A warrior princess trained in isolation, Lara is driven by two certainties. The first is that King Aren of the Bridge Kingdom is her enemy. And the second is that sheโll be the one to bring him to his knees.
The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom enriches itself and deprives its rivals, including Lara’s homeland. So when sheโs sent as a bride under the guise of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture its impenetrable defenses. And the defenses of its king.
Yet as she infiltrates her new home and gains a deeper understanding of the war to possess the bridge, Lara begins to question whether sheโs the hero or the villain. And as her feelings for Aren transform from frosty hostility to fierce passion, Lara must choose which kingdom sheโll saveโฆ and which kingdom sheโll destroy.
Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Goodreads: How to Love Your Neighbor Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Published: 18 January 2022 Genre: Contemporary Romance
Panda Rating: (3 pandas)
Interior Design School? Check. Cute house to fix up? Check. Sexy, grumpy neighbor who is going to get in the way of your plans? Check. Unfortunately.
Grace Travis has it all figured out. In between finishing school and working a million odd jobs, sheโll get her degree and her dream job. Most importantly, sheโll have a place to belong, something her harsh mother could never make. When an opportunity to fix upโand live inโa little house on the beach comes along, Grace is all in. Until her biggest roadblock moves in next door.
Noah Jansen knows how to make a deal. As a real estate developer, he knows when he’s found something special. Something he could even call home. Provided he can expand by taking over the house next door–the house with the combative and beautiful woman living in it.
With the rules for being neighborly going out the window, Grace and Noah are in an all-out feud. But sometimes, your nemesis can show you that home is always where the heart is.
TL;DR:How to Love Your Neighbor started out strong for meโI was immediately pulled in by the beginning and I enjoyed the slightly antagonistic banter between Grace and Noah. Sadly, as the story progressed I started to get restless with the book as my interest waned. It’s not badly written and it did have enjoyable elements to it but something felt lacking. I wanted more chemistry, more friendship, more romance, just more!
I’m not much of a seasonal reader but apparently, this is the year when holiday romances are my jam and I’m having a blast with them! I binged the Holiday Brothers series by Willa Nash in two days and they were delightfully festive holiday novellas that I have no doubt will put many in a merry mood!
One week with one little girlโan angel, according to my staffing agency. Acting as the short-term nanny for a single dad should have been an easy way to make some extra cash. Until I show up for my first day and face off with a demon disguised as a seven-year-old girl wearing a red tutu and matching glitter slippers.
Oh, and her father? My temporary boss? Maddox Holiday. The same Maddox Holiday I crushed on in high school. The same Maddox Holiday who didnโt even know I existed. And the same Maddox Holiday who hasnโt set foot in Montana for years because heโs been too busy running his billionaire empire.
Enduring seven days is going to feel like scaling the Himalayas in six-inch heels. Toss in the Holiday familyโs annual soiree, and Christmas Eve nightmares really do come true. But I can do anything for a week, especially for this paycheck, even if it means wrangling the naughty, impressing the nice, and playing the nanny.ย
This little novella was a fun and quirky holiday romance with characters that had great chemistry and a story with a good dose of touching family moments. While ultimately the romance ended up being very insta-love, it didn’t feel like it initially as Natalie and Maddox built up a good foundation of trust and respect through their bond with Violet. This was a novella, so of course, I kind of expected the insta aspect of the romance, but I also thought it was handled well enough that it didn’t bother me overly much.
I really liked Natalieโshe has such a good heart and I loved how she understood and came through for Violet when her mother was inattentive and constantly let her down. Nat was so bubbly and passionate about the children she took care of and it shone through. I also really enjoyed her more comedic monologue as she reflected on how high-school Nat would feel about working closely with Maddox and having flirty interactions with himโshe was a really fun heroine and so easy to root for! Maddox was your slightly typical hot billionaire single-dad who doted on his little girl. I really liked how much he adored Violet and wanted to change his lifestyle to be better for her. He was a sweet guy and I’m glad that this was told in alternating POVs so we get a good insight into both their mindsets. The chemistry and pull between Mad and Nat was undeniable and was built up really well! It’s mildly steamy but the main sex scenes are fade-to-black, so if on-page sex isn’t your jam in romances, you’ll be okay with this one!
I pride myself in being grounded. Sure, Iโve had my share of childhood fantasies. Winning an Oscar. Winning the lottery. Winning an Olympic medal for an athletic talent I have yet to discover. But the only fantasy I ever thought might actually happen was winning my brotherโs best friend.
