Tag: books

This Chick Read: We Met Like This by Kasie West

Margot Hart is a hopeless romantic who would rather meet her one true love in a meet-cute than on a dating app. Unfortunately for her, her most consistent relationship has been with Oliver whom she’s had one horrible date (and great chemistry with!) and the apps keep asking her to swipe right. When her literary agent job blows up on the day she’s supposed to meet up with Oliver again she realizes that his steady personality is just what she needs, but he’s holding back and will his secret keep them from being together?

This new adult contemporary romance by Kasie West was the perfect read at the perfect time. I can always rely on Kasie West’s novels to entertain, but her foray into adult fiction added a little spice to her already fantastic dialogue skills. The story of the romantic Margot and her complete opposite Oliver delivered on a fun opposites attract story that also made me laugh and delivered the heat.

I always kind of sigh in fatigue when I read a synopsis that includes a romantic at heart main protagonist, but in We Met Like This our protagonist wasn’t sappy, but sassy. She was a bit determined to force that meet-cute, but when she meets Oliver, and then keeps getting served his face on the app, they start up a cute text dialogue that for me delivered on the romance and flirtation, even if it took Margot a little while to see it. I don’t know, maybe I like my men a little more steady because despite his old fashioned name, he was pretty great! Cute, nice smile, funny, and great chemistry. What’s not to like? Just like their story arc, these two took me away from the seriousness of life and delivered on a fun romance.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* We Met Like This

Copyright 2025 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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This Chick Read: The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell

Tess Bright has been cast in her dream role in the film version of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abby. After being fired from her last TV job, Tess knows this is her last chance to redeem herself. One thing stands in her way, her co-star, Hugh Balfour. A method actor, Hugh doesn’t want anything to do with the People’s Choice winning Tess, who is admittedly kind of a mess. His serious nature means their chemistry is lacking and Tess knows they need to fix it. What she doesn’t count on is an electrical storm sending them back to the 19th century. Tess and Hugh have only each other to rely on as they deal with a case of mistaken identity.

A cute premise and great writing captured my attention and held it. I love a fish out of water plot and Tess’s 20th century charm in 19th century dress was humorous and entertaining. Hugh’s character took me a little longer to connect with, but his dour personality lightened up a bit in a world where his seriousness matched the era. Their lack of chemistry in present day took a back seat when they only had each other to get them through this time in the past. I enjoyed how they came to rely on each other and eventually became a team.

There were several fun moments in this book. Tess’s reaction to meeting the real-life Jane Austen, navigating a ballroom, and Hugh’s courteous etiquette all showed us different sides to these characters helping the reader make the connection that would get them rooting for this unlikely couple to get their happily ever after. I’ll definitely be looking for the next book from this author!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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 Austen Affair

Copyright 2025 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Soulgazer (The Magpie and the Wolf Duology #1) by Maggie Rapier

Saoirse is cursed with a volatile magic. When she loses control her father offers her in marriage to the ruthless and cold Stone King. Knowing she’s being sent to her death, she’s determined to break her curse. On the eve of her wedding she seeks out the Wolf of the Wild, Faolan, the Pirate King. He’s in search of a mystical isle and swears he’ll help her break the curse if she’ll find this magical isle for him first. Saoirse knows better than to trust a pirate, and if he wants her help, he’s going to have to marry her first.

A debut novel by author Maggie Rapier, Soulgazer delivers on all fronts for this fantastical romantasy. A magic curse- check! A devilishly handsome hero- check! A heroine who has sass, strength of character, and a hopeful heart – check! This novel held my interest from the very first page, which is really hard to do when you’re introducing your reader to a brand new world. It may have been tons of work on her end, but for me, the reader, it seemed effortless.

With strong Gaelic references, the author very kindly gave us a preface to the story that told us how to pronounce everyone’s names. Of course, once I got into the book (I read this as an ebook), I never went back to the preface and my inner voice still butchered all their names. I did remember our heroine’s, pronounce SEER-SHA, or at least that’s why my Irish husband told me and that’s what I went with as I read her story. Saoirse (Seersha) was a most excellent character. What I liked about her the most is that despite being treated like “shite” her whole life, she has retained this inner strength that carries her forward with her mission to help Faolan find his magical island even though she has probably wanted to give in to her fate numerous times.

