NetGalley Review: Love At First Fright by Nadia El-Fassi

Love At First Fright by Nadia El-Fassi

My Rating: ✩✩✩✩✩

Having really liked El-Fassi's other book in this series, I was excited to read the next one...needless to say I was not disappointed. While sometimes zero to sixty romances where everyone has to do a 100% about face from their fundamental personalities can be a hard sell, here it just kind of works. I think the supernatural setting ups the suspension of disbelief to a point that everything else feels totally fine!

All together this book is a nice blend of cozy and spice. It features characters with the standard tragic pasts and relationship traumas. He is a famous hunk who is more than meets the eye, she is not like other girls and they instantly fall in lust (what an odd pair? a geek and a jock? who has ever?) Add in some ghosts that are up to hijinks, a little blackmail and movie-making shenanigans...this is a book you will not want to put down. Romcom nonsense at its finest, fans of the genre will love it.

Add this one, and its companion in the series, to your spooky fall reads pile and prepare to be entertained.

Published on 16 September 2025 by Ballentine

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NetGalley Review: Gloves Off by Stephanie Archer

Gloves Off by Stephanie Archer

My Rating: ✩✩✩✩✩

As a big Stephanie Archer reader and a die hard fan of this series, my expectations for this book were met (and more!)

The clever tale of "grumpy-sunshine," "fake relationship," "marriage of convenience," and "enemies to lovers," all in a hockey setting, will check all the boxes for lovers of contemporary sports romances. The characters are well developed, the world of Vancouver Storm hockey continues to expand and the spice is first rate. Adding in sub-tropes like "he falls first" and "spoiling you is my love language" makes this book a fun read. As always, Archer has written a compulsively readable story that you cant put down.

My only quibble is that the first half of the book makes it really hard to like the characters. Archer really toes the line between "banter" and just "being an immature jerk," so the chemistry is hard to but until the critical big reveal of the miscommunication." As for the rest, backgrounds are appropriately tragic, relationship trauma is fairly scaled and personal growth is had by all.

This one must be in your beach bag this summer and let us all campaign for more books in this series. I need to see the new rookie get wrecked by love and the simmering "secret" romance between supporting characters needs to blossom!

Published on 17 June 2025 by Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine

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NetGalley Review: A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall

A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall

My Rating: ✩✩✩✩✩

This second part of The Sunken Archive duology was just as delightful as the first. Written in epistolary style, I really enjoy how Cathrall, yet again, trusts the reader to figure out the mystery. While sometimes it may feel like nothing is happening, as a reader you are getting the information along with the protagonists and getting to be one of the scholars solving this mystery.

The world building is divine and the atmosphere of the whole book is so well written. I want to live in this undersea/deep space world and just study stuff all day. The characters are well developed and the love story sub-plot is the sweetest you could dream up. The only ding I would offer is that the ending feels a little rushed. About 70% through a whole bunch of exposition races us to the finale. Given that I could happily ready this cozy sci-fi/fantasy story forever, this pacing what a little disappointing.

Published on 6 May 2025 by Orbit Books

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NetGalley Review: Let's Give 'Em Pumpkin to Talk About by Isabelle Popp

Let's Give 'Em Pumpkin to Talk About by Isabelle Popp

My Rating: ✩✩✩✩✩

This book was a mixed bag for me. Looking at other reviews, seems like I may be the minority opinion here, so this may be a perfect book for you.

What I liked:

• Adorable Premise- Giant pumpkin growers and the small-town hijinks that surround them? Yes please!
• Black-Cat/Golden Retriever- This variant on Grumpy/Sunshine is my favorite
• Plus size FMC- The fact that Sadie is plus-size is know, but is not a plot device. Romances where big girls are just hot is always a win.
• Nerdy MMC- I am always here for a shy nerd who is a secret freak.

What was a miss:

• Character development was a little lacking/tropey. Tragic pasts, family frictions and characters who don't so much as grow, but do completely out of character things to further the plot...would have liked to see more. This was really the stymieing point for me. It may be that I am too middle aged to find the behavior of 20-somethings amusing, but I struggled to understand that characters and thus, didn't really feel the chemistry.

Overall though, this was quick read and a fun romp. Coming out just in time for fall, this one would still be a solid pick for a cozy read while the leaves change.

Published on 26 August 2025 by Harlequin Romance

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NetGalley Review: These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean

These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean

My Rating: ✩✩✩✩✩ 

Having long been a fan of McLean's classic "bodice ripper" historicals, so I was quite excited to see what she could do with a contemporary romance. While this has romantic elements (that MacLean does with her usual style and heat), the book straddles that line between romance and "women's literature" (whatever that is!) The romance happens incidental to the emotionally driven plot, not with an HEA at the planned forefront.

The prose is amazing and absolutely nails the Rhode Island vibe of rich vacationers cosplaying "family cottage" on private islands in million dollar boats. Family dynamics and how people dont change, just become more themselves, serve an integral role in how this week of family shenanigans plays out. MacLean does a great job with this story while being heartfelt and hilarious in turn. The characters are all equally hateable and loveable, each one being well developed and showing growth.

My only note, and the only thing that prevented a five star review, is the slight Agatha Christie style reveals. Sometimes key elements were announces with seemingly no prior indication to the reader. The ending itself was heavily implied from the start, but for a "mysterious game" subplot, the reader was not always given access to the clues.

Despite the sometimes difficult subject matter, and the complexity of the narrative, the book is a very pleasant read. Perfect for your beach bag this summer to really set the mood.

Published on 8 July 2025 by Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine

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NetGalley Review: Sweet Obsession by Katee Robert

Sweet Obsession by Katee Robert

My Rating: ✩✩✩✩✩

This series can do no wrong. In the eight book, the political intrigue is ramped up to 11 and this book happens almost in real time over the course of a few days. Robert has built a world that stands alone as a political thriller. The barrier is down, alliances are tested and the fate of Olympus hangs in the balance. However, in between the political jockeying, a delightfully sweet romance blooms between an unlikely pair of lost players. The insta-love really works here, and finding exactly the partner you need in troubling times is way more swoony than it has any right to be. A MM romance between a steadfast semi-unwilling heir and a freshly orphaned former honeypot is somehow perfect. And spicy...like amazing spice. Grade A work here. Without giving too much away, this book really dives into the climax of Olympus' struggles and hints at a resolution. The additional set up for the next book in the series is delicious and I can't wait!

Published on 01 April 2025 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

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NetGalley Review: A Lesson in Thorns by Sierra Simone

A Lesson in Thorns by Sierra Simone

My Rating: ✩✩✩✩✩


Sierra Simone is famous for writing books that are smut (in the best sense) that really are about so much more. Fans of her other series will loves this as it delivers just what we expect from this author.

The plot is twisty enough to keep you invested, there is something to tie the spice together. The world building is solid and even contains some hints about overlap with other beloved series. The character development is stunning and really shows the intertwined lives of these young adults and the odd pasts that brought them all back to their childhood meeting place and mythos. The spice is spicy without being gratuitous. The sexual awakening serve a narrative purpose (though they would be amazing even if it were just for fun!) and add to the overall atmosphere of the novel. Add in a dash of mysticism and local superstition, this book is sexy and spooky...a perfect combination.

The rest of the series is already on my TBR list and thankfully this NetGalley ARC is for a new edition and the following books in the series are available, because I won't be able to wait long to see what happens!

Published on 04 March 2025 by Bloom Books

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