Month: March 2021

Top Ten Places In Books I’d Love to Live

Posted March 29, 2021 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 15 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is Places In Books I’d Love to Live! I’m feeling very stir crazy right now, so this topic is perfect for me. There are so many places in books that I’d love to escape to, even if only for a little while. Living in these places would be an absolute dream! I’d give anything to get away right now!

Moose Springs, AK (from the Moose Springs, Alaska series by Sarah Morgenthaler)
I love this sleepy, quirky town in Alaska! They have moose (duh) and other wildlife, beautiful scenery, and such wonderful locals!

Frozen Falls Resort in Lapland, Norway (from Christmas at Frozen Falls by Kiley Dunbar)
This resort sounds amazing. It’s a series of luxurious cabins with lots of windows and skylights to view the Northern Lights. There’s a spa and husky puppies and a reindeer farm… some sexy men… It’s a magical place, with fresh clean air and beautiful scenery. I’d love to pack up and move right now.

Cruise ship (from The Gem Thief by Sian Ann Bessey)
This fancy cruise ship travels the Mediterranean! I’d love to live in the lap of luxury while my floating home took me to Italy and Greece and anywhere else I chose. Cruising is the best way to see the world.

Tuscany (from Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch)
I’ve been to a couple cities in Tuscan Italy, and it’s a beautiful area. And there’s so many places I want to see and revisit. A little villa in the country would be a great place to call home.

The Night Court (from A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas)
Rhysand. Need I say more? Also, it sounds beautiful.

Snow Crystal Resort (from the O’Neil Brothers trilogy by Sarah Morgan)
Another resort with cozy cabins that’s beautiful in the snow! Does it come with an O’Neil brother I can fall in love with?

Florence, Italy (from Love, Lucy by April Lindner)
I know I already said Tuscany up above, but I’d also love to live in the heart of Florence: one of my favorite Italian cities!

Cinque Terre, Italy (from Wish You Were Italian by Kristin Rae)
I just love Italy, ok? And I’ve never visited Cinque Terre, but the pictures are gorgeous and I would LOVE to live there and explore for a few years.

The undersea world of Marin (from Captivate by Vanessa Garden)
It is gorgeous and colorful and sparkling and so unique! The city has rivers and gondolas and a modern colosseum where people go to watch criminals get thrown to the sharks in a big aquarium-like tank. When the look up to the sky they see the ocean instead. Their world is lit and warmed by light crystals that sparkle, and oxygen is brought down to them through air shafts. There’s a garden and a park with real grass. I could go on and on. I’m in love with this place.

Spindle Cove (from the Spindle Cove series by Tessa Dare)
I believe I’m a lady with a delicate constitution who needs some sea air and a romance with a visiting male suitor…


Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle | Book Review

Posted March 25, 2021 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 5 Comments

Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle | Book ReviewTwice Shy by Sarah Hogle
Published by GP Putnam's Sons on April 6, 2021
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
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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 dying wishes Great-Aunt Violet left behind. But when Maybell uncovers something unexpectedly sweet beneath Wesley's scowls, and as the two slowly begin to let their guard down, they might learn that sometimes the smallest steps outside one's comfort zone can lead to the greatest rewards.

Ok. Everyone knows that I REALLY loved You Deserve Each Other. And everyone also knows the worry that comes with loving an author’s debut so much: will they be able to keep up that momentum? Will they end up being a one hit wonder? How can they possibly do it twice? Well. Sarah did it. Sarah wrote another hilarious, heartwarming, happy, swoony, super romantic, feel-good book that tackles deeper situations. Another amazing couple has jumped from her mind to my heart. I can’t pick which of her books I love more. I’m a fangirl. Take my money, Sarah. Just take it all. Give me all the books. I have put off writing this review as long as I possibly could because I have too many feelings! My head is in the clouds! What even is a book review? What are words? How do I do this again? As always, my main points are bolded.

1. Maybell is precious and anxious and visits a special cafe that exists only in her mind because it’s where she feels safe in stressful times. She’s so pure and sweet, and she has the biggest dreams. I loved her quirky personality so much. Her desire to take on the world made me smile so much.

2. Wesley is the grumpiest teddy bear and I want to cuddle up with him on the couch and watch a movie together. And it’s not even necessarily for romantic reasons (although. I’d love a romance with Wes, thank you), it’s because I see so much in him that reminds me of myself. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t elaborate on this but Wesley’s character will make so many people feel seen and understood in this world. Oh my goodness, he’s just. I can’t even explain him. He’s a sweet little cinnamon roll with so many layers and a story and is so sweet I can’t even handle it. He is definitely one of my favorite characters ever. 

3. I loved the setting: a charming, fixer-upper mansion that Wesley and Maybell both inherited. There’s bickering on who gets their way on what becomes of this house, which is so fun. I love bickering. But the house and the surrounding grounds are perfect and so whimsical sounding. And magical.

4. There is mental health representation in this story and it is done SO WELL. 

5. SO. Many. Feelings. I have so many and I don’t know what to do.

6. Sarah’s sense of humor is my sense of humor’s soulmate. And her writing is a balm for the soul. 

7. Maybell and Wesley are so good for each other. The romance just made my heart soar. The way they see each other and speak to one another and help accommodate each other’s needs was perfect. I love them so much together that I don’t want to steal Wesley for myself. And that’s saying something. We can just be friends, Wesley. Best friends.

