BookWormin'

Small-town, fake-dating, adorable banter 5 stars  Though this is book 2 of the When in Rome series, I did accidentally read this one first. And I have no regrets - this is a five star read! Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and Sarah Adams has pulled it off flawlessly in this small town romance. Annie Walker has a reputation for being the sweetest girl in town. When she’s trying to date and find the love of her life, she learns the flip side of being “sweet” - it can sometimes mean boring. Enter Will Griffin, adventure seeker and bodyguard for her soon-to-be sister-in-law (and her secret crush), who gets roped into helping her practice being her authentic self and rise above her suffocating reputation.  Annie and Will’s interactions are *chef’s kiss*. Will sees Annie for her true bold self, and Annie does the same, recognizing the vulnerability behind Will’s carefree mask. They banter and have such ease around each other that they don’t feel around anyone else and it’s ...

 Thank you to Social Butterfly PR and Emma Hart for sending me an e-ARC of this book to read and review! In the wake of the Bridgerton frenzy, don't we all just want to find a duke to fall in love with?  Ellie is lucky enough to actually live this dream... or at least, the main character in her latest romance novel is. When Ellie can't seem to write her next book she heads out to the English countryside to live in a lodge owned by a duke and his grandmother.  If her male love interest (in the book!) immediately takes on several qualities of said duke, well surely it's just a coincidence.  Until it's not.  And suddenly Ellie has a lot more inspiration. I will say, reading this book is a little bit meta. The main character is an author who is writing a book largely based on her life in the moments as we read them, so she often talks about writing something into her book that we just read written in a book.  While I do enjoy moments like that on occasion, it d...

 Thank you to Social Butterfly PR and Amy Alves for sending me an e-ARC of this book to read and review! I am a huge fan of fake-dating romances, and this one was such a cute read! How unlucky in love do you have to be to get not just one but TWO small towns fully invested in finding you The One? Sawyer is all too-aware of what it takes, thanks to his curse of one bad date after another. Unfortunately he has no way to escape the newest plan the towns of Vaughn and Landry have come up with. Thankfully his best friend’s younger sister, Olivia, is willing to step in as his knight-in-shining armor … or in this case, the ringer in a Bachelorette-style reality show Sawyer will be starring in. But Sawyer and Olivia never could have guessed at the very real chemistry between them. So the question is, does the curse apply to fake dates too? This was such a cute take on the fake-dating trope! I am a sucker for good banter between main characters and Sawyer and Olivia fit the bill. Their ch...

 Thank you to Social Butterfly PR and Erin Nicholas for sending me a copy of this book to read and review!  I am a huge Erin Nicholas fan and was so so excited for the start of this new series, Badges of the Bayou. Another great Erin Nicholas bayou romance!  I love Spencer and Max. They have wonderful chemistry, very open communication, and steal your breath away scenes of both the sweet and spicy varieties 😉 .   Scenes with the Landry family and their typical big-heartedness, an overprotective hero, and the set-up of this new series make this book great, and I can’t wait for more Badges of the Bayou! While it’s not necessary in order to read this book, there is a novella included in a story collection that essentially gives readers the first look at Spencer and Max and their relationship. Not having read it yet, I did feel like I was missing a lot of their wind-up/backstory, but at the same time all of the information is generally covered so we as readers do get a ...

Fake dating, deliciously sweet 4 stars I LOVE a fake dating romance and this one takes the (cup)cake!  Jada is a reality tv star with an attitude and a goal of finding her place in life.  Donovan is a professional football player trying to keep his cupcakery afloat.  When these two collide, sparks fly... and keep flying as Jada and Donovan navigate working together.  Photo from my bookstagram - @bookworminkayla Their banter kept me on the edge of my seat, and I adore when characters who act all prickly to each other start to unconsciously smooth out each other’s rough edges. Jada settles into her role and elevates it beyond her imagining, and Donovan learns to appreciate the people rather than the numbers side of running a business. While the fake dating scheme started as a way to save Jada’s reputation and keep Sugar Blitz in business, these two realize they stand more to gain from it than they ever could have imagined.   The only thing that could have mad...