of them goes viral #RevengeEx goes into effect and they pretend to be dating each other- he wants to make his ex jealous and June wants the publicity for her failing tea shop. They can fake date without getting their feelings involved, right?

This adult contemporary romance by Emma Lord feels exactly like one of her young adult novels, but with slightly more adult content. I could tell immediately who had written the book because her easy reading style was the same, and her characters were likable, dramatic, funny, and totally relatable.

June is keeping her sister Annie’s dream alive by running her tea shop Tea Tides, and using her newfound TikTok fame to help pay the rent. When Levi re-enters the picture she is faced with not only dealing with why they haven’t talked in ten years but also dealing with the feelings from her sister’s death. This novel has tons of layers taking the reader on a journey as June navigates her future. So when you pick this book up be prepared to laugh, but to also connect with your own feelings. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Break-Up Pact

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Funny Story by Emily Henry

Daphne moved to Waning Bay, Michigan, without knowing anyone but her fiancé Peter and when he leaves her for his best friend Petra the week before their wedding she is left only with her dream job as a children’s librarian and a new roommate, Petra’s ex-boyfriend Miles. Miles is the exact opposite of buttoned up Daphne and for the most part they ignore each other. Until one night after they’ve both had a bit to drink they decide to post a picture that makes it look like they are together. That moment becomes the start of a blossoming friendship where Miles shows Daphne the charms of Waning Bay, Michigan and she posts a few photos of their adventures.

Every year I look forward to the summer because I know Emily Henry has a new book release. I relish the fact I’m going to have a few laughs, shed a couple tears, and emotionally involve myself with the main characters in her books. Funny Story was certainly all that. Along with those tension filled moments with Miles were side stories about Daphne making friends with her fellow librarians, Miles’s younger sister coming for a visit and taking Waning Bay by storm, as well as a visit from Daphne’s absentee dad. All things that helped move the story forward, providing insight into our two main characters and enabling us to become wrapped up in the storytelling and drama. This time one of these subplots struck kind of close to home, which made the story more impactful and at times kind of hard to read. Despite this I loved the story and these characters and didn’t find it hard to root for them at all.

This might be Daphne and Miles’s story but I loved all of these side characters just as much as our two protagonists. Ashley was a great budding best friend, teaching Daphne all sorts of lessons about friendship that totally resonated, her Dad whom everyone loved and loved everyone but made Daphne feel second best, and Miles’s sister who loved her big brother more than anyone in the world and just wanted to stand by and support him. These side plots added so much depth to the story , not all of it was rainbows and sunshine but there were funny moments to lighten the mood. Just what I expect from a novel by this author. I do have one request though- maybe just a tiny bit more happy moments? Our protagonists were put through the wringer!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Funny Story

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chicks Audio Review: Sanctuary (Roman’s Chronicles #1) by Ilona Andrews

When a wounded boy stumbles into his yard and requests sanctuary, Roman takes him in despite knowing he was bringing trouble to his door. As the Black Volvh to Chernobog, the God of Destruction, Darkness and Death, Roman was looking forward to his three days off drinking egg nog and cookies. Now he has mercenaries surrounding his home and combat mages dousing his house with fire.

Roman is a character in the Kate Daniel’s universe and if you’re a fan of that series, like I am, you are saying to yourself “FINALLY” Roman gets his own story! Roman is a particular favorite because despite his serving Chernobog, he is a man who acts with kindness and has always stood at Kate and Curran’s side in a crisis. In fact, they asked the Black Volvh to marry them! In this book more of Roman’s back story was revealed. How he was called to his position from a small child, how that calling affected his family, and how it shaped him into the man he is today. All while kicking mercenary butt and teaching this young man Finn how to survive his own call of duty. It was a special tale, and it is not down being told. Yay!

Chris Brinkley does a solid job as narrator on this novel. I’ll admit that I had a bit of a stumble when I first heard his voice because I’m a big fan of Penny Reid’s Winston Series and he voices all of those Winston brothers. However, this is not a rom-com and Chris Brinkley lived up to the character he was voicing. His slight southern dialect fits the location for the Kate Daniel’s universe, which is in the Atlanta area, and as far as I know (because I’m not Russian) he did a great job with the pronunciation of all of the characters from that countries mythology. Honestly, anyone could voice an Ilona Andrews novel and I’d fall in line and learn to love it, I like them that much.

In an author’s note at the end is a woman’s voice with what sounds like a Russian accent describing Ilona Andrews use of mythology in their stories. This was an interesting addendum to an already great story and provided more insight into this author duo that I love so much. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this ARC through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this audiobook!* Sanctuary

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: The Scenic Route (Beneath the Wild Sky #1) by Katie Ruggle

Felicity Pax is part owner in a bounty hunting business with her sister’s. When their estranged mother skips bail putting the house they all live in up for collateral Felicity chases after her mother. What she doesn’t count on is to be tailed by PI Bennett Green, who is also looking for her mother and the jewelry she stole from his client. Felicity and her sister’s split up and she heads into the Rockies leading Bennett after her, and hunts down a different skip. When that turns dangerous they team up to take this skip down and maybe also fall a little bit in love.

