After a chance encounter, Will Baxter and Fern Brookbanks have an epic day-long adventure in Toronto that ends with Will and Fern making major decisions about their futures and promising to meet again one year later…Fern shows up, Will does not. Now, ten years later, Fern is back in Muskoka running her family’s lakeside resort (something her younger self would have never done) after her mother’s unexpected death. Much to Ferns surprise, Will unexpectedly shows up at the resort, having previously arranged with Fern’s mom to consult on the resort’s recent struggles. Despite enjoying reconnecting with Will, Fern can’t help but feel that Will’s hiding something.
Meet Me at the Lake is a unique second chance romance telling the story of then (Fern and Will’s first meeting 10 years ago) and now (unexpectedly reconnecting at the lake). I found this book to be like that of The Summer Cottage by Annie Rains, Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren, Beach Read by Emily Henry, The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon, and Every Summer After by Carley Fortune; so, if you’re a fan of any of these books, you should definitely check-out Meet Me at the Lake. Themes present in Meet Me at the Lake include secrets and lies, love and sacrifice, work/ life balance, mental health, rebellion, grief and loss, as well as family and parenthood. Trigger warnings include death via car accident, drug use, fires, abandonment, depression, sick child, and absentee parents. First off, the cover art is just stunning, and I really felt like it fit the story. Due to the huge success of Fortune’s first novel (Every Summer After), I was a bit nervous to start Meet Me at the Lake as I wasn’t sure if it would live up to my high expectations. But I have to say, I actually ended up enjoying Meet Me at the Lake more than Every Summer After. I usually don’t like books that are constantly switching back and forth between the past and the present but in Meet Me at the Lake, I felt that this way of writing was well-suited; it was still engaging, and I didn’t feel like it slowed down the pace of the story too much. I enjoyed how, at the beginning of the novel, there were lots of gaps or unanswered questions with regards to both Fern and Will’s stories as it kept me invested in the story; I wanted to keep reading so that I could uncover the mystery and piece the puzzle together. Being Canadian, I loved how this story was set in Ontario (mainly Toronto and Muskoka) as I was familiar with a lot of the places that Fern and Will visited. Sprinkled throughout the novel are some of Fern’s mom’s diary entries. At first, I found these to be a bit confusing and didn’t really understand why they were included. But, without spoiling anything, in the end, the diaries entries made more sense to me and made for a really cool connection in the epilogue. In my opinion, the smalltown, lakeside setting, and the length of the book (just over 300 pages) makes Meet Me at the Lake a perfect beach read to add to your summer TBR list!
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After some irresponsible choices threaten Seb’s professional hockey career and sponsorships, he is determined to pretend that he has turned over a new leaf. Ziggy is the youngest sibling in the Bergman family and the youngest member of the National soccer team; as such, she finds that she is consistently being babied and underestimated. So, Ziggy comes up with a plan to restore Seb’s tainted reputation while giving her own reputation some much-needed edge – they will start a “fake” and public friendship. It soon becomes clear that there is nothing fake about Ziggy and Seb’s friendship but their growing attraction towards each other makes it challenging for them to stay in the friend zone. If Only You is the sixth installment of the Bergman Brothers series; it can be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend reading this series in order so that you avoid spoilers. If Only You is a contemporary, slow burn, sports romance featuring the brother’s best friend/ teammate, bad boy with good girl, and “(fake) friends to lovers” tropes. I would recommend this book to fans of Icebreaker by Hannah Grace, A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime by Monica Murphy, Mixed Signals by B.K. Borison, Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy, and Throttled by Lauren Asher. Topics/ themes include celiac disease, autism, anxiety/ mental health, family (including challenging family dynamics), character or growing up, change versus tradition, and love and companionship. I think that the moral of this story is that people are capable of change. Firstly, I liked how If Only You was unique (I think that this is the only book I’ve read that featured celiac disease and angry yoga) and authentic (like Ziggy, the author Chloe Liese is also neurodivergent, making this an “own voices” book). I also appreciated that there wasn’t a stereotypical third act break-up as I’m personally not a fan of that plot point. Being an avid reader, I loved all the reading references and bookish content that was included in this book; the private bookstore visit, and the bookish Halloween costumes were my personal favourites! I also loved how one of the ways that Ziggy and Seb bonded was over books; it was reminiscent of Jess and Rory’s relationship on Gilmore Girls. Having read all the other Bergman Brothers books, I appreciated that the rest of the Bergmans made regular appearances throughout the book, and I enjoyed getting to see how the Bergmans’ relationships have grown/ changed. I’m very excited for Viggo’s story, the next and final Bergman Brothers book which is expected in 2024; Viggo is one of my favourite Bergmans since he’s very into reading historical romance, so I just know that I’m going to love his story!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would absolutely recommend the Bergman Brothers series to fellow sports romance fans.
“I’ve always wanted to end a letter with regards – oh, and to get one where someone signs it yours truly and calls me ‘dearest’. It’s so Mr. Darcy.” (Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez)
ER doctor Briana’s life isn’t going so great – her divorce from her cheating husband is almost finalized, her brother’s chances of getting a much-needed kidney transplant are poor, and the new ER doctor, Jacob (or as the nurses call him, Dr. Death), is probably going to steal her upcoming promotion. But Briana realizes that first impressions aren’t always correct when Jacob sends her a handwritten letter explaining the misunderstandings and revealing that he has social anxiety. Soon, Briana and Jacob start exchanging letters non-stop and spending lots of time together. The line between like and love starts to blur after Briana discovers that Jacob is going to be her brother’s kidney donor and Jacob enlists Briana to be his fake girlfriend to save face at his ex’s wedding. Yours Truly is a contemporary workplace romance invoking the forced proximity, fake dating, only one bed, accidental pregnancy, and “enemies to friends to lovers” tropes. I would recommend it to fans of books like Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese, Do You Take This Man by Denise Williams, The Plus One by Mazey Eddings, The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, The Love Wager by Lynn Painter, The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest, and/ or Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez. Yours Truly deals with themes/ topics such as mental health, chronic illness, female roles, communication or lack there of, love and heartbreak/ marriage and divorce, family, fear of abandonment, as well as loneliness and isolation. Trigger warnings include miscarriage, parental abandonment, cheating, social anxiety, and chronic illness. I think that the moral of the story is like that of A Cinderella Story movie: “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game”. First off, I liked how this was an easy and relatively quick read – I was actually able to start and finish it in one day. So, this book would be ideal to take on a trip or to read on a quiet day off. I felt that Briana and Jacob’s cute chemistry and will they/ won’t they romance was very engaging and hard to put down. I enjoyed how Alexis and Daniel from Part of Your World made unexpected appearances in Yours Truly as I loved these characters (Alexis is Briana’s best friend)! Thus, Yours Truly can be read as a standalone or interconnected with Part of Your World. I found that I really enjoyed reading Briana and Jacob’s comical letters and the edition of Jacob’s journal entries (which Jacob uses as a coping mechanism for his mental health) towards the end of the book were very sweet and tear-jerking. One thing that I didn’t really like was all the miscommunication and mixed signals that took place during Briana and Jacob’s fake romance. I also felt like it took too long for them to realize their true feelings for each other and get together for real; their relationship was definitely a slow burn. Furthermore, in comparison to Part of Your World, I felt like there wasn’t a lot of spice in Yours Truly. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and found it to be very engaging. I would definitely recommend it to fans of fake dating, slow burns, and workplace romances
"The New York Times bestselling author of Radiant Sin delivers a smoking hot series about the O'Malley family - wealthy, powerful, dangerous and seething with scandal. Teague O'Malley hates everything associated with his family's name. And when his father orders him to marry Callista Sheridan to create a "business" alliance, Teague's ready to cut ties once and for all. But then Teague actually meets Callista, sees the bruises on her neck and the trauma in her eyes and vows he will do everything in his power to avenge her. Everyone knows the O'Malleys are dangerous. But Callie wasn't prepared for his brand of lethal grace and coiled power. His slightest touch scorches through her. But the closer they get, the more trouble they're in. Because Callie's keeping a dark secret—and what Teague doesn't know could get him killed." (Description of Dark Succession by Katee Robert taken from Hachette Book Group’s website).
Dark Succession is a dark, mafia romance featuring the enemies to lovers and arranged marriage tropes. I would recommend it to fans of darker or suspenseful romances like Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score, My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey, The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L Jensen, Scandalized by Ivy Owens, A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L Armentrout, or Redeemed by Lauren Asher. Dark Succession deals with themes/ topics like quest for power, family, loneliness, desire to escape, death, love and sacrifice, manipulation, oppression, war, crime, and good versus evil. Trigger warnings include kidnapping, abuse, shootings, and mention of rape. Overall, I didn’t feel like Dark Succession lived up to my high expectations; I was expecting big things after reading and enjoying Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert last year. At the beginning of the novel, I often found myself confused as to which characters belonged to which crime family and where they ranked within the hierarchy. Similarly, since the book is told from a few different perspectives, it would have been helpful if Robert had included a heading letting readers know when the perspective was being switched to avoid confusion. Lastly, I wasn’t a fan of some of the darker elements that Robert’s included such as the physical abuse and mention of rape. On the upside, even though the book was initially hard for me to get into, once the story got started, I found that the plot was interesting and fast-paced. Furthermore, I enjoyed the mystery and suspense elements as well as Teague and Callie’s spicy enemies to lovers romance (it almost gave me a bit of a Romeo and Juliet vibe). I’m hopeful that the rest of The O’Malleys series will be republished; I’m especially excited about book 2 (originally titled The Marriage Pact) as the main characters in this book, Carrigan and James, are introduced in book 1 and have a sizzling chemistry! If you enjoy spicy mafia romance, you should definitely pick-up a copy of Dark Succession when it releases on May 9th! After spending 3 years working as a surgeon in war-torn countries, Jude has briefly returned home for his best friend Collin’s wedding and is having trouble adjusting back to civilian life. Indira (whom we were briefly introduced to in A Brush with Love and Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake) is a children’s psychiatrist who, after walking in on her boyfriend with another woman, decides to move in with her brother Collin and his fiancé…unbeknownst to Indira, her childhood enemy Jude is also staying with Collin. Eventually Jude and Indira call it truths and decide to be each other’s fake dates during the wedding festivities; Jude needs Indira to help him deal with his PTSD and Indira needs a date to save face around her cheating ex, who is also in the wedding party. The more time Indira and Jude spend together, the harder it is to deny their growing feelings for each other.
The Plus One is the third installment of Mazey Eddings’ A Brush with Love trilogy but can be read as a standalone. It’s a contemporary rom com featuring the childhood enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and fake dating tropes. Themes include mental health, love and heartbreak or marriage and divorce, trauma and war, family and found family, commitment, and abandonment. The Plus One is ideally suited for fans of books like The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun, Mr. Wrong Number by Lynn Painter, Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur, The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon, Set On You by Amy Lea, Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall, The Co-op by Tarah Dewitt, and/ or The Singles Table by Sara Desai. Trigger warnings for The Plus One include PTSD from working in a war-torn country, anxiety and depression, divorce and abandonment, and cheating. First off, I enjoyed the cute childhood memories and connections that Eddings interwove into Jude and Indira’s love story. I also loved Jude and Indira’s funny and witty banter! I appreciated that, even though there were a fair number of events leading up to the wedding, the novel wasn’t overly focused on the wedding; due to the cover art and title, I thought that most of the novel would be set at the wedding. Without spoiling anything, I would have to say that my favourite part of the book was Jude and Indira’s Hallowe’en shenanigans! Lastly, I appreciated that Jude and Indira didn’t experience the stereotypical third act break-up. Although all the therapy sessions and talk of mental health in The Plus One was refreshing and relevant, at times, I found it to be a bit much and some readers may find these scenes to be triggering or challenging to read. I was disappointed that the main characters from A Brush with Love and Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake didn’t appear very much in The Plus One. Lastly, even though it was necessary to the story, I didn’t really like all the contract negotiations or legalities (related to Jude’s humanitarian work) that were included at the end of the novel. Overall, I was a bit disappointed as I didn’t enjoy The Plus One as much as I did the first two books in the series. But, if you like fake dating, forced proximity, and enemies to lovers, you should definitely check out The Plus One! |
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