Tag: romance

This Chick Read: Problematic Summer Romance (Not In Love#2) by Ali Hazelwood

Maya Killgore has been in love with her brothers best friend for three years and she just can’t get over her feelings. They haven’t talked in almost a year but her brother’s destination wedding is going to force them to be together for one week straight. Maya knows she can handle it, but being with Conor Harkness is going bubble all of those feelings to the surface and she’ll have to face being treated like a child by the man she loves. Conor has a real problem with their age difference. Maya is twenty-three and Conor is thirty-eight. She decides a summer fling might be just what she needs even if it’s a problematic one.

I really do love all of Ali Hazelwood’s female protagonists. Maya may be only twenty-three but she is a brilliant scientist. Her outlook on life through that microscope lense does make her a bit more mature than your average young woman starting a career, but there are moments when the reader is reminded of her inexperience. Most of those are seen through flashbacks to three years ago when she and Conor really got to know each other. I think they are supposed to represent not only their history, but also a contrast to how young she was then to the more mature Maya three years later. It works a bit, she does know what she wants, but without a little life experience she does seem a little young. Conor on the other hand, at thirty-eight does have his own business, but is a bit emotionally stunted from things he went through in his youth. He’s older, but feels a little younger. That narrows down their age difference to around 12 years. Does that really matter? Each reader is going to have their own opinion on that scenario. Despite Conor’s bringing it up all the time, I wouldn’t really have noticed the age difference.

In this novel, the author returns to a slow burn format. This is where our two romantic leads percolate through the whole book, building tension until the reader wants to give them a good shove in order to get the romance started. With the main conflict being their age difference, I really liked that they didn’t immediately get physical. I think that would have felt a bit icky, but because the tension built by the time they declared their feelings and got physical, their age difference felt natural and the reader was able to enjoy the story.

Ali Hazelwood is exploring a lot of themes in her books lately. The theme of an age difference in Problematic Summer Romance was interesting and surprisingly hot. Conor had that perfect amount of surly Alpha that the author does so well and Maya had just enough brilliance to match his experience. This novel is going to appeal to a lot of her readers. I know I enjoyed it.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Problematic Summer Romance

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This Chick Read: Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry

In order to survive the monsters called the Crux, the five realms have signed a magical treaty. A princess in one realm, the Sparrow, would be wed to a prince of another realm, uniting the kingdoms so that they’d help each other in their time of need. The next Crux is coming and Odessa was not chosen to be the Sparrow by her father. Instead, her younger sister Mae is chosen to wed the Prince, except the Prince does not wed Mae, he weds Odessa and regardless of her feelings, she’ll be the next Queen of his realm. Odessa has not been trained, doesn’t know anything about his realm, and prefers painting and needlework to swords skills and spying.

Devney Perry’s typical novels are contemporary romances but I love it when an author tries something new, especially if they do it right. Devney Perry did an amazing job with her world building, she crafted unique and interesting characters, and she gave them all something to fight against, monsters that will wipe out humanity if they don’t learn how to stop them. Then on top of that she created a virus that is spreading and may be contagious, turning monsters and humans rabid.

There was a lot going on in this novel, but throughout it all Odessa was a rock. She was not prepared to be Queen – or a spy for her father, but she challenges herself to become what she is not. A skilled fighter who can defend herself and the ones she comes to care about. Her relationship with the Prince is pretty non-existent, but her reaction to The Guardian, or the monster killer, is immediate. She hates him with a passion. I love a good enemies to lovers trope and we certainly get one in Shield of Sparrows. The Guardian taunts her, trains her, and helps her become who she needs to be to survive in this deadly world. The two of them together were everything.

There were a lot of great characters and back story’s in this novel. You could tell the author spent time developing the world, the relationships, and well, the monsters. They were the ultimate bad guy after all. This was a fast-paced, fun book to read and I can’t wait until we get the next one! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Shield of Sparrows

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This Chick Read: Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston

Joni Lark is one of the most coveted songwriters in Los Angeles, but she’s hiding a secret. She has writer’s block. Hoping a scenic change will help her create, she heads home to Vienna Shores, North Caroline to find her best friend acting strange, and her parents announcement they are selling The Revelry, their family-owned concert venue that helped inspire Joni to write. Mired in depression on top of her writer’s block Joni starts hearing a melody in her head, and a voice. A male voice, who is sweet, charming, and is also hearing the same melody. When Sasha shows up in Vienna Shores as a real person, he presents to her an idea to write this song together and hopefully get out of each other’s heads.