8. Loch Ness. Nessie. One of my favorite subjects ever. Sarah clearly wrote me my own book. Thank you, Sarah. I guess we can let others read it as well.

So… this review proves that I can clearly come up with words when I don’t have any. But… what do all these words mean? I know I’m being vague about so much, but it’s because you need to read it to fully appreciate anything else I could possibly say! Bottom line, read this. This is just the book we need right now while the world is on fire. Allow yourself to escape to the Smoky Mountains and float around in the pure sweetness of this story and the lives of these two characters. I’ll just be over here basking in the sunlight of it all and eagerly waiting for Sarah’s next book.


Top Ten Punny Historical Romance Book Titles

Posted March 22, 2021 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 14 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is Funny Book Titles, but I decided to tweak it a little for myself and chose to do “punny” historical romance novel titles instead! I love a good pun, and the historical romance genre is filled with so many titles with puns in them. And every time I see one, I laugh with delight. There are some authors out there that seem to use more puns in their titles than others. Sarah MacLean, Shana Galen, and Victoria Roberts kept popping up in searches!

A Scot Mess by Caroline Lee
It’s Getting Scot In Here by Suzanne Enoch
Third Son’s a Charm by Shana Galen
X Marks the Scot by Victoria Roberts
The Earl Next Door by Amelia Grey
My Brown-Eyed Earl by Anna Bennett
One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean
A Rogue By Any Other Name by Shana Galen
How the Duke was Won by Lenora Bell
And the one that made me laugh the hardest… Kill or Be Kilt by Victoria Roberts

Can you think of any other punny romance book titles out there? 
Or any titles that should exist? 


Top Ten Books On My Spring 2021 To-Read List

Posted March 15, 2021 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 20 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! Is everyone recovering from Daylight Saving Time? I’m not. lol. Can you believe Spring starts this weekend? It’s insane how fast this year is moving and how slowly it’s dragging. But the books keep rolling out and there’s so much to be excited about. I love seasonal TBRs even though I rarely stick to them. I just love sharing which books I’m the most excited about!

Any Rogue Will Do by Bethany Bennett
One of my friends has shouted her love of this from the rooftop so much lately that this will actually be my next read! She said it made her an instant Bethany Bennett fangirl, so that’s all the endorsement I need!

Must Love Cowboys by Carly Bloom
I do love cowboys, thank you. But fake dating and a bookish heroine? Duh.

The Virgin Romance Novelist Chronicles by Meghan Quinn
I just got this on audio (hello, Andi Arndt!), and it sounds like so much fun. A virgin romance novelist is encouraged be her friends so gain some experience by going on a bunch of interesting dating adventures.

Date Me Like You Mean It by R.S. Grey
Ok, I love fake dating. It’s my favorite trope. And I love R.S. Grey, so I’m very excited about this one!

Heard It in a Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves
I just got this as an ARC in the mail, and I am so excited!!! I’m a major Tracey fangirl, and this should be so good. It’s about a man and a woman, both recently divorced/separated and weary of the world, who decide to be friends with the possibility of something more.

Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas
This will be my first Lisa Kleypas and I am very excited! I’ve heard great things about her work for YEARS.

A Place in the Sun by R.S. Grey
Since I can’t go on vacation again this spring, I’ll go to Italy through this book!

The Awakening by Nora Roberts
One of my friends sent me this as a thank you for hosting #TBTBSanta, and I’ve been saving it for the perfect time. I can’t wait!

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
YES CLO.

Much Ado About You by Samantha Young
“The cozy comforts of an English village bookstore open up a world of new possibilities for Evie Starling in this charming new romantic comedy…” Sounds so perfect!


Ten Books I Recently Cleared off My Shelves to Make Room for More

Posted March 8, 2021 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 16 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is a spring cleaning freebie, which you can interpret any way you would like. I chose to focus on books I’ve recently cleared off my shelves to make room for more. These books are either ones I lost interest in, or I just didn’t feel like I need to own them in my actual collection. I only have so much room! I’m excited to see how everyone spun the topic this week!

1. The Second Chance Plan by Lauren Blakely
I love Lauren Blakely, but I felt very meh about the first two books in this series and don’t expect to read this one of the next one.

2. The Escape Room by Megan Goldin
This sounded AMAZING. I love forced proximity-type thrillers. But then I read some reviews and heard from some friends that this one is pretty boring. And I also read that it jumps back and forth between past and present-day, which I really don’t like in books like this. It takes the tension and excitement completely away.

3. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Have you SEEN the content and trigger warnings on this book? I had no idea until I sat down to read it for book club with some friends. Luckily I was able to return this on Amazon and get something else.

4. The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox
This author broke my trust by describing a very violent act of animal cruelty in a previous book (luckily I found out before I got to it and was able to DNF the book), but once an author does this I can’t read any more of their books moving forward.

5. Warcross by Marie Lu
I’ve just kind of fallen out of interest with sci-fi books. Maybe someday I’ll find something that intrigues me again, but for now I don’t think so.

I’ve also started to prefer adult contemporary romances over YA ones because I feel I identify with the main characters and their life situations now than I used to. So that’s my reasoning for the other five books I’ve chosen to clear off.

6. Stealing Home by Becky Wallace
7. Famous In a Small Town by Emma Mills
8. Little Do We Know by Tamara Ireland Stone
9. My Life Uploaded by Rae Earl
10. Wesley James Ruined My Life by Jennifer Honeybourn

So! There you have it.
If you could save one of these and force me to read it, which one would you pick?