Where I Left Off

Reading Recap 4 - Lyla Sage, Peyton Corinne, Jamie Wesley, and more!

• Kristen Bahls • Season 2 • Episode 48

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 @Soarinwithsarah and @Makslibrary

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For links to the books discussed in this episode, click the link here to take you to the Google Doc to view the list.

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Speaker 1:

welcome back. I'm krista balls and you are listening to where I left off a bookish podcast, and today I am sharing a reading recap of what I have read lately. I have not done one of these in absolutely forever and I am skipping over a lot of books, so I just had to pick some. And the reason that also it has taken me forever, uh, to make one of these is because, a, I've had a lot of amazing authors on and I am going to continue to have a lot of amazing authors on, but b is because, um, I just wanted to make this so formal and like write out my whole little like blurbs that I make for every single book, and I decided that I'm just going to record it. So this one's gonna be a little bit more casual, like the first couple I had already written. So they're still gonna be their normal format. But the back half of the books I was like I just want to talk to you about books that I enjoy. So here you go, you are getting that I enjoy. So here you go, you are getting that today. So it's a little bit more kind of off the cuff, but I really did love a lot of these books I'm talking to you about them. A lot of them I had as arcs and they are already out now, which tells you how behind I am. So, anyway, before I get into that, I have to tell you a random, super random story that actually kind of has nothing to do with books. Oh, actually, okay, before I get into that, I almost forgot to say I'm like I was not looking at my outline and then I looked at my outline, so I need to touch on this before I get into my random, weird story. Okay, so I did want to say that I have actually been reading a lot of fantasy lately, but today I'm going to talk to you about none of that.

Speaker 1:

Um, and this episode is completely all romance just before we get started. So you know, this is all romance, we're all all romance. You know, at some point you might get some other genres from me and, to be fair, a lot of the author interviews I've had lately have been more of a mix of different genres. So there, there you go. There's where you're getting it. I am going back to my roots, as requested from listeners, you and I am giving you some more romance. So, yeah, this is literally this is all going to be romance. Some is YA, some is kind of new adult and then most is like contemporary adult romance. So you have a mix. So anyway it's romance. You should not be shocked, coming from me. I'm back in my roots. I wanted to do all romance.

Speaker 1:

This is an insert, uh, from editing Kristen I you know. So I was listening to the story that I had here. Originally it was random and it wasn't very entertaining. So I decided to take this time to tell you some of the awesome books that are on my TBR that I can't wait to get to. And, you know, maybe you'll find a new book. This way, I'm going to kind of like give you a really rough, just kind of not really a synopsis, but just kind of tell you slightly what they're about. But anyway, this is what is currently on my TBR. So if you're wondering, how do I get TBR recommendations, some of it is definitely like what looks good on Instagram. Others are author recommendations whenever they come on the podcast, or author friends that give me recs, and then friends or bookstagrammers that I trust, so you know, or just seeing books that come out, reading the blurb and liking them. So that's kind of what. What's here, but a lot of these. I think almost all of these are actually indie books, and I really like reading indie books a lot, so I constantly do that. I'm always looking for new authors and I try to constantly just like try a bunch of new authors all the time. So that is what I'm doing now. Okay, this is what is on my tbr.

Speaker 1:

Book one on my tbr. This is romance. It is called fortunate misfortune and it is by Mia Oncha, and this is book one in the clear lake series and it's she is a soccer player and he is a former nationally ranked swimmer. That's all I know about about that, but sounds good. So that that is romance number one. Then we have hold on. Let me look it up on Goodreads, because it really helps me to see the covers.

Speaker 1:

I have most of these just hanging out on my Kindle waiting for me. Here we go. I have most of these just hanging out on my Kindle waiting for me. Here we go, chasing Headlines by J Rose Black, and this is a baseball book. I've been trying to find more baseball. I feel like I've been reading like only hockey, and so I'm trying to branch out to other sports. Here I am. This is in the Chasing Victory series and it is book one Again. It's called Ch headlines by j rose black, and there's a texas school in here. He's the baseball player.

Speaker 1:

Texas school what is she? Okay, so it's set here. I'm just gonna read a little bit of it. Uh, they're chasing the same dream. Too bad, they're not on the same team. When breslin Cooper's major league dreams go up in flames, he's left with his backup plan college baseball at Texas State Tech in Vancouver, texas. I don't know if that's actually a real place or not.

Speaker 1:

Okay, let's see. What is she? Her family name is synonymous with baseball. Why do we know? Ah, she wants to be a baseball scout. Interesting, interesting, so, okay, okay, so she ends up. So she's a reporter, it looks like at this Texas state state tech school, and interesting, anyway, he doesn't want to help her out. So, baseball romance seems like she's a reporter.

Speaker 1:

I'm in for it. Sounds great, honestly, sounds great. I know I said I was trying not to go with as much hockey, but uh, oops. So this next one is hockey. I am researching for a hockey romance episode, like I say at some point, and um, yeah it. You know, I'm trying to know, I'm trying to find some. I'm trying to find some that my friend has not read and she has read every single one. Um, it seems like of hockey. So I am branching out and this cover looked really cute and it sounded good and I'm trying to find it now. Okay, stick it to me.

