This Chick Read: Fake Skating by Lynn Painter

Dani grew up an army brat, moving around constantly and never making great friends. The only constant in her life was she and her mom’s trips back to Minnesota every summer where she would hang out with her mom’s best friend’s son, Alec who was kind of nerdy and a little soft. They promised they’d always stay in touch, until they didn’t. Five years later and Dani and her mom are back in Minnesota. Her parents are going through a divorce and they will be living with her grandpa for the final few months of her senior year in college. Here she is the new girl again but at least she’d have her friend Alec, right? Only that nerdy little friend has turned into ‘Zeus’ the semi-god who is taking their high school hockey team to the finals. They meet again as strangers and everything is super awkward. When an unlikely series of events has them fake dating they finally face what happened to their friendship and if they can overcome hurt feelings and face the truth.

Lynn Painter sure knows how to paint a great back story for her characters. Dani’s emotional journey from loner who doesn’t want to trust anyone to gradually entrusting her heart to Alec again was really well done. This young adult novel had all the feels of an adult romance without the spice. Dani had all the emotions of an adult and none of the stupid behaviours that come from being a teenager. Alec, was the more juvenile of the two, but that seems par for the course on where young girls and boys are emotionally at that time in their lives. I think Dani also had so much more to forgive and move on from- not just her past with Alec, but the divorce of her parents, and reconnecting with her once close grandfather. The author portrayed all of these things beautifully and I bought into all the plots and sub plots.

Not to say that Alec was one dimensional, because he wasn’t. However, he held onto his grudges much more than Dani so it was easier to get caught up in her journey versus Alec’s. I do love a great hockey story though, so his push to win a championship and move on to college or go pro created conflict for his character that was separate from his feelings on what happened with Dani in the past. I do wish he hadn’t been given the nickname Zeus though, I just hated that moniker. No high schooler is god-like, no matter their athletic prowess.

I really enjoyed this story and Lynn Painter has quickly become a favorite author. No matter if it’s YA or an adult romance, her story’s deliver, and her characters are always real. She’s become a must-buy for me. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Fake Skating

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.

This Chick Read: Love on Paper by Danielle Parker

Macy’s parents are both best-selling authors, which is a lot to live up to when you, too want to be a writer. When she gets into an exclusive four week writing camp with other young writers she is excited but at the same time feels the pressure of living up to her mother’s expectations. When their writing genre is revealed to be romance, a subject she knows nothing about, her fears of not being able to live up to the challenge cause a case of writers block. Until she meets her critique partner, Caleb, who has similar issues to her own and they’re willing to overlook their parents beef with each other to help each other write the best romance- as well as solve a small mystery that gets thrown their way.

For such a simple story about two kids at a writing camp, there was a lot going on both emotionally and with the plot. Macy and Caleb’s parents having issues with each other, Macy’s relationship with her mother, Caleb’s dealing with his mom’s recent death, writing a romance, and solving a mystery that involves their families. Whew! There was barely enough time for Macy and Caleb to do all that plus develop feelings for each other in a four week time period. Somehow, the author, and these characters, ended up doing it all culminating in a sweet young adult novel that teaches a few life lessons along the way.

The mystery I was alluding to is what held my interest through this novel. It allowed the two main characters to actually act like young kids, finding corners to hold hands and smooch, breaking and entering, doing socially silly things, then of course find clues that help them both figure out some of their emotional issues with their parental units. It was a little bit like floating down a lazy river with a ton or twists and turns, but eventually the characters got their conflicts solved and the plot concluded nicely if not totally at a pace that pleased my style of reading. As this is a very clean, sweet, young adult novel, the pace fit the plot and characters very well. ❤️❤️❤️❣️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Love on Paper

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.