Ashley Poston always does a great job of writing gentle stories with a hint of magical realism. In this case, Joni and Sasha can hear each other’s thoughts which is awkward as heck but also creates an immediate intimacy between them. They don’t have to go through the motions of getting to know each other because they hear what the other is thinking, despite the uncomfortableness of that singular thought. The fact they met one other time and he was a complete A@@ made their current situation harder, but as they got to know each other and build that trust the magic of being able to talk to each other in their heads became secondary to the feelings they began to feel as they worked on this song together. The build-up was a slow burn, but the outcome was worth the wait.

The setting for this novel, a small beach town in North Carolina and their small concert venue The Revelry, really cast a golden, vintage light on the comings and goings of their community and Joni’s family. I loved how Joni fighting through her writer’s block was the juxtaposition against the other two story lines, her best friend’s growing discontent, and her mother’s health issues. As Joni figured out her path the conflicts in the other two plots ebbed and flowed with her decisions. It was really good writing by this author.

This novel is being hyped as one of the most looked forward to reads this summer and I can agree. It will be the perfect book to throw in your beach bag and take a step away from reality. Enjoy! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Sounds Like Love

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

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This Chick Read: The Things We Water by Mariana Zapata

Nina Popoca needs help. She has adopted a magical puppy and the only place that they’ll be safe is on a sprawling ranch in Colorado. It’s a place where a community of magical beings can live in safety and peace. And if that ranch is owned by her best friend’s handsome cousin? There are worse things than having to live next to Henri Blackrock.

Mariana Zapata normally writes slow burn contemporary romances and The Things We Water definitely had hints of her usual format. A pleasant heroine who has a traumatic family back story- check, a large somewhat surly romantic love interest- check, even the adopted child, this time in the form of a magical puppy- check, then there’s the romance itself and this instance definitely slow burn- double check. What makes this story unique for this author is the fact that it is her first attempt at the fantasy genre. I’m all for author’s trying new things and will never say that they should stick to the tried and true. If I were the writer I’d probably get bored doing the same format all the time too. So I was pleased to hear about her shift into romantic fantasy, but I was also a little fearful after the last disappointing novel (When Gracie Met the Grump).

What did I like about the novel? I loved Nina’s relationship with Duncan, her adopted magical dog. Duncan’s love for Nina was so sweet and beautiful. She was his mommy and you felt that from their bond to each other. As with all of MZ’s books, there are nicknames that you’re going to either love or hate. I found them charming, and was reminded of all of my own nicknames for my dog. They might have been used a little too much, but gosh, I called my dog Nashburger or Doodlebug more than I did his own name “Nash”. I can’t fault her for using Duncan Donut or donut.

I thought Henri was pretty obvious about his feelings for Nina pretty early on and so her insecurity in reminding him constantly that she asked him to marry her and he said he wouldn’t was a little annoying. However, how often have we seen this relationship question used from this author in a book that we have loved? I can think of two right off the bat- Luna and the Lie and Wait for It. It’s repetitive but not a make or break character default for me. In fact, it just reminded me of how much Henri had been showing her that he was all in, pretty much right from the beginning and made me like him for it. He was quiet but his actions showed his true feelings.

Let’s talk the fantasy elements of this novel. There was minimal world building which I was not a fan of, however, this world that Nina and Henri lived in was not unfamiliar to us. It was the modern world but all of the creatures that we’ve heard of before, werewolves, sasquatch, gnomes, etc. all presided in it. I didn’t have to learn what a werewolf was, I already knew. What I did need to know that might’ve been different in this world, the author shared with the reader. The history of the ranch was something the reader needed to know, and we learned that as we read the book. I wasn’t bothered by the minimal world building although I do think the story would’ve felt rounder with a little more detail.

I enjoyed reading this novel. I did think it was a little long, but I think that about all of her novels so wasn’t surprised at the length. I thought it was a solid first attempt at a romantic fantasy and if she does another one I know it will be even better. This author learns and grows with each novel she writes, I’m hopeful that we’ll get another from her a little sooner than the three years we had to wait for The Things We Water. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Things We Water

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This Chick Read: Slow Burn Summer by Josie Silver

Charlie Francisco saw his screenwriting career die along with his divorce and inherited his father’s talent agency. His first job is to find someone to act the job of a romance author for a book that is about to be released. Kate Elliott hasn’t had an acting job since she was a teenager, but now that she’s recently divorced she needs to find work. She sends a letter to her old agent but it lands in the hands of his son, Charlie. When Kate walks in the door for her interview he knows she’s the perfect person to play this unusual role. She’s act as this author, who doesn’t want anything to do with the book or launch, and help the book become a success. What they both don’t count on is for her to go viral, sending the book to the top of the bestselling list.

