Romance

A Dragon Rider’s Guide to Retirement

by Julia Huni

coming August 5, 2025

(3.5 / 5)

A special “thank you” to author Julia Huni for providing a free review copy of this book! All opinions are completely my own.

This was a cozy fantasy with a quaint small-town setting. It also had a sweet, spice-free romance that developed. I liked how descriptive the story was, allowing me to easily visualize this world. It almost felt like a fairy tale the way it was written, with a variety of magical beings. I especially liked the water dragons! There wasn’t necessarily anything that was shocking or surprising in the story, but sometimes it’s nice to have something that doesn’t bring a ton of drama. And there were still some exciting scenes to keep things interesting! It was fun to meet William and Cala, who were both likable characters. I liked to see how they each adapted to “normal” life after fighting in a war for many years. Some of the side characters were a lot of fun too!

Well, Actually

by Mazey Eddings

coming August 5, 2025

(4 / 5)

First off, thank you to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, and NetGalley for the free review copy of Well, Actually! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

A spontaneous drunken social media post leads to two online personalities to have to confront each other and their past failed relationship, all with the public watching.

I really enjoyed reading this one! I thought it had fun elements while also diving into some more serious topics as well. It manages to have some decent spice too. I think Eva, the FMC, probably won’t be for everyone – on the outside she can be prickly, harsh, and push people away. I couldn’t help but like her though, and I enjoyed watching her character grow. I liked the dynamic between Eva and Rylie, the MMC, who challenged her in a positive way and accepted her the way she was. The banter between the two was fun and one of my favorite things about this book. I thought the way that Eva and Rylie confronted their past was handled well. Some of the workplace issues were a bit appalling, but I like how things were resolved in the end. I found the book engaging and hard to put down – I’ll be seeking out more by the author in the future!

July 14, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance 0

Soul of Shadow

by Emma Noyes

coming July 29, 2025

(4 / 5)

Review updated: February 16, 2026

*Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners, and NetGalley for the free review copies of this book and audiobook. All opinions are completely my own.*

Soul of Shadow is the first book in a new series that brings us to a town in Michigan where teens are mysteriously disappearing. Our main character, Charlie finds herself drawn to a new boy in town who has some very dark secrets.

This book drew me in right from the start with its mysterious, eerie feel and detailed descriptions. It ends up diving into a lot of Norse mythology, which I was only somewhat familiar with before. I enjoyed the magical beings and hidden world that were revealed. Elias, the new boy, was an intriguing character with a magnetic pull, especially when it came to him and Charlie. He was one of those characters who you wanted to love and hate at the same time. The story took some unexpected turns a few times. Sometimes I started to piece things together a bit before they were revealed, but other times I didn’t see it coming at all. I enjoy it when things are unpredictable. The book ends without feeling completely finished, or at least with a feeling that there are mysteries that we can dive deeper into. It definitely left me wanting to continue with the series – I look forward to continuing when the next book becomes available.

For my 2nd time reading the book, I was able to listen to the audiobook version. I really enjoyed the audiobook and think that the narrator did a fantastic job. I’m really happy that the next book will have the same narrator!

July 9, 2025 by danimae1981 Audiobook Fantasy Fiction Kindle Romance Young Adult 0

The Four Engagement Rings of Sybil Rain

Mistakes We Never Made #2

by Hannah Brown

(3.5 / 5)

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book. All opinions in my review are completely my own.

The Four Engagement Rings of Sybil Rain follows an impulsive free spirited woman who has had 3 failed engagements. She takes a trip to Hawaii where she unexpectedly runs into her most recent ex-fiancé. This book is the second in the Mistakes We Never Made series. I’ve read both books, and while Sybil’s story does begin in the first book, I think it can still easily be read as a standalone. I actually liked this one better than the first book.

First off, I really loved the setting in Hawaii, and the descriptions were great. It took me a while to really warm up to the characters, and honestly I wasn’t positive who the love interest was going to be until pretty late in the book, so I wasn’t feeling much of a romantic vibe most of the time. There’s a lot of reflecting on Sybil’s past while she processes through her past relationships, which could be a bit emotional at times. The story wasn’t quite what I was expecting going in, but it still managed to draw me in, especially the farther into the book I got. The book was readable enough, and I actually finished it in a single day, which I don’t usually do. I was satisfied with how things ended and overall enjoyed how the characters grew over the course of the story.

June 25, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance Women's Fiction 0

Mistakes We Never Made

by Hannah Brown

(3 / 5)

I went into this one knowing that there’s a lot of lower reviews for it, but I’m interested in the 2nd book, so thought it would be nice to start here. It was readable enough and kept my interest, but I can also see what people didn’t like about it. Emma, the FMC, wasn’t exactly likable and could be pretty self-centered, even though her intentions were good. She does improve over the course of the book. Finn was more likable than Emma, but I honestly wasn’t feeling the romance between them very much. I think there’s times from the past where they both messed up. I didn’t get the best vibe on Sybil, the runaway bride, but I also detected a lot of jealousy on Emma’s part. It was frustrating to reach the end of the book and not even find out some of the answers I was hoping for. In the end, it wasn’t necessarily a bad book, but definitely not a favorite either.

June 24, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance 0

The Roommate Experiment

by Camilla Isley

Released today!

(4 / 5)

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the free review copy of The Roommate Experiment! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

The Roommate Experiment is the 3rd book in the Funny Feelings series. I’ve read all of the books, but I feel like this one could easily be read as a standalone. I think it was my favorite book in the series!

Hunter has been in love with her friend’s brother, Dylan, for years, but she’s just an acquaintance to him. Now they’re going to be roommates, but things are even more complicated because Dylan has a new girlfriend. The book alternates between both of their points of view, so we see the story unfold from both perspectives. I thought both of the main characters were likable and relatable, with each of them having struggles they had to face. The romance was definitely a very slow burn, especially since MMC had a girlfriend and that took a while to resolve. I still enjoyed the journey though, with lots of awkward situations that gave the book a lighthearted and fun feel. A couple parts annoyed me a bit, but overall I enjoyed the story. Plus it was fun to see more of the characters from the previous books!

May 27, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance 0

Roll for Romance

by Lenora Woods

coming July 15, 2025

(4 / 5)

Thank you to Ballantine, Dell, and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book. All opinions and thoughts are completely my own.

This romance story is a little different from other books that I’ve read, focusing heavily on Dungeons & Dragons. Most of the characters in the book are new to the game, so I didn’t feel lost even though I’ve never played D&D myself. We end up with a story within the story, since we are following Sadie (FMC) in the real world, plus her character’s adventure in D&D. I liked that the “real world” was in first person while the “game world” was in third person, making it easy to differentiate between the 2 storylines. It’s not surprising that a lot of the more exciting and surprising parts are in the D&D storyline, but I still enjoyed Sadie’s real world story as well. It was nice to see how Sadie finds herself again after losing her job, rekindling old passions and making new friends. I thought it was an interesting take on how we all play different parts in different aspects of our lives. I liked all the characters we met along the way, and I thought the romance that developed was sweet and enjoyable. I’m impressed that this is the author’s debut book!

May 15, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance 0

Friends with Benefits

by Marisa Kanter

coming May 6, 2025

(3 / 5)

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of Friends with Benefits; all opinions are completely my own.

Evie and Theo are best friends who enter a marriage of convenience so that Evie can have health insurance coverage and Theo can keep his apartment.

While this book was a romance, it had a sad undertone and dived into some very heavy topics such as chronic illness, parental issues, and death of a parent. I appreciate the difficulty of these experiences, but I think it got to be a bit much for me at times. The story seemed to move pretty slowly, and there’s a lot of repetition and revisiting past events. I found it frustrating how much the main characters were denying their feelings… for best friends, they seemed to avoid talking about things a lot. This was by no means a bad book, but I think it turned out to not quite be the right book for me, or at least not the light read I was expecting.

April 1, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle New Adult Romance 0

The Friendship Fling

by Georgia Stone

coming June 3, 2025

(4 / 5)

I received a free review copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions are completely my own. Thank you to Harper Perennial for the opportunity.

Two very different people meet at a coffee shop and form a friendship of convenience for the summer. Neither is looking for a relationship, but can they manage to stay just friends?

This was a fun story following Ava, a barista who is not much into socializing, and Finn, a cheerful talkative person who never stays in one country for very long. These two characters had such different personalities, but they complemented each other well and were both likable in their own ways. I really enjoyed the banter between the two, making me literally laugh out loud. The two spend the summer completing bucket list items around London, which was fun to experience with them. Despite the playfulness of the story, it also dived into some more serious issues that the characters had to work through. I feel like the biggest character development takes place toward the end of the book, but I was happy with the direction things went. While the book didn’t necessarily offer anything profoundly different or surprising, the book kept my interest, and I was able to read it pretty quickly. It was a nice escape!

March 18, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance Women's Fiction 0

Wandering Wild

by Lynette Noni

coming May 20, 2025

(4.5 / 5)

I received a free review copy of this book through NetGalley, but all opinions are completely my own. Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity!

Xander is a teenage actor who needs to improve his public image after a car accident involving a DUI. To help, he goes on a survivalist show with a fan. But there’s a problem – Charlie ends up on the show with him, but she is most definitely NOT a fan.

I was excited to get an ARC of this book since I really enjoyed the author’s The Prison Healer series. While this story is quite different from the fantasy series, I really enjoyed it. There are some aspects of the story that are obviously stretches of reality to increase the drama, but I enjoyed reading the authors comments about this at the end of the book.

At first the book felt a little slow while the characters and their situations were being introduced. There were a lot of references to events in the past that were vague, so we don’t find out the actual details until much later. That said, I managed to puzzle some of it together with the clues that were dropped, and it gave the opportunity to learn things when the characters reveal them to each other.

I genuinely liked both of the main characters. They were likable and had depth to them, plus the chemistry between them worked well. I could really feel their emotions throughout the book. I enjoyed the variety of side characters as well, though some of the adults had me pretty frustrated with them at certain points.

Once things got moving, this book had a lot of intensity to it in multiple ways. The characters are in a survivalist show, so that introduced adventure and exhilarating experiences along with the fear when things don’t go as planned. But almost equally, there was an intensity in a mental aspect as well, with both main characters dealing with past events and the associated grief. The story really kept me on the edge of my seat and I had such a hard time putting the book down.