This Chick Read: Better Than Revenge by Kasie West

Finley has only ever had one goal in life, to become a famous podcaster. The first step is to audition and land the job on her high school’s podcast team. She has come up with the perfect pitch but her plans are waylaid when her football obsessed boyfriends decides to try out last minute, uses her idea, and takes her place on the team. Finley and her friends come up with the perfect plan for revenge but needs the help of her ex’s nemesis, Theo, to pull it off. What she doesn’t count on is the connection she starts to build with Theo.

I can always count on Kasie West for great characters, a good story, and a surprising theme. In this novel it was the sweet story that Finley’s grandmother tells about her first love, captured on Finley’s personal podcast. That story provided the heart, while Finley, Theo, and Jensen provided the conflict and resolution. While the story was pretty simple, I thought it was entertaining and provided the warm fuzzies I needed.

The high school story arc was pretty simple, young love, betrayal, and redemption but despite those themes the characters were pretty unique. Finley’s group of friends were diverse and eclectic, Theo was multi-layered, and Finley’s podcasting unique. It was truly only Jensen that fell into that stereotypical obtuse jock, but as he was set up as the villain I wasn’t really bothered by his simplicity. Finley’s future was on podcasting and Theo and those two had more depth and held my interest. The author did a great job of building the tension in the story so that the resolution felt impactful and satisfying. I really liked how this story played 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!* Better Than Revenge

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.

This Chick Read: Dating and Dragons by Kristy Boyce

Quinn Norton knows that making new friends at a brand new high school is almost impossible, especially when it’s the middle of the year but when she’s invited to join a D&D game she’s determined to make this friend group work. Even though they livestream their games and enforce strict rules like no phones and no dating inside the friend group. She’s slightly disappointed in that last rule because when she first meets Logan she thinks they have a great connection but as soon as she joins the group he becomes insufferable and rude. After a while she begins to wonder if his behavior is a smokescreen for hidden feelings?

I had a great time reading this author’s first novel Dungeons and Drama so when I saw this second D&D themed young adult novel I couldn’t resist, even though I don’t fall within the target demo. Dating and Dragons, while not quite as good as the first is a very cute, and very quick read. It’s a simple premise but the author does such a good job making the subject matter easy to grasp for a D&D novice, and the characters were very likable and interesting.

I think we’ve all been the new girl at some point or other so it’s easy to identify with Quinn’s situation- starting a new school and wanting to make friends. As an adult, every time you start a new job you find yourself in similar situations and despite the whole aging process, it sometimes feels like you never left high school and all of those insecurities you had as a teen. I loved how this new group Quinn wants to join reflects the society that we live in today. D&D, in my day, wouldn’t be something you’d admit to playing, but now all kinds of games, hobbies, and different groups of people are not looked at as being different at all. For me, that was one of the things that made this story so refreshing. The easy to read story and likable characters didn’t hurt either!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Dating and Dragons

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

This Chick Read: Heir, Apparently by Kara McDowell

After surviving a narrowly-averted apocalypse last summer, Wren is trying to live a normal life as a Freshman at Northwestern. When she receives a marriage certificate in the mail carrying two signatures, she has to face a big problem. Theo, her adventurous companion during the apocalypse the previous summer, signed his real signature on what was supposed to be a fake wedding certificate. Now, Wren may be married to the soon to be King of England! Spotting him on social media, with her dog Comet, in Canada, Wren and her best friend decide to get her dog back. Oh, and to also face the consequences of that marriage certificate.

This series is a fun escape from reality and I’m a big fan. After reading The Prince and the Apocalypse last year, this author jumped onto my radar and I knew I wanted to keep an eye out for the sequel. After all, the first book had so many unanswered questions. The biggest being did they or did they not really get married. Heir, Apparently picks up right where the last novel left off. A few weeks later Wren is trying to live a normal life on campus at Northwestern but she can’t quite get Theo off her brain and not only because he stole her dog Comet. When she and her best friend Naomi launch a plan to get her dog back, I settle in for a fun read. I know mishaps and miscommunications are sure to follow! What I didn’t expect was a survival style adventure Part deux.