Speaker 1:

And this is by marion de ray, and, okay, you're opening, but, like, can you tell me? Here we go. Okay, um, he, he's in the nhl what position, I don't know. And oh, they've been friends. Oh, that's why I like this one, because it was friends to lovers, childhood friends, lovers, they've been friends, ooh, that's why I like this one, because it was friends to lovers, childhood friends to lovers. They've been friends since sixth grade. And oh, she's the coach's daughter. Yep, yep, okay Now. And oh, and it's closed door. Okay, cool, so, okay, this is, it's called. Stick it To Me. And again, all these will be linked down below.

Speaker 1:

So, and I'm like falling back in love with my own tbr, there you go, um, anyway, next up, I have two more, three more, just kidding, I have three more. And this one, um, up next, this is Harriet's book and I think, like I've said and other things, I can't even remember where I've said it now? Have I said on Instagram? Have I said it on the podcast? I don't know, but this is the trouble with love and coaches, and he is like a marathon trainer and she is trying to do this like ultra marathon, um, in honor of, I believe, her mother, and so that's why she is like determined to do this. Wait, I said marathon. Is it like a triathlon? Hold on, let let me look this up. I don't want to tell you the wrong thing on Harry and his book. Uh, but anyway, I this is book two. I've read the trouble with love and ink and this is the trouble with love and coaches and I cannot wait to read this. It is on my tbr stack and I do have a physical copy that I can't wait to get into. This is in the trouble series. Like I said, this is book. Let me tell you the right thing Iron man. She's trying to finish an Iron man. Okay, so more intense than a marathon by a lot. Oh, 140.6 miles of swimming, cycling and running, yeah, oh no, but anyway, she's pretty sure that she's cursed and His he's, like you know, marathon trainer and I guess his formal, his rival, is her former coach and when she, her coach drops her, she needs a new one. He ends up taking her on her roster and everything happens from there. And so, anyway, I am looking forward to this one.

Speaker 1:

Love Harriet's books, Can't wait to read it, must savor it, do not want to just like fly through it for the sake of flying through it. So that's why I haven't read it yet. I think it came out in April. I pre-ordered it, I purchased it right when it was out, but I've been saving it until I have time. So I I want to read it and like really enjoy it, because you know I have to wait for the next Harriet book. So like I have time. So I want to read it and like really enjoy it, because you know I have to wait for the next Harriet book. So like, because I'm now I will, after I read this one, I'll be caught up on her backlist. So you know that's how that goes.

Speaker 1:

Okay, then we have tied together and this is by Bailey Jane, and hold on, I know the second book. I bought both. So I I went to one of the events that she was going to be at just to get these books because they looked really cute. And, um, I already have book two, and book two in that series, which just came out, is hockey related. So I really want to read that. But I'm starting from the beginning and I do have the special edition version with like bow sprayed edges, so, okay, that's a duology, so the duology is actually complete.

Speaker 1:

Then interesting, okay, so this is tied together. It's the Cade siblings book one, and again tied together by Bailey Jane and let's see the synopsis on this. Oh, it's in Paris, it's in Paris, okay. Okay, she broke up with her boyfriend and she's sworn off men and she's working at a magazine interesting, and oh, he is her co-worker. He's her co-worker, okay, and he's one. Oh, he's a top magazine editor, okay, at the same magazine. So we have forced proximity and looks like friends to lovers, kind of Cool. This one looks really good, anyway. So that is book one tied together and then, of course, after that best for last, is book two, and it is hockey. So I really want to read book two and I can't wait to read book one, so that one's on there.

Speaker 1:

And then also, okay, um, I have given you like a million romances. This one is not strictly romance, but I I'm almost positive it has like a romance subplot of sorts. Um, so there is romance in it. Hold on, I don't want to get this wrong either. So I am literally I'm googling them, even though I know, like I know, but I I don't know. I just want to make sure that I'm not, I'm not wrong.

Speaker 1:

So this one is book one in a series and it's called the Feminina series, and this is the Infinite Infinite by MK Williams. It is also on my TBR. Cannot wait to read it, okay. Okay, so she is kidnapped. This is a sci-fi, um, sci-fi thriller, and it does have some romance in it. Okay, it says that, basically, she gets kidnapped across the multiverse and has to navigate her way home, and she thinks that her boyfriend may be a murderer ooh, a murderer with access to the most powerful invention in human history. So that sounds really interesting. Obviously, I'm going to read it. I have a physical copy of this one as well, of the Infinite Infinite, but this one does have an audiobook, so there are multiple options to consume this one. So, yeah, it's branching out a little bit. I am. And, yeah, that is the Infinite Infinite by MK Williams and that is book one in the Feminina series, and that is what's on my TBR. Like up up tip top right now.

Speaker 1:

Um, those are some of the indie authors books that I cannot wait to read again. I love that you can just find one for every mood that you have. And oh, I forgot, uh, for a thriller. I also am going to be reading Liar Land sometime soon and shout out to Sarah for giving me that rec. I'd already seen it on Madison Rupp's Instagram page and it looked really good because it's a thriller and I believe it's a YA thriller, if I am not mistaken, but it's a thriller in a theme park, thriller in a theme park. I never knew I loved a thriller in a theme park, but I do, and so this again is called a liar land by Madison Rupp, and book two, I believe, just came out and Sarah said that that was great as well. So again, thanks to Sarah for the recommendation.

Speaker 1:

I trust her recommendations, I trust Max recommendations and also, um, I will put. If I ever shout someone out, I will put. If I ever shout someone out, I will put their Instagram handle in the show notes. So if you would like to also follow them and take their book recommendations, then, yeah, find them in the show notes. Again, all these books will also be linked where In the show notes. So if you want to check any of them out and read them, tell me what you thought, let me know. Yeah, so okay, now we will get on to the actual reading recap.

