Review: The Striker - Book #1 Gods of the Game Series - Ana Huang - October 2024 I'll be honest with you Ana Huang and I have had quite the complicated relationship. Her books have been a bit of a mixed bag for me over the years, landing anywhere from absolute favourites to DNFs (did-not-finishes, for those not deep in the bookish rabbit hole). So when I packed my bags for our Readers Retreat in Taupō last week, I finally decided it was time to give The Striker a proper chance. It had been sitting on my shelf since release, quietly judging me every time I walked past. You know that feeling. We've all been there. And oh my goodness  how did it take me this long? I'm so glad I finally cracked the spine on this one, because The Striker completely won me over. At its heart, it's a football romance and when I say football, I do mean soccer, just so we're all on the same page! Our hero, Asher Donovan, is an absolute dreamboat of a soccer champion who has just switched ...

Review: It All Comes Back To You - Melissa Wiesner - August 2023 I'll be honest—I've been in a bit of a romance reading slump lately. After devouring countless meet-cutes and happily-ever-afters, I found myself craving something with more emotional weight. When I stumbled upon Melissa Wiesner's "It All Comes Back to You," the promise of angst and genuine emotion was exactly what I needed to pull me back into the genre. This book immediately reminded me of Cecelia Ahern's "Where Rainbows End" in the best possible way. We first meet Anna at sixteen and Gabriel at eighteen, thrown together for a college project despite being complete opposites. Their unlikely friendship blooms beautifully on the page, and Melissa Wiesner captures that intoxicating feeling of finding your person at exactly the wrong time in life. What follows is a masterclass in second-chance romance spanning nearly two decades. The structure—following Anna and Gabe as they connect, dr...

Review: Watch Your Back - Book #2 Devil's Backbone Series - Tate James - July 2025 After the emotional whiplash that was Dear Reader , I dove headfirst into Book #2 with one burning question: Is Heath alive? I was still reeling from that cliffhanger—literally yelling Nooooooo at my Kindle like a madwoman in my Tauranga lounge. And while I think he’s alive… Tate James has me second-guessing everything. The final pages of this sequel gave me serious We Were Liars vibes—twisty, surreal, and emotionally devastating. I’m still hoping what happened at the end isn’t real. Please, Tate, don’t do us dirty like that! This installment ramps up the tension tenfold. Ashley’s dynamic with the boys continues to evolve—Reverse Harem energy with Carter and Heath, platonic loyalty with Royce, and that messy, emotionally charged connection with her new stepbrother Nate. It’s chaotic, it’s addictive, and it’s exactly the kind of drama I live for. The mystery deepens as the Devil’s Backbone Socie...

Review: Love Unwritten - Book #2 Lakefront Billionaires - Lauren Asher - June 2024 I'm finally catching up on my July 2025 review writing  and I had to close out the month with another Lauren Asher masterpiece. As someone who absolutely devoured the Dreamland Billionaires series, discovering that Lakefront Billionaires had even the tiniest crossover was all the excuse I needed to dive headfirst into this world again. And just like with Dreamland, I'm completely hooked and already counting down the days until Book #3. Let me be honest – at first glance, Love Unwritten is intimidating. These chunky contemporary romances seem to be the trend lately, and while I sometimes worry about pacing, Lauren Asher has this magical ability to make you forget you're reading 400+ pages. Before I knew it, I was completely lost in Rafael and Ellie's story. The setup initially feels familiar – grumpy billionaire single dad meets his son's nanny – but Lauren Asher elevates this trop...

Review: When Gracie Met the Grump - Mariana Zapata - September 2022 For months, this chunky tome had been giving me the stink eye from my bookshelf, practically screaming "Read me!" But I'll admit, I was intimidated. Mariana Zapata has earned her reputation as the undisputed Queen of Slowburn Romance, and her books don't mess around – we're talking 600+ pages of pure, unadulterated tension before our leads even hold hands properly. True to form, When Gracie Met the Grump delivers exactly what Mariana Zapata fans expect: approximately 500 pages of sizzling foreplay, razor-sharp banter, and chemistry so thick you could cut it with a knife, before finally – finally – letting our characters crash together in the last 100 pages. And you know what? It works. Mariana Zapata's writing style is so engaging that the slowburn never feels like a drag. She's mastered the art of making readers desperate for that payoff. This particular story offers a fun twist on the ty...

