Top Ten Books on My Summer 2025 to-Read List

Posted June 16, 2025 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 17 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! Before jumping into this week’s topic, I wanted to thank those of you who sent me books during last week’s bookish wishes prompt. Thank you so much to Michelle M. @ To Everything There Is a Season for sending me Stranded Ranch by Cindy Steel, Lillian @ Mom With a Reading Problem for Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood, and R (I can’t figure out who you are!!) for A Christmas Spark by Cindy Steel! I’m so excited about these books, and can’t wait to read them all! I did my best to thank you individually, but just in case you didn’t see my thank you’s I wanted to add them here, too! Thank you for your kindness and sending me a surprise!

This week’s topic is another seasonal to-read list! I can’t believe it’s summer! I love reading light, fun books during this time of year. I love romances that allow me to go on vacation to real or magical places especially, but I’m a mood reader so I’ve planned for everything!

Never Been Shipped by Alicia Thompson
If All Else Sails by Emma St. Clair
The Loathe Boat by Cindy Dorminy
The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst
Swept Away by Beth O’Leary
A Perfect Story by Elísabet Benavent
The Scandalous, Dissolute, No-Good Mr. Wright by Tessa Dare
Total Dreamboat by Katelyn Doyle
Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood
A Beginner’s Guide to Forever by Kendall Ryan

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Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross | Book Review

Posted June 12, 2025 by Jana in Book Review / 2 Comments

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross | Book ReviewRuthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
Series: Letters of Enchantment #2
Also in this series: Divine Rivals
Published by Wednesday Books on December 26, 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Historical Fiction
Pages: 420
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
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Torn apart by war. Reunited by love?

Two weeks have passed since Iris returned home bruised and heartbroken from the front, but the war is far from over.

Roman is missing, lost behind enemy lines, with no memory of his past, or Iris. Hoping his memories return, he begins to write again – but this time for the enemy.

When a strange letter arrives through his wardrobe door, he strikes up a correspondence with a penpal who seems at once mysterious… and strangely familiar.

As their connection deepens, the two of them will risk their very hearts and futures to change the tides of the war.

Wow, what a satisfying ending to this duology! Ruthless Vows was exactly what I wanted it to be. I jumped in immediately after finishing Divine Rivals, and only a couple weeks have passed since the events of that book so you’re really just thrown right back in to the thick of it. I recommend going into this story blind. Do not read the synopsis (but obviously read DR first. lol). You can expect even more action in this book than the first, which I loved. I could not pull my eyes away to do or read anything else. I loved how the romance progressed in this story, and how deep and raw it was. Iris and Roman go through so much, and are changed forever. Their growth and evolution was lovely to see. I enjoyed seeing what was in store for the supporting characters as well. What a wonderful cast of people! We meet someone new, Tobias, and I adored him. I’d love a spin-off series featuring him because he’s amazing. Rebecca Ross’s writing is so beautiful. I just love sinking into her stories because they’re so lush and detailed. I highly recommend this magical pair of books if you’re looking for something different that will make you feel everything before wrapping you up in a warm hug.


My Top Ten Birthday Bookish Wishes

Posted June 9, 2025 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 18 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic, Bookish Wishes, is a popular one and one I host twice a year (around Christmas and again in June)! List the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to your wishlist so that people can grant your wishes. Make sure you link your wishlist to your mailing address or include the email address associated with your e-reader in the list description so people know how to get the book to you. After you post, jump around the Linky and grant a wish or two if you’d like. Please don’t feel obligated to send anything to anyone! I love hosting this topic in June because it coincides with my birthday, which is next week, as well as with the secret Santa gift exchange I host: Christmas In July! Sign-ups are currently open, so if you’re interested in spreading some festive cheer this summer click on the #giftmasinjuly hashtag on the top menu bar of my blog for more information!

Never Gamble Your Heart by Lindsay Lovise
Take Me Back by Meghan March
The Folklore of Forever by Sarah Hogle
A Christmas Spark by Cindy Steel
Hotshot Doc by R.S. Grey
Slightly Shady by Amanda Quick
Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood
Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt
Christmas Carols and a Cornish Cream Tea by Cressida McLaughlin
Date Me Like You Mean It by R.S. Grey

Here’s the link to my full wish list, which includes everything I mentioned here and more!
I’d be so happy to receive any of them.

Which book are you wishing for the most right now?
Did you have a wish granted? Come let me know if someone surprised you!


The Wrong Suitcase by Laura Jane Williams | Book Review

Posted June 5, 2025 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 0 Comments

The Wrong Suitcase by Laura Jane Williams | Book ReviewThe Wrong Suitcase by Laura Jane Williams
Published by Avon on February 12, 2022
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Pages: 100
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
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RIGHT PLACE
As she touches down in Italy, Izzy couldn’t be more excited. She’s needed a reason to let her hair down, and she knows that the wedding of the year in a lavish Tuscan castle will be just the ticket…

RIGHT TIME
On the morning of his best friend’s wedding, everything is going wrong for Sam. And when he finally reaches the hotel and unzips his luggage, his day goes from bad to worse…

WRONG SUITCASE
Izzy has a case full of men’s shirts and chinos. Sam has a case full of make-up palettes and bikinis. Could a fateful meeting to switch their bags back be the start of something special? Because in losing their luggage, they’re about to find each other…

I spent a couple hours reading this during a cold January evening, and I enjoyed being whisked away on a sunny Italian vacation. I love Italy, and I loved the sound of the plot but there were a few things missing for me. You need to be ready to suspend a lot of disbelief with this one. The likelihood that a hotel would mix your bag up with someone else’s and then just let you keep it instead of hand it over to them once you notified them of the mix-up is low. That just would not happen. And honestly, I’d be livid if I found out that the person who had my bag went down to the front desk to try and remedy the problem and was then allowed to just take my bag back to his room when he realized a quick fix wasn’t going to happen. But neither character really cares, even though their wedding attire is in those bags and they need them right away. Maybe I’m just an anxious person, but if my bag were lost I’d be panicking and staying in one place so it could be returned to me easily. I would not be wandering all over the place, in and out of the other hotel rooms where my friends were staying when I knew someone was looking for me to return my bag and to get theirs. I’ve got important stuff in there! Anyway, I digress. lol.

The romance was very insta-love and things got physical quickly. This is a vacation romance after all, so I knew what I was getting into but it didn’t feel emotional or romantic to me. It was all lust because they had nothing to go off of other than looks and suitcase contents. I was looking for a lighter, funnier story and I didn’t get that with this one. I found myself skimming as the two leads traversed the hotel looking for each other. For being such a short book, a LOT of time is spent with these two people trying to find one another. I didn’t like how they ended up finally meeting and how the romance went from here. Again, it just didn’t feel romantic. There was no character development or development of the romance. No real depth. And I know this is a novella, so what was I expecting? But I have read some amazing novellas with fully fleshed-out characters and very deep, swoony romances. So length of story is not the problem here. The problem is that so much time was wasted on searching for suitcases. I also hated Izzy’s character and found her to be incredibly selfish and self-absorbed. Sam was ok, but nothing special. The idea was cute, but I needed more. The descriptions of the scenery, however, were great!


Top Ten Summer Romances

Posted June 2, 2025 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 14 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! Happy June! In my mind, it’s summer so it’s the perfect time for a summery topic. So today’s challenge: Pick any topic you can think of that fits into the category of “summer”. If it’s winter where you are, switch it up! I’ve decided to go with summertime romances. These are romances that take place during summer, feel like summer, have summery covers, or have the word “summer” in the title!

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Savor It by Tarah DeWitt
Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan
Mixed Signals by B.K. Borison
Summer Reading by Jenn McKinlay
From the Jump by Lacie Waldon
The Love Haters by Katherine Center
Summer Ever After by Kortney Keisel (closed-door)
Well Met by Jen DeLuca
Summer Fridays by Suzanne Rindell

What romances can you think of that just scream summer?

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