Speaker 1:

That was a really long aside. You tell that I am procrastinating working on my book. I am almost in the final stages that I was going to say it's terrifying and exhilarating, but I haven't gotten to the exhilarating part yet. I'm waiting for this to get fun. Exhilarating, but I haven't gotten to the exhilarating part yet. I'm waiting for this to get fun. I'm not there yet. I loved the writing part. That was fun. I loved the talking with other authors part. That was fun. The beta reader part was starting to get less fun because then I had to start changing stuff and now, after all the rounds of edits, thank you to my editor for being so nice and giving me really good feedback.

Speaker 1:

But I am not a fan of editing and I think that there are two types of authors some that really like the writing stage and some that really like the editing stage. And I love the like initial writing, drafting stage where literally anything goes, and I am not loving the editing stage, but hopefully, on book two in this series, I will get the hang of it and I'll feel better and I'll like it better and I won't be on such a tight deadline. But anyway, yeah, I am, I am procrastinating some things that I need to do that I will obviously get done after I record this episode, um, as if I didn't already have other podcast episodes to record, but you get me just me for like a whole episode, anyway, um, yeah, it'll be out in August. I'll let you know when it comes out. I'll be annoying, I'll be very annoying when my book comes out, but I am, I'm tired right now and I don't want to think about it and I just want to talk about other people's books that I really, really liked. So I'm about to get into the books. Just remember, I do put chapter markers so you can skip around if there are specific books that you want me to, that you want to hear about or don't want to hear about.

Speaker 1:

I have all of the contemporary romance up top, at the top of the episode, and then later on I have YA. But if you don't read YA, I kind of think you're missing out. I kind of think you're missing out, especially with these books because all of them are so good and they have so much depth. So I'm just letting you know. But I organized it that way because I know some people don't like to read YA romance. But my question to that is why, like, a good romance book is a good romance book is a good romance book, you know? First up we have Wild and Wrangled by Lila Sage, and this is the fourth book in it's technically called the Rebel Blue Ranch series, but I just like to call it the Rebel Blue series because that just kind of sounds cooler. Also, I would like to say that I don't like cowboy romance but I love Lila Sage.

Speaker 1:

Cowboy romance is not my thing and I've talked to other people who are in basically Southern states like Texas, oklahoma, any kind of Arkansas, like anywhere in that general range. We're all like eh, you know, the chances that we could actually run into a cowboy are not, like, are pretty great, and we're all just kind of like eh, cowboy romance not for me. But I have not forced, but I have lovingly tried to influence them to read Cowboy Romance and start with Lila Sage, and everyone who has read it has thanked me. So I am giving you this information now. Even if you don't like Cowboy Romance, I really do think you will like Lila Sage.

Speaker 1:

I am so not interested in anything cowboy related, but I loved these books, I loved the series and I devoured them and I finished them super quick, and this series is also based on Friday Night Lights. So I feel like it's definitely more about, like the found family and, yes, they're cowboys, they're on a ranch, they are working on stuff. You're going to get some of that in the book, but I don't know Like it. Just it didn't read super cowboy, even though it is pretty Western, didn't read cowboy. For me it just read like an amazing book with really great writing and great romances. So, and found family and humor. So anyway, I really loved it. But it is technically pretty Western. They are on this ranch, they all pretty much work on it in some different capacity throughout the series.

Speaker 1:

And I will also say that one thing that I do that probably annoys a lot of people, but I don't care, because we can all read how we want to read is that I will read a series out of order, and so with this series, I started with book three, lost and Lassoed, which is my favorite book in the series. Wow, wow, enemies to Lovers done so right. Gus and Teddy. This is like one of the few times where I would say in contemporary romance we actually kind of get Enemies to Lovers. I would say that this is pretty close. The entire previous books, gus and Teddy have just been at each other's throats.

Speaker 1:

And then you get into Lost and Lassoed and it's just, it's so good and she has to be the nanny. He has no other options. He does not want her in his home, but she has to be there anyway. And this is just like forced proximity at its finest. I love forced proximity. I love enemies to lovers. That's what this was. It was amazing and it had so much depth, had so much heart. I was just.

Speaker 1:

I fell in love with the series by reading Lost and Lassoed first. Then I went back and I read um Done and Dusted and Swift and Saddled, and then I read an arc of Wild and Wrangled. So I would like to put that out there, that I read the series out of order and it did not affect my enjoyment level in any way, shape or form. It is really that good. I will say that Dawn of Dust, the first book, is probably my least favorite in the series. It's not bad by any means, it's just I don't know. There's something about the others and maybe it's because I am just getting to know the characters in the first book and by the other books I feel like I know them better. So I don't know. It really could be that. So if you also have only read Dawn and Dusted, I would recommend continuing the series, um, just because it is so, so good.