This story arc definitely plays heavily on the little girl fantasy of having a handsome prince fall in love with the normal American teenage girl and it does it really well. I would’ve wished for a bit more open communication between the main characters to speed their emotional story arc a long a little sooner, but honestly they are both teenagers and you can’t expect them to communicate like adults. What I did love was that they had to rely on each other in order to survive the plane crash on the deserted island, which brought them close again and definitely recaptured that action-adventure style I enjoyed from the first novel. If you want a fun romp of a novel then I think this one captures that spirit!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

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

Click this link to purchase this book! Heir, Apparently

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.

This Chick Read: The Calculation of You and Me by Serena Kaylor

Navigating high school is difficult for a math nerd but Marlowe Meadows had managed to gain the attention of the most popular boy in school and for two years was half of that golden couple. When he suddenly breaks up with her stating that she isn’t very romantic she is determined to win him back. When she gets paired with black clothes, guyliner wearing rocker Ashton Hayes for an English project she reads some poetry he’s written and asks him to help her become more romantic and win her ex back. He’ll help her write some love letters and she’ll help his band go viral. As they spend more time together and she starts to develop feelings Marlowe wonders if there isn’t a perfect formula for love. How could she have gotten things so wrong?

After reading Serena Kaylor’s debut novel Long Story Short I knew I was going to pick up her next young adult novel. She seems to favor math nerds for heroine’s and I love a good STEM romance. In The Calculation of You and Me Marlowe is on the spectrum as well as being a math nerd and her ability to read nuances and jokes are difficult for her. This made what her ex said to her especially brutal and Ash’s appreciation of these traits more romantic and sweet. Needless to say I wanted her to stop trying to win back her douchebag ex and fall for Ash but she needed to figure things out at her own pace and it was totally fun to read her journey.

Learning how to be more romantic included a series of “lessons” set up like dates, as well as reading all the different romance tropes. It was fun to see this young math nerd open up to romance by doing something all of us readers already enjoy. Reading romance novels! I loved how she and her girlfriends found this new world of happily ever afters. This was just icing on the cake of a very good story already but it did make it a bit more fun. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Calculation of You and Me

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.

This Chick Read: Wild About You by Kaitlynn Hill

Natalie Hart is struggling to pay her college tuition when she sees a casting call for a very popular outdoor reality show called Wild Adventures. She cares about her skin care routine too much to have much camping experience but she submits and application and wins a spot on the cast. She’s up for the adventure and the chance at the winning prize that will help her pay her bills. When she’s partnered with the surly, outdoorsy, Finn Markum she is determinedly cheerful and hopeful that his experience and her social media charm will help them make it to the final. Along the way, maybe there’s the chance at building some friendships.

Wild About You was a fun, very easy to read young adult adventure style novel with two completely likable main characters. Kaitlynn Hill did a very good job at contrasting her easy breezy style of writing with some real-life problems such as anxiety, panic attacks, and parental issues. The game show format made it easy for the reader to connect to all of the cast of characters while at the same time rooting for our favorite main character duo.

There were several things I liked about Wild About You. These young characters had real-life issues that a reader could easily identify with, the growth of Natalie and Finn’s relationship was steady and sweet, and the competition. Actually that last thing was probably my favorite because I’m a reality show competition fan. All of these things made this story interesting, light, but with a bit of depth- adding character to the right parts of the story. I thought it was very well done! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Wild About You

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.

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: My Top 5 Most Anticipated Book Releases- May’24

OK, I can’t believe that we are already in the month of May. This year has gone by so fast! My TBR just keeps growing and I know there are not enough hours in a day/month/year that I can tackle all of the books I want to read. Despite that growing list, I’m going to pick the 5 books that I’m most excited to see being released in May. These five will definitely be on my TBR and hopefully I’ll be able to crack open a page.

