Tag: romance

This Chick Read: Roll for Romance by Lenora Woods

When Sadie Brooks loses her marketing job in NYC, she decides to spend the summer with her best friend in a small town in Texas. Depressed and overwhelmed about her future, she agrees to take part in his Dungeons and Dragons game with three other people who are also new to the game. In the game, she becomes Jaylie, a powerful cleric who is blessed by the Goddess of Good Luck. Something she feels she doesn’t have a lot of until she meets Noah Walker, who plays as Loren the lute strumming bardic elf. As she contributes in the game and gets to know her fellow characters she draws on those strengths to navigate and make some decisions about her real life. Will her future take her back to New York? Or will she remain in Texas and explore what she’s beginning to feel for Noah?

Even though I’ve never played a Dungeons and Dragons game in my life the way Roll for Romance was written it was very easy to follow. Sadie as herself was very easy to empathize with and wish her good luck in finding her way. When she played Jaylie we could see how as she grew confidence in the game it paralleled how she was feeling in her real life. I loved how this author used the two plots to help grow Sadie’s character and help her see the direction she might want to take as she started over.

Noah was an interesting character for a love interest. He was very laid back, charming, and easy going. There are quite a few similarities between he and his D&D character Loren. What was strange about him was that he doesn’t stay long in one city, moving as the mood hits him. Not your usual hero vibe, although he paired well with Sadie who in her NY life was structured and suited, while in TX she is more easy breezy and figuring out her future.

This novel was very easy to read and quite enjoyable! I’m a fantasy reader so it wasn’t hard to make that jump from current world to fictional world and I liked the variety of characters between those two worlds. If you like fantasy and/or D&D this one would be a no brainer 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!* Roll for Romance

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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: Maid for Each Other by Lynn Painter

When professional cleaner, Abi Mariano’s house had an infestation and she needed a place to stay, she chose to stay a client’s home when they were out of town. When she woke up the next day to his parents in the kitchen they might have gotten the misconception that she was his girlfriend Abby, a girlfriend Declan made up. When Dex goes searching for his “girlfriend” he finds her at her second job ringing up groceries at the local grocer. Instead of filing charges he proposes a bargain that she pretend to be his girlfriend for a work event and she can continue to stay at his house while her’s is getting fumigated. What start off as an innocent fake dating plot turns into real-life feelings that Abi and Dex aren’t sure that they want to go away.

Lynn Painter has such a great style of writing. Her dialog is always easy and fun and her characters well-thought out and likable. While I didn’t love Abi’s reasons for staying in Dex’s house, I did love how she was clever and sassed her way into staying there for the whole week with his permission. Similarly I didn’t love Dex’s lack of care for how much money he had but I loved that he had an ulterior motive for why he thought that way, which the author delivered by the end of the story. These two were well paired and their romance was an enjoyable bit of fun.

Abi’s dislike for the uber-wealthy stems from never having enough money herself. While she never really shows Dex her true self until 2/3rds of the book is finished, the reader sees each character clearly allowing us to overlook some of their faults. Abi’s resolve to change her circumstances through education and hard work makes her worthy of the reader’s esteem. Similarly to Dex’s easy going nature and charm allow us to see him as a worthy partner for her even though he keeps trying to throw money at her to solve all their problems. It’s a fantasy world and these two are lucky enough to be inhabiting this romance novel and the author has made the fantasy believable.

If you’re looking for a fun book that will have you chuckling, I think this one is a perfect fit! I need to make sure I’ve read all of this author’s previous novels. This is the second one I’ve read recently and the second one I’m recommending.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Maid for Each Other

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.

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This Chick Read: Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman

Lauren Parker has gone through a few iterations in her life. Teenage hell-raiser, sister to a movie star, and tragically widowed single mother. When she and daughter take a trip out to California to visit with her brother on his movie set she meets actor Ben Walsh. They have instant chemistry and Lauren takes that chance to have that moment for herself and be seen. When their sexy encounter becomes something more Lauren has to decide if there’s room in both their lives for this relationship. He star is rising and she lives in a small town in Minnesota.

Elissa Sussman uses flashbacks about Lauren’s relationship with her childhood friend/husband Spencer as a way to show the reader Lauren is still working through her grief, while at the same time explaining a spirit within that never truly died out, even as she had settled down with her husband and started a family. This “explanation” helps the reader make that jump into how a small town mother can hook up with a beautiful movie star who is more than ten years her junior. That rebellious nature hasn’t completely died out despite her being a single mom raising a teenager who is quite spirited herself.

The relationship between she and Ben was lovely and not to take anything away from the romance of it, stands on its own. However, it’s what she learns about herself as she’s exploring that relationship is the heart of the story. Her grief is balanced by her will to live a full life. She and Ben’s exploration of each other and a possible future relationship is a way to move on from the very loving marriage she had with Spencer. The dual nature of this author’s storytelling was deftly written and really showed Lauren’s growth in all aspects of her life.

I haven’t read all of this author’s novels, but as I was reading I was reminded about how much I enjoy her style of writing. I need to go look at her backlist and see what I’ve been missing out on! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Totally and Completely Fine

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: Relationship Goals by Brittany Kelley

Abigail Hunt lands a lead dramatic role and is sent by the director to shadow an executive at the local pro soccer team. When she meets grumpy super star Luke Wolfe she is entertained by his surly demeanor and doesn’t let his nature cast shadows on her good nature. Despite his surliness he’s charmed and distracted by her personality and despite being coerced by the owners to show her around he wants to see her again and asks her out on a date. When she finds out he’s faking the relationship she decides to get even.

I was drawn to this romance because hello! It’s a sports romance and I have a fondness for those, especially involving soccer players. I loved the fake dating premise and the fact that Luke was the grumpy hero. What I ended up liking about the book after reading it was how sweet Luke actually was. Abi was so easy to like and her bubbly personality easily broke through Luke’s walls and I very easily fell for this couple. The reader was let in on the fact that Luke didn’t ask Abi out willingly so her foray into revenge was a letdown. I hated seeing her character lose that sparkle in her eye.

Sometimes I’m just in the mood for a sweet, slightly surly romance that won’t take me too long to get into and not long to finish. This novel exceeded my expectations and I’ll be sure to take a look at this author’s other novels. This was my first Brittany Kelley novel and it was enjoyable!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Relationship Goals

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

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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

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: 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

Copyright 2025 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*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

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.

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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

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