Speaker 1:

So now, now I'm going to talk about Wild and Wrangled, book four. So this is Open Door. Um, it's, it's a little bit on the spicier side, but it is a pretty slow burn. So the actual percentage of spice is probably not, uh, not really that heavy like in the scheme of things. But I would say, you know, I feel like a lot of authors have gotten spicier lately, so it's hard for me to even like quantify this on the spice scale. Um, I mean, like these books are are relatively spicy. I would say that they're relatively spicy. If you're okay with hockey romance, you're fine with these. They're not quite at the level of a hockey romance book, but they're probably about as spicy as a normal sports romance or a little bit spicier than a typical kind of Berkeley romance. And by Berkeley romance I generally mean I generally mean like Ali Hazelwood, alexa Martin, and when I say Ali Hazelwood I mean like her original, that STEM trilogy of like the love hypothesis, love theoretically, love on the brain.

Speaker 1:

I just said those out of order, not not some of her more recent books that are substantially spicier, but kind of like your general, like Berkeley romance. I'm trying to think who else would fall under that. I am now blanking. Oh yeah, kind of like BK Morrison, jessica Joyce, you know, like, kind of like that, like it's just a little bit spicier than that is how I would describe, describe that, uh, describe Lila's books, but who? They're really good, um, they're are open door, as I just said, with this whole thing. Uh, obviously this is contemporary romance and I loved it, if I have not said that already. I mean, what a way to end the series. So this is the last book, like I said for Rebel Blue, but Lila is working on soul searching and that book, she said, was like a western ghost whisperer and it'll be out in September, so that, like you will get another Lila Sage book pretty soon, pretty soon. Um, I did meet her for the signing and she was super kind, super funny and very humble, so obviously I'm going to be buying all of her books forever and ever and ever more. Yeah, uh, yeah, that's just that's how it is, and I was sucked into the series completely. This book was fantastic.

Speaker 1:

So, anyway, here is like my little plot synopsis. Dusty and Cam were high school sweethearts and things didn't work out. Dusty has been yearning for Cam ever since she's getting married and after an incident on her wedding day she finds herself heartbroken in the devil's boot and dusty that's the like local bar and dusty keeps her company. Can they reconcile the issues from their past and find a future in each other? Read to find out. So I also forgot to say that this was second chance. This is second chance. This is forced proximity. Yeah, that I'm pretty sure. That's all the tropes I can think of.

Speaker 1:

And the whole wedding thing happens within like first 50 pages. So that's really not a spoiler because it happens right away. But the book actually has flashback chapters to their relationship in high school. So you get like their current day and then you get the flashbacks of when they were dating in high school originally and then, of course, everything kind of collides as you find out why, like what happened to them before, why it didn't work out and why they are both still obviously very infatuated with each other. And I really enjoyed the flashbacks. I don't always enjoy flashbacks. Sometimes it drives me crazy and it annoys me, but in this book it was done really well and I thought they were interesting and it was really cool to see some of the characters in high school, so I liked that.

Speaker 1:

Also, just letting you know, there is a bonus epilogue at the end of this book for Emmy's Wedding Day, and I think it's only in some editions. I don't know that it's in every edition, so I'm going to need you to Google it if you don't end up seeing it. It brought me to tears, like tears, tears on tears, and I can't tell you why, but it's really really good. And also, I just love Lila's writing style. I feel like I was reading this book and when I read Lost and Lassoed, there were so many times where I was just like yeah, that's great, I love that writing. That's a really good line. Gonna need to annotate that. Gonna need to highlight that it is really really good.

Speaker 1:

So if you have not read the Rebel Blue series or if you said I don't know, cowboys are not for me, you know what. Give it a shot. Like, seriously, give it a shot. I got the first book, lost and Lassoed. Well, I got book three, the first book that I read, lost and Lassoed at the library and I'm glad that I did and decided to give it a try. So if you're not sure, go to your local library, use a Spotify or Audible credit, get the audio book. I don't know, try it out. I would highly recommend Wild and Wrinkled by Lila Sage Next up.

Speaker 1:

What would a podcast episode be here if I did not have Catherine Sinter? This is the Love Haters by Catherine Sinter. This is her latest contemporary romance novel and it is closed door, like all of her books, and I am in the liked it camp and I really wanted to love it. But I'm strictly kind of in the like to camp and you know that Catherine Sinter is one of my favorite authors of all time. So I have read almost all of her backlist. I have one book that I have not read of hers from her backlist and I'm savoring it because I just I don't want to be without Catherine Sinter right now. But anyway, I have met her. I say twice. I have actually met her three times. I was thinking twice, but I met her a third time and I got to talk to her a little bit more because it was kind of more like a chill signing. So that was really awesome and she is just the best and I officially have all of my Catherine Center books signed because she is super nice and has signed all of them and, if you know, she has an extensive backlist. So that is actually kind of an accomplishment.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so before I get into the book, I'm going to give you kind of a little synopsis. So I would say trigger warnings for an eating disorder and intense natural disaster. So those trigger warnings before I go in. Okay, here's the plot synopsis that I made.

Speaker 1:

Katie works at a video production company and decides to take a job on location in Key West to film a promotional video for the US National Guard. The only problem is she can't swim and is terrified of wearing a swimsuit. She packs her camera bag and all her trepidations and heads to Key West. She gets the chance to shadow Hutch, a rescue swimmer, to Key West. She gets the chance to shadow Hutch, a rescue swimmer who seems perfect on the outside but is labeled a certified love hater by his brother, who is also her boss. After hours spent together, will Hutch retire his love hater title.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so things that I loved about this book. I really loved the overall message of body positivity throughout. Katie does not, like I said, she is terrified to wear a swimsuit. This is not her starting out going like I just love myself. That is. That is not what we're going here for. This is the book, is a journey. The book is a journey for her realizing that she can love herself and she can love her body, even if it is not perfect. So that is a main standout plot point in this novel. So if you needed to hear that and she has previously had an eating disorder after I'm not going to spoil it, but a very interesting, sad thing that happened to her in her life that made her spiral a little bit. So now she's really trying to kind of reconcile with her body and that hurdle just happens to be in the form of her putting on the swimsuit and learning how to swim for the promotional video. So she does not get fired from her job because of course they're making cuts. So that was great.

