★★★☆☆ Yours Truly was my first read by contemporary romance writer Abby Jimenez. Featuring lovable characters, this novel was an endearing story about embracing the messiness of life.
Category: Romance
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
★★★★☆ I kept seeing Carley Fortune books, with their dreamy pastel watercolor covers, on the front table of my local bookstore. After the cover and the blurb on the back caught my eye several times, I decided to give the Canadian author’s debut novel, Every Summer After, a try.
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
★★★★☆ Hazelwood takes fantasy and escapism up several notches in her most recent new adult romance novel. Like her previous works, this one features a highly educated woman in STEM, a supporting cast of science-oriented BFFs, a broad-shouldered male love interest, and steamy scenes galore.
Happy Place by Emily Henry
★★★★☆ In Happy Place, college sweethearts Harriet and Wyn are headed to a cottage in Maine to participate in a decades-long beach week tradition with their best pals. One problem: they broke off their engagement six months ago but haven’t confessed the news to their trip mates. The two are forced to keep up the charade of still being engaged to the people who are supposed to know them best.
November 9 by Colleen Hoover
★★★☆☆ Fallon and Ben meet on November 9th, the day before Fallon is scheduled to move from Los Angeles to New York City. Despite an instant connection, they are both in a place, especially Fallon, where it doesn’t make sense to be together. The two hatch a plan to go “no contact” except for reuniting on the anniversary of the day they met for the next five years.
Loathe to Love You by Ali Hazelwood
★★★★☆ Loathe to Love You is a collection of 3 romance novellas, each featuring a brilliant young, single woman in STEM who meets and falls in love with a guy in some variation on the enemies-to-lovers trope. Despite the formulaic nature of these stories, the collection worked for me.
Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks
★★★★☆ Colby Mills takes a break from running the family farm to play a few gigs in St. Pete’s Beach, Florida. While relaxing during his working vacation, he meets Morgan Lee, and the two have a nearly instant connection. Meanwhile, in a seemingly disconnected storyline, Beverly, with her young son in tow, goes to great lengths to flee an abusive husband.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
★★★☆☆ This book was complete fluff and escapism wrapped in a brainy package. The action starts when Stanford Ph.D. Candidate Olive Smith randomly kisses Professor Adam Carlsen in the hallway to convince her friend Anh that she is dating someone.
The Loop by Nicholas Evans
★★★★☆ The Loop takes place in Hope, Montana. Wildlife biologist Helen Ross is sent to the town of cattle ranchers as part of a government project to study and protect wolves reintroduced to the area. She meets the powerful, womanizing rancher Buck Calder and, against his father’s wishes, begins working with his sensitive, estranged 18-year-old son, Luke.
The Smoke Jumper by Nicholas Evans
★★★★★ Wilderness. Action. Adventure. Romance. An epic story spanning decades and continents, The Smoke Jumper has it all, making it an appealing read for many different types of readers. Smokejumpers Ed Tully and Connor Ford are best friends. When Julia Bishop, a social worker, enters the picture, the two men find themselves in love with the same woman.