Final Check-in 2024 Challenges & 2025 Sign-ups

I'm a little late posting my challenge check-ins and setting my new goals, but here they are. I made all of my goals. Here's my totals:

The challenge is hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer  again & That's What I'm Taking About. Thank you ladies!

I signed up for 125-150 I Can't Hear You (earbuds are always in) books and managed 149 books.  Here are a few of my standout listens:

(Click on cover for Goodreads link/title below for my review)

Pitch Dark (Mike Bowditch #15) by Paul Doiron narrated by Henry Leyva

You'll Never Find Me by Allision Brennan narrated by Hillary Huber

Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister narrated by Lesley Sharp

My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland narrated by Allison McLemore

Mind Games by Nora Roberts narrated by January LaVoy

Winter Lost (Mercy Thompson #14) by Patricia Briggs narrated by Lorelei King

I'm signing up for I Can't Hear You (earbuds are always in) 125-150 books again. Click HERE for details if you'd like to join in, too!

Library Love Challenge is hosted by Anne @Books of My Heart and Angel's Book Nook. Thank you ladies! 

You can sign up for the 2025 Challenge HERE.  

I signed up for Library Card on Fire 60+ books and made it with 71.

Here are some of my favorites:

Fated (Alex Verus #1) by Benedict Jacka

The Bitter Past (Porter Beck #1) by Bruce Borgos 

Death in Kew Gardens (A Below Stairs Mystery #3) by Jennifer Ashley

I sign up for the Goodreads Challenge every year. My goal was 175 books and I surpassed it with 191 books. I signed up for 175 again for 2025. 

I am signing up for Susan's Bookish Books Reading Challenge. Thank you Susan! (click HERE for info on the challenge) this year with:

Toe in the Door 1-10 Books

I need to make a list of books to read for this one. Any ideas?

Well, that's the end of my challenges. Are you participating in any challenges this year?

Review: No Ordinary Duchess by Elizabeth Hoyt

 

No Ordinary Duchess (Greycourt #3) by Elizabeth Hoyt

Publication Date: December 10th 2024 by Forever

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Lady Elspeth de Moray is on the hunt for an ancient book, rumored to be in one of the Greycourt libraries, to help once again unify the Wise Women, a group of unconventional, educated and skilled in many lethal ways.

 

Julian Greycourt is heir to the dukedom, but his tyrannical uncle is gunning for him and has kept him and his sisters under his cruel dominion since his father and mother died. However, Julian receives word that there may be proof to string his uncle up and set their family free. Uncle Augustus was a horrid man with diabolical plans, so Julian needed to find that evidence quickly!

 

Lady Elspeth’s and Julian’s searches intersect throwing them together constantly as a steady undercurrent of attraction simmers between them. There was quite the buildup and very, very spicy! Julian had some edgy desires. Lady Elspeth, with the way she was raised, wasn’t a wilting flower shocked by any of this. They were well matched!

 

No Ordinary Duchess was a great combo of suspense and romance, with heavier topics and some lighthearted humor. Elspeth was very much a positive ray of sunshine to Julian’s broody and serious demeanor. As Julian’s past is revealed this is completely understandable!  

 

I’m a big fan of Elizabeth Hoyt, her writing is beautiful, clever and very sensual! It’s been a while since she released her last book, so I was thrilled to hear about this newest installment of the Greycourt series!

4 Stars

Book Description:

From a New York Times bestselling author, the much-anticipated third novel in the Greycourt series.

Cold and brooding, Julian Greycourt, the heir to the Windemere dukedom, has always known that his uncle the duke was responsible for his mother’s death. Now he’s determined to exact revenge against his uncle—if he can find the proof. But Julian hides a secret so explosive it will destroy him if it’s ever revealed, and the duke is watching. The last thing he needs is a distractingly sensual woman whose very presence threatens to destroy his plans.

Sunny and cheerful, Lady Elspeth de Moray doesn’t know why her brother and Julian fell out all those years ago, but she can’t let the autocratic man get in the way of her mission: to retrieve an ancient family text that she believes is in one of the Windemere libraries. Locating the tome, however, proves trickier than she anticipated, and at each turn, she’s thrown together with the maddingly mysterious Julian. And the temptation to give in to her family’s greatest enemy grows stronger with each intriguing encounter…

Review: The Holiday Cottage by Sarah Morgan

 

The Holiday Cottage by Sarah Morgan

Publication Date: September 24th 2024 by Canary Street Press

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Imogen’s whole life revolves around her work. Growing up with an unstable mother and home environment makes the success and security she finds in her career calming. However, she’s felt pressured to make up an ideal life outside of work and backed herself into a corner with the stories she’s told. Add to that, her mother’s current crisis causes a problem with an important account, leading Imogen’s boss to enforce some time off.

 

Dorothy, a widower, business owner and longtime client of Imogen, hears of her predicament and insists Imogen come stay at her vacant cottage in the Cotswolds. Dorothy’s daughter Sara wasn’t pleased with her mother’s offer, and I was inclined to dislike Sara, but there’s more to that whole story.

 

I was stressed and hurt for Imogen. She put on a brave face, manufactured an idyllic life when she actually led a self-contained, lonely existence. I was outraged on her behalf as details were revealed about her mother and her upbringing! I was elated as things started going her way, and she found that she had people in her corner! The romance with Miles, the local veterinarian, was the icing on the cake.  I loved the way he immediately took up for Imogen and was there for support. Of course, with a veterinarian there were several sweet animals. All filled my heart with joy!

 

I love Sarah Morgan’s stories! She combines gorgeous settings with emotional stories that warm your heart! The Holiday Cottage was a feel-good story brimming with all the cozy winter vibes!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan returns with a heartfelt story of friendship, finding yourself, and the surprising ties that bring us together.

To the outside world, Imogen is a marketing dynamo. Her colleagues don’t know that while her high-achieving professional image is real, the happy childhood stories she spins are as fake as her pretend enthusiasm for Christmas. Working 24/7 has always been her solution to surviving the festive season—until burnout leads to a catastrophic blunder.

Suddenly, Imogen is handed a holiday gift she definitely doesn’t want: enforced time off work to recuperate. Then an invitation arrives from her favorite client, Dorothy, to stay at her guest cottage in the Cotswolds. From the thatched roof to the cozy open fireplace, Holly Cottage is a picture-perfect haven… Can it provide the fresh start Imogen so desperately needs?

For Dorothy, helping Imogen offers a longed-for chance to make reparations for her own past. But as her daughter Sara keeps reminding her, it brings risks, too. Yet Dorothy knows that only a leap of courage will allow her family to grow and heal. And perhaps this Christmas, with Dorothy’s help, the new life that Imogen is slowly piecing together could be better than anything either of them could imagine…

Review: The Cold Light of Day by Anna Lee Huber

The Cold Light of Day (Verity Kent Mysteries #7) by Anna Lee Huber

Publication Date: September 24th 2024 by Kensington

Pages: 384

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads 

My Thoughts:

Verity and Sidney are in Dublin, Ireland at the request of Verity’s British Secret Service handler, “C”, to locate fellow spy, Alec Xavier since he’s dropped out of communication after being sent to infiltrate the IRA. With the situation so volatile and dangerous, they’re understandably very concerned. By day, Verity and Sidney go undercover, Verity to track down Alec and Sidney to see if he can locate the phosgene canisters, stolen by their nemesis, Lord Ardmore. At night, they keep up the ruse of only being in Ireland for pleasure by attending dinner parties and rubbing elbows with the elite in society and government.

 

Along with her assignment Verity is tasked by a Lord French, to investigate an attack on a woman, demoralizing her to the point that she took her own life soon after. He wants Verity to find out what happened and get justice for her and her grieving family.  I was outraged for this young woman and so was Verity, which made her more determined to find the culprits responsible.

 

Love Verity and her pluck! She’s quick and clever, even when faced with frightening situations.

 

The Verity Kent series is one of my favorites and best read in order. It’s a captivating combination of mystery, political intrigue, crime procedural, danger and a splash of romance! Verity and Sidney have had to contend with personal struggles stemming from their experiences in World War I. Even several years later (this story being set in 1920) the aftermath is still playing out. While some of the mysteries presented are solved in this installment, some are not, and it ended on an unsettling note. I eagerly await the next book!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

The latest novel in the action-packed historical mystery series featuring Verity Kent, fashionable former Secret Service agent turned intrepid sleuth and high-society darling on her next clandestine mission—from the USA Today bestselling author of the Lady Darby Mysteries. A treat for fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Susan Ella MacNeal.

June 1920, Ireland: The streets of Dublin seethe with revolution as the Irish Republican Army clashes with British authorities. Roving assassination squads mean nowhere is truly safe, particularly for Verity Kent and her war hero husband, Sidney. Given their celebrity as society darlings and intrepid sleuths, they must tread carefully to go unnoticed—nearly impossible when they are called upon to search for Verity’s fellow spy and friend . . .

Captain Alec Xavier has seemingly vanished after traveling to Dublin to infiltrate the IRA at its highest levels. Doing her best to maintain a modicum of normalcy and stay under the radar of both the rebels and British Intelligence, Verity works undercover by day and waltzes through the city’s elite social scene by night. Still, she fears the worst for Alec—until shocking evidence mounts that not only is he alive, but that he has switched sides . . .

Already disillusioned with the British government, the news leaves Verity and Sidney reeling. Worse, they learn of a conspiracy within Dublin Castle, where personal vendettas are being carried out and sanctioned by British Intelligence under the cover of revolution. With the distinction between friend and foe never more blurred—or the margin for error narrower—Verity and Sidney cannot turn a blind eye. Especially when a familiar adversary appears, bringing a threat almost too terrifying to confront—even in the cold light of day . . .

 

My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine

 

My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine

Publication Date: September 17th 2024 by Berkley 

Pages: 400

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Amelia needs a date for her cousin’s upcoming wedding. She’s worked hard to get to where she is in life with a career she loves (an accountant) and she isn’t searching for romance. However, she’s tired of the pitying glances and fielding her family’s questions about why she’s still single. An unexpected run in with Reginald Cleaves provides the perfect solution.

 

Reginald is running from The Collective, a vigilante vampire organization hunting him for a century old crime. He runs into Amelia, and she provides him a cover. Her proposition to play her boyfriend in all the events leading up to her cousin’s wedding is no imposition since he’s already fascinated by the organized and stunning CPA!

 

Reginald was a character! He cracked me up! Amelia was a sweetheart, too, and I loved these two together. I had to laugh at some of her cluelessness regarding the whole vampire thing. Loved the interactions between Amelia’s dad and Reggie.

 

My Vampire Plus-One was whacky and fun with a bit of danger, adding a bit of excitement! A pure delight!

4 Stars

Book Description:

Nothing sucks more than fake dating a vampire in this paranormal romantic comedy from the USA Today bestselling author of My Roommate Is a Vampire.

Amelia Collins is by definition successful. She would even go so far as to say successfully single. But not according to her family, and she’s tired of the constant questions about her nonexistent dating life. When an invitation to yet another family wedding arrives, she decides to get everyone off her back once and for all by finding someone–anyone–to pose as her date.

After a chance encounter with Reginald Cleaves, Amelia decides he’s perfect for her purposes. He’s a bit strange, but that’s fine; it’ll discourage tough questions from her family. (And it certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s very handsome.) For centuries-old vampire Reggie, posing as her plus-one sounds like the ultimate fun. And if it helps his ruse of pretending to be human, so much the better.

As Amelia and Reggie practice their fauxmance, it becomes clear that Reggie is as loyal to her as the day is long, and that Amelia’s first impressions could not have been more wrong. Suddenly, being in a real relationship with Reggie sounds pretty fang-tastic.

The Trouble With Love By Lauren Layne

 

The Trouble With Love (Sex, Love & Stilettos #4) by Lauren Layne

Publication Date: March 3rd 2015 by Loveswept

Pages: 237

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

The Trouble With Love was a classic second chance romance with Emma and Cassidy at odds, acting icily indifferent to each other. However, with a bit of maneuvering from Camille (Stiletto’s editor in chief) they’re forced to deal with each other and so some of that ice starts to melt. Cassidy takes over Camille’s position while she goes on leave and because he wants answers pushes Emma to write an article detailing her past loves and why they broke up.

 

I forgot how well Lauren Layne writes romance! It seems lots of romance novels now are pages and pages of sex scenes without much lead up. Layne, however, laid a foundation with Emma and Cassidy having a history, which was slowly revealed.  There was buildup and chemistry! I loved Emma and Cassidy’s journey back to each other. Loved that they were not hateful or mean to each other while there was a lot of hurt feelings between them. This romance was well-crafted, sassy, and hot! A definite recommend!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

As Lauren Layne’s salacious Sex, Love & Stiletto series returns, a jaded columnist discovers a steamy way to get over an old flame: falling for him all over again.
 
As Stiletto magazine’s authority on all things breakup-and-heartache, Emma Sinclair writes from personal experience. Five years ago, Emma was Charlotte, North Carolina’s darling debutante and a blushing bride-to-be. Now she’s the ice queen of the Manhattan dating scene. Emma left her sultry Southern drawl behind, but not even her closest friends know that with it she left her heart. Now Emma’s latest article forces her to face her demons—namely, the devilishly sexy guy who ditched her at the altar.
 
After giving up everything for a pro-soccer career, Alex Cassidy watches his dreams crumble as a knee injury sidelines him for good. Now he’s hanging up his cleats and giving journalism a shot. It’s just a coincidence that he happens to pick a job in the same field, and the same city, as his former fiancée . . . right? But when Emma moves in next door, it’s no accident. It’s research. And Alex can’t help wondering what might have been. Unlike the innocent girl he remembers, this Emma is chic, sophisticated, and assertive—and she wants absolutely nothing to do with him. The trouble is, Alex has never wanted her more.

Review: We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida, E. Madison Shimoda (Translator)

 

We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida, E. Madison Shimoda (Translator)

Publication Date: September 3rd 2024 by Berkley

Pages: 304

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

As a cat lover I couldn’t resist picking up a copy of We’ll Prescribe You a Cat, because, of course, I feel any problem can be cured by a sweet, cuddly cat. Even a sassy cat with attitude can fix a lot, IMO, lol!

 

The story is actually five mini stories featuring a character at a crossroads: unhappy, sad, or disillusioned with the direction their life has taken.  They come to the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul and find they’re assigned the unusual prescription of a cat! It’s moving and fun to see how the cat impacts the life of each character.

 

This was a unique and magical tale that left me uplifted! This story is translated from Japanese into English, so there are a few quirks here and there with the dialogue, but its heartwarming message came through loud and clear! 

4 Stars

Book Description:

A cat a day keeps the doctor away…

Discover the award-winning, bestselling Japanese novel that has become an international sensation in this utterly charming, vibrant celebration of the healing power of cats.

Tucked away in an old building at the end of a narrow alley in Kyoto, the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul can only be found by people who are struggling in their lives and genuinely need help. The mysterious clinic offers a unique treatment to those who find their way it prescribes cats as medication. Patients are often puzzled by this unconventional prescription, but when they “take” their cat for the recommended duration, they witness profound transformations in their lives, guided by the playful, empathetic, occasionally challenging yet endearing cats.

Throughout the pages, the power of the human-animal bond is revealed as a disheartened businessman finds unexpected joy in physical labor, a young girl navigates the complexities of elementary school cliques, a middle-aged man struggles to stay relevant at work and home, a hardened bag designer seeks emotional balance, and a geisha finds herself unable to move on from the memory of her lost cat. As the clinic’s patients navigate their inner turmoil and seek resolution, their feline companions lead them toward healing, self-discovery, and newfound hope.

Review: The Scenic Route by Katie Ruggle

 

The Scenic Route (Beneath the Wild Sky #1) by Katie Ruggle

Publication Date: July 30th 2024 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Libro.fm | Audible | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

I was excited when I figured out The Scenic Route revisits and continues the bounty hunting Pax sisters’ story from Katie Ruggle’s Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters series! This one centers on Felicity Pax and a PI Bennett Green sent to find the necklace that their mother stole, however they end up chasing after a “skip” that takes them to Simpson, Colorado. This town is well known to Ruggle’s fans as it’s the setting for her Search and Rescue books. The past couples, (Lou and Callum, Ellie and George, Daisy and Chris, Rory and Ian), of that series factor in heavily to the story and it was fun “hanging out” with the old gang again!

 

Felicity and Bennett’s romance was a little insta-lovey but understandable with them thrown together while trying to find and apprehend her bail jumper.

 

The Scenic Route was fun with silly hijinks! I’d say this was more of an action romance than a mystery. I look forward to Nora’s story next!

3.5 Stars

Book Description:

Why date a mountain man? Because climbing him will leave you breathless.

Felicity Pax loves her job. She craves excitement, and being a bounty hunter gives her that in spades. So when her estranged mother disappears with a small fortune in tow, Felicity chases her like she would any other skip. Too bad she didn't barter on having increasingly infuriating (and infuriatingly hot) PI Bennett Green on her tail.

Bennett's got a job to do, and if that means shadowing Felicity…well…he's had worse assignments. Even if he's 99% sure the increasingly intriguing bounty hunter is leading him on a wild goose chase through the Rockies.

If she has to drag her PI tail through endless quirky mountain towns in order to shake him, that's what she's determined to do…but it isn't long before Felicity's intended distraction turns up a mystery worth solving—and Bennett becomes the unexpected partner she never realized she needed. As things heat up, Felicity will have to decide what's most important to staying one step ahead of the "enemy" or giving herself freedom to experience the adventure of a lifetime.

The Rocky Mountains get unBEARably hot in Katie Ruggle's brand-new series packed with adventure, action, tall dark & scruffy heroes, and a sense of quirky humor that will be your next perfect escape.

Review: 15 Summers Later by RaeAnne Thayne

 

15 Summers Later by RaeAnne Thayne

Publication Date: June 18th 2024 by Canary Street Press

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Ava and Madison survived and escaped a cult/prepper group when they were teenagers. Both have moved on, but Ava’s book detailing the experience brings unwelcome attention and Madison is furious. Why would Ava write this book? Ava’s not comfortable with sharing the past either, so I wasn’t sure why she wrote the book, but all is revealed as the story goes on.

 

Madison sustained lasting physical damage but has worked hard to overcome her trauma. I loved that her main focus in life was helping animals by running a rescue shelter.  Ava’s book has become a national best seller, but she’s put her book tour off because her marriage is in trouble. She needs time back home to lick her wounds and figure out what to do next.

 

The sisters really had a traumatic experience, and it was lucky they had each other to help them get through it and survive the escape! My heart went out to them, and I was enraged over how they came to be in the situation in the first place!

 

15 Summers Later was part romance, with Madison finding love and Ava sorting out her marriage-in-crisis, and part women’s fiction with the sisters reconciling the past and mending their relationship. I adored every minute!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

15 summers ago, everything changed…

Ava Howell seemed to have it all. She moved away from Emerald Creek, Idaho, married the love of her life and published a bestselling memoir. But she never expected that her husband would feel so betrayed by a secret from her past—the truth of what happened to her and her sister all those years ago—that he’d walk away. Now Ava is back home and trying to move on with the only person who can truly understand…

Following years of healing, Madison Howell is finally happy. After college she built a no-kill shelter where she works with animals every day, and she’s in love with the town veterinarian, Dr. Luke Gentry. But she can’t ever bring herself to tell him. Years ago, his dad died protecting Madi and her sister, so how could he ever love her back?

With the truth laid bare, and the past that Ava and Madison have worked so hard to leave behind threatening everything they have built for themselves, the Howell sisters’ reunion is bittersweet. And as Ava and Madi attempt to remedy the rifts in their lives and reconcile their futures, they must face the demons of their past together.

Review: Shades of Mercy by Bruce Borgos

 

Shades of Mercy (Porter Beck #2) by Bruce Borgos

Publication Date: July 16th 2024 by Minotaur Books 

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Porter Beck, the sheriff of Lincoln County, Nevada has his hands full policing his large territory, even with the small population that resides there. His is a small department. Beck is called out when his high school friend, Cash, hooked on pain meds after an old football injury, overdoses on a nasty concoction of Fentanyl that’s been making its way through his county.

 

Also, the government arrives to retrieve a part of an aircraft that fell off in testing at Jesse James Roy’s Ranch, another high school friend of Beck’s. Beck hadn’t seen Jesse in years and is surprised to see how prosperous his ranch has become. It raises questions.

 

Beck’s investigations intersect and the government involvement adds an extra layer of difficulty as their motives are purposely unclear.

 

Shades of Mercy is the second installment in the Porter Beck mystery series and though it has a mystery that’s introduced and solved here, I recommend starting with the first book as it establishes Beck’s history. Also, because it’s sooo good!

 

This was another action-packed mystery with Beck coming head-to-head with some very bad people. I was on the edge of my seat in spots! Beck’s sharpshooter sister, Brinley, his police team and other allies were aiding along the way. Plus, Beck has a sweet new addition to his crew: Frank Columbo, a dog! Loved Frank and he was very helpful! 

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

In the usually quiet high desert of Nevada, Sheriff Porter Beck faces one of his greatest challenges—a series of unlikely, disturbing and increasingly deadly events of unknown origins.

Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, doing the same lawman's job his father once did now that he's returned home after decades away. With his twelve person department, they cover a large area that is usually very quiet, but not of late. One childhood friend is the latest to succumb to a new wave of particularly strong illegal opioids, another childhood friend—now an enormously successful rancher—is targeted by a military drone, hacked and commandeered by an unknown source. The hacker is apparently local—local enough to call out Beck by name—and that means they are Beck's problem.

Beck's investigation leads him to Mercy Vaughn, the one known hacker in the area. The problem is that she's a teenager, locked up with no computer access at the secure juvenile detention center. But there's something Mercy that doesn't sit quite right with Beck. But when Mercy disappears, Beck understands that she's in danger and time is running out for all of them.

Review: Until Next Summer by Ali Brady

 

Until Next Summer by Ali Brady

Publication Date: July 9th 2024 by Berkley

Pages: 448

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Old besties Jessie and Hillary reunite after years apart as Camp Chickawah, the place they met and bonded at is about to be sold and close for good. They mend fences over wonderful memories and unite to save the camp, each finding romance with past campers, Luke, the broody author, and Cooper the camp chef.

Until Next Summer was full of nostalgia, looking back at the good times of summer, even if you didn’t do camp as a youngster. The story makes me remember summer vacations by the lake, swimming, boating, campfires, smores, and fun getting away from it all! I enjoyed both Jessie and Hillary’s journey back to friends and sorting out their lives along the way! This is the perfect feel-good, summer read!

 

4 Stars

Book Description:

Two former best friends each find love at an adults-only summer camp in this romantic and nostalgic novel that proves “once a camp person, always a camp person.”

Growing up, Jessie and Hillary lived for summer, when they’d be reunited at Camp Chickawah. The best friends vowed to become counselors together someday, but they drifted apart after Hillary broke her promise and only Jessie stuck to their plan, working her way up to become the camp director. 

When Jessie learns that the camp will be sold, she decides to plan one last hurrah, inviting past campers—including Hillary—to a nostalgic “adult summer camp” before closing for good. Jessie and Hillary rebuild their friendship as they relive the best time of their lives—only now there are adult beverages, skinny dipping, and romantic entanglements. Straitlaced Hillary agrees to a “no strings attached” summer fling with the camp chef, while outgoing Jessie is drawn to a moody, reclusive writer who’s rented a cabin to work on his novel.

The friends soon realize this doesn’t have to be the last summer. They’ll team up and work together, just like the old days. But if they can’t save their beloved camp, will they be able to take the happiness of this summer away with them?

Two Romances: A Novel Love Story & The Paradise Problem

 

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

Publication Date: June 25th 2024 by Berkley

Pages: 384

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

All the members of Eileen’s book club back out of their yearly retreat, but she needs this trip, she’s had a tough few years, and decides to go alone.  However, on the way she gets lost, and somehow ends up in the fictional town of her favorite romance series; a series that’s carried her through her darkest times. She knows the characters inside and out, except for one: a grumpy book store owner.

 

What a fun premise! A Novel Love Story was also completely charming, a journey of healing for Eileen and one that helps her sort out her path to happiness. There’s also a romance of course!

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

Publication Date: May 14th 2024 by Gallery Books

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Anna is in a low point in her life, having just lost her job with lots of bills when her old college roommate, West comes knocking needing her help. They married for family housing back then and apparently, unbeknownst to Anna, they never divorced. West needs her to continue with the charade that they’re married, so he can hit the five-year mark to unlock his one-hundred-million-dollar trust fund, making him fully independent of his toxic father for good.

 

They must appear together, happily married to his sister’s destination wedding on a private island. Anna agrees, because she needs the money. Of course, there’s one bed, of course there’s an attraction simmering between them and of course they fall deeper into real love as they fake it! Loved both Anna and West!

 

Family drama, serious issues, sexy times, and laugh-out-loud moments all combine into Christina Lauren’s special brand of romance!