Speaker 1:

And the scenes with Beanie. Beanie is her friend which very interesting name. But Beanie itanie is her friend which very interesting name. But Beanie, it always made me laugh, like I laughed a lot throughout their scenes and I really enjoyed their banter a lot. Um, but for me, like, the book was really good, but there was just something missing and I don't I don't know, I can't put my finger on it and it was not a bad book by any means, and I've heard a lot of people that love it. So if you like, if this sounds like your kind of book, give it a try.

Speaker 1:

For sure I love Catherine Center, you know this, but I, I don't know like it. Just it never picked up for me and I don't quite know why. And I think what I have kind of narrowed it down to is that I, I'm pretty sure I struggled to just connect with Katie and Hutch the way that I normally do with really any of Cinder's characters. To be honest, this is framed as a self-love story over a love story. That's how she describes it. So I think that that's, that's the important thing to keep in mind, and I think that those topics were really great to hear.

Speaker 1:

But for me it just kind of slightly overshadowed the romance and the banter that I'm used to with her books, because this wasn't like it. It was a story with love, but it was more about self-love than it was the love between the two characters. So for me there wasn't as much banter because, you know, katie was trying to figure things out for herself first, so it just never really fully picked up for me, even with some of the intense scenes and as always I enjoy Catherine Stetcher's writing style and there were still points where I was like, oh, that's good, that's good, but I just, I don't know, like I wasn't completely invested to the story, which is really funny because I thought that I would relate to Katie the most because she is in Dallas, she is a video producer and I I don't. I really thought that I would just completely relate to it, but I don't know, it fell slightly flat for me, but not not much. So I would definitely suggest, I would definitely suggest giving this book a try, but for me it was more on a liked it than loved it. But again, still a really good, really solid Catherine Center book.

Speaker 1:

But I think that for me the rom comers, the bodyguard or things you save in a fire rank a little bit higher up on my Catherine Center rating scale, but I mean true, with Catherine's. All of Catherine's books, like none of them are a bad time. You know, she makes all of her books so completely different and so unique that I never feel like I have a bad time reading a Catherine Sinter read. It's just some I like more than others and I think that this one was kind of middle of the road. I didn't like it quite as much as I've liked some of her other releases, but it was still a really good book. So you know, maybe I'm just too invested in Catherine Sinter. I don't know. I don't know. I've read all of them. So if you've never read one of her books before, the love haters may definitely be for you, if the plot sounds interesting.

Speaker 1:

Up next, I don't know that I've talked about the series on the podcast and that really concerns me because I absolutely love it. I I did kind of talk about it in the hockey romance episode, or no, sports romance, sorry, sports romance kind of turned into basically hockey romance. I am doing a hockey romance episode in the future with one of my friends that I'm researching a bunch of books for now, but that is. That is besides the point. So hockey romance, that is what this is. I love hockey romance. Fyi, I have even gotten into hockey. I've been watching all playoff hockey all the time. Um, me and my friends did go to like our book club. Our friend group, slash book club, went to a hockey game. It was so much fun. I now have an appreciation for hockey that I never would have found before had I not picked up hockey romance books. So judge me all you want, but I I will read a hockey romance any day of the week.

Speaker 1:

So this is called the undone series by Peyton Corrine and, like I said, I think I talked about it a little bit in the sports romance episode. But I need to bug you about it really quick because, oh my gosh, so okay, rachel Lewis, who wrote yours unexpectedly on her episode, she it, and so I started reading it and wow, wow, it was so, so, so, so, so good. Also, just a quick plug for Yours Unexpectedly, by Rachel Lewis, it's a really good book. I really enjoyed that one as well. So if you want to add that to your like Kindle Unlimited list and or buy a copy, you could totally do that with hers. I liked that one a lot. It is definitely that. One's like the fun palette cleanser that you need after your heart breaks with Peyton Curran's series, because Peyton Curran's series is angsty and I didn't know that I loved angsty romance until I read her books and I do, I do, I do now.

Speaker 1:

So okay, the Undone series, unstudy, was book one. No-transcript. How much she knows Like I love this book. It is so good it's book one. I would say that these you really need to read in order because there are um colliding simultaneous timelines and with book one there are some things that are kind of happening on the side that you find out like that they were happening at the same time and why. And unloved, and I typically don't like anything Groundhog Day, I don't like, you know, hearing the same things over, so I normally don't like overlapping timelines. I think that this is the best overlapping simultaneous timelines that I have ever read, so incredibly well done. The writing is phenomenal.

Speaker 1:

The fact that Unsteady was Peyton's debut and Unloved is her sophomore novel just astounds me. There are going to be more books in this series. She did say that she is releasing Bennett's book next, which it's fine. She is releasing Bennett's book next, which it's fine. It's fine. My friends were really wanting Torrin's book next, but it's okay, I will be happy with Bennett. But yeah, we're. We're still trying to get over that a little bit.