Review: The Rose Bargain - Book #1 Rose Bargain Duology - Sasha Peyton Smith - February 2025 I'll be honest—when I picked up The Rose Bargain, I was skeptical. As someone who typically steers clear of romantasy and fantasy in general, I expected to struggle through another overwrought magical romance. Instead, Sasha Peyton Smith delivered something unexpectedly engaging that reminded me why I fell in love with dystopian fiction during the mid-2000s boom of series like Divergent and The Chemical Garden. The premise immediately hooked me: an Immortal Queen who once saved King Edward's kingdom, only to usurp his throne and rule with an iron fist for decades. Every year, she offers eighteen-year-olds "Rose Bargains"—the chance to gain something precious in exchange for a devastating sacrifice, whether physical or emotional. It's a brilliantly dark concept that feels fresh despite drawing from familiar fairy tale elements. Our protagonist Ivy wants nothing to do with...

Review: Keep Me In Your Heart - Book #2 Next Generation Lancaster Prep Series - Monica Murphy - December 2024 Y'all, I have a confession: I'm absolutely obsessed with reading entire author backlists, and this year Monica Murphy became my victim of choice. What started as an innocent "let me just catch up on Lancaster Prep" turned into a full-blown binge that had me ordering the latest release faster than you can say "book hangover." Keep Me In Your Heart is giving me all the feels, and honestly? I wasn't prepared for the emotional whiplash of watching Crew and Wren's son navigate love the same chaotic way his parents did. Rowan Lancaster is the perfect blend of his father's "too cool for school" facade and his mother's secretly soft heart – and watching him fumble around his feelings for Arabella had me simultaneously wanting to shake him and hug him. Let's talk about Arabella for a hot second. Girl just wants someone to comp...

Review: Dishonestly Yours - Book #1 The Webs We Weave - Krista and Becca Ritchie - July 2024 It had been a while since I’d picked up a book by the incredible identical twin duo Krista and Becca Ritchie, and diving into Dishonestly Yours reminded me just how addictive their writing can be. This fast-paced, emotionally tangled story kicks off a new series that blends family drama, romantic tension, and a whole lot of con artist chaos. We’re introduced to Phoebe Graves and Hailey Tinrock—two best friends born into rival con artist families, though neither name is real. When a dangerous job goes sideways, Hailey uses their safe word, signaling it’s time to give up the cons and start fresh. Loyal to a fault, Phoebe follows her into hiding in a sleepy Connecticut town. But of course, their pasts aren’t far behind… especially when Hailey’s frustratingly gorgeous older brother, Rocky, crashes their new beginning. Rocky is everything Phoebe shouldn’t want—charming, reckless, and a living re...

Review: If the Sun Never Sets - Book #2 If Love Series - Ana Huang - July 2020 Ana Huang does it again with If the Sun Never Sets , the heart-tugging second installment in the If Love series. Picking up five years after If We Ever Meet Again , this book throws us right back into the whirlwind chemistry between Farrah and Blake — this time in the hustle and bustle of New York City. Farrah has come into her own as a passionate interior designer, but her career is stagnating thanks to a toxic workplace dynamic. When her colleague-slash-competition (who also happens to be sleeping with the boss) nabs the promotion she deserves, Farrah finally snaps — and quits. Enter Landon, Blake’s best friend, who unknowingly sets the wheels of fate back in motion by hiring Farrah to furnish Blake’s home. What neither man realizes is this Farrah is that Farrah — the one Blake left behind in China. Now a successful and more grounded version of the heartbreaker we met in book one, Blake is determined...