Category: Adult Fiction

Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe | Book Review

Posted March 13, 2025 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 0 Comments

Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe
Published by Berkley on August 20, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy
Pages: 362
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
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The hardest thing for a paranormal conspiracy theorist and a web series producer to believe in is finding love in this swoony debut romantic comedy.

Hallie Barrett's life has imploded after she's dumped by her hotshot ex, who also happens to be her coworker and the star of the online series she was producing. Without a new show to present for the company competition, she’ll be out of a job. But inspiration can come from the strangest places . . . like the most handsome guy she’s ever seen passionately discussing Bigfoot on a late-night docuseries.

Hayden Hargrove made a name for himself as a cryptid expert on his hit podcast, and is intrigued by the plucky, blue-haired producer who offers him the opportunity to lead his own web show. When the production team sees that Hayden’s solo on-screen presence is bad enough to make a ghost blanch, Hallie jumps on camera too, hitting him (and his cryptids) with a healthy dose of skepticism—and enough chemistry to electrify their show to the top of the competition.

As Hayden and Hallie investigate the unknown, they unearth feelings for each other that shake their beliefs to the core. In their search for Mothman, aliens, and the truth, the most elusive discovery might just be learning to love again.

One thing people seem surprised to find out about me is that I love the unknown. I love watching shows on The Discovery Channel about unsolved mysteries, unexplained events and phenomena, cryptids, aliens, hauntings, you name it. I was so, so excited to get my hands on Love and Other Conspiracies. Look at that cover! It has Bigfoot on it! And the synopsis sounded amazing, too. An unbeliever and a cryptid podcaster get together to hunt down cryptids for a cool new webseries? I’d watch the heck out of that. Unfortunately, this book didn’t really work for me. First of all, I didn’t love the dynamic between Hayden and Hallie. I guess I don’t enjoy reading about someone kind of tearing down or making fun of someone else’s passion, which is what Hallie did to Hayden on a regular basis. It’s fine if she doesn’t want to believe the things he does, but she kept trying to extinguish his flame of passion for the subject and I don’t see how a romance can be built on that lack of support. I also could not stand reading about Cade (Hallie’s ex), who added nothing to the story but frustration and irritation for me. lol. I skimmed the parts where he was on the page because I just wasn’t in the mood. The romance is a bit campy and I really wish there was some actual ghost or cryptid content, but I can see why there wasn’t (because they’re not real, I know). There are some heavier topics surrounding toxic relationships and workplace harassment, which were well done and grounded the story in reality. But really, this was cringey and lacking in the monster hunting I was so excited about.

Business Casual by B.K. Borison | Book Review

Posted March 6, 2025 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 0 Comments

Business Casual by B.K. Borison
Series: Lovelight #4
Also in this series: In the Weeds, Mixed Signals
Published by Berkley on July 16, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
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Two opposites will find out if one night together is enough to get each other out of their systems in the final book in the beloved Lovelight series.

Nova Porter isn’t looking for love, and she certainly has no explanation for her attraction to buttoned-up, three-piece-suit-wearing investment banker Charlie Milford. Maybe it’s his charm? Or maybe it’s his determination to help her fledgling business however he can. Either way, she’s distracted every time he’s around. With her new tattoo studio set to open in her hometown of Inglewild, she doesn’t have time for frivolous flirtations.

In an effort to get Charlie out of her system once and for all, Nova offers a proposition. One night. No strings. They’ll kick their uncomfortable attraction to the curb and return to their respective responsibilities. But their explosive night together scatters their expectations like fallen leaves. And with Charlie in town as the temporary head of Lovelight Farms, Nova can’t quite avoid him.

And Charlie? Well, Charlie knows a good investment when he sees one. He’s hoping he can convince Nova he’s worth some of her time.

