Love & Romance

Audiobook: Check & Mate

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by Ali Hazelwood
Read by Karissa Vacker
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Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, talk of sex, and off-page sex. It’s in the Teen section (grades 9+) of the bookstore.

Mallory Greenleaf was once a chess prodigy. Her grandmaster father would take her around to tournaments, and she would play. And win. But then, four years ago, when she was fourteen, she quit. Since then, her father left the family and then died in a car accident, her mother deals with a chronic pain condition, and Mallory has been keeping everything together by working as an auto mechanic. 

Then, her best friend badgers her into playing at a charity tournament, and she inadvertantly beats Nolan Sawyer, the number one player in the world. From there, Mallory gets sucked back into the world of chess, winning a paid fellowship, and she begins winning again. The difference this time? She and Nolan are like magnets. Sometimes repelling each other, but also inexplicably drawn together. 

This one was super fun. I don’t know how it is in Hazelwood’s other books, but she does younger siblings really well. Mallory’s sisters were a lot of fun, and I found myself laughing aloud several times. I liked all the chess stuff (I really enjoyed watching The Queen’s Gambit a couple years ago) and Hazelwood can write tension really well. I like that she’s tackling things like sexism in the chess world, as well as blaming yourself for the mistakes of others, and learning how to let go of having a super strict control on your life. Mallory and Nolan’s relationship was a good one – a lot of push-and-pull, and some great banter, with a really good resolution. 

And Vacker’s narration – she read When In Rome – was absolutely delightful. I do need to listen to her read more books, because I thoroughly enjoy listening to her. 

In short: it was a quick read that was tons of fun to listen to. 

Expiration Dates

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by Rebecca Serle

First sentence: ” The paper is blank save for the name: Jake.” 

Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Release date: March 19, 2024Review copy pilfered off the ARC shelves at the bookstore.

Content: There is some off-page sex, and swearing, including a few f-bombs. It will be in the Romance section of the bookstore. 

Since high school, whenver she meets a new man, she receives a slip of paper with a name and a number on it – the exact amount of time that she will be with the person. Sometimes, it comes before the meeting. Sometimes, a ways after. Either way, when the time on the slip is up, inevitably, there’s a breakup. Then one day, she receives a slip of paper with just a name. No date. Does that mean this is “The One”?

I’m still pretty new to Serle’s way of storytelling, so I don’t know if this is typical for her. I really liked the way the story unfolded, though. It’s got some twists and turns, and is a bit of a love triangle, but not really. It’s exploring the idea of destiny and how we make choices based on expectations and the information we’re presented. I adored the characters, and I thought it was fascinating as Serle presented Daphne’s history with men and with the mysterious papers.

It’s not a typical romance, though it does have a hopeful ending, but I really enjoyed my time with it.

Audiobook: Legends & Lattes

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by Travis Baldree
Read by the author
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Content: There is some violence. It’s in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Viv, an orc barbarian, is tired of being a hired thief-assassin, and so hangs up her sword (somewhat literally) and opens a coffee shop in the town of Thune. She’s starting from scratch: no one in the town has heard of the gnomish drink, and so she and the group of friends she collects once this project starts set out to create a spot. There are problems including a mafia boss to win over and a former companion who is convinced Viv has something extremely valuable. But, mostly, it’s a book about starting over, making friends, finding love, and a good cup of coffee with an excellent pastry.

The subtitle of this book is “A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes” and that pretty much sums it up. Not much happens. Even the problems don’t amount to much. But, it was delightful to listen to. Baldree did an excellent job narrating his book, and I was delighted to listen as they invented iced drinks, cinnamon rolls, biscotti, and chocolate croissants. So, no, nothing happened. But it was incredibly enjoyable anyway.

Audiobook: Stars in Your Eyes

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by Kacen Callender
Read by a full cast
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Release date: October 10, 2023
Content: There is a lot of swearing, drinking, and some off-screen drug use. There is also a couple of on-page sex scenes. The book also deals frankly with sexual abuse and trauma. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Mattie Cole is Hollywood’s Golden Boy, an up-and-coming actor who can’t do any wrong. Logan Gray is a pariah in Hollywood, a child actor with a reputation for being difficult, and a playboy. It’s one thing that they’re cast as romantic leads in a new rom-com, but it becomes more complicated when the are told to pretend to be in a relationship for publicity’s sake.

