Book reviews for books read April 12th-20th

 

Happy weekend! I read three ARCs over the last week or so. Life is buy but I am still finding time to read. And what good reads they were! City billionaire, cocky hockey player, and gold-hearted cowboy headline these three books with stories that will grab you and not let go.

I hope you add them to your TBR. Happy reading!

Just A Little Crush (Sterling Family Crossover #1) 

by Carly Phillips and Erika Wilde                       

ARC: Release Date- 04/15/2025

#Billionaire #BestFriendsBrother #FakeRelationship #SingleDad #ARC

I am voluntarily leaving this honest review after receiving an advance reader copy of the book.

Written in first person from an alternating dual POV, this romance can stand alone and ends with a HEA.

I fell in love with Caleb in Raven’s book. He is such a good brother to her and father to his son. He is protective with a kind heart. He is loyal to a fault. There really isn’t anything I did not love. Stevie is fiery, scrappy, determined, and has been pulling herself up from a rough past. When they finally give into their attraction it is smoking hot. I love that Caleb is more dominant in private times. I love the dynamic with Stevie and how well they communicate. When circumstances give them an opportunity to “fake” date instead of stopping with a one-night stand, there was never a doubt that they were each all-in.

This was a very enjoyable read and an excellent addition to the books it interconnects with. That said, I doubt readers will feel like they are missing essential information by starting here first.

Mr. Charming (The Nest #4) by Piper Rayne

ARC: Release Date-04/22/2025

#SecondChance #Sports #ARC

I am voluntarily leaving this honest review after receiving an advance reader copy of the book.

Written in first person from an alternating dual POV, this is the second chance story of Tedi and Tweetie and it ends with a HEA. Though this book can be read as a standalone, readers will find overlapping characters from the earlier books in this series and also the Hockey Hotties series that play important secondary roles. In addition, Tweetie and Tedi begin with the Florida Fury in Hockey Hotties and you may want to read their past from the other character’s POV.

This book does present a complete story of their relationship with the current timeline interspersed with journal entries from the past as flashbacks. Being together with a HEA took them 13 years, a lot of pining, broken hearts, angry outbursts, mistakes and finally a cohesive commitment to finally get there. Love was never a question, but maturity and timing made this time the right time for them. I learned to see past Tweetie’s cheerful façade to the man with a vulnerable heart that only ever belonged to Tedi. I was able to get to know Tedi and learn how her insecurities and baggage also shaped their past. I loved the deep connection, the love, and the heat between them. They were irresistibly drawn together time and time again until they could no longer break the connection.  This is one of the longer books by this author duo. They had a lot to cover to make getting these together a believable premise after so much hurt.

This was the perfect ending for the Nest series. I am going to miss these guys. I waited a long time for Tweetie to get his forever and I was so happy that it was with Tedi.  This was a beautiful story full of hope.

Sawyer (Lucky River Ranch #3) by Jessica Peterson            

ARC: Release Date-04/24/2025

#Cowboy #SingleDad #SingleMom #OneNightStand #SmallTown #ARC

I am voluntarily leaving this honest review after receiving an advance reader copy of the book. This is written in first person from an alternating dual POV. It can be read as a standalone and ends with a HEA.

Sawyer is Mr. Dependable who is working his tail off to be both parents to his little girl, Ella. He is a hot cowboy with a heart of gold and a dirty mouth. Ava is a free spirit, finding herself again after getting out of a toxic marriage where she lost her spirit and authenticity. She has shared custody of her daughter, June, with her ex, but takes primary responsibility when they move an hour away to a small town to start her new job. I loved the instant attraction between Ava and Sawyer. They are HOT together. I also appreciated that their one-night stand also found them sharing an emotional connection. When they run into each other again, they are destined to be so much more.

I loved the romance between them, though I did have a little trouble connecting with Ava. Her passionate refusal to ever marry again kind of baffled me as Sawyer is entirely different from her ex and he proves it over and over. The little girls offered some comedy as well as a deep understanding from the author of parenting a three-year-old and the struggles it sometimes entails. This was a dialogue heavy read with lots of Texan southern language on every page. If you dislike y’all, honey, and pretty girl, among other dialectical language placements, this may not be the book for you. The author tackles some heavy topics like grief, guilt, and traditional gender roles through character interactions. Because it is often addressed through character conversions with dialogue, there were times it did not feel authentic to me. Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I loved the dirty talking cowboy named Sawyer Rivers.