Speaker 1:

But Unloved book two. So with this, basically I think this book is almost 500 pages. I think it's like 450. And there's been this whole trend of romance books being longer and I don't get it because half the time it just makes some like it kills the pacing. This is. This is one of the few books that I think it could have even been longer. I loved the pacing of this. I thought it was really well done. I completely understand why this book is longer, because the amount of character development that happens over the course of Unloved is insane.

Speaker 1:

So there is Ro and there's Freddie. Ro or Rosalie, but she goes by. Ro is Sadie from Unsteady's Best Friend. Ro is the sunshine girl. She's super upbeat, she's super positive, her style is kind of a little bit kitsch, kitschy and cutesy and she wears like butterfly clips in her hair and she's just adorable and pretty and like sunshine reincarnate. Basically, where he's really known for being a player and he has basically internalized that and made himself the life of the party all the time. So you kind of have like sunshine meets sunshine, but of course under the surface they're not all sunshine meets sunshine.

Speaker 1:

Uh, roe has an abusive. So trigger warning for um. It's for verbal abuse. So trigger warning for abuse. But it's for verb for verbal abuse. So trigger warning for abuse.

Speaker 1:

But Ro does have an abusive boyfriend in the beginning and Freddie is failing a class and I believe it's chemistry, and she, she has to tutor him because Ro is one of the tutors that like works at the um, works at the school, it's kind of like her student part-time job. So she ends up tutoring Freddie, who has dyslexia and dysgraphia and I think severe. Now I can't remember if it was ADD or ADHD, but he, he has a lot of issues that get in the way of his learning that he just needs to figure out. You know how to kind of work around, but none of his tutors have ever tried to work, really work through that with him. They are just really rude. And so Freddie has honestly kind of internalized that he is not smart, he is dumb and the only thing he is good for is basically sleeping around and being the golden boy. So he has a lot of trauma packed into him. Same with Roe in her abusive relationship that she obviously has to get out of before her and Freddie can even form a friendship and then eventually switch. So it's literally kind of like strangers to acquaintances, to tutor and friends and then lovers. So it takes a while to get there. So this was more of a slow burn.

Speaker 1:

These, these books are on the spicier side. They are on the spicier side. I think that like L Kennedy is spicier generally and like Elsie Silver is going to be spicier, but these are probably kind of like right under that. They're they're pretty spicy, but again it's like there's so much character development. It honestly kind of makes sense Like if I'm going to have a book that has high spice, I have to have high character development, I have to have a lot of emotional connection and that's what these books have. They work through a lot and there's one point in Unloved where I literally could not stop crying and I had to put the book down. It is so good and it is the best book that I have read this year so far. It's not even really a contest, it's just Unloved. So Unloved by Peyton Corrine.

Speaker 1:

I would highly, highly, highly, highly recommend this book. I absolutely loved it. And if you like the hockey tutor trope but you want a little bit of angst and trauma mixed in, then this is the series for you, and I can't wait to read Bennett's book. Cannot wait to read Bennett's book, okay. If only, though, I could show you like a copy of my book, because I have so many annotations in it. It is insane, like there are so many page flags. It is completely annotated up. Anyway, that just shows you how much I love this book. Loved Unloved, okay.

Speaker 1:

Next up, we have A Legend in the Baking by Jamie Wesley. Okay, this one is open door, and this is contemporary romance, and I'm in between liked it and loved it. I did listen to the audiobook, so I think, if I read the physical book, I would definitely be in loved it territory. And this is the second book in the series, and I, again, I read the series out of order. I have fake it till you bake it, and I haven't read that yet. But I started with a legend of the baking because it was available on my Hoopla. So that is that is why I picked it, and I really needed a good fun, like I hate to say fluffy romance. But these all, like most of these are on the fluffier side, like fluffy with some depth. There we go Fluffy with some nice depth in there, which is what this was. I like listening to romance books when I am working because, I don't know, like something, I've learned that something about an audiobook helps me focus, specifically like a romance audiobook. I don't know why, but I focus so much better at the task at hand, so I tend to listen to something at work, and so this was my like pick of while I was working when I could listen to.

Speaker 1:

So A Legend in the Baking by Jamie Wesley. Basically, what happens is he is in the NFL and on their off season they are more involved with a cupcakeery that they own. It is kind of an ode to their grandmas who were always baking and taught them you know how to bake, and they wanted to kind of do this cupcakeery in their honor, and so they tend to run it whenever they're in the off season, and I mean kind of on the side when they're playing. But, like, this book takes place in the off season. So what happens is the main character he is amazing, he's a great MMC and basically what happens is he's at work one day and these guys come in and they start making fun of just the fact that it's a cupcakeery and the fact that, like these huge NFL players are, you know, working at the cupcakeery and like, isn't this too girly for you, stuff like that? Not the day to say that to him. He goes off on them and he goes off in the sweetest, cutest way, talking about female empowerment and how he would be nothing without his grandma and all this amazing stuff and moms, and you know, anyway, he gives this whole amazing speech that just has everyone in awe of him, every female in the shop just completely in awe of him. And of course, as one does, someone films it on social media and so they capture it.