It sounds like a delightful romance, yes? Except this is Kacen Callender we’re talking about. They don’t write fluff. No, Callender has taken the grumpy/sunshine fake-dating tropes and layered on individuals dealing with their own trauma, which makes things so much more complicated. There are issues of sexual abuse, neglect, shame, accepting one’s true self, consent… and the list goes on.

What you will get in this book is a gut-punch of emotions, and characters you genuinely care about. I also ended up thinking a lot about the way society treats celebrities, and the things that are expected from them to “satisfy” their “fans”. it’s a complex, profound book, that is only masquerading as a romance.

And I loved it so much.

Audiobook: When in Rome

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by Sarah Adams
Read by Karissa Vacker & Andrew Eiden
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Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is some swearing, but mostly mild (I don’t remember any f-bombs), and while there is talk of sex, it happens off-screen. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Amelia Rose is a famous pop star (stage name: Rae Rose) who has fallen out of love with her career. Her relationship with her mom is shot, she’s being overworked, and so on the precipice of a world tour, she takes a page from Audrey Hepburn in “Roman Holiday” and takes off for Rome. Rome, Kentucky that is. She breaks down on the lawn of local baker Noah Walker, who’s recovering from his own heartbreak – his fiance, who dragged him to New York and cheated on him – and doesn’t want anything to do with women ever again.

Of course, there’s chemistry. But there’s also a quirky small town, Noah’s delightful sisters, and Amelia finding herself again.

It’s a delightful take on the grumpy-sunshine trope, one that is done especially well on audio. Both narrators are fantastic, and capture the essence of the characters as well as making the people in the town around them come alive. It’s charming and fun, and I just had a smile on my face the whole time.

So, of course, I’m going to listen to the next in the series.

Audiobook: Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up

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by Alexandra Potter
Read by Sally Phillips
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Content: If you can’t tell from the title, it is a very sweary book. Like, super sweary. There is some off-screen sex as well. It’s in the Adult Fiction section of the bookstore.

Nell’s just moved back to London after years in America because her five-year relationship with her American fiance fell apart. She’s forty-something, unmarried, without children, and by all measures, failing at life. All her friends are married with kids, have husbands who have successful jobs, and homes, and… Nell just moved into a flatshare and is writing obituaries and trying to get a podcast off the ground. But, over the course of the book, as she examines her life and her expectations, she finds that maybe she’s not such a hot mess after all.

I have this work friend (her name is Melissa, too; we call ourselves The Melissas) who has excellent taste in books. If she says it’s good, I know I’ll probably like it. She listened to this one a month back, and I finally got around to listening to it myself. And (of course) she’s right: it’s not only a lot of fun and quite funny to listen to, but it’s also sweet and touching and a good reminder that yes, every woman feels like an eff-up, and like everyone else has everything together. That, and social media really has warped our sense of what is real. It’s a lovely story of friendship and starting over and making peace with where you are in life. The narrator is just delightful (and does an amazing American accent), which made the book that much more enjoyable.

So, yeah, listen to Melissa: this is a good one.

Audiobook: Fourth Wing

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by Rebecca Yarros
Read by Rebecca Soler & Teddy Hamilton
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Content: It’s super sweary, super violent, and lots of on-screen sexytimes. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Violet Sorrengail was supposed to be a scribe. But then her father passed away and her mother – who is the general in charge of the flight battle school – has different plans for her. Violet – frail, sickly Violet – is given no choice: she has to join the battle school. The place where you either graduate or die. The book takes place over the first year, as Violet learns to navigate the cruelties of the school, makes – and loses – friends, and finds an unreasonable attraction to the son of an executed rebel leader, Xaden Riorson.

My first reaction when listening to this? It’s not objectively a good book. Like, the writing is not great. But, it’s a lot of fun. I think it helped that Soler was slightly unhinged reading the book. She was chewing through scenery, which honestly, is what this book needed. It’s not a book to be taken seriously at all. That said, Yarros is a good storyteller. There was a lot of action, the battle scenes were pretty intense, and there were some nice surprises as well. I will probably read the second book in the series, just to see where it goes.

So, do I respect this book? No. Will I recommend it? Depends on the person. Do I understand why it’s the Big Thing that it is? Oh yeah. I get it now.