Faolan is the gorgeous hero pirate. He’s 70% song and swagger, and 30% alpha hero. Once he marries our Saoirse, he is a sworn protector. Is it all because he needs her to find this island? Or does he have true feelings for our girl? His journey with Saoirse and the pirate crew takes the reader on an epic journey that feels very mythological and Sisyphean in nature. I totally dug the tasks and tales as well as the building romance between Faolan and Saoirse. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I hope this author has the majority of book two in the can because I’m ready to keep on reading!

Click this link to purchase this book!* Soulgazer

Copyright 2025 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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This Chick Read: Finding the One (River Rain #7) by Kristen Ashley

American/English aristocrat, Blake Sharp, and Scottish playboy Alasdair Wallace were thrust together all through their childhoods. Alasdair thought Blake was a spoiled rich princess, and Blake though Dair was a big bully. When they meet again as adults, Dair sees that the spoiled princess grew into someone who thought first of others before taking care of herself, and Blake sees that Dair may be outrageous, but he’s not a bully. They are smitten with each other and start to explore their future, but they’ve both been betrayed by past lovers. Is what they built together strong enough to hold true? Or will their personal demons tear them apart?

The seventh book in a series that the author writes with the help of her fandom, with requests for suggestions on certain characters or plot lines. It’s a lot of fun and Kristen Ashley is a pro at building a relationship with her readers. In Finding the One, she continues in this vein and you know what? This book turned out tremendously. In fact, behind Chloe and Judge’s novel, this is probably my second favorite in the series. Why? The characters were developed well and I really loved their journey to trusting each other.

Dair is an ex-professional Rugby player, which means he’s very physical in nature, but he’s also Scottish and the author creates his Scottish persona with a few nods to his heritage in the manner in which he speaks. This could’ve been overdone, but she handled it well, choosing one or two mannerisms and not going overboard with the Scottish burr. Similarly, Blake was a strong character as well. She was brought up to be the ice queen but because her ex was a cheater, she had a lightbulb moment and changed her ways. Not to say she wasn’t a tough cookie, she was, but her shell was built to protect her inner gooey layer and with Dair she allowed that gooiness to come out.

There are many reasons to read a Kristen Ashley novel, you love her character building, you may love the way she writes her romantic scenes, you like an alpha hero, or love a sassy heroine. For me, it’s a combination of all of the above. Her books aren’t perfect all the time but they are always enjoyable. For me, Finding the One, was a KA book that was well written, made me laugh, and touched my heart. It hit all my buttons.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Finding the One

Copyright 2025 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 Inheritance (Breach Wars #1) by Ilona Andrews

An interdimensional invasion brought unimaginable suffering but it also awoke talents slumbering deep inside us. Adaline is a Talent. She works for the government search breaches for magical metals and medicine to help Earth repel an interdimensional enemy. Two kids, one cat, bills, benefits, mortgage and school tuition…Risking her life became routine. She has gone into hundreds of dimensional gates without a problem, but this time everything goes to hell. Two kids, one cat, bills, benefits, mortgage and school tuition…Risking her life became routine.

Ilona Andrews occasionally releases new novels a chapter at a time on their blog and normally I don’t let myself read them. For some reason when I started getting The Inheritance in their newsletter I read the first chapter….. and got absolutely hooked. This story is novella length and they stopped the free releases well before the end, but I eagerly anticipated every blog post. They released the book on all bookseller sites pretty quickly and I started from the beginning. I’m glad I did because they inserted a few new scenes that really added to the story and fleshed out the characters a bit more.

Adaline is our main character. She’s stuck in the breach with the group’s K-9, Bear, who also survived the initial attack. She and Bear go on a journey further into the breach and discover all manner of beings. Some who are dangerous, but also some species who are just going about their everyday alien lives. Ada and Bear need to do some kind of gross things that make their bodies powerful and in Ada’s case, her magic becomes more fierce. Where before she could use her “sight” to find valuable minerals and medicines, now she has fierce fighting skills which come in handy as she keeps them alive. The end goal being that she returns through the gate and gets back with her kids. The motherly “force” is strong in this one.

Outside on Earth we also follow Elias, who heads the guild that sent Adaline and her team into the breach. His moments are brief, but his awesomeness was very reminiscent of Curran from the Kate Daniels series, and truly, Ada is very reminiscent of Kate. Both strong individuals with great conversational skills (even though Ada is mostly talking to a dog), and as with the first Kate Daniels novel- zero romance. However there is that glimmer of hope (and a note from the author that there will be a romance between the two). Not to say this novel is like Kate Daniels, however it reminded me of it in bits and pieces.