The Lovelight series captured my heart with the first book, Lovelight Farms, and has held on through the rest of the books. I love Inglewild and these characters so much, and it was so hard to crack this final book open because I was not (and never will be) ready to say goodbye. This friend group is the stuff of dreams. I love all of them, and I have loved reading their stories. Business Casual is all about Charlie and Nova, and I adored them! Charlie in particular has been a character I’ve enjoyed throughout the series, and I loved getting to know him better. I have trouble with no-strings-attached hook-ups, so I was a bit worried about this love story. But it was so good. I loved how Nova and Charlie worked together to figure out what they each wanted in life, both individually and together. I loved reading about how they worked through their stuff and tackled hard things together. There were some deeper, heavier issues sprinkled throughout the book that were well done and made the final reward that much sweeter. Their banter was on point, and their love gave me all the feelings I want from a romance novel. The vulnerability they both show warmed my heart and made me ache for them. These two will grow old and grey together, I just know it.

The thing I love so much about this series is how cozy and heartwarming it is. These books are like a cozy blanket and a cold day or a cuddle with the softest kitten. They just make me smile, and I love how interconnected the stories are. You can read them all as a standalone, but you’re not going to want to do that. You’re going to want to read them in order and fall in love as they do. I loved checking in with everyone from the previous books, and the author did the most amazing job wrapping up everything for everyone. I’m sad to say goodbye to these characters and this cute little town, but I know I will be back for a visit soon. This is a highly re-readable series! If you’re looking for a comfy, cozy small town romance series with the best cast of characters ever, it’s right here!

My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine | Book Review

Posted February 27, 2025 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 0 Comments

My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine
Series: My Vampires #1
Narrator: Gilli Messer
Published by Berkley on August 29, 2023
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Romantic Comedy
Pages: 341
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible
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True love is at stake in this charming, debut romantic comedy.

Cassie Greenberg loves being an artist, but it’s a tough way to make a living. On the brink of eviction, she’s desperate when she finds a too-good-to-be-true apartment in a beautiful Chicago neighborhood. Cassie knows there has to be a catch—only someone with a secret to hide would rent out a room for that price.

Of course, her new roommate Frederick J. Fitzwilliam is far from normal. He sleeps all day, is out at night on business, and talks like he walked out of a regency romance novel. He also leaves Cassie heart-melting notes around the apartment, cares about her art, and asks about her day. And he doesn’t look half bad shirtless, on the rare occasions they’re both home and awake. But when Cassie finds bags of blood in the fridge that definitely weren’t there earlier, Frederick has to come clean...

Cassie’s sexy new roommate is a vampire. And he has a proposition for her.

That was one hot mess! Most of this book was cringeworthy for me. Frederick is such a simp, and Cassie has pretty much no redeeming qualities. I found Frederick’s lack of understanding of the modern world to be endearing, and his proper behaviors and mannerisms were amusing. He was cute in a Leopold from Kate & Leopold kind of way (although he’s no Hugh Jackman). I did not like Cassie, though. Her constant surprise that he likes her drove me nuts. “Who me? Little old me? I’m nothing special, how could he like me?” Over and over again. She was constantly begging for compliments and not believing any of them. A person would have to be dumber than a rock to not know that a guy like Frederick is in love with them. And I have no idea why he loved her either. Like, he just fell in love with her for no reason other than that she was there and he was incredibly isolated. He would have fallen in love with anyone. There was no romantic development, no world-building, no vampire lore, and no real depth to this story. I know nothing interesting about any of these characters. The dialogue is so cheesy and over the top. The major conflict was cartoonish and ridiculous.

I did like the epistolatory aspects of the story. Frederick and Cassie talk through written notes for a while because of their differing sleeping schedules, and the letters were fun for a time.

Audio notes: The narration was horrible. Frederick sounds irritatingly posh with an American accent, even though he’s British. His mother, also British, actually has a British accent and sounds like a high and mighty snob. Cassie sounds like a child. And then Reginald, Frederick’s frenemy, sounds like some empty-headed frat boy.

Bottom line, this book is a train wreck. And I couldn’t look away, hence the two stars instead of one. lol.

First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison | Book Review

Posted February 20, 2025 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 0 Comments

First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison
Series: Heartstrings #1
Also in this series: And Now, Back to You
Published by Berkley on February 11, 2025
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy
Pages: 441
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
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A hopeless romantic meets a jaded radio host in this cozy, Sleepless in Seattle-inspired love story from beloved author B.K. Borison.

Aiden Valentine has a secret: he's fallen out of love with love. And as the host of Baltimore's romance hotline, that's a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight.

Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job; an incredible family; and a smart, slightly devious kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life-or lack thereof—she begins to question if she's as happy as she thought. Maybe a little more romance wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Everyone wants Lucie to find her happy ending... even the handsome, temperamental man calling the shots. But when sparks start to fly behind the scenes, Lucie must make the final call between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the man in the headphones next to her.

I love the movie Sleepless in Seattle, so I was very excited to read this book once I found out it’s inspired by the movie! And I loved it. While it felt very long in some places, I so enjoyed my time with these characters. Lucie is one of the coolest heroines I’ve read about in a while. She knows her worth and she knows that she’s created the perfect life for herself. She’s got the cutest daughter, Maya (who I adored), and she’s found more family in Maya’s dad, Grayson, and his husband, Matteo. I love that Lucie and Grayson stayed best friends after discovering they weren’t a love match and that Matteo loves Lucie and Maya just as much as Grayson does. The four of them have the sweetest familial bond, and I want to adopt them all. They live next door to each other, with a gate that links their backyards. They are together all the time, loving each other, supporting each other, and laughing together constantly. Lucie works as a mechanic at an auto shop and works with some of the sweetest father figures, who are all protective of her and have her best interests at heart. She knows she doesn’t need anything else to complete her life, but it would be so nice to have someone to share it with. When Maya phones in to a late-night radio show devoted to love and romance to ask for advice on finding a boyfriend for Lucie, she sets in motion the cutest love story ever. And this love story goes viral. I was riveted right along with the greater population of Baltimore, Maryland as I watched these two lovebirds try to deny that Lucie found her one true love the night Maya called him.

Aiden is very jaded and grumpy and doesn’t believe in love. He hates his job and he’s a loner with a small social circle. Maya charms him (and his boss, Maggie), and before he knows it he’s sharing his tiny booth with Lucie herself as they try to find her “road to love”. His and Lucie’s banter is fantastic. She’s the sunshine to his storm cloud, and he can’t help but give in to her call for a friend. As she goes on crummy dates and is harassed by the public, he realizes more and more how much he cares about her. And he’s not too happy about it at first. lol. But we can all see what’s happening. Everyone listening to them on the air three nights a week can feel the tension and hear the sizzling chemistry these two have together. And it was so much fun watching them figure it out. There’s some speed bumps along the way, and some deeper issues that they need to work through (Aiden in particular), but the romance feels so realistic. I loved watching Aiden’s character develop and change from who he was at the beginning of the book to who he became at the end. B.K. Borison is so good at weaving humor in with more serious issues. It’s a lovely balance, and keeps her stories rooted in reality while also providing the magic that I crave in a romance novel. The spicy scenes were a bit more than I’m used to from this author and, as I said at the beginning, this book was longer than it needed to be. But other than those two things, this was such a great book for me. I’d love to see it adapted for film someday! B.K. Borison is one of my favorite authors, and I’m so happy that the Lovelight series wasn’t a one-hit wonder for me. I can’t wait for her next book!

A Court This Cruel & Lovely by Stacia Stark | Book Review

Posted February 13, 2025 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 0 Comments

A Court This Cruel & Lovely by Stacia Stark
Series: Kingdom of Lies #1
Narrator: Tim Paige, Meg Sylvan
Published by Dreamscape Media on October 24, 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Romantasy
Pages: 562
Format: Audiobook ARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
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For years, when I fell asleep, I dreamed of a man with blazing green eyes and a cruel smile.