This was quite an unusual premise and I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about a main character whose job is to act like an author. When Kate was introduced, however, I immediately loved her. She was sad, sassy, a bit of a hot mess, and totally irresistible. She made her job totally believable that I couldn’t help but like her. Charlie, too, seemed to find her zaniness attractive. The two of them had immediate chemistry but their relationship leaned towards friendship more than a hot romance, at least at first. When things started to become difficult he was the shoulder she leaned on and the slow burn romance began.

Kate was really the star of this book. She had some great monologues, her relationship with her sister is one that any family of girls would want to emulate, and we can all bond over her terrible ex. He was really kind of horrible. Most importantly, we got to read a great redemption arc. Kate overcame adversity and we were lucky enough to bear witness to her comeback. I love those types of novels! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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 Burn Summer

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

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This Chick Read: Not So Fast by Karen Booth

Mia Neal has a love for F1 racing and when a friend suggests she starts her own podcast she thought it would be her little side gig. When her comments about struggling racer, Xander Bishop, goes viral her podcast gains popularity. When Xander’s rival invites her to the Miami Grand Prix she accepts his invitation and meets Xander for the first time. Sparks fly during a confrontation and he invites her to the next race as his guest. Will her new fans understand her relationship with Xander?

What’s not to like about this story? First, I, like many of the US, has gotten to know and love F1 racing and reading a story set in that world intrigued me. Second, podcasts are just the thing in romance novels right now, so combining those two things seemed a smart strategy. Mia and Xander were totally likable characters, with both being surprisingly down to earth and normal. Xander didn’t throw his money around, was a family man, and his struggle to succeed in the F1 world was an interesting take. Mia, too, had a great back story and a struggle to overcome and her need to stay true to herself and her fan base gave her character a truthfulness that you just couldn’t turn away from. I liked them both!

The only thing missing for me was that the author toned down the glitz and glamour in order to make the characters real and easier for the reader to connect with. I would’ve actually liked to read about the behind the scenes world in F1 racing including the money and fashion. However, what we got was still fun and made for a great weekend read. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Not So Fast

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*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 Haters by Katherine Center

Katie Vaughn’s life has gone up in flames. She’s ended a bad relationship and now her job is facing lay-offs. In order to save her own, she take a job producing a video in Florida about a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, despite not being able to swim. Something she hides from her coworker, Cole- who is also Hutch’s brother. That’s just the first lie she ends up telling. When she gets to Florida and meets Hutch, who’s possibly the most handsome man she’s ever met, she gets caught up in a few more lies, the least of which is not being able to swim. As she faces some of her fears, and gets to know Hutch and his aunt Rue, Katie realizes she needs to take this chance to really be brave at last.

Katherine Center’s novels come out every year just as Summer is about to start. I look forward to reading her books because I know I’m going to love the characters and the fears and/or obstacles they are always trying to overcome. She writes with a tongue in cheek sense of humor but also with a lot of heart, which makes her books lovely to read. The Love Haters had all of these things. Wonderful characters who weren’t perfect and needed a little smoothing over, and obstacles that they needed to overcome before finding their happily ever after. This story wasn’t any different, so why didn’t I connect with it as much as I usually do?

Katie and Hutch were interesting, their lifestyle choices understandable, and the conflicts in their lives emotional. Each of them separately were amazing. I think I didn’t feel a huge connection between them as a couple. Katie had a tendency to hide herself behind some of her phobia’s and Hutch had learned from a young age to hide his feelings. These walls each of them had built kept the reader, or at least this one, from that connection that I’m always looking for between the romantic couple. For me, that was problematic and I felt a little like I was reading a synopsis of a therapy session. Hoever, the story was great, their situations relatable, and they were both lovely, nice people and you couldn’t beat the sunny setting.