Speaker 1:

And now he is nicknamed the title called Sugar Bae, and so the sister of one of the owners she just recently had some issues, she's looking for possibly a new position and she is a marketing guru and so she decides to help them kind of with some free marketing and capitalize on the sugar bae thing. And, you know, get him to film and do a bunch of stuff for kind of promotion. And he does not want to do that at all because he does not want any of the spotlight and they actually, it turns out. Um, they were best friends for a while when they were younger. He's a little bit older than her, but she was a little sister of his best friend before they were ever in the NFL, whatever. They were just playing football and like, call it, yeah, they're in college when they, when she meets him, I'm pretty sure. But anyway, so they've been friends for a while and then something happened and then they weren't, and so they're in forced proximity again my favorite, working at the same cupcakeery and they are in close quarters and I will not tell you any more than that there's a social media competition going on. Um, it's really funny, it's really sweet, it it's really good.

Speaker 1:

I enjoyed it a lot and it was honestly just what I needed and I liked how it was fluffy, but it also had a lot of depth in there and a lot of really good like underlying messages. So that's my kind of romance. I would recommend it. I really liked the Legend in the Baking by Jamie Wesley and I also listened to the audiobook and I liked it. But I feel like maybe I would have concentrated a little bit more had I read it with my eyes. So you might want to do that. I don't know. You can decide how you want to digest this book, but I would recommend it. It was really really good Getting into YA. So first up is the Romance Rivalry by Susan Lee, and this book was good. Oh, okay, it was really good.

Speaker 1:

So in the romance rivalry, basically what happens, you have Irene and she has her own like book review page and so she will film, uh, different book reviews and or like kind of take pictures on, basically, a bookstagram. She has a bookstagram. So irene has a bookstagram. She's going off to college this is her freshman year, going off to college for the first time and she is determined to reinvent herself. You start out and you get like her prom and just kind of a whole thing of how much she like basically wants to change her life from the beginning. Then she goes to college and she is determined to reinvent herself. She has an amazing roommate who is hilarious and is going to help her along the way, and then she gets to college. She gets to like her first writing class because she is determined that she wants to be a book editor. And she gets into class and, lo and behold, it is her arch nemesis online who just happens to literally be at the same college and in the same class as her.

Speaker 1:

So they have what's called the romance rivalry. They have to have like a project that they're doing together because of course they again force proximity. You can sense the theme here. They have to work together on a project and as they're working together on a project they kind of come up with a little bit of a contest between them as well and they both post about romance books. But it always seems like he's posting about the books that she has also read and so she kind of feels like he is just a copycat of her and she really is just not too enthused with him. So they end up working together on a project. They have kind of a little competition, a little obviously rivalry going on, and each chapter is also kind of laid out like in the tropes. It kind of tackles different romance tropes, which I thought was really creative and a really unique take on it. I really enjoyed it.

Speaker 1:

Oh, as far as closed door, open door, I would say so technically. I feel like on the technical side of things it's probably technically closed door, but there is one scene that pushes the boundary for me of what I would feel comfortable saying is closed door. So I would say it is. There's one kind of open door scene that I think is I don't know. I feel like it's really on the line between open and closed door. So just know that going in, there is one spicy scene. If you are, you know, giving this book to like a teenager, just know that. Talk to them about it beforehand. Again, it's not, it's just a little bit descriptive and technically the book is closed door, but it's kind of like. There is a scene in there that threw me off a little bit. As far as I don't know, but it is classified as young adult. So clearly the publisher was okay with it to classify it as young adult, same with a lot of the other books. They're okay to put that young adult label on there. So there you go. It is technically young adult, but I'm just letting you know about that scene in case you are nervous or if you read young adult, because you normally read closed door. I've heard a lot of those too. So just kind of giving you a heads up about that scene. But in all technicality it is closed door.

Speaker 1:

I really love this book. I was intrigued really from minute one. I listened to the audiobook of this one and I had already requested it at my library and I just really enjoyed it. I thought it was a fantastic book. The pacing was good, I enjoyed it the whole way through and it was just a really fun, unique read. For me it felt like a unique take. So keep it up.

Speaker 1:

Susan Lee, I'll be reading more of her books. Uh, she does have a little bit of a backlist I need to catch up on. I need to catch up on, like every author's backlist. But two more books to go. This one is Young Adult and this is Safe Harbor by Kay Cinco, and this is in the Scoop series. It's book one.

Speaker 1:

So the Scoop series I had heard about.

Speaker 1:

My friend Mac had told me you gotta read them. You gotta read them. You got to read them and of course, as you know from having Mac on, like, I take all of her recommendations very seriously and I've been wanting to read this book forever. It had been on my TBR but you know how some books you were just dying to read and it's almost like embarrassing how long they stay on your TBR and how much you want to read them but you just never get to them. Get to them. That was this book, and one day I just downloaded it. I re-downloaded it on my kindle and I was like we're just, we're gonna read it, that's what we're gonna do, especially because it's like a very summery series, because they all work at this ice cream shop called scoops so, and it each book in the series details a different couple who works at said ice cream shop. So this is book one.

Speaker 1:

Um, safe harbor it was. It was a total five star book. I loved it Very, very good. Uh, however, just keep in mind it will tear you apart. You're going to need a lot of tissues. I thought it was going to be like a kind of fluffy, happy rom-com and it is very sad. It hits a point that you were not expecting. There are a lot of also kind of underlying things that, while they add depth, they do make it a little bit more on the sad side. But clearly, as you can tell, I loved Unloved by Peyton Corrine, so I am I'm not going to shy away from a slightly sad book and I sobbed at a point in this book that I did not see coming and I literally just kept saying no, no, no, no, no, no, no when it happened. So, anyway, this is safe Harbor Basically.

