Where Fiction and Reality Meet
Title: The Wishing Tree Author: RJ Scott Publisher: Love Lane Books Length: 175 Pages Category: Holiday Romance Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: The Wishing Tree is every bit as heartwarming and blissful as I anticipated it would be, offset by just a bit of conflict to keep my softer emotions firmly in check. Reviewed... Continue Reading →
Titles: Not So Fake, Not So Innocent & Not So Nice Series: The Real Thing: Books One thru Three Author: Emma Lyon Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 157 Pages, 156 Pages, 215 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Ratings: 4 Stars, 3.5 Stars, 3 Stars At a Glance: There are grand romantic declarations and gestures aplenty in the... Continue Reading →
Title: If This Gets Out Authors: Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich Publisher: Wednesday Books/Macmillan Length: 408 Pages Category: Young Adult, Contemporary Rating: 3.5 Stars At a Glance: There's a lot to unpack in If This Gets Out, and I think Dietrich and Gonzales do a darn good job of addressing it all. I liked that... Continue Reading →
Title: Mended with Gold Author: Lee Welch Publisher: Self-Published Length: 126 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 4.5 Stars At a Glance: Mended with Gold is a love story, pure and simple, with two characters whose presence on the page is steeped in yearning, reticence, and emotional scars, and their story is a perfect example of... Continue Reading →
Title: The Cuckoo's Call Author: Lily Morton Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 331 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 4.5 Stars At a Glance: Wren’s backstory gives The Cuckoo's Call its sentimental bite, and I joined Team Wren from the start. Lily Morton delivers his story in true romantic fashion. Not that we’d expect otherwise of this... Continue Reading →
Title: Christmas Mountain Author: Garrett Leigh Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 236 Pages Category: Contemporary Holiday Romance Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: Garrett Leigh writes pining and the hurt/comfort trope so well, and she serves them both up in such lovely portions after what can only be called a winter miracle reunites Rami and Fen.... Continue Reading →
Title: Total Creative Control Series: Creative Types: Book One Authors: Joanna Chambers and Sally Malcolm Publisher: Self-Published Length: 364 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: Total Creative Control is a sweet and angsty love story full of pining and tension, internal and external conflict, and a big romantic epiphany that leads... Continue Reading →
Title: Sol Series: Learning to Love: Book Two Author: Con Riley Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 340 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 4.5 Stars At a Glance: Sol is yet another beautiful addition to this author’s repertoire. It succeeds not with bluster and excess but with a simple longing for stability and family, to find somewhere... Continue Reading →
Title: The Lights on Knockbridge Lane Series: Garnet Run: Book Three Author: Roan Parrish Publisher: Harlequin Length: 288 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance, Holiday Romance Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: The Lights on Knockbridge Lane believes in the miracle of good will and gives readers faith in its happily-ever-after every step of the way. It’s... Continue Reading →
Title: The Charm Offensive Author: Alison Cochrun Publisher: Simon & Schuster Length: 368 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Every single thing these characters said and did during the course of what, to them, seemed like an impossible dream—their own happily ever after—was written with such care and an abundance of... Continue Reading →
Title: For the Love of April French Author: Penny Aimes Publisher: Carina Adores Length: 253 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance, Transgender Romance, Interracial Romance Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: For the Love of April French is composed of so many things: compassion and conflict and insight, and the joys and struggles and sweetness of two... Continue Reading →
Title: Fathers of the Bride Author: Marshall Thornton Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 236 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: This book hits all the right notes—both the highs and the lows—on its way to Miles and Andrew’s romantic reconciliation. From the hostility of warring soon-to-be exes, to the poignance of two... Continue Reading →
Title: You're the One that I Want Author: Simon James Green Publisher: Scholastic Fiction Length: 384 Pages Category: YA Contemporary Romance Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: When all is said and done, this book is a fun and breezy read with a little poignance to keep it from being fluffy. The drama was OTT... Continue Reading →
Title: Seeing Blind Author: Poppy Dale Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 293 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 3.75 Stars At a Glance: Seeing Blind is not without its flaws, but in the end it's a sweet and uplifting and sometimes poignant debut romance. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: Jamie’s world is small. He likes it that way... Continue Reading →
Title: Charles Series: Learning to Love: Book One Author: Con Riley Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 344 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 4.5 Stars At a Glance: I can always trust Con Riley to deliver the most romantic pivotal moments I've ever read, always, and Charles and Hugo do not disappoint. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: Life... Continue Reading →
Title: Playing the Palace Author: Paul Rudnick Publisher: Berkley/Penguin Random House Length: 269 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 4.5 Stars At a Glance: What an absolutely funny, charming, warm and heartfelt lightning-strike of a love story Playing the Palace is. This book will undoubtedly go down as one of my favorite feel-good romances of the... Continue Reading →
Title: Beautifully Unexpected Author: Lily Morton Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 200 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 4.5 Stars At a Glance: Beautifully Unexpected is an opposites-attract romance full of charm and wit and warmth, featuring two thoroughly endearing men who go on to discover they might not be so different after all. If you’re a... Continue Reading →
Title: To Find Him and Love Him Again Series: Tyack & Frayne: Book Ten Author: Harper Fox Publisher: Self-Published Length: 245 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance, Magical Realism Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: To Find Him and Love Him Again is a time- and reality-bending feat of romantic storytelling that left me in tears along... Continue Reading →
Title: His Haven Series: His: Book Three Author: Con Riley Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 322 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Con Riley has a tendency to write characters who are disarmingly charming, characters whose personalities are larger-than-life, and that stands true in this third novel in the His series. His... Continue Reading →
Title: Murder Aforethought Series: Cabrini Law: Book Two Author: Parker St. John Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 274 Pages Category: Murder Mystery, Romantic Suspense Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: While I can't say I strongly recommend the entirety of the Cabrini Law series as a must-read, I can say I was intrigued enough by Murder... Continue Reading →
Title: The Quiet House Series: Black & Blue: Book Two Author: Lily Morton Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 271 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Suspense Rating: 4.5 Stars At a Glance: I do so love a good Gothic ghost story, and The Quiet House is one, filled with chills and menace and horrors galore; don’t for... Continue Reading →
Title: Perfect on Paper Author: Sophie Gonzales Publisher: Wednesday Books Length: 350 Pages Category: Contemporary Teen Romance, Bi Romance Rating: 3.5 Stars At a Glance: While I didn't love this book with quite the level of joy and excitement I did Only Mostly Devastated, it's got its own charms and delivers an important message to... Continue Reading →
Title: Too Close Author: R. Phoenix Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 202 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: Author R. Phoenix offers up a heartfelt story that, in the end, gives her characters the happy beginning they both earn and deserve, and I can’t find a single thing wrong in that. Reviewed... Continue Reading →
Title: Best Laid Plans Series: Garnet Run: Book Two Author: Roan Parrish Publisher: Carina Press Length: 266 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: Best Laid Plans is worth picking up for many reasons. The beautiful writing. The well-crafted, dual POV narrative. The small-town vibe. And the true stars of the story…the... Continue Reading →
The Novel Approach Reviews 