This is the second outdoor adventure competition romance that I’ve seen coming out in May. They both look cute but this one edged out the other since it’s an adult contemporary. Looks like a fun and easy read and should be put in your carry on for the first beach vacation of the year.

Synopsis: Orie Lennox has spent her entire life prepping for her happily ever after — and now that she’s graduated, she’s low-key wondering, when the heck is it gonna hit. Her love life, her new job, her relationship with her sister: none of it is quite what she envisioned it to be.

One evening, on a whim, she applies for a reality show where she’ll be stranded on an island, with a bunch of strangers, to play a game of human chess for a shot at a million dollars. What better way to force herself to break up with the things that aren’t bringing her joy, than to abandon them all on short notice to live off the grid on a beach in the South Pacific!

Orie’s shocked when she ends up cast in an experimental romantic edition of the show: and even more surprised to find that her old high school crush, Remy, has been cast as well. Orie’s one of ten contestants, set to compete in formidable challenges, while speed dating, in the wilderness: without deodorant, toilets, shaving cream, or showers. (How!?)

She finds herself tied up — literally — in a game of risky alliances as she navigates ever-growing feelings for her one that got away, alongside an exciting array of budding new relationships.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Attached at the Hip

When Nora has one of her romantic suspense releases I want to immediately snatch it up. This one seems to be more sinister than normal. yeah!

Synopsis:

As they do each June, the Foxes have driven the winding roads of Appalachia to drop off their children for a two-week stay at their grandmother’s. Here, twelve-year-old Thea can run free and breathe in the smells of pine and fresh bread and Grammie’s handmade candles. But as her parents head back to suburban Virginia, they have no idea they’re about to cross paths with a ticking time bomb.

Back in Kentucky, Thea and her grandmother Lucy both awaken from the same nightmare. And though the two have never discussed the special kind of sight they share, they know as soon as their tearful eyes meet that something terrible has happened.

The kids will be staying with Grammie now in Redbud Hollow, and thanks to Thea’s vision, their parents’ killer will spend his life in supermax. Over time, Thea will make friends, build a career, find love. But that ability to see into minds and souls still lurks within her, and though Grammie calls it a gift, it feels more like a curse—because the inmate who shattered her childhood has the same ability. Thea can hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts from miles away. He knows it, and hungers for vengeance. A long, silent battle will be waged between them—and eventually bring them face to face, and head to head…

Click this link to purchase this book!* Mind Games

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase one of these books through a link on this blog I’ll receive a small stipend.

I have just recently discovered Elle Kennedy’s college hockey series. If you like your romance a bit raunchy and characters with a lot of heart, you need to reach for one of her books. She was recommended to me and I’ve gobbled them all up.

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Dixon Rule

Crazy Rich Asians was such a fun novel and the movie was technicolor bliss. I saw this synopsis and thought- I have to read this one!

Synopsis:

Rufus Leung Gresham, future Earl of Greshambury and son of a former Hong Kong supermodel has a problem: the legendary Gresham Trust has been depleted by decades of profligate spending, and behind all the magazine covers and Instagram stories manors and yachts lies nothing more than a gargantuan mountain of debt. The only solution, put forth by Rufus’s scheming mother, is for Rufus to attend his sister’s wedding at a luxury eco-resort, a veritable who’s-who of sultans, barons, and oligarchs, and seduce a woman with money.

Should he marry Solène de Courcy, a French hotel heiress with honey blond tresses and a royal bloodline? Should he pursue Martha Dung, the tattooed venture capital genius who passes out billions like lollipops? Or should he follow his heart, betray his family, squander his legacy, and finally confess his love to the literal girl next door, the humble daughter of a doctor, Eden Tong? When a volcanic eruption burns through the nuptials and a hot mic exposes a secret tryst, the Gresham family plans—and their reputation—go up in flames.

Can the once-great dukedom rise from the ashes? Or will a secret tragedy, hidden for two decades, reveal a shocking twist?