Heath Holiday. My crush on him has ebbed and flowed over the years, but the day I started working for his construction company was the day I smothered it for good. Sort of. Mostly. It was on my to-do list. Making it a priority would have been easier had he not arrived at his familyโs annual Christmas party looking ridiculously handsome in a suit.
Then he kissed me. We stepped into an alternate universe and he kissed me. I assumed the next day Iโd just be Guyโs little sister again. The office newbie. Our kiss forgotten. Except he keeps showing up at my house. With gifts.
A gold bracelet carrying three jingling bells. Two dainty jeweled earrings, each shaped as a bow. And finally, he brought himself. One brotherโs best friend, asking if I can keep a secret
If you read the first book in the Holiday Brothers series then you’ll probably remember the first cheeky glimpse we get into the blossoming romance between Stella and Heath, and if you were like me, you probably also couldn’t wait to find out how they got to that point! I ended up really enjoying the romance between these two and so far, this is my favourite book in this series. There were definitely some not-so-great moments that had me cringing and also shaking my fist in rage (on Stella’s behalf) but ultimately, these two had a wonderful connection that gave me the warm fuzzies and I was here for their happiness!
Again, because this is a novella, things move pretty quickly on the romantic front; however, I thought their connection as a result of their lifelong friendship and the mutual attraction they felt (and that they kept secret from each other) was established well enough that the fast pace didn’t feel unnatural. I’m not one for pining and angst but this had some great mutual pining that had me giggling because I just wanted them to get together already! I thought they suited each other really well and I loved how both of them were all-in from the beginning; despite the pretty uncool and bumbling secret-keeping fiascos instigated by Heath once they got together! I really liked them individually as well. Stella was a bit of a typical quirky heroine but I can’t lie, I loved the way she twisted aphorisms (and ngl, most of her twists make so much more sense)! ๐ I also loved the way she became an adorably *awkward* mess whenever she’d meet Heathโit’s just so relatable! Despite a few fumbles himself with the secret-keeping, Heath was a pretty good guy. He was a player in his younger days but I never got those vibes from him, even when we met him in book one, and his steady and hard-working presence was only proven in this story. I wished we got a little bit more character depth from both of them but I thought they were decently developed for a novella-length romance!
There are a lot of places Iโd rather spend Christmas Eve morning than on a cold, snowy sidewalk outside someone elseโs home. Iโd kill to be sitting beside a fireplace, drinking cocoa, wearing flannel pajamas and reading a book.
Instead, Iโm here, standing in front of my one-night standโs house, working up the courage to ring the doorbell and tell him Iโm pregnant.
I hate that termโone-night stand. It sounds so cheap and sleezy. Tobias Holiday is neither of those things. Heโs handsome and caring. Witty and charismatic. And once, a long time ago, he was mine.
Our one-night reunion was only supposed to be a hookup. A fling with an old lover. A parting farewell before I moved to London and put my feelings for him an ocean away. How exactly am I supposed to explain that to Tobias that Iโm having a baby? His baby? Maybe I could sing it. He always loved the silly songs I made up in the shower.
Three French hens, two turtle doves.
And a partridge and a pregnancy.ย
In the previous two books, we briefly learn about Tobias and the surprise pregnancy with his ex, Eva, but of the three brothers, he’s the one who has been around the least. It was great to finally meet him and get his story, but out of the three Holiday Brothers books, this one was probably my least favourite! I’d seen some mixed reviews and wasn’t even sure that I wanted to read it anymore cos I thought I’d end up annoyed but I’m glad I did and finished the series. It wasn’t that the story or writing was bad, I just didn’t connect with the characters.
From the reviews I’d seen, I had expected to find myself hating the heroine, but I felt more indifferent than anything. I mean, I didn’t particularly like or understand her, but I also empathised with her situation. With a job that has her frequently relocating on little notice, she lives a pretty lonely life and with her next big move already in the works, and now a surprise baby on the way, I think her being thrown for a loop was realistic. I would also probably be freaking out in this situation! But I did think she was a little selfish and I never really understood her desire to not stay when it was clear as day that Montana was home to herโwhat point was she trying to prove and to whom?ย (view spoiler)
That said, they also never properly discussed the situation because she either ran away as she doesn’t like confronting problems, or Tobias would get frustrated and say hurtful things, or both of them would get overwhelmed by the sexual tension and instead of talking, they’d have sex (which happened a few times). Tobiasย definitelyย could’ve been more communicative too and said what was on his mindโwell, actually, they both definitely should’ve used their words and been y’know, adults about the situation (lol), but after being unceremoniously rejected by Eva at the end of their college years, I get why he felt that way and why he believed she didn’t want to stay.
Overall though, while they did have the chemistry of old lovers and their steamy moments were hot, I just never really felt invested in their story because it was just overly dramatic and I didn’t feel like it was for any good reason (or at least not a reason that I understood or that I felt was clearly explained). Obviously, their HEA was nice and I’m glad that they both found their happy place together, I just think their journey would’ve been better had they actually talked.ย
Have you read the Holiday Brothers series or is it on your TBR?
Goodreads: Window Shopping Published: 19 October 2021 Genre: Contemporary Romance
Panda Rating: (4.5 pandas)
A sizzling, standalone, feel-good holiday romance from Tessa Bailey, New York Times bestselling author of It Happened One Summer. Two weeks before Christmas and all through Manhattan, shop windows are decorated in red and green satin. I’m standing alone in front of the famous Vivant department store, when a charming man named Aiden asks my opinion of the dรฉcor.
It’s a tragedy in tinsel, I say, unable to lie. He asks for a better idea with a twinkle in his eye. Did I know he owned the place? No. He put me on the spot. Now I’m working for that man, trying to ignore that he’s hot. But as a down on her luck girl with a difficult past, I know an opportunity when I see oneโand I have to make it last.
I’ll put my heart and soul into dressing his holiday windows. I’ll work without stopping. And when we lose the battle with temptation, I’ll try and remember I’m just window shopping.
Goodreads: In a Holidaze Publisher: Gallery Books Published: 06 October 2020 Genre: Contemporary Romance
Panda Rating: (4 pandas)
One Christmas wish, two brothers, and a lifetime of hope are on the line for hapless Maelyn Jones inย In a Holidaze, the quintessential holiday romantic novel by Christina Lauren, theย New York Timesย bestselling author ofย The Unhoneymooners.
Itโs the most wonderful time of the yearโฆbut not for Maelyn Jones. Sheโs living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.
But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the worldโthe snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe:ย Please. Show me what will make me happy.
The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awakeโฆsheโs on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loopโand finally get her true love under the mistletoe.
Goodreads: The Love Hypothesis Publisher: Sphere Published: 27 September 2021 Genre: Contemporary Romance
Panda Rating: (5 pandas)
When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman’s carefully calculated theories on love into chaos.
As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn’t believe in lasting romantic relationships but her best friend does, and that’s what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive on her way to a happily ever after was always going to be tough, scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting woman, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.
That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when he agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire and Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support (and his unyielding abs), their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion.
Olive soon discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.
Goodreads: A Not So Meet Cute Published: 02 November 2021 Genre: Contemporary Romance
Panda Rating: (3.5 pandas)
How did you two meet? The quintessential question asked to every couple. And the answer is usually some bubbly, lovey dovey tale of being struck in the bum by Cupidโs arrow.
My meet cute (well not so meet cute) is slightly different. I was trolling a wealthy neighborhood in Beverly Hills, searching for someone to take me as their bride, you know, to make my arch nemesis jealous who consequently just fired me. He was stomping around the block like some sort of gorgeous ogre, mumbling about a business deal gone wrong and attempting to finagle his way out of it.
And that’s when we bumped into each other. There were no sparks. Not even a hint of blossoming love.
But next thing I knew, I was scarfing down free chips and guac, listening to this man lay out all of his problems which led to his big ask . . . he wanted me to be his Vivian Ward, you know, from Pretty Woman–minus the frisky behavior. We’re talking about living in a mansion, intimate double dates, and pretending we were head over heels in love . . . and engaged. Can you imagine? The absolute audacity. But people do crazy things when theyโre desperate. And I reeked of desperation. So, I struck up a deal. My one big mistake, though . . . big . . . HUGE? I accidentally fell for the incomparable Huxley Cane.
Wow, why does it feel like I just wrote my September wrap up… Yesterday? Anyone else or is it just me? ๐
I don’t know what happened in November. I feel like it was a pretty weird month as I fell into a bit of a funkier mood and lost motivation when it came to work, which eventually bled into pretty much all other aspects of my life. How dramatic! ๐ But I honestly didn’t do much and nothing of note happened. I baked a bit, I ate at a restaurant for the first time since the second wave hit Indonesia in mid-2021, got obsessed with playing Zelda BOTW, and of course, obsessed over Taylor’s Version of Red. Better Man is my current favourite track from the vault, mostly cos the lyrics hit so close to home in maybe not the best ways, but as much as I’m an emotional reader, I’m also an emotional listener and this has me wrapped up in my feels!