The book is short and I don’t want to give away any more than I already have, but I just have to give one more note. If you are an uber fan of this author duo, you will find some crossover between characters (species?) in this novella and the Innkeeper series. Just enough to make you go “huh!” and smile to yourself. Truly, every small little Easter egg they drop makes me squee in enjoyment and wish that they could write quicker and set aside a little time to finish book 2. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Inheritance

Copyright 2025 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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This Chick Read: Crazy Spooky Love (Melody Bittersweet #1) by Josie Silver

Melody Bittersweet see’s dead people. Psychic powers run in her family and Melody decides to separate from the family business and open up her own- Girls’ Ghostbusting Agency. With her best friend Melanie and brand new ghostbuster in training Artie, they get their first client. Unravel the mysterious haunting of a local mansion who’s owner would like the ghosts to stop scaring away the potential buyers. Up against her ex-boyfriend Leo Dark and trailed by local reporter Fletcher Gunn who is always trying to discredit her family, Melody is determined to solve this case and launch her business.

This was not your typical Josie Silver novel. It had a cozy mystery feeling, with hints of wackiness and a very small amount of romance. This author works her magic and despite this not being something I’d normally read, she captured my interest because I was kept wondering what craziness could possibly happen next!

I very easily cast reality aside and with Crazy Spooky Love, you really need to throw away the logic and let in the cookiness. This book is a bit silly, but Josie Silver still writes characters that a reader can love. I felt kind of sorry for Melody’s unlucky in love persona because I’m sure growing up seeing dead people couldn’t have been easy for a teenager. As an adult, though, she’s doing alright! She has two handsome guys vying for her attention and has the smarts to put the ghostly clues together to come out on top in the end. Again, silly, but fun and very easy to read- if you’re in the mood! ❤️❤️❤️❣️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Crazy Spooky Love

Copyright 2025 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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This Chick Read: Night’s Fall ( The Four Realms #1) by Kristen Ashley

Prince Aleksei of Nightfall is the True Heir. The next king, the fiercest warrior, and the mightiest beast in all the realm. Laura Makepeace is a talented costume designer who is recovering from a vicious attack where she lost something vital. Out for a night with the girl’s Laura is determined to put on a pretty frock and celebrate the evening with her friends. What she doesn’t expect is to be brought over to the Prince’s table in the VIP section of the club. Suddenly, Laura finds herself being courted by a prince and thrown into the limelight and politics of the realm, and royal family dysfunction. The Fall only brings forth a True Heir during times of war, and Aleksei is worried what this means for his family, Laura, and the kingdom of Nightfall.

Surprise! A new Kristen Ashley novel was just released. She’s a much beloved, prolific writer, but this one took me by surprise because she doesn’t often start a new fantasy series. Set in the future where shifters mingle with humans, this love story between a prince and his true mate starts fast and never stops until the last page is turned. I don’t always love KA’s fantasies, but this one was appealing. Why? I loved the futuristic world of flying cars mixing with a ruling class of flying dragons. A dichotomy of beastly and mechanical, love and passion, and peace with war. There was a lot about this world to learn, but the plot is fast moving, and the characters easy to like and love.

At first Aleksei came off as kind of elitist, but get him out of the public eye and he was tender, moody, and shocking for a KA novel, a bit of a dragonic alpha. Laura was old-fashioned, but clever, creative, lovely (of course!), and had a backbone. This heroine was no simpering miss. She was ready for battle if needed. The two of them together had tons of chemistry, but even more importantly, they really seemed to “like” each other. I enjoyed their chapters where they got to know each other and felt that build up to love with each reveal about themselves.

I’m a fan of this author’s and read every book she releases. I don’t always love them, but this story was easy to like, fun to read, and left me with an I can’t wait for the next in the series to come out. Addictive reading at it’s finest.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Night’s Fall

Copyright 2025 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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This Chick Read: To Kill a Badger (Honey Badger Chronicles #6) by Shelly Laurenston

Socialite, Nelle Zhao attracts attention on social media but right now she’s trying to have a low profile keeping her honey badger teammates out of trouble. She isn’t sure when that became her job but she admits, she’s really good at it. Too bad some people don’t appreciate it, like lion Keane Malone who is determined to crush the de Medici’s, another lion clan who are hurting innocent humans for fun, and killed his father. He normally doesn’t want any help, but when jet-setting Nelle, joins the fight his instincts start purring.