In a globetrotting tale that takes us from the black sand beaches of Hawaii to the skies of Marrakech, from the glitzy bachelor pads of Los Angeles to the inner sanctums of England’s oldest family estates, Kevin Kwan unfurls a juicy, hilarious, sophisticated and thrillingly plotted story of love, money, murder, sex, and the lies we tell about them all.

Click this link to purchase this book! Lies and Weddings

Since this author duo moved on from New Adult fiction I’ve completely enjoyed virtually all of their novels. They immediately hit my TBR and if I don’t read it, I listen to the audiobook!

Synopsis:

Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.

Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.

Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents—his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.

But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Paradise Problem

There were so many books to choose from and these are the ones that I chose for my own pleasure reading. What did I miss? Let me know in the comments!

This Chick Read: Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce

Riley has huge aspirations for her future.. she wants to direct a Broadway musical. When she takes her mom’s car to the city to see a show without her permission, she’s grounded and has to work at her dad’s gamer shop in her free time. When she finds out the spring musical has been canceled, she is determined to save it, but she’s stuck at the game shop with her nerdy (but cute!) co-worker Nathan. They strike up a deal, she’ll flirt with him to make his girl crush jealous and he’ll act as her boyfriend at school to get her ex off her back while she works on the musical. As they spend more time with each other she finds out that she likes the Dungeons and Dragons role playing almost as much as she likes spending time with Nathan.

I’ll admit that I’m a little older than the target demographic for this novel, but I love occasionally reading young adult novels. The emotions are so pure and in the case of Dungeons and Drama, the plot was too cute. I enjoyed this novel very much! The story mixed humor, nerdiness, and great family dynamics. I felt for this cute teen girl who’s parents are divorced. She has drifted apart from her father and isn’t sure she can handle working in his store, which she sees as the catalyst for her parents divorce. When she enters that gaming universe she’s definitely a fish out of water which creates some pretty funny scenarios. Her interactions with Nathan and the other boys who game D&D in the back room are pretty great, the dialog is spot on and so funny!

The romance portion of this novel was very sweet and totally PG. A lot of young adult novels read like an adult romance but in this novel the heat was very mild and was totally appropriate for young readers. In fact, I was so surprised at the emotions this novel wrung out of me considering my age in comparison with the demo target. This author did a great job of writing for all ages!

If you love sweet romances that make you reminisce about your high school days, pick up this novel! The writing was great and the story was fun and engaging. You can’t ask for much more than that!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Dungeons and Drama

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.

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: My Top 5 Most Anticipated Book Releases for Jan’24

I have to say it. We are approaching 2024 already? Time has flown by so fast! I’ve just about hit my reading goal of 200 books this year, although I may fall short by a couple. When I was on Goodreads checking that out I thought I’d take a look at the January book releases to see how I would start off my year. Below are my top 5.

Some people may have this one higher on the list but with a page count of 848 I’m kind of dreading the amount of time it will take to read. While not as good as some of her other novels, I’m still committed to this series so I know at some point in 2024 I will get started. I do want to see how these characters are going to recover from what happened in the second tome.

Jill Shalvis is aways my go-to when I don’t want to take a chance that I’ll dislike the book I’m starting to read. Her sweet romances solid friendship stories satisfy my reader’s brain. This series is more women’s fiction than romance but I really like the community she’s built and can’t wait to read this one.

While I am way beyond the demographic for the young adult genre, I’ll admit to keeping an eye out for a synopsis that peaks my interest. This opposites attract plot looks like fun!

Yep! I’m a historical romance fan. Especially when it’s a new novel from Mimi Matthews. Her characters are always diverse, and she tells their story in a very realistic way that keeps me coming back to pick up her next novel.

This writing duo does not disappoint. A second chance romance with a rising star writing songs about each of her broken relationships. I can’t wait to read this second chance romance it looks so good!

That’s it! My top 5. Does it match yours? Happy reading everyone!

Deb