When I first started started reading this book I thought, wait a second, I know these characters! The Pax sisters have been featured in other novels and I wondered when they’d show back up again. A bounty hunting gang of sisters was too good a premise to pass up and it looks like the Beneath the Wild Sky series will feature the rest of them. Yay! We also return to the small town in the rockies where the Search and Rescue Series takes place and we get to revisit that fun group of ladies and their guys who have all been involved in solving crimes and are eager to involve themselves in Felicity’s investigation. It was fun to be back in the rockies with all of these characters again!

I’m a huge fan of Katie Ruggle’s and am so glad she’s writing back in this romantic suspense/rom-com category. I split between the two because there’s a lot of humor in her writing as well as dangerous elements and plenty of romance. Felicity and Bennett were absolutely adorable. She’s the work out self defense expert among her sisters and despite her young age (22) seems pretty adept at navigating this investigation. Bennett is the grumpy hero with a heart of gold and I loved him for Felicity right from the start of this novel, despite is stalker-esque start. He fell instantly in serious like with this woman and was determined to help her and keep her safe. Their special brand of communication with glances and humorous mini dialog’s kept me reading, and the action-adventure style investigation made me hunger for more. I can’t wait for the next novel in this series to come out!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Scenic Route

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Right Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: The Fiancé Dilemma by Elena Armas

Josie Moore has a reputation. She’s been engaged four times and didn’t make it to the altar for any of those wedding. So why when faced with her father’s PR manager did she make up another fiancé? Matthew walked up the road covered in mud at the wrong time, or was it the right time? He becomes Josie’s fake fiancé to help her navigate the gossip and give her someone she can count on. As Josie’s sister’s best friend, he knows all about how their father can whip the press into a frenzy. Somehow playing the role of doting fiancé isn’t such a stretch and the two of them fight to control the narrative and while they do start to develop feelings for each other.

I’ve enjoyed a lot of Elena Armas’s novels and know many of the characters in this book. Despite that I had kind of a tough time grasping and believing the connection that was developing between Matthew and Josie. Friends definitely, but the chemistry felt a little forced and the pace of the story a little too quick.

I do love a small town romance with quirky characters and fun gossip but the feeding frenzy established by the paps and bloggers kind of left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I thought I would but still like this author a lot and look forward to a new setting and new characters to get to know. ❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Fiancé Dilemma

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

Helen Zhang and Grant Shepherd haven’t seen each other since high school. Connected by a tragic accident, each of them has gone on to a career in writing. Helen has written a bestselling young adult series and Grant has moved to LA and flourished as a screenwriter. When Helen’s series gets picked up to be turned into a TV show she is surprised to find Grant on the writing team. Helen is used to pushing down her emotions to move past difficulties in life and thinks she can do the same with working with Grant but the more she gets to know him the more her emotions rise to the surface.

Enemies to lovers romances are my favorite trope so I was ready to absolutely love the journey this author was going to take me on. I loved the setting and thought their being teamed up to re-write her novel for television was an interesting event that could create conflict and drama. There was definitely conflict since both of them felt very deeply about what happened in the past and had a hard time moving on from it. I think it was the approach Helen took that I got stuck on. Helen pushed down her emotions and in her family dynamic was to not cause any undue stress on her parents. A totally real construct and in fact, I could see myself maybe doing something similar but it did make Helen a little cold. It wasn’t until the last third of the book that I felt like she became a warm blooded character and I enjoyed their story a little bit more. Grant’s way of dealing with the past was to put on a charming front, making him great at his job coordinating writers, as well as a likable character. He seemed warm from the start. This is just a really small thing but I think it affected my feelings for the characters and inhibited my rooting for them earlier than I did.

Despite Helen’s cool characteristics, the story was really interesting, Grant was engaging and the other cast of characters were also very enjoyable to read. I totally understand why this is on the bestseller list, I personally just had that one thing that held me back from enjoying the first half of the story as much as I guess everyone else did.

❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this book!* How to End a Love Story

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

Everyone thought Shiloh and Carey would end up together. Everyone except Shiloh and Carey. In high school they were the best of friends. They spent every moment together and dreamed of their futures. Carey was joining the Navy and Shiloh would go off to college and become and actress. Shiloh did go to college and Carey did join the Navy but it’s been fourteen years since they’ve talked and Shiloh is now divorced with two children. They reconnect at their friends wedding and have to learn how to be friends again.

This was one of those books that started slow but every moment hooked you into that next chapter. You just really wanted to see what was going to happen with Shiloh and Carey next. At the same time it was filled with two different timelines of flashbacks telling the story of what led to their not seeing each other for fourteen years. I usually hate flashbacks and I’ll admit that I was a little impatient with how many this book had, but those chapters were so useful in helping to create depth in these characters. These chapters showed how these young people held onto their hearts and secrets. How communication could have led these characters in a different direction earlier in their lives and maybe made them reflect upon some of their own decisions and the paths they themselves chose. Despite the help in character development it did make the story plod along a little slowly, but I’m a girl that appreciates a slow burn romance and Slow Dance was the penultimate slow burn.

When the time came for our characters to make the journey together in current time I felt so rewarded! I was brought along on this lengthy journey, saw their struggles and insecurities, and felt all the emotions they were each feeling. If my book had not been virtual I would probably have had little tears in the pages from my eagerly advancing the pages and my finger tracing the paths of the words that had meaning. This was a very well done novel, one I’ll re-read to find again those sentences that had meaning and to again feel the depth of emotion these two characters felt for each other. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Slow Dance

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads