Regina

A lovely story and a great start to the series!

I really love the characters - the Lipstick Outlaws are strong ladies, each and every one of them, but they really shine when they come together in the band, as a team.
I couldn't help but root for Rissa and Jake (and the band, of course, but those two especially ;) ), and
Val is definitely another favorite!
I truly love the overall theme of family - not only the one you are born into, but the one you find along the way.

4.5 / 5 happy-sigh stars

The tagline isn't wrong, you know... :)

For the Love of Gnomes
Super cute and funny friends-to-more story. I would have liked to have accompanied Noah and Tessa on the previous gnome capers, too. It sounds like they had quite the adventure... :)

Bombe Alaska
Kahled and Hannah seem to be a good match in this sweet story - and they're bonding over books, to boot.

The Onyx Rose
Eve and Finn gave me ALL the feels in this meet-cute story. Gah! <3

All Charged Up
It was fun following “nerd in hunk's clothing” Liam on his quest to figure out the mysterious happenings at the museum - and seeing him finally getting closer to his secret crush / fellow geek Avery.

I was looking forward to reading Darcy's story since I met her in book #1, No More Bad Dates. I like her no-nonsense, pragmatic way of tackling life, the universe, and everything. (And it's especially funny to see her wrangle her not-really-no-nonsense, less-than-pragmatic boss. :) )

On her way to her HFN / HEA, besides the whole No-More-Bad-Dates protocol and vetting process, Darcy only has to get through one terrible date, it's a doozy, for sure.

Alex (or should I say ‘Alex Walsh'?), on the other hand, turns not quite as terrible as Darcy made him out to be. I liked what I saw of him in the first book, and seeing him pushing Darcy's buttons is a lot of fun. :)

To be honest, though, my favorite hero so far is still Almost-Doctor Christie, but he's a tough act to follow. I'm curious what - or rather whom - book #3 will bring for Erin.

Cute short story, Via and Hudson were interesting and fun characters to spend some time with. :)

This is the first story I've read by this author, but now I want to read more (Frankie's story?).

I loved this book!

Getting to know Mackenzie and her friends was a lot of fun, I loved the writing style, and even though there are a lot of familiar tropes and clichés, there were enough twists to keep the story fresh and entertaining.

Looking forward to reading the other books in the series (already on my TBR)!

Now that escalated quickly!

I like Kylie and Hagen, but their prank war really escalates quickly into territory I'm not comfortable with. I don't get how a person who's supposedly too nice to tell someone else “no” translates to what is essentially breaking and entering and bringing potential harm to another person's property and/or said person.
It's like: Hey, listen, I don't want to be rude or hurt your feelings in any way, but I have no problem giving you bruises by firing a paintball gun at you from close range and potentially maiming you and giving you a bloody nose by installing a tripwire on your front porch... Just... no.

I also wonder if Hagen and Kylie would have found their way to each other if they hadn't been forced together by the whole stalker subplot.

Plus... too many cousins for my liking. One or two would have been enough, plotwise, four were simply overkill and didn't add anything to the story that Page and/or Mack couldn't have on their own.

Still, the story was entertaining and well-written.

3.5/5 stars.

I read, I sighed, I swooned... <3

Tieg is possibly my favorite of the HS Billionaire heroes, though - just like Alex in book #2, Too Nerdy to Handle - he doesn't feel all that nerdy. (Though that is admittedly a first-world nerd problem!) What matters is that he's one of the good guys and totally deserves a second chance with his “other half”, even if both he and Daisy manage to make quite a mess of it.

I had a lot of fun getting to know Daisy and her siblings and friends (Beth has some of the best lines <3), and finding out more about Tieg's backstory.

It was also nice to reconnect with Jamie and get another glimpse of her and Tieg's friendship.

I'll confess that although I like each of the girls, Tori is possibly my favorite of the #BFFs. While I won't pretend that I could ever relate to the problems of a popular, rich, head cheerleader-type of girl IRL, I understand how she feels the need to hide behind a mask of perfection and her reluctance to share her vulnerabilties with anyone.

Noah is another of Yesenia Vargas's good-guy heroes, and I like how he and Tori find their way together, despite being from very different backgrounds and each bringing plenty of emotional baggage and family drama.

To be frank, my expectations were super high; I've put the literary cart before the horse and read the Pimpernel series first - and loved it, especially Kali. So, I was really curious if Rhea could live up to that.

While City of Angels strikes a different tone than the Pimpernel books - and, yes, it contains Mormons ;) - I had a lot of fun getting to know Rhea and her world. While I might wish that some things had worked out differently for her, now I'm curious where her journey will take her (next), so excuse me while I'm off, adding the rest of the series to my TBR...

Short and sweet read. Alyssa and Sven are likeable main characters, and I also enjoyed the family dynamics with Mimi and Alyssa's mom.

Very minor niggle: I wish Sven's last name were more Swedish and less sounding like bad German... ;)

Even though I'm usually going for lighter reads, I love this book so much! Yes, it is dark, gritty, and brutal - but the writing and storytelling is brilliant.

The setting, despite being a fantasy world, feels both familiar and realistic since it is based on Ancient Rome with enough similarites to paint a vivid picture for this Roman history dabbler.

The characters feel all too real, but you might not want to get too attached - your favorite characters likely won't make it out alive (mine didn't).

Following Constanter on her journey from fugitive to warrior was an emotional roller coaster ride that broke my heart into tiny little pieces. (Yes, I ugly-cried. More than once.)
Still, I can't wait to see what the future holds for Constanter!

This book is equally funny, heartwarming, and swoon-worthy. I had so much fun with Laney, Rocco <3 , Nate, Fiona, Gavin, and the rest of the wonderful (and sometimes hilarious) cast of characters, and book #2 in the series is already on my TBR... :)

This book is now another favorite in the series, along with Lena's story. I truly enjoyed getting to know Evie and watching her fall in love with Holiday Junction, its inhabitants, and - of course - Liam.
And I have to confess that it's pretty simiar for me: the more I read about HJ, the more I fall in love with this series.

I'm impressed! The story tackles some serious issues like anxiety and depression and describes the difficulties that everyone concerned (including family and friends) faces in an honest and realistic, matter-of-fact way. Still - unlike other books dealing with similar topics - it is not a depressing story.

I like Olivia and Ben, they may both have their baggage, but I found them relatable and interesting characters who complement each other well. I also liked the (sometimes not so) supporting cast of friends and family a lot, some even so much that the rest of the Ocean Grove books are now on my TBR.

This is the first book I've read by this author, but it definitely won't be the last. I'm especially looking forward to reading Nora and Gabe's story now!

While I read the shorter newsletter version (“Nobody looks good naked”) and reallyreally liked it, the extra scenes from Victor's POV really make this story come together for me.
As always, Penny Reid manages to make me swoon, and smile (and occasionally laugh out loud), and think, she (or rather Victor) also broke my heart and put it together again.

This was a sweet and entertaining second-chance novella - the first book I've read by this author, but now I want to read more. :)

(And, of course, it had the obligatory Mr. Feeney cameo. Ferrets FTW! <3)

Reading a new Pen & Des story always feels like reconnecting with old friends, and their latest adventure is no exception from the rule.
I love how Lois McMaster's characters truly bring the story to life - the new additions as well as some old friends, the White God not the least among them.

Short and funny meet-cute with dogs. And a jealous beta fish. :)

This lighthearted, short rom-com is the first story I've read by this author, and it has made me want to read more books by her.

I love Lena! (And Gage isn't half-bad either... ;) )
Seriously, this is such a charming series! I love the quirky folks of Holiday Junction and the small-town shenanigans, especially as seen in this battle of wills between headstrong Lena and straightlaced new-Sheriff-in-town Gage.

The Matchmaking Mamas are at their meddling best, with a little help from Lena's BFF Vi (and, by extension, Kade).

I'd like to get this out of the way first: I found Gwen extremely frustrating at times (seriously, just talk to the guy!), and I admire Cody for his patience with her.

Besides that, though, the story had so many things that I enjoy in a book: A swoon-worthy hero, two BFFs who kept Gwen grounded (and whose stories I can't wait to read!), a geeky game tournament with lots of trash-talk and some serious nail-biting the closer we got to the finals, some twists I did not see coming, and some really nice wordsmithing painting a vivid picture (no, not a Monet...).

I'm really looking forward to reading Shannon and Holly's stories!

Short and cute! I liked both main characters, Allie and Eric, as well as the supporting cast (Allie's sister and brother-in-law, and especially Daisy and Bo).
This was the first story I've read by this author, but now I want to read more. :)

What a wonderful collection!

All three stories are about characters I've met before:
There's Tara, whose lovely (novella-length) story I read in one sitting, playing the old “awww, just one more chapter!” game until 1 a.m. :)

Then there are Sandy and Trey, whose second-chance story I wanted to read since meeting them in “To Get Me To You” (Norah and Cam's story). There were certain twists I did not see coming, but which were - in retrosepct - very fitting.

And, of course, there's Mary Alice, who certainly deserved better than what she experienced with Judd in “If I Didn't Care”, and who finally gets her swoon-worthy HEA with Dr. McHottie.

Two of the stories are Christmas-themed, but IMO you can never go wrong with a healthy dose of Holiday spirit, no matter what time of year...

This is the first book I've read by this author, and I didn't know what to expect.

It was a fun and easy read, I really liked the format with the occasional blog posts and text chats. Emma was a fun heroine, though some of her shenanigans truly made me cringe... :-s

I'm not sure I want to read the second book in the series, since this is Logan's story (seriously?!), but the third is already on my TBR.

Disclaimer: I have not read the original, so the niggly points I had with this book may very well be due to this being a retelling.

The book is very well written, and I really enjoyed the banter and the friendship developing between the girls. But - as other reviewers have stated before - Anne was not always an easy MC to like, and neither was Christopher. They both had their moments, though, so in the end I did find myself rooting for them.

"Remember ladies (and Jason), this is war."

This first book in the new Cozy Cottage spin-off series is super-cute and funny. I love the characters - Sophie and Jason make a great team - and the supporting cast features not only the usual Cozy Cottage Café suspects (most prominently Bailey and Paige), but also Sophie's BFFs Erin and Darcy as well as Sophie's whole Irish (non-mob!) family.

With all the teasing and light banter between Sophie and Jason, I can't help but picture Ryan Reynolds as Jas.
Erin and Darcy are a hoot, and I'm soooo looking forward to reading their stories and them finding their own HFN or even HEA!