Maybe it’s just me, but because of these little things I held back on my rating by one star. Nothing huge, this one is still a four out of five rating, but normally I go all in with five stars for this author, so it’s a bit of an anomaly for me. You may feel completely different! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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 Love Haters

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

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This Chick Read: Slipstream by Madge Maril

Documentary filmmaker Lilah Graywood never thought she’d be producing a film on F1 racing but when her co-owner and boyfriend of their business convinces her to spend their summer doing this she doesn’t have the heart to say no, until he dumps her and tries to fire her from her own company. As revenge she and back-up race car driver Arthur Bianco decide to create a secret partnership where she will film his comeback and take control of Max’s documentary. When she and Arthur have to fake a relationship she gets to know the real Arthur, and his hidden vulnerabilities. Their chemistry soon makes it hard to pretend and Lilah has to face her true feelings.

F1 has certainly become a popular subject in romance and as an F1 fan I was worried that this novel wouldn’t portray it well, but you know what? Madge Maril did the sport justice, AND gave us really likable characters in an interesting romance. When Lila got dumped I was all in for the revenge plot, and her relationship with Arthur seemed like it would lean towards a friends to lovers, which is my favorite trope. What I didn’t expect was for their to be so much depth to these characters! I loved Lilah’s love for documentary filmmaking, but also how she began to love this sport that she at first thought was ego-driven and dumb. When she began to see how she could create this great story about Arthur’s comeback and then also began to let herself fall for him while filming it? Wonderfully written.

If you love F1 this book is a no-brainer and you need to read it. If you love romance novels and don’t know anything about F1? Still read this book! The characters are well written, the pace of the story is fast (as it should be when about racing!), and the chemistry is fab-u-lous! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Slipstream

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

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This Chick Read: Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

When Samantha finds a kitten in distress she takes him to the closest veterinarian clinic. When Xavier Rush walks in the door, Samantha is gobsmacked by his Greek god vibes, until he opens his mouth proving himself to be a surly SOB, delivering his professional opinion about the cat and the entire human race. Samantha loves nothing better than proving an SOB wrong, unless he can admit his mistake. They go on one date, and it is absolutely perfect, but Samantha has some family issues and is moving back home to Los Angeles the minute their date ends. Only neither one of them can forget the other.

Abby Jimenez is the queen of delivering romantic comedies with a lot of heart and this novel definitely had both. I laughed out loud at the great dialog, and felt emotional stirrings about all of the difficulties Xavier and Samantha had to overcome. Sounds great, right? So why was I left feeling slightly disappointed? Stop reading here if you don’t want some small spoilers.

This story had all the things, it really did. Romance, good looking girl, great looking guy, lots of chemistry, comedy, but what it didn’t have was our two main characters in the same city for the majority of the book. I thought the author did a great job of showing how a long distance relationship has been proven to break up couples. It was frustrating for me as a reader to not have them holding hands in the evening over a good meal or tv show, I can only imagine how it would feel in real life. So, I spent a great deal of this story, in between brief chuckles and heart tugs, feeling frustrated. That’s not really how I want to feel when I’m reading a romance novel. Hence the disappointment.

The good parts of this novel were really great. I loved both characters, I liked their back stories, I LOVED them together. I just didn’t get enough of that togetherness. Despite that frustration it was still a well written book by an author I love, it just wasn’t a five star read. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Say You’ll Remember Me

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

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This Chick Read: Crossing Paths (Beneath the Wild Sky#2) by Katie Ruggle

Norah Pax works with her sisters in the family bail bond business as their researcher. She works completely behind the scenes but when one of their skips hacks into her computer and starts taunting her she decides to up her game and takes personal defense lessons from an ex-MMA fighter and very grumpy Dash Porter. Taking those lessons with Dash become the highlight of her week and he very quickly becomes someone she trusts. When he realizes the danger she’s in he takes the opportunity to stick close to her side.

I can always count on Katie Ruggle to write a good women in jeopardy story. Norah is strong of heart, but she’s not the most physical or athletic Pax sister. With Dash’s help she grows in confidence both physically and mentally and that is a very attractive trait in a romance novel. Dash himself is very physical, both in fitness and mental agility. He’s attracted to Norah from the start and as soon as he realizes she’s in trouble he’s all in. You got to love that in a hero!

Just as with Katie Ruggle’s other novels there’s a lot of action and adventure which makes this a very quick moving fun novel to read. I love the interactions between Norah and her sisters. There’s a lot of love on these pages, not just between the romantic leads. If you haven’t read any of Katie Ruggle’s other books, you really don’t need to read the series in order. This and all the other books can be read as stand alone’s, but you might get a little more enjoyment if you’ve read the other books first. Either way, you’re going to enjoy Norah and Dash’s story. Get ready for a fun ride!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Copyright 2025 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads