What's in the (e)mail...plus a book giveaway

Melissa:

You Shouldn't Be Here by Lauren Thoman from MB Communications (print)

Mademoiselle Eiffel by Aimie K. Runyan from William Morrow (NetGalley)

Not Safe for Work by/from Lindsey Lanza (ebook)

Never Ever You by Sarah Echavarre from Lake Union (NetGalley)

Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot from Berkley (NetGalley)

The Widow on Dwyer Court by Lisa Kusel from Thriller Book Lovers the Pulse (NetGalley)

My Favorite Mistake by Marian Keyes from Penguin Canada (print)

I Made It Out of Clay by Beth Kander from Harlequin (NetGalley)

Jami:
Swiped by L.M. Chilton from Gallery (NetGalley)
You're Safe Here by Leslie Stephens from Gallery (NetGalley)

Talking to Strangers by Fiona Barton from Berkley (NetGalley)

Melissa S:

Enemies to Lovers by Laura Jane Williams from Putnam (print)

A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison from Over the River PR (print)

Allyson:

The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin from Ballantine (NetGalley)

Pony Confidential by Christina Lynch from Berkley (NetGalley)

What could be in YOUR mail:

Next to You by Hannah Bonam-Young

Recently named One of the Best Romances of All Time by Parade.

Thanks to Dell, we have TWO books to give away!

Synopsis:

Two friends battle feelings for each other as they work together to renovate a school bus into a home in this charming romance novel from the viral TikTok author of Next of Kin and Out on a Limb.

Lane is in the middle of an identity crisis. Her friends are all partnered up, her career is heading nowhere, and simply put, she’s not happy. So, after a night out celebrating her birthday, she makes one hell of an impulsive purchase: a giant yellow forty-eight-passenger school bus that she intends to make her home.

With little-to-no renovation experience but a large sum of inheritance money, Lane enlists the help of her friend Matt—a mechanic by trade, handyman by practice, and hottie by nature.

While their mutual attraction is undeniable, Matt and Lane have silently agreed that a friendship is the only thing that can ever exist between them. Matt’s a total family guy with “settle down with me” tattooed across his forehead, whereas Lane is entirely commitment averse. It could never work . . . right?

“Heartfelt and hopeful—everything a friends-to-lovers romance should be.”

—Lyla Sage, author of Done and Dusted

“Warm, sexy, and vulnerable. Hannah Bonam-Young needs to be on your romance radar.”

—Hannah Grace, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Icebreaker

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

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Giveaway ends May 1st at midnight EST.

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Book Review: Happy Medium

By Allyson Bales

Fake spirit medium Gretchen Acorn is happy to help when her best (read: wealthiest) client hires her to investigate the unexplained phenomena preventing the sale of her bridge partner’s struggling goat farm. Gretchen may be a fraud, but she'd like to think she’s a beneficentone. So if "cleansing" the property will help a nice old man finally retire and put some much-needed cash in her pockets at the same time, who's she to say no?

Of course, it turns out said bridge partner isn't the kindly AARP member Gretchen imagined—Charlie Waybill is young, hot as hell, and extremely unconvinced that Gretchen can communicate with the dead. (Which, fair.) Except, to her surprise, Gretchen finds herself face-to-face with Everett: the very real, very chatty ghost that’s been wreaking havoc during every open house. And he wants her to help ensure Charlie avoids the same family curse that's had Everett haunting Gilded Creek since the 1920s.

Now, Gretchen has one month to convince Charlie he can’t sell the property. Unfortunately, hard work and honesty seem to be the way to win over the stubborn farmer—not exactly Gretchen's strengths. But trust isn’t the only thing growing between them, and the risk of losing Charlie to the spirit realm looms over Gretchen almost as annoyingly as Everett himself. To save the goat farm, its friendly phantom, and the man she's beginning to love, Gretchen will need to pull off the greatest con of her life: being fully, genuinely herself. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

This read was such a DELIGHT!

I really, really, REALLY loved Mrs. Nash’s Ashes and it was one of my favorite reads of 2023, so when I saw Happy Medium was being released this year it quickly became one of my most anticipated reads! 

Have you ever wanted to or had a tarot card reading?  Do you believe in mediums or ghosts?  I haven't had a reading but I have always wanted to and I sure do believe in mediums AND ghosts, so I knew I was going to be interested in this read, and it did not disappoint!