Audiobook: Business or Pleasure

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by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Read by Hathaway Lee
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Content: Oh, there’s sooo much in here. All the f-bombs, all the on-page sex. Very, very spicy. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Chandler is a ghostwriter who is unhappy with her life. So when she meets a guy in a bar after a failed book signing (the author she wrote the book for didn’t even recognize Chandler’s name), she has a one-night stand with him. However, it’s the worst sex she’s ever had. (Or at least had in a long time.) So, when she gets a gig ghostwriting for the C-list actor Finn Walsh, she’s shocked (and a bit embarrassed) that he’s the guy she just slept with. She agrees to take the job, and as they travel from con to con (he’s best known for playing a science nerd on a werewolf show) they get to know each other, and the truth comes out: he’s terrible in bed. He’s a unicorn of a man and wants to know how to get better, so Chandler agrees to give him detailed sex lessons. Practical experience. The problem is: how can she keep her heart out of it?

Oh, this one made me blush! I kept hitting the very detailed, quite graphic sex scenes while at the gym (I’m blushing because I’m exercising, really!). But, honestly? It’s a fun book. It’s super sex-positive, and Chandler stresses in her lessons that communication between partners is vital to having a good experience. I kind of felt like I should be taking notes! But, beyond that, I enjoyed the relationship between Chandler and Finn, and how they pushed each other to become better and more confident people. So, yeah: super spicy, and probably not for everyone. But ultimately, I quite enjoyed it.

The Unhoneymooners

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by Christina Lauren
First sentence: “In the calm before the storm – in this case, the blessed quiet before the bridal suite is overrun by the wedding party – my twin sister stares critically down at a freshly painted shell-pink fingernail and says, ‘I bet you’re relieved I’m not a bridezilla.'”
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Content: There is swearing, including multiple uses of the f-bomb, and an on-screen sex scene. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Olive Torres is sure of one thing: she’s unlucky. Her twin sister is the glamorous one, the successful one, the one who is about to get married to the man of her dreams. And Olive? She just lost her job, she has no luck in dating, and perhaps worst of all: she’s stuck in a florescent green bridesmaid’s dress. So, when everyone at her sister’s wedding gets food poisoning from the buffet, she’s encouraged to go on the non-refundable, non-transferable honeymoon by her sister. The catch: the best man, Ethan, whom Olive despises, has to go too. Determined to make the most of a vacation to Maui, even if it’s with someone she hates (and who hates her), Olive agrees. The thing is: the reality is sometimes vastly different from the perception.

Ah, your classic enemies-to-lovers trope (mixed up with fake marriage – they’re on their “honeymoon” after all – and only one bed) with two people who just loathe each other learning to actually get past perceptions and miscommunications and, well, fall in love. It’s a classic for a reason. I enjoyed the push and pull between Olive and Ethan, and thought their ups and downs were very realistic. I liked the chemistry they had, and the way Olive had to learn to trust herself, and not just fall back on the excuse that she’s “unlucky”. The only thing I wasn’t thrilled with was the fact that Christina Lauren is the pen name of two white women, but Olive and her family are most definitely Latinx. Not a god look, that. Even so, it was a fun little read.

Audiobook: The Dead Romantics

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by Ashley Poston
Read by Eileen Stevens
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Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is death, swearing (including multiple f-bombs), and on-screen sex. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Florence Day has two secrets: she is the ghostwriter for popular romance author Anne Nichols, and she can see ghosts. She also ended a long-term relationship (when he stole her ghost memories and turned them into a best-selling novel) and her father suddenly dies, so she finds herself in her hometown for the first time in 10 years.

So, imagine her surprise when her editor – who she was pretty sure was alive in New York when she left – turns up as a ghost on the doorsteps of her family’s funeral home.

I’ve had this one on my radar since it came out, and a couple of co-workers loved it, but it became more urgent that I read it once I finished The Seven-Year Slip. And, while I don’t think it was as good as that one, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

I like how Poston weaves in deeper themes than the meet-cute and falling-in-love you get in a typical romance. (She does have that, though. It’s just a bonus!) Florence is dealing with the betrayal by her ex, and the feelings of failure and inability to finish the romance she’s supposed to be writing. She’s dealing with the grief of losing her father, and coming to terms with her siblings who are angry that she abandoned the family. She is also falling in love with a ghost, which ha the potential to be really weird, but actually works, and works well.

The best thing about this one, though, is the narrator. She is fabulous. It kept me entertained and pulled into the story, and I loved listening to it. I think The Seven-Year Slip is the better book, but this one is a lot of fun as well.