When you read a Shelly Laurenston shifter novel you need to take off your “based on reality” hat and put on your “it’s all about fun reading” hat. Always irreverent, Laurenston’s novels combine great dialog, strange and quirky characters, and romances that shouldn’t make sense but become believable, well, if you can change into a honey badger or lion kind of believable. Interesting and kind of exhausting because there is so much going on.

After checking reality at the door I hunkered down for some fun reading with this kind of crazy honey badger group. I’ve read the majority of these novels and some were better than others with this one ranking right in the middle. Maybe it was because I took a break from them for awhile, but Nelle and Keane’s story was crazy but enjoyable. Honey badgers in real life are known for their fierce nature, taking on creatures much larger and not backing down. In this action-packed novel Laurenston takes these traits and puts them on steroids. These honey badger ladies are crafty, crazy, and fierce with a capital F. They are also fun with a capital F.

I enjoyed Nelle and Keane’s slow building romance. She kind of snuck in under his guard until he was just used to her being there and then thought, “oh she kind of smells good” or “those legs are long and luscious” then wham- they were a couple. Again, not reality based but it was well done and kept me reading. If you like a lot of action, some violence, and a break from reality in your romances this may be the perfect book for you!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* To Kill a Badger

Copyright 2025 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: I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming

Wildlife biologist, Dorothy Valentine is out in the field when she’s attacked by a lion. In a good news bad news kind of way, she doesn’t die but she and the lion are abducted by alien’s. Waking up on the ship Dory freaks out and ends up escaping in a pod, with the lion- named Toto. They land on a planet where dinosaurs run rampant, and she meets not one, but two alien hotties who help her navigate her new home. As she explores this new land with Sol, Lok, and Toto she learns more about how and why they’ve all ended up together and whether she even wants to try to get back home or create a new home with her two new mates.

A cute cover, seeing this novel on a bunch of “best of” lists for 2025 romance, and my own curiosity about how this synopsis can possibly lead to a great romance had me picking up this book and giving it a chance. You know what? It was kind of cute. I’m not really into threesome romances, so that aside, the plot was actually really interesting, the heroine sassy, and the hero’s a mix of alpha and intellectual. Toto’s storyline was probably not really needed, but hey, all gal’s need a best friend, even if that friend is in lion form. Overall it kind of worked!

There were a few plots making this novel more intricate than the comic book style cover would lead you to believe. An inter-species war, genetic manipulations, and talking lion’s who are falling in love with a local sabre tooth tiger aside, it held my interest and was an enjoyable, easy read. I’d recommend this novel for the more adventurous reader!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com

Copyright 2025 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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This Chick Read: The Love Fix (Sunrise Cove #8) by Jill Shalvis

When Lexi Clark is summoned home to Sunrise Cove by her sister Ashley to help her with one of her deceased mother’s last requests she’s met at the airport by her easy spirited sister and her childhood arch-nemesis turned crush, Heath Bowman. Lexi’s life is in a downward spiral but she could never say no to her sister and finds herself delivering six letters, and learning a lot about herself.

I’m not surprised that I loved the characters in this novel because writing great characters is where this author excels. Lexi is the misunderstood older sister who has closed herself off from having any emotions for her family because they’ve always disappointed her. Heath has a self deprecating charm and easy going nature, but he always does what’s right, helps out the less fortunate, and has always had a soft spot for Lexi. Ashley is a free spirit, but deep down wants to have a relationship with her sister that she was never able to explore while their mother was still alive. It’s a novel that explores all three characters but revolves around Lexi and how she is re-building her life.

There were several aha moments for Lexi’s character that kept the momentum building allowing Lexi to grow and evolve. She and Heath’s somewhat antagonistic relationship was one of those moments and I thought the author did a great job of sharing their stories and the moments that they understood what drove each other and how that understanding drew them to each other. These moments weren’t lightning bolts but gentle understandings that were super effective in allowing the story to grow in an organic way that didn’t take your head out of what you were reading. I really enjoyed those small moments and I think that deft touch is what made this novel work so well. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Love Fix

Copyright 2025 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