“Nova Porter isn’t looking for love, and she certainly has no explanation for her attraction to buttoned-up, three-piece-suit-wearing investment banker Charlie Milford. Maybe it’s his charm? Or maybe it’s his determination to help her fledgling business however he can. Either way, she’s distracted every time he’s around. With her new tattoo studio set to open in her hometown of Inglewild, she doesn’t have time for frivolous flirtations. In an effort to get Charlie out of her system once and for all, Nova offers a proposition. One night. No strings. They’ll kick their uncomfortable attraction to the curb and return to their respective responsibilities. But their explosive night together scatters their expectations like fallen leaves. And with Charlie in town as the temporary head of Lovelight Farms, Nova can’t quite avoid him. And Charlie? Well, Charlie knows a good investment when he sees one. He’s hoping he can convince Nova he’s worth some of her time.” (book blurb taken from BK Borison’s website).
Business Casual is an interconnected, smalltown romantic comedy and the fourth installment of the Lovelight series; it could be read as a standalone, but I think that it makes more sense if you’ve already read the first three books in the series. It features the friends to lovers, friends with benefits, and forced proximity tropes. I would recommend Business Casual to fans of books like Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez, Hopeless by Elsie Silver, Only and Forever by Chloe Liese, The Catch by Amy Lea, Wildfire by Hannah Grace, and Need Me by Tessa Bailey. Themes and topics present include family, self worth and self doubt, fear of failure, perfectionism, change versus tradition, migraine representation, appearance versus reality, mental health, loneliness and isolation, and love and heartbreak. Having already read books one through three in this series, I felt like I could dive right into this book without a lot of preambles as I was already familiar with the town of Inglewild and all the Lovelight characters. Nova and Charlie’s chemistry was very steamy, and I enjoyed the comedic elements that Borison included in this book (including a meddling phone tree as well as Nova and Charlie’s hilarious antics while trying to hide their relationship). I thought that Nova was very cool and artsy (I think that she might be my favourite character in the Lovelight series), and I enjoyed reading about her trendy tattoo studio filled with plants. Nova talks a lot about the symbolism behind certain flowers that she uses in tattoos; I thought that this was really interesting and not something that I’ve seen in other romance novels. Lastly, I felt like the ending and epilogue in Business Casual wrapped up the Lovelight series nicely. The only downside I can think of is that Nova and Charlie’s romance had a lot of “will they, won’t they” vibes before they finally got together. Additionally, Nova and Charlie seemed like total opposites and (I’m not sure if their ages are ever shared but) there seemed to be a significant age gap between them (which isn’t my favourite trope); Nova seemed younger in that she’s trendy and just starting her tattoo business while Charlie seemed older in that he’s a suit-wearing, already well-established financial investor. Overall, I really enjoyed Nova and Charlie’s story and highly recommend the Lovelight series to fellow smalltown romance readers!
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Viggo is a romantic seeking his own happily ever after; he is struggling with being the only single person left in his family, constantly surrounded by his 6 happily coupled-up siblings. Viggo is also in the process of opening his own romance bookstore but becomes overwhelmed with all of his commitments. Talullah doesn’t believe in romance; she’s a thriller writer struggling with the concepts for her next book whilst helping her sister prep for her upcoming nuptials. When Talullah needs a place to stay, Viggo offers up his spare bedroom, and the pair strike a deal – Talullah will help Viggo with the store while Viggo helps Talullah with her writer’s block. Viggo and Talullah appear to be total opposites, but their chemistry is undeniable. Can Viggo convince Talullah to open her heart to romance? Only and Forever is the seventh and final installment of the Bergman Brothers series. Viggo and Tallulah’s story features the forced proximity/ roommates, friends to lovers, workplace romance, and grumpy x sunshine tropes. Themes and topics present include diabetes, self doubt, divorce, love and heartbreak, ADHD, family, communication, fear of failure, appearance versus reality, romance, and intimacy. I highly recommend Only and Forever to fans of books like Wildfire by Hannah Grace, The Wrong Mr. Right by Stephanie Archer, Breakaway by Grace Reilly, Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison, Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood, or any of the other Bergman Brothers books by Chloe Liese. It was ironic that Viggo, who is obsessed with historical romance books, was the last of the Bergmans to find his own happily ever after but I thought that his story was worth the wait and lived up to my high expectations! I think that fellow romance readers will really love Viggo’s bookish energy; I especially enjoyed all his quirky book-themed shirts and I, of course, loved his romance bookstore (Bergman’s Romance Books & More) – can someone please open this in real life? I think that Tallulah will also be intriguing to fellow bookworms as she is a writer struggling with the concept for her next book. I thought that all Viggo’s cute pets, including 2 rescue dogs and 5 adopted kittens, were adorable and a welcome addition to the story. Of course, I also loved the appearances of all the other Bergman family members throughout the book! Even though this was the last book in the Bergman Brothers series (cue sad tears), I’m hopeful that there could potentially, hopefully, be a spin-off series featuring the next generation of Bergmans (like Aiden and Freya’s daughter Linnea). Lastly, even though there was a fair amount of “will they, won’t they” in Only and Forever, I appreciated that there was no third act break-up (my least favorite trope). I don’t have any major complaints about Only and Forever. My biggest issue was that a good portion of the plot revolved around Tallulah’s complicated family dynamics and her sister Charlie’s upcoming nuptials; I think that I personally would have preferred if some of this subplot was excluded in favour of more Bergman family content since I love Viggo’s family so much. Additionally, one small thing that I found a tad annoying was that both Viggo and Talullah’s thoughts seemed a bit repetitive to me (e.g. longwinded inner monologues denying or grappling with their feelings for each other).
Nick is a math teacher with cerebral palsy who regularly lights up the stage during karaoke night at the local bar. Nick’s life is turned upside down when he meets Hayley; a passionate dancer who just moved into town. But Nick and Hayley’s friendship gets off to a rocky start when Hayley, after seeing Nick’s reaction to her dancing, tries to convince Nick to give dancing a try, only to be embarrassed when she discovers that Nick can only walk with the aid of a walker. Despite having a long-term dancer boyfriend, Hayley is determined to make things right with Nick and the pair eventually form a close friendship. The more time Hayley spends in Nick’s world, the more the boundaries between friends and lovers begin to blur.
How to Dance is an own voices, closed door romance novel featuring the love triangle and “friends to lovers” tropes. The writing reminded me of authors like Gale Foreman, John Green, Jesse Andrews, Jennifer Niven, David Levithan, and Kristina Forest; so, if you like any of these authors, you should definitely check out Jason B Dutton. How to Dance would also probably be a good fit for fans of own voices novels with disability representation like those written by Talia Hibbert, Chloe Liese, and Helen Hoang. Some themes and topics present in How to Dance include disability and accessibility, ableism and stereotypes, communication, self worth and self love, appearance versus reality, music and dance, overcoming fears, family roles, and mental health. A significant quote that I took away from this novel is, “dance with your heart” (both physically and metaphorically). I want to preface this review by saying that How to Dance ended up being fairly different from the spicy new adult romances and fast-paced fantasy novels that I usually read. With that in mind, I found the plot to be comparatively slow and thus, I personally didn’t end up finding the novel to be very engaging. I think that this novel may be better suited for fiction readers who enjoy unique stories and clean romances. I picked up this novel because I love dancing (I have been taking dance lessons all my life) and I was disappointed that there wasn’t a ton of actual dancing in the book; even though the female main character is a dancer, the book focuses more on metaphorical dancing (like the emotional connection between two partners). On the positive side, the book was unique in that I don’t often come across characters who have cerebral palsy; furthermore, I thought that the own voices disability representation in this novel was accurate and informative. My favourite character in this book was Nick’s toddler aged pseudo-niece Rosie because her impromptu singalongs with Uncle Nick were adorable and her character added some welcome playfulness to the plot. Lastly, even though there wasn’t as much dancing as I would have liked, I still appreciated that Dutton incorporated dancing and music into Nick and Hayley’s story, as again, I don’t tend to see that as often in novels. Even though How to Dance wasn’t my favourite, I would still recommend this debut novel to fans of own voices fiction and closed-door romances. After a hoard of demons on a pirate ship moves into town, Brie throws her drink, which ends up being a love potion, at a persistent suitor who won’t take “no” for an answer. But Brie misses her target, and the love potion ends up hitting a werewolf shifter named Felix, who now claims that Brie is his fated mate. Brie originally dismisses Felix’s claims as the temporary effects of the love potion but in spending more time with Felix and witnessing how sweet and fun he is, Brie decides to give him a chance, even though it could lead to heartbreak once the love potion wears off. When local women start disappearing, Felix and Brie must work with Cinnamon and Fallon (from book 1 in the Mead Mishaps series) to take down this unknown threat.
That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf is a spicy paranormal monster romance featuring the fated mates, forced proximity, and “touch her and you die” tropes. The world reminded me of the faerie realms in both The Cruel Prince series by Holly Black and the Shadowhunters series by Cassandra Clare so if you’re a fan of either of these series, you should definitely check out Lemming’s Mead Mishaps series. I would also recommend this book to fans of steamy paranormal or monster romances like the Ice Planet Barbarians series by Ruby Dixon, The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson, From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout, King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair, and Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert. Themes and topics present include love and heartbreak, abandonment, war, false gods, death and danger, power and corruption, overcoming fear, discrimination and harassment, female roles, and fate versus free will. Some potential trigger warnings include kidnapping, cults, and imprisonment. That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf is the second book in Lemming’s Mead Mishaps series. I read it as a standalone, but I felt like I was missing some of the backstory regarding the setting, society, and characters in this world, which I assume is present in book one in the series (That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon); thus, for a better reading experience, I would recommend starting with book one. “Sweet dancing baby goats. This man is a monster made out of every book lover I’ve ever pined over.” Felix was definitely swoon-worthy book boyfriend material! I liked that Felix was both possessive and bold (like when he changed the nameplate on Brie’s land to his own last name) and yet sweet and thoughtful (like when he eats a grilled cheese that Brie made even though he’s allergic or when he convinces a dragon to stop a storm so that he can take Brie on a romantic boat ride). I really enjoyed the fated mates trope (one of my favourite tropes) and the inclusion of paranormal elements like demons, magic, werewolves, and dragons. I also appreciated that this book was a short and fast-paced read (just over 200 pages); it would be a great book to pick-up at the end of the month or year to help you meet your reading goals! Even though I liked all the spice and romance, I wasn’t as much of a fan of the danger and action (the kidnapping and imprisonment plot) that came into play towards the end of this book. Furthermore, I found that this was unexpected as well as introduced and resolved rather quickly; but again, it’s possible that if I had read book 1 in the series, this plot point may have made more sense. Overall, I enjoyed this steamy and fun monster romance and would highly recommend it to fans of fast-paced books with werewolves and/ or the fated mates trope. I definitely plan on reading more of Lemming’s Mead Mishaps series in the future! |
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February 2024
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