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JUST LAST NIGHT BY MHAIRI MCFARLANE // spoiler-free book review: another banger from my fave that’ll make you laugh and swoon and sob uncontrollably… have fun!
Hush you with your judgement. I shall not be taking it as this time otherwise we shall run out of time. Into the review! Title: Just Last NightAuthor: Mhairi McFarlanePage count: 393Date published: 1 April 2021Genre: Adult contemporary fiction 🪴 Synopsis: Eve, Justin, Susie, and Ed have been friends since they were teenagers. Now in their thirties, the four are as close as ever, Thursday pub trivia night is sacred, and Eve is still secretly in love with Ed. Maybe she should have moved on by now, but she can’t stop thinking about what could have been. And she knows Ed still thinks about it, too. But then, in an instant, their lives are changed forever. In the aftermath, Eve’s world is upended. As stunning secrets are revealed, she begins to wonder if she really knew her friends as well as she thought. And when someone from the past comes back into her life, Eve’s future veers in a surprising new direction… They say every love story starts with a single moment. What if it was just last night? 🪴 🪴 Big thanks to William Morrow Books for the eARC via Netgalley! All thoughts and opinions are my own.…
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CHECK AND MATE BY ALI HAZELWOOD // spoiler-free book review: this book has me in a chokehold and we don’t talk about this NA rivals to lovers chess rom-com enough!!!
I just can’t stay quiet any longer. I must stand up and speak my truth: you are all wrong if you disliked this book and yes I have an argument to back myself up. What can’t of an amateur do you think I am? Anyways, let’s just get right into it!!! Title: Check & MateAuthor: Ali HazelwoodPage count: 325Date published: 7 November 2023Genre: New adult contemporary ♟️ Synopsis: Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess. Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist…. As she…
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WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE BY EMMA LORD // spoiler-free book review: need a YA contemporary romance that’s also a mamma mia retelling with rivals to lovers AND is set in NYC? i got you.
In the wise words of Lizzo, IT’S ABOUT DAMN TIME,,, Let us not waste any more of that and dive right into it! Title: When You Get The ChanceAuthor: Emma LordPage count: 320Date published: 4 January 2022Genre: YA contemporary romance 🎤 Synopsis: Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream to become a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super-introverted dad, who after raising Millie alone, doesn’t want to watch her leave home to pursue her dream. Not her pesky and ongoing drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not the “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm, always at maddeningly inconvenient times. Millie needs an ally. And when a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do. She’s going to find her mom. There’s Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There’s Farrah, ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn’t have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand). But how can…
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IF ONLY YOU BY CHLOE LIESE // spoiler-free book review: finally reviewing one of my fave reads of the year aka friends to lovers sports romance perfection
A lot has been happening this year and by a lot I mean I’ve been working on my thesis for like 3 months straight. Hence this post has not happened until now *cries* I’m sorry, but I swear the wait will be worth it!!!! Because this book!!! Imma just get right into it because I need to yell!!!! Oh wait, you can check out my interview with Chloe Liese right over here: Title: If Only YouSeries: Bergman Brothers book #5Author: Chloe LiesePage count: 376Date published: 11 April 2023Genre: Adult contemporary romance ⚽ Synopsis: Ziggy I’m the youngest player on the National Soccer team, the baby of my family, and thoroughly sick of being underestimated, so I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands. Which is where my brother’s best friend and teammate, the infamous Sebastian Marchand, comes in. Seb needs to rehab his reputation. I want to give mine an edge. So I propose a fake friendship with real benefits: spending time in the public eye, my good-girl image and his bad-boy notoriety rubbing off on each other. He’s my devious, dark-haired fantasy come to life, but his destructive ways make it easy to keep him in the (fake)…
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MAD ABOUT YOU BY MHAIRI MCFARLANE // spoiler-free book review: meet one of the best adult contemporaries i’ve ever read aka a delightfully british rom-com that has me in a chokehold
Please say hello to this absolute gem of a book that you should be ashamed you haven’t read yet. Yes I do have the right and power to say that about you all and you are not allowed to say it back *hides* AHHH I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH IT HURTS AND IM SHOVING IT DOWN ALL YOUR THROATS FOR ETERNITY!!!!! Onwards with the crying/yelling/screeching about this author *wink wink* Title: Mad About YouAuthor: Mhairi McFarlanePage count: 432Date published: 14 April 2022Genre: Adult contemporary fiction 🏡 Synopsis: Two reluctant housemates.Two broken promises.One crazy plan… Harriet Hatley may be one of the most in-demand wedding photographers in Leeds, but she hates the idea of marriage. Cal Clarke is used to the world falling in line with his plans – apart from his own love-life, which has gone hopelessly wrong. When they become unlikely housemates, it’s clear they’re both running away from something bigger. Can they take a crazy risk to face the past and change everything? 🏡 🏡 STAR RATING: (5 out of 5 stars) Trigger warnings for previous relationship emotional abuse — My heart is so full and I am jumping for joy and Mhairi McFarlane is…
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DON’T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME BY MHAIRI MCFARLANE // spoiler-free book review: looking for a new laugh-out-loud british comedy with a smidge of romance to read? look no further!!!
Ugh stop what you’re doing right now!!!! Because IM IN LOVE WITH MHAIRI MCFARLANE AND NEED YOU NEED TO BE TOO. I’m literally never shutting up about her books ever,,, Welcome to part one of screaming Ruby *wink wink* Title: Don’t You Forget About MeAuthor: Mhairi McFarlanePage count: 433Date published: 1 January 2019Genre: Adult contemporary fiction 💌 Synopsis: If there’s one thing worse than being fired from the grottiest restaurant in town, it’s coming home early to find your boyfriend in bed with someone else. Reeling from the indignity of a double dumping on the same day, Georgina snatches at the next job that she’s offered—barmaid in a newly opened pub, which just so happens to run by the boy she fell in love with at school: Lucas McCarthy. And whereas Georgina (voted Most Likely to Succeed in her school yearbook) has done nothing but dead-end jobs in the last twelve years, Lucas has not only grown into a broodingly handsome man, but also has turned into an actual grown-up along the way, with a business and a dog. Meeting Lucas again not only throws Georgina’s rackety present into sharp relief, but also brings a dark secret from her past…
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THE WALL OF WINNIPEG AND ME BY MARIANA ZAPATA // spoiler-free book review: new cover alert for this perfect oh-so-slow-burn sports marriage of convenience romance
Ahhh this one has been a long time coming but so excited to finally talk about this book! The review has been sitting unwritten for absolutely far too long considering how much I think about this book. Enough rambling, just buckle up because I have a lot to say *wink wink* Title: The Wall of Winnipeg and MeAuthor: Mariana ZapataPage count: 608Date published: 28 February 2016Genre: Adult contemporary romance 🏈 Synopsis: Vanessa Mazur refuses to feel bad for quitting—she knows she’s doing the right thing. The thankless job of personal assistant to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans for her life, and none of them include washing extra-large underwear one more day for a man who could never find it in him to tell her good morning, congratulate her on a job well done, or wish her a happy birthday—even when she was spending it working for him. The legendary “Wall of Winnipeg” may be adored by thousands, but after two years Van has had enough. But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door begging her to come back, she’s beyond shocked. Mr. Walled-Off Emotions is actually…
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TWICE SHY BY SARAH HOGLE // spoiler-free book review: a cinnamon roll of a contemporary romance that you absolutely need to warm your cold hearts <3
Read this literally a year ago and I have only just managed to get my hands on a physical copy and I need to yell at you all about this delightful book. Ugh, it’s so good and underrated and let’s just get into it!!!! Title: Twice ShyAuthor: Sarah HoglePage count: 302Date published: 6 April 2021Genre: Adult contemporary romance 🌳 Synopsis: Can you find real love when you’ve always got your head in the clouds? Maybell Parish has always been a dreamer and a hopeless romantic. But living in her own world has long been preferable to dealing with the disappointments of real life. So when Maybell inherits a charming house in the Smokies from her Great-Aunt Violet, she seizes the opportunity to make a fresh start. Yet when she arrives, it seems her troubles have only just begun. Not only is the house falling apart around her, but she isn’t the only inheritor: she has to share everything with Wesley Koehler, the groundskeeper who’s as grouchy as he is gorgeous—and it turns out he has very different vision for the property’s future. Convincing the taciturn Wesley to stop avoiding her and compromise is a task more formidable than the other…
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THE SEVEN YEAR SLIP BY ASHLEY POSTON // blog tour book review: happy release day to this banger of a time travel romance that blew it out of this decade!!!
Today is a special day my friends. Wanna know why? Because this scrumptious little book is out TODAY and ugh I’m so excited to talk about it! Welcome to the first stop on The Seven Year Slip blog tour <3<3<3 Title: The Seven Year SlipAuthor: Ashley PostonPage count: 352Date published: 27 July 2023Genre: Adult contemporary romance 🍋 Synopsis: Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it. So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart safe: stay busy, work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it. And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man…
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HAPPY PLACE BY EMILY HENRY // spoiler-free book review: the most perfect summer read from my queen mother ft. stunning best friends on vacation & heartwrenching second chance romance
Let us ignore that I could have read this book months ago but I was too much of a scaredy cat lmao But I shall cease to be in awe of the Henry magic and I shall now spend the rest of my days shoving this down your throat. You’ve been warned! Let’s dive in ; ) Title: Happy PlaceAuthor: Emily HenryPage count: 388Date published: 25 April 2023Genre: Adult contemporary romance ☀️ Synopsis: A couple who broke up months ago pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends. Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t. They broke up five months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends. Which is how they find themselves sharing a bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blissful week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the…