The day I meet him, the ruthless mercenary leaves me for dead.

Just hours after humans are born, the gods take what little power we have. In return, they protect our borders from the vicious, merciless fae.

The humans who manage to keep their power are known as the corrupt.
And they are burned.

When my forbidden power is discovered, I’m forced to flee my tiny village and the life I adore.

To survive, I make a desperate bargain with the mercenary who abandoned me at my weakest.

Our deal is simple: I’ll help him and his mysterious friends sneak into the city. And he’ll help me learn to wield the strange, dark power I’ve always kept hidden. The power that may just be the key to my survival.

But the ruthless mercenary is hiding secrets of his own. Secrets that threaten the safety of everyone I love. Secrets that could tear this kingdom—and perhaps even this world—apart.

Please note: A Court This Cruel and Lovely is an NA/adult romantasy book with steam. While this series is slow burn, the chili pepper rating will increase for each book.

Last year I was needing something to quench my thirst for a Fourth Wing kind of story while waiting (a long time) for Onyx Storm to come out, so I explored many romantasy books looking for that feeling of being completely entranced by a book and unable to think about anything else. I also love ACOTAR, and I’d read that this gave off similar vibes so I gave it a go. Long story short, this is no ACOTAR. And can I sidebar for a second and talk about how much I hate how many books have given in to the “a court of whatever and whatever” trend? I feel like it tricks readers into thinking they’ve found THE book everyone is talking about. “What’s that ‘a court of…’ book my friend likes so much? Oh, it’s this one!” And then it’s not. lol. Similar title… also about fae… you get the picture. Anyway, I listened to this one because I love dual narration. I was crocheting, the narrators did a great job, and it was a thing to listen to that helped distract me during a hard thing I was going through personally. But it left many things to be desired, and I’m struggling to articulate my feelings in a way that makes sense. This is also one of my more negative reviews and the guilt is setting in a bit as I re-read this before scheduling it to go live soon. I hate writing negative reviews, but I feel obligated to do so since I received this for review from the publisher. So here are my honest thoughts.

To sum it up, this book didn’t feel unique to me. You’ve got the over-used tropes like fae versus human, enemies to lovers, found family, a feisty heroine who doesn’t know she’s magic, etc. These story elements cannot stand on their own existence, though. I feel like they were just there because that’s what people look for. I can tell that this book set out to check off a lot of boxes to please readers, but there was no strong framework, no intricate worldbuilding, and no details given that immersed me in the story. I can’t tell you what anyone looked like, what the world looked like, or anyone’s backstory or defining characteristics. The cookie cutter main characters were unremarkable and flat. The secondary characters were background props. I couldn’t help but feel like the desire to write a unique cast of memorable characters and a rich world… wasn’t there. It seemed more like the goal was to give me enough to remind me of characters I loved from another book and then fill in the blanks on my own with their traits and their personalities. I felt like I was supposed to patch the plot holes and supplement the information I was given with information from someone else’s fully developed world. That’s just, for lack of a softer word, lazy writing.

The spicy moments were uncomfortable for me, and the romance didn’t feel believable and all-consuming. The pacing was off, with a lot happening all at once and then nothing happening at all. The story really dragged in places, and the same things kept happening. There was a lot of telling and very little showing. The more I think about this book, the more confused I am as to why I finished it. I tend to abandon books when I’m feeling like this, especially when they’re this long. I was clearly engrossed in my crocheting and needed a distraction during a difficult time when I didn’t have the brain power to absorb something deeper. I was able to drift in and out and not miss anything, and I think that’s a big part of why I finished it. I also liked the soothing voices of the narrators. It was very easy to keep listening to it, and sometimes that’s what you need in a book. I wanted to love this so, so much, but I will unfortunately not be continuing with the series.