Speaker 1:

She moves to town and she has been so focused on school and studying and everything and she has a dream to go to Yale. That is her dream, that's her and her dad's dream. So all that she's been doing at her like preppy board school is really preppy board school, preppy private school help is working towards getting the qualifications to be able to get into Yale. So that has been her whole life thus far. She hasn't really put a lot of emphasis on like friends or going out or having fun or anything like that. Her brother, on the other hand, has had some issues with alcohol. Her brother, on the other hand, has had some issues with alcohol so, again, trigger warning for alcohol abuse here. But he has had some issues with alcohol and he has basically been kicked out of school. And so her parents decide to move the entire family and upend her life and move to this town that they used to vacation at when they were little, where, yeah, they're going to be living now kind of at the beach house.

Speaker 1:

So her life is turned upside down. She's grappling with all of that, she's bored and decides that she really wants a summer job and lo and behold, she gets a summer job at Scoops, where a boy that kind of made fun of her the first time she went in to get an ice cream cone is there and he calls her Headband that's her like nickname, and so, anyway and they call him the Sergeant because he is very strict on all the rules. Um, he has had an interesting home life and he is raised by his grandparents and so they both end up working at Scoops and that is all I can tell you from there. But this book has a lot of depth, it has a lot of hearts and it was really good and very entertaining. I cannot wait to continue the series and I would recommend Safe Harbor by Kay Sinko and, if you like, if you've already read Safe Harbor and you've already read the Scoops series and you want something with that same kind of feeling, hold on, I have a book for you.

Speaker 1:

So this is actually New Adult and this is, if I Never Remember, by Megan Williamson. So, okay, with this, there is a love triangle at play and please, please, please, please, do not look up who the character male main character lead is in the next book in this duology, where the black line ends. Do not look up his name, because there is a love triangle in book one and the loser of the love triangle gets his own book in book two. So do not go looking up the mailman characters names of the series. Just download book one on your Kindle, read it all the way through and then they'd go to book two. Don't look at the name, it's going to spoil it for you. So I just wanted to point that out. But oh, and this one, safe Harbor, it's looking like I don't. Ok, so I believe then that means that Safe Harbor is closed door, but if I never remember, remember has one open door scene. So it has one. So it's not very spicy at all, but it does have one what I would classify as an open door scene towards the back half of the book. So just know that Going in. Okay, if I Never Remember.

Speaker 1:

So basically she has amnesia, the female main character has amnesia and basically obviously has no idea what happened. She knows that she had an accident and that's about all her parents will tell her. She is trying to get her life back on track and figure out where she wants to go and what she wants to do, but she's kind of in this like purgatory holding period where she's trying to figure out just how to live her new life, having no idea what has gone on. She doesn't have access to her phone at first. She's trying to heal, trying to piece everything together and no one is really telling her anything. So she's going to have to figure this out all herself. So you do get past timeline chapters of what happened before the accident and ultimately they collide and you find out at the end what happened with the accident, which threw me off. Oh my gosh, I think I guessed it like maybe a little bit closer to, but it it took me a while to get this one. So it man. So anyway.

Speaker 1:

So she has amnesia. She realizes that there is this one boy who her parents won't really let her talk to and she keeps finding herself kind of drawn boy who her parents won't really let her talk to and she keeps finding herself kind of drawn towards him and she doesn't really know why. And then there's this other boy, uh, that they work at the same kind of like restaurant together and he's really sweet and she also kind of feels drawn to him but can't figure out why. Ander, it is a love triangle between the two guys and she actually had picked one of them before her accident. And now everything is different and so she has to decide if she is going to pick the same one after her accident and how her feelings have changed and what has gone on. And this trio, this triangle they have known each other since they were little kids. There is a lot of again, there's a lot of depth, there's some trauma in there as she kind of uncovers what has been happening in her life. And, like I said, the loser of the love triangle will get their own book in the next one.

Speaker 1:

I need to read that. I have it on my Kindle. It is staring me down. I want to start it. So bad.

Speaker 1:

And Megan Williamson is also coming out with an adult romance, contemporary romance book. I think it's called Sound of Summer and that's coming out soon. So I'll definitely be reading that. I love her writing style and she's also just incredibly, incredibly sweet. So I would definitely recommend checking out Megan Williamson's books, especially if you love the feeling and the kind of mood of the Scoop series by Kay Sinko. I would definitely say that you're going to get those same kind of feelings with this book and I really liked Megan Williamson's writing style. I would highly recommend it, and this definitely falls in the loved category. And that is my last book.

Speaker 1:

Those are all the books that I am talking about today. Like I said, all romance, all the time. You're welcome. Eventually maybe I'll talk about other genres, but I don't know. You requested romance, so I gave you romance and I am always reading.

Speaker 1:

I've read a lot of books lately. I'm trying to save a lot of them for some of the upcoming episodes. I'm going to be talking hockey romance specifically with a friend. I romance specifically with a friend. I'm also going to be doing a deep dive with Mac about Watch Me Once. I read that. She's already read it. I'm the slow one here that needs to finish it, and I have some really amazing authors that I kind of can't believe are coming on, coming on in the next couple episodes. So we'll just really coming up honestly in the next couple months and my book will be out before you know it. So a lot of exciting things. I'll keep you updated as much as I can. And yeah, that is. That is all that is going on today, and thank you for listening to when I Left Off a bookish podcast.