Similarly to Mrs. Nash’s Ashes, I was cackling out loud to most of this story while also having heart eyes and a strong desire to work on a farm where I can hang out with some baby goats!  This is a contemporary and paranormal romance (who doesn't love that combo) with characters that are fun, a refreshing setting, and a plot that is oh-so-binegable!

I really can’t wait for you to meet Gretchen and Charlie, but even more than that, I can't wait for you to meet Everett.  He is one sassy ghost and I loved so many of his one liners.  He really made the story for me.  I also loved getting to know Gretchen and Charlie and following along while they have to work together. I especially love when they have to birth some goats!  

I used to work in a barn and this farm setting really spoke to my soul!  It really made me miss the animals I used to work with.  I think more and more farms are getting harder to maintain so learning about the process to keep one afloat was interesting.  

I read this one in a few days and it feels like the perfect beach read.  I really can't wait to see what else Adler writes because she has quickly become an auto-buy author for me!

Thanks to Berkley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Also by Sarah Adler: Mrs. Nash's Ashes

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Spotlight: Upper Crush

He wasn’t banking on someone else taking the reins…

Lady Estelle Foxbrooke is done cleaning up the mess left by her wild parents. She’s got a plan: take the reins and save the family estate her way. But then she’s saddled with a business partner she’s hated all her life. He’s her twin brother’s worst enemy and looms in her path like a six-foot-four hurdle.

After a catastrophic business failure, rich and successful James Hunter-Savage has watched his dream life in London crash and burn. Forced to ditch the city for the Somerset countryside, he’s now living with his parents and expected to work with the infuriatingly attractive Estelle. She’s sharper than a whip, pushes all his buttons, and seems determined to break him.

As Estelle and James jockey for position, their explosive personalities combust into passion, sending Estelle’s plans to the edge of ruin. With James’s flimsy reputation in tatters, and the biggest event on the Foxbrooke calendar on the brink of collapse, will they realise their love is worth fighting for? Or are their hearts and hard work heading for the ultimate fall?

The Upper Crush is a laugh-out-loud, enemies-to-lovers, steamy, standalone, smalltown romantic comedy with a fiery country girl giving a cocky city boy a run for his money. No cheating or cliffhanger, but snort-laughs, swoons and a deliciously happy ending guaranteed in this sparkling and sizzling romcom!

Purchase Links:
Evie's website * Books 2 Read

Evie Alexander is an award-winning author of sexy romantic comedies with a very British sense of humour.

Imaginative, passionate and frequently called ‘bonkers’ by her friends, Evie’s interests include reading, eating, swearing, saving the world, and dreaming about people who only exist between the pages of her books.

Evie lives in the West country of the UK with her family, where she pens her steamy stories from the Smut Hut.

Visit Evie online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram 

Visit all the stops on Evie's blog tour:

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Book Review: The Sleepwalkers

By Jami Denison

Weddings and honeymoons are supposed to be some of the happiest, most romantic times in a person's life. But suspense authors know they are rife with opportunities for betrayal, heartbreak, and death. British author Scarlett Thomas’s latest book, The Sleepwalkers, turns an idyllic honeymoon into a deadly nightmare. If you dream of a vacation in the Greek Isles, don’t read this book!

The Sleepwalkers harkens back to the very beginning of fiction, formatting the story in the form of letters. Bride Evelyn kicks off the story, writing a goodbye letter to her husband Richard while he sleeps. What could go so wrong on a honeymoon that the bride wants to leave? According to Evelyn, the problems all started when the couple set foot in their hotel, Villa Rosa, especially chosen by Richard’s mother for this week only, forcing Evelyn to turn down an acting job. The hotel’s proprietress, Isabella, only has eyes for Richard and treats Evelyn scornfully. Rather than defending his wife, Richard takes Isabella’s side. Since Richard and Evelyn originally met when she worked as his family’s housekeeper, the slight is especially galling. Isabella enthralls Richard with the story of the Sleepwalkers, a married couple who drowned while sleepwalking. As a storm brews, Evelyn tries to make her escape. But as her letter grows longer, it becomes obvious that the couple’s problems began long before their honeymoon started. Eventually, we get a letter from Richard and his side of the story, which doesn’t do him any favors. Then the letters themselves become part of the plot, and there’s a surprising twist and a time jump.

The Sleepwalkers is being compared to the HBO series The White Lotus as written by Patricia Highsmith. Unlike The White Lotus, I doubt readers would want to visit the Villa Rosa, and Thomas’s descriptions of the Greek Isle don’t do the locale any favors, either. Several times, Thomas references the Edward Albee play The Zoo Story (Evelyn is an actress and playwright), but I think Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf is the more apt comparison, with its hateful married couple and the games they play at the center of the action. Neither Richard nor Evelyn is particularly likeable, but the mysteries that Thomas weaves in, and her haunting way of telling the story, keep readers engaged even though her characters aren’t easy to root for.

While its plot might feel familiar for readers who enjoy domestic suspense, Thomas’s stream-of-consciousness writing style and the languid atmosphere of her setting make the story unique. While The White Lotus comparison didn’t work for me—Villa Rosa hardly provided the luxury of those resorts—The Sleepwalkers is highly visual and might also find itself streaming on the small screen someday.  

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Scarlett Thomas:

Going Out

Bright Young Things

In Your Face

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Book Review: Funny Story

By Allyson Bales

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.

Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads —Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right? (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

This book is not just a love letter to book lovers but also to those that have ever felt like they aren’t enough.

I cannot state enough what an Emily Henry stan I am. I stalk her instagram for easter eggs. I love when she posts unfiltered real photos of herself. My summers are better because of her books. Up until now, Beach Read was my favorite of her stories but Funny Story now holds top spot.

This story is entertaining, heartfelt, swoony, angsty, funny, charming, and one I tried to stretch out for as long as I could but was only able to make last for two days. I don't re-read books all that much, but I am highly considering re-reading this one because I miss it already.  I really love when a story makes me feel like, “well now what do I do with my life?” and I felt that the minute I finished.

I loved the main character, Daphne.  She is like most of us book readers with so much heart and a quiet bravery waiting to be seen. I love that she works in a library and the whole story is building to a readathon date. I swear I wish I could be a librarian.  I also love her friend Ashley and I can’t wait for you to get to know Miles too.

Miles is… perfection. Just wait until you meet him. I am not ruining that one for you. I will say what he brings to Daphne’s life will make you smile, cheer and swoon. I also love who Daphne is when she is with him.  He may be Emily Henry’s best book love interest yet.  

This story has themes of self exploration, finding your voice, friendship, and what it means to be loved for exactly who you are. I devoured every second of it!

I also highly, highly recommend the audio. Juila Whelan narrates and completely immerses you in Daphne's world. I had many, many moments where I drove a little further for no reason, worked out a little longer on purpose, so that I could keep listening.  It is zero days until I may have found my favorite audio book of the year!

Thanks to Berkley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Emily Henry:
Happy Place
Beach Read
Book Lovers

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Book Review: The Suite Life

 

By Sara Steven

Gigi isn't looking for the one. Just someone...! As she gears up for her sister’s destination wedding in Hawaii, the countdown is on for Gigi to find a date. Just someone to prove to her friends and family that she's ok, and to stop the pitying looks would be great!

Of course she can’t wait to be bridesmaid for her sister, but it’s just not ideal that the best man is also her ex… especially when he is bringing his hot new reality star girlfriend!

But when Gigi arrives at the hotel in Hawaii to find there has been a mix-up with her room, and she’s been upgraded to a suite, things start to look up. Not only is the room bigger than her entire flat, but the staff are waiting on her hand and foot, and she’s being treated like royalty!

Something isn’t quite right, but the suite life suits Gigi, and why shouldn’t she pamper herself while she mends her broken heart? It may even lead to her finding the perfect date after all… (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)

Gigi is one tough lady. I don’t know if I would ever be able to spend time with my ex and his reality star girlfriend, even if it is at my sister’s destination wedding! Given it’s been barely a minute since the ex had made the decision to let Gigi go, quickly picking up with the reality star, it only adds insult to injury. But Gigi would do anything for her sister and family, and I thought it was sweet that Gigi always tried to see the silver lining to a situation. She tries hard to focus on the fact that she can be supportive, while spending time in Hawaiian paradise. 

What later ensues is a mix-up of identity, but all in Gigi’s favor. Call it karmic payback for how wonderful she is–particularly when the ex’s girlfriend seems to poke and prod at Gigi whenever an opportunity arises, all in an effort to knock Gigi down a peg or two. It was so funny to read the reactions the girlfriend has when the staff of the hotel they are all staying in goes above and beyond and then some for Gigi, with continual upgrades, access to areas of the hotel that are only privy to the elite, even a leisurely ride on the hotel’s yacht! Gigi later discovers the source of the mix-up, but I couldn’t blame her for wanting to continue on with the charade. 

Alongside the mix-ups is the need for Gigi to find a suitable man to go as her plus one to her sister’s wedding. She’d alluded to having someone special all along, but that isn’t true. And, she doesn’t want to feel like she’s the odd man out, especially since the ex has seemed to level up, even though I quickly discovered that wasn’t the case at all, and Gigi slowly discovers that as well. Sometimes, it’s all about the connections you make despite the title, and what looks shiny and bright isn’t always so–much like the reality star, it’s all about the way something appears to be versus how it really is. 

The Suite Life was such a fun, sweet read! For most of it, I wished more than anything to be in Hawaii–Portia MacIntosh did a great job of describing the atmosphere, and all I wanted to do was be part of it. It was the perfect lead into summer. A definite five-star experience!

Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US * Amazon UK * Apple * Barnes & Noble

Portia MacIntosh is the bestselling author of over 20 romantic comedy novels. From disastrous dates to destination weddings, Portia’s romcoms are the perfect way to escape from day to day life, visiting sunny beaches in the summer and snowy villages at Christmas time. Whether it’s southern Italy or the Yorkshire coast, Portia’s stories are the holiday you’re craving, conveniently packed in between the pages.

Formerly a journalist, Portia has left the city, swapping the music biz for the moors, to live the (not so) quiet life with her husband and her dog in Yorkshire.

Visit Portia online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

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Spotlight and Giveaway: When I Think of You

Today we are pleased to feature Myah Ariel's debut rom-com, When I Think of You. This second chance romance just released this week and it sounds exciting! We are loving the cover art too. Thanks to Berkley, we have one copy to give away!

Does anyone else have a Janet Jackson song in their head right now, or is that just a Gen X thing?

Kaliya Wilson has paid her dues. But all the years behind the reception desk at a flashy film studio have only pushed her movie-making dreams further out of reach. That is, until a surprise reunion presents an opportunity that could make her career, or break her heart…a second time. 

It’s been seven years since Kaliya’s whirlwind college romance with Danny Prescott went up in flames. While her passions have stalled, his career is taking off. So when the hot shot director reappears to offer her a job on his next production, it’s a shock to the system. Working with Danny may recapture the intensity of their film school days, but trusting him again won’t come as easily. 

As the pair allows themselves the openness and vulnerability to entrust their deepest truths to each other, the possibility of a true connection draws ever closer. But when Hollywood politics and scandal threaten to sink the production and her career, Kaliya may have to risk everything to do what’s right—even if it means letting go of the second chance love of a lifetime.

“Myah Ariel breathes hope and longing into second chance romance, handles grief and loss with a deft, careful hand, and ignites the pages of this stunning debut with explosive chemistry. We are lucky to have this booming new voice in romance.” 
—Kennedy Ryan, USA Today bestselling author of Before I Let Go

"Myah Ariel's When I Think of You is a sparkling debut that had me turning pages into the night. Ariel crafts a thoughtful look at personal and professional vulnerability in an often unforgiving world, with characters who burn bright for their individual passions—and their passion for each other. I loved Kaliya and Danny and their shared determination to build something new from the past that shaped them." 
—Kate Clayborn, author of Georgie, All Along
 
"I loved this book from page one! A funny, engaging, poignant love story about personal growth, forgiveness, and second chances. When I Think of You is a winner!" 
—Farrah Rochon, New York Times bestselling author of The Hookup Plan

Credit: Berkley Romance

Myah Ariel’s early love of movies led her from Arkansas to New York City where she studied film at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She went on to earn an MA degree in specialized journalism for the arts from the University of Southern California where she now works as chief program officer of a research center for Black media and social justice.

Visit Myah online:

Website * Twitter * Instagram

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends April 24th at midnight EST.

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