This has been an excellent reading week, with some single mom romances and teacher heroes taking a spotlight. I also decided I was not ready to be finished with Christmas romance yet, and I went back for some more.
The Partnership (Callaghan Green #10) by Annie Dyer
ARC: Release Date- January 29, 2021
#WorkplaceRomace #ARC
5 STARS
Worth the wait.
I fell in love with Seph at the beginning of the Callaghan Green series. As the youngest male in the family, and the one who needed to grow up the most, his story was saved till last. I am an impatient person by nature, but I have to say that this book was definitely worth the wait. Seph’s HEA is written in first person from a dual POV.
Georgia, a successful lawyer on her own, has been brought into Callahan Green as a salaried partner in Seph’s department. He is immediately attracted to her, but Seph has grown up a lot recently and he is very focused on being professional, growing his career, and proving his worth to his family and himself. Georgia recognizes Seph’s physical attractiveness, but she is not looking for a relationship either. She is focused on getting settled in London and building her career as a stable partner at CG. It does not take long for them to earn each other’s respect and admiration in the office. I loved reading as Seph is in control of his department and stands up for all the right things. Georgia is intelligent and full of sass at times, able to banter with Seph in an adorable way. I do not want to give away too much of the actual story, but I will say that I love their romance and their heartwarming HEA.
There is a lot to love in this book. I adored getting Seph’s POV on his relationship with his siblings, especially Max. I loved finally getting his side of the crush he had on Victoria at one point. I adored seeing him with his nieces and nephews as a fun but firm figure. I loved seeing him in all if his professional glory. I was beside myself with happiness to see him as a heroic, protective, soft-hearted man who will do anything for the woman he loves. There are some seriously swoon-y moments here folks. I will also note that I absolutely love Marie so much! I love that she gives it right back to the kids in their family text chats and has them breaking out the brain bleach. She is a put together, fierce, intelligent woman, and I want to be her someday.
I cannot recommend this enough, and though it is a standalone, you will want to read the whole series. I simply love this whole family, the writing, their stories, and their relationships.
Tattooed Hearts (Martha's Way #3) by Mika Jolie
#SecondChance #MusicStarRomace #SmallTownRomance #BWWM
5 STARS
| This heart breaking second chance is written in third person from a dual POV. Forrest and Claire have loved each other forever. They are meant to be. Just as they are getting started as young adults, an overheard conversation sends Claire into a tailspin and she leaves, breaking Forrest's heart. Ten years later, they have danced around their feelings and their past for the last time. Their relationship has to be resolved. And it is a painful process. They both have anger, distrust, and so much pain to overcome. Forrest has some other family issues he is dealing with at the same time, and my heart was broken for him. I loved the depth of his feelings for Claire. They both make mistakes along the way, causing more pain. Ultimately they both have to decide to choose each other over anything else to get to their HEA. This was an emotional read for me but I adored the depth of the characters. I loved that they had supportive friends. I love that they came to the conclusion that home is not a place but where you belong: and sometimes that means a person. |
| Book one of the Single Moms of Seattle series can be read as a standalone. It is written in third person from a dual POV. I found I could not put it down and read it straight through. Celeste is a loving and tough single mom of her teenage daughter, a widow, and a good friend. I loved reading about her relationship with her daughter. I understood her doubts about putting herself first, especially when it means allowing a man to be part of their lives. I love how supportive she is of Sabrina and how protective she is as a mama bear of her cub. I felt her frustration as the mean girl made Sabrina's life hell, especially when said mean girl's parents were less than helpful addressing the problem. I adored Max. He fell hard and fast for Celeste and I never felt like their relationship was weird at all. When they reconnect, they are 33 and 40 respectively, and it felt normal. I loved that he knew Declan and Celeste when they were young and could see both of them in Sabrina. The sense of history that created and the respect he had for Declan was important for the advancement of his relationship with Celeste and Sabrina. There is plenty of heat between the two of them in an adult consenting physical relationship and I appreciated that they communicated and allowed themselves to be 100% free with what they liked. There is a lot of mean girl drama that goes on against both Sabrina and Celeste that made me want to reach into the book and slap some characters upside the head. I was happy with the resolution of the drama as it allowed Celeste, Max, and Sabrina to work together to move forward. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author. |
5 STARS
I picked up this novel in KU after it was mentioned in an author newsletter. I love to read debut novels and encourage talented new romance authors. Sometimes the debut novel is disappointing and sometimes they are ok with a lot of potential for growth. Other times, like with this one, I know I have found gold and that I will be reading every book this author puts out. Love & Other Chaos is written in first person from a dual POV.
This friends-to-lovers novel tracks the relationship of Cara (a sarcastic, funny, and sharp-witted single mom of a pre-teen boy on the spectrum) and Brody (a fourth grade teacher). When they first meet, they have an instant attraction to each other that cannot go anywhere because Brody is the teacher for Cara's son, Miles. Over the course of the school year and the diagnosis of Miles of being high functioning autistic and ADHD, they develop a friendship filled with snark, sarcasm, and humor. When a dare leads Cara to kiss Brody after three years of friendship, the only option is to move forward to their HEA and embrace the feelings they have been denying.
Cara has her hands full. Not only are she and Miles adjusting to handling things in a different way than most children, but Cara is also the primary caregiver for her two elderly grandparents and about a dozen cats. There is A LOT of humor that comes from the situations with Cara and her family. She is hilarious and her self talk is outrageously funny. I should mention that she also has a collection of margarita inspired t-shirts that forced me to laugh out loud on multiple occasions throughout the book. Brody is caring, buff, and an all around good guy that I adored. I loved how much he loves his teaching career while still laughing at some things that teachers definitely laugh at. I love how accepting he is of Cara and Miles and the way he supports them. I love the heat between the two of them as they pursue a physical relationship (see me fanning myself here). I love the quirky family members and friends that surround them and encourage them.
This book also cleverly covers sexual harassment in the workplace as Cara takes on her slimy and pervy boss. The family and friend group pulls together to make the near-impossible happen and I loved it. (Here, I will also mention that Cara's best friend Helen is a character I just want to hang out with. That girl speaks every thought that comes through her head and I loved it!)
On a serious note, I will say I was immeasurably touched by Cara and Miles and the story of his diagnosis. It is apparent that the author knows this subject well. As I was reading about Miles and his behaviors I could not help but think of my son, who is now 25. No one ever offered to test him for the spectrum. It never occurred to me either. I am thankful that this is much more talked about now and that there are more resources available. However, reading this book, I am convinced that my son may very well be high functioning autistic. Though this fills me with some understanding, it also fills me with a large amount of guilt. I now know that there were things I could have done or done differently that might have made his life a little easier. Thought he has now successfully graduated college, he still struggles in so many social situations. I will be following up on some research to see of there are things I can do at this point to help him. One of the marks of an excellent book for me is this: does it make me think, dig deeper, research, or expand my knowledge? This book has done that for me.
I felt like the writing was on-point and funny. The black moment did not overwhelm me, which I appreciate in a rom-com. The pacing and the character development were both very good. There are a handful of errors (usage and spelling) that should have been caught in editing, but they were not prolific and did not pull me out of the story. (Honestly, it is a curse that I often catch these as most would not.) I appreciated the deeper sub-plots in addition to the love story, and I adored both Cara and Brody. I look forward to reading more by this new and promising author in the indie romance community. I definitely recommend that you pick up this book and allow yourself a laugh (or several) and a swoon or two.
Hot for Teacher (Single Moms of Seattle #1)
by Whitley Cox
#SingleMomRomance #TeacherHero
5 STARS
| Book one of the Single Moms of Seattle series can be read as a standalone. It is written in third person from a dual POV. I found I could not put it down and read it straight through. Celeste is a loving and tough single mom of her teenage daughter, a widow, and a good friend. I loved reading about her relationship with her daughter. I understood her doubts about putting herself first, especially when it means allowing a man to be part of their lives. I love how supportive she is of Sabrina and how protective she is as a mama bear of her cub. I felt her frustration as the mean girl made Sabrina's life hell, especially when said mean girl's parents were less than helpful addressing the problem. I adored Max. He fell hard and fast for Celeste and I never felt like their relationship was weird at all. When they reconnect, they are 33 and 40 respectively, and it felt normal. I loved that he knew Declan and Celeste when they were young and could see both of them in Sabrina. The sense of history that created and the respect he had for Declan was important for the advancement of his relationship with Celeste and Sabrina. There is plenty of heat between the two of them in an adult consenting physical relationship and I appreciated that they communicated and allowed themselves to be 100% free with what they liked. There is a lot of mean girl drama that goes on against both Sabrina and Celeste that made me want to reach into the book and slap some characters upside the head. I was happy with the resolution of the drama as it allowed Celeste, Max, and Sabrina to work together to move forward. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author. |
#HolidayRomance #ForbiddenRomance
4 STARS
| This is a short story that ties into the book "Her Christmas Soldier": part of the Mistletoe Montana series. It is written in first person from dual POV. It is the story of Alison and Ben, stepsiblings, who have loved each other secretly since they met at 16 and 17 years old. This virgin/virgin romance is a quick steamy read that tells the story of Cassie's siblings. |
Totally Smitten (A Cozy AF Christmas #3) by Hope Ford
#AgeGap #WorkplaceRomance #FakeRelationship #HolidayRomance
4 STARS
| A cute, quick, and steamy read of a curvy girl and her older boss. I enjoyed the fake boyfriend scenario that quickly became real. Written in first person from dual POV it was exactly what I needed tonight. I loved how protective Baker is of Tara and his hope that his feelings could be returned. |
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