I think I read 20 books in November! I feel like maybe I read a romance or two and didn’t note them and uh, forgot? ๐ Brain fog was kinda my November… I thought I got a little bit of my reading mojo back at one point but no, my reading mood has still been a little erratic and slump-ish even though I stopped gaming for a week+ thinking it would help (don’t think it did).
Surprisingly though I had THREE 5-star reads with a new favourite fantasy and a new favourite small-town romance series to add to my faves list! I think if I had to pick my favourite of the three, it’d be The Hand of the Sun King by J.T. Greathouse, which is an amazing fantasy debut. That said, Brighton Walsh had me wanting to set up in Havenbrook asap, please! ๐ So, I guess I really can’t choose between my 5-star reads? LOL!
My name is Wen Alder. My name is Foolish Cur.
All my life, I have been torn between two legacies: that of my father, whose roots trace back to the right hand of the Emperor. That of my mother’s family, who reject the oppressive Empire and embrace the resistance.
I can choose between them – between protecting my family, or protecting my people – or I can search out a better path . . . a magical path, filled with secrets, unbound by Empire or resistance, which could shake my world to its very foundation.
But my search for freedom will entangle me in a war between the gods themselves…
Also, a quick update on my #NetgalleyNovember BINGO reading: I read 6 out of 9 titles, which is a little sad but also, ngl, I’m pretty chuffed to have managed those six books! ๐ As my super funky reading mood continues I was pretty worried I’d struggle to finish even two books, so this is a win for me!
Special thanks to Algonquin Books for the gifted ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Goodreads: A People’s History of Heaven Publisher: Algonquin Books Published: 19 March 2019 Genre: Literary Fiction
Panda Rating: (4.5 pandas)
Heaven is a thirty-year-old slum hidden between brand-new, high-rise apartment buildings and technology incubators in contemporary Bangalore. In this tight-knit community, five girls on the cusp of womanhood-a politically driven graffiti artist; a transgender Christian convert; a blind girl who loves to dance; and the queer daughter of a hijabi union leader-forge an unbreakable bond.
When the local government threatens to demolish their tin shacks in order to build a shopping mall, the girls and their mothers refuse to be erased. Together they wage war on the bulldozers sent to bury their homes, and, ultimately, on the city that wishes that families like them would remain hidden forever.
Elegant, poetic, and vibrant, A People’s History of Heaven takes a clear-eyed look at adversity and geography and dazzles in its depiction of love and female friendship.
TL;DR:A People’s History of Heaven is a beautifully crafted literary debut full of so much heart! With her lyrical prose and vivid descriptions of everyday life, it was as if Mathangi Subramanian reached through the pages of this novel and pulled me right into Heaven itself. This is a story about the strong and proud women that live in Heavenโthe grandmothers, the mothers, and the daughters, who do whatever it takes to survive the hardships of not only living in a slum but being part of an oppressive patriarchal society that was not designed for women and girls to succeed.
Adventure’s in Captain Hudson Millerโs blood. For the past ten years, he’s spent his days in the sky, serving as a pilot for the Army. But where adventure called him away, somethingโsomeoneโelse is calling him home. On post-deployment leave, he escapes to the one place he hasnโt been since he enlisted: Havenbrook, Mississippi. Hometown of his mommaโs peach cobbler, enough memories to last a lifetime, and the only girl who ever left an imprint on his heart.
Mackenna Haven thought she’d have her life figured out by now. Instead, she’s a twenty-seven-year-old college dropout who works at her soon-to-be brother-in-law’s bar and lives on her parents’ land. No husband or kids to her name. Not even a consistent weekend booty call. She’s been pretending she’s happy working dead-end jobs in an even deader-end town, but she can’t stop thinking she was meant for more than this.
After a childhood as best friends and a single weekend exploring more, Mackenna and Hudson haven’t seen each other in ten years. But they made a pact that long ago weekend, and Hudson’s coming to make good on his promise. Except she has no interest in it or him. After all, he walked away from her once already, and she’s not interested in opening her heart and allowing him a second chance at destruction.ย
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