The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez
Goodreads blurb: A beautiful, compelling novel that revels in laughter, friendship, and the messy choices life can throw our way.
In everyone’s life, there’s a split-second decision that can change everything…
For Larissa, it came when choosing which guy to ride home with after a concert. That night, she had no idea she’d met the perfect man. She and Chris are great together, co-parenting a slightly unhinged rescue Yorkie, sharing their favorite books, and judging bread (pumpernickel for the win!). For the first time amid all her side hustles to scrape by, things finally feel easy.
But Chris isn’t the one who drove Larissa home all those months ago—Chris is her boyfriend’s best friend. All Chris wants is for Larissa to be happy. Standing by on the sidelines is slowly killing him, but making a move would destroy someone else. And he’s just not that guy.
my take: 4.5 out of 5 – Abby is back in full form! I was not a fan of the first book in this series last year, but here I was all in. This is a lovely romance that was not obvious at all and quite a moral dilemma. I kind of love it for the fact that it is not obvious at all and you are not sure about how this is all going to go or how it should go. For me, it showed how love is messy and things are not always clear cut and it made for a real romance.
In Her Own League by Liz Tomforde
Goodreads blurb: As the first female team owner in Major League Baseball, Reese Remington has spent her entire life preparing for this role. With a sharp mind and years of experience working behind the scenes, she’s more than qualified. But the public only sees a woman in a man’s world — not the person who’s earned their place on the field. Under constant scrutiny and pressure to prove herself, Reese can’t afford distractions.
Especially one that comes in the form of the team’s tempting field manager who questions her every decision.
Emmett Montgomery is a former All-Star turned coach who treats his players like family and the field like home. After years of running the team his way, the last thing he wants is a new boss, let alone one who seems ice-cold and laser-focused on business. But forced to spend long hours – and too many away games – side by side, he begins to see the fire beneath Reese’s control, the heart behind her ambition, and the unwavering determination to prove herself.
When heated banter turns into sizzling chemistry, professional boundaries blur and the spark between them becomes impossible to resist. But Reese is constantly reminded of how many people are waiting for her to fail, and the safest move is to keep Emmett at arm’s length – for the sake of the team, the season, and her career.
But keeping their distance is one game neither of them can seem to win.
My take: 3 out of 5. This is more of a BRAD than a regular romance, its quite spicy. All in it’s just ok, I wasn’t in love with this love story. I really like the sports elements (and am a bit sad I didn’t read the previous books this concludes because those love stories look great) and the workplace romance aspect was interesting, I just wasn’t head over heels, just in a light crush. Side note: When entire book is all about how hot the main character is in her pencil skirt and heels all the time (rally the amount of times her pencil skirt was reference was out of control) why the hell is she in pants in the cover?
Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson
Goodreads blurb: “The rare kind of book I can’t believe doesn’t already exist . . . [a] clear, clever voice and incisive social commentary elevate the book’s irresistible will-they-won’t-they romance to a once-in-a-lifetime read about truth, art, vulnerability, and all the sticky places they intersect. BAD WORDS LEFT ME BUZZING.” – EMILY HENRY, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Great Big Beautiful Life
A sharp and deeply felt debut about art, ambition, and the connections that both inspire and undo us.
Parker Navarro’s debut novel was meant to define his career – until critic Selina Chan’s blistering review made it the flop of the decade. Four years later, his new book is his shot at redemption; for Selina, reviewing him again is a professional risk she can’t refuse. When her second takedown ignites a viral feud, both their fortunes shift overnight. But as the literary world feeds on their public sparring, a quieter dialogue begins – one that challenges everything they thought they knew about success, sincerity, and each other.
Both incisive and tender, Bad Words lays bare the costs of creation – the pull between ambition and integrity, the vulnerability of being seen, and the unexpected closeness that can grow in the space between critique and care.
When words can make or break us, how do you stay true to what matters most?
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
My take: 4.5 out of 5. This is a romance for intellectuals. Like as deep a romance as I’ve read in terms of intellectual curiosity but it had such yearning and absolutely beautiful romantic storyline. Such a beautiful combination of prose and longing. It doesn’t fly by, you have to milk every beautifully written sentence. The last sentence – wow…. I hope you fall into this as much as I did its worth it.
Not that Kind of Proposal by Victoria Lavine
Goodreads blurb: From the internationally bestselling author of Any Trope but You comes an enemies-to-lovers rom-com about a hopeless romantic wedding planner and the cynical divorce lawyer forced to help her plan her ex’s wedding.
Gracie Holland lives for Happily Ever Afters—just not her own. After a crushing breakup, she’s thrown herself into planning weddings at Larkwood, the ivy-covered Rhode Island estate where she also lives in the guest cottage. But when her beloved boss passes away and leaves the estate to her grandson, Gracie’s carefully rebuilt life is suddenly on the line. Jude Larkwood is everything she’s sworn ruthless, practical, and immune to romance—he’s a divorce lawyer, for crying out loud! Worse, he plans to sell Larkwood by the end of the summer.
Jude has spent his life cleaning up other people’s romantic disasters—and he has no interest in watching another love story fall apart on his family’s lawn. But inheriting Larkwood comes with one its maddeningly optimistic wedding planner. Gracie’s sunshiney faith in love unsettles Jude almost as much as her ability to push through his defenses. He’s built a life on keeping emotion out of the equation—but something about her keeps slipping past his guard.
When Gracie’s ex calls out of the blue asking her to plan his wedding, she sees an unexpected opportunity. Jude reluctantly agrees to give her until the wedding to change his mind, and in exchange, she drags him into a two-month crash course in love to make even the most hardened cynic start to wonder if love might not be such a scam after all.
But as cake tastings and vendor emergencies give way to late-night confessions and undeniable chemistry, Gracie and Jude must confront the fears they’ve spent years avoiding. But can a hopeless romantic and a confirmed cynic find a future they both believe in?
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
My take: 3.5 out of 5 – It was a cute story, and I really enjoy her writing. The flashbacks to Audrey were incredible and Jude is quite an interesting male lead. Also wedding planning is always a good idea in terms of books and the chemistry between the two was jumping off the page. I just think there was a lot of issues they both have, and it just made for the wrong side of a miscommunication trop which this wasnt it. However, there were some absurd moments in the book that I just had to do a double take, like for example to keep her safe in the rain she doesn’t let her drive but makes her walk in a thunderstorm – like are there no cafes in this world?
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Goodreads blurb: Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.
Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.
Clever, layered, and subversive, Ariel Lawhon’s newest offering introduces an unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice at a time when women were considered best seen and not heard. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.
Inspired by the life of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into history.
My take: 4 out of 5. I think this might have been an expectations issue. The book is great, but I had heard so may good things about it I was expecting it was going to be the historical book of the year for me, and that it wasn’t. I really enjoyed it it just fell a tad short of my expectations. Martha is clearly a force of nature and I loved her work, her way of being and her relationship with her family. She was also whip smart and I enjoyed how she was ahead of most people in town. I think i was very ok with the book until the last 20%. The book has such an amazing buildup that I do not think the ending was what i was expecting, t was a bit of a bust and not as wow as I was expecting. Also when you see inspired by the life of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system i was expecting the defying of the system to be much greater but I still didnt get how she defied it. Yes she was a kick ass woman but the exact legal effect, I didnt get it.
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