I decided to get rid of the star ratings from my reviews on here. It was just too much pressure to sum up and compare all books in a simple 1- 5 star category. Instead my hope in these reviews is to introduce you to new titles, provide you with a bit of information about them and their plots and give you my personal thoughts and I hope you can find some titles to add to your reading list. 🙂

If you’ve read my previous reviews, you may have noticed that I tend to read a lot of romantic comedies. Now that’s not to say that’s all I read but if you are looking for recommendations on some good love stories, you’ve definitely come to the right place.

Say You Still Love Me – K.A. Tucker

After I read the Wild Series by this author last month (see this post for that review) I really wanted to read more of her books.

This story is told in alternating timelines – shifting back and forth between present day and a summer 13 years in the past. In doing so, the story of Piper Calloway and Kyle Miller slowly unfolds. She’s a wealthy girl who is sent to summer camp as a counselor to gain some perspective on her otherwise privileged life and ends up falling madly in love with the bad boy. A story you may think you’ve heard 100 times before but you certainly have not heard this one. I loved this story. It’s definitely steamy and a story of first loves and second chances. It also hits topics like family secrets, traumatic mistakes with a touch of women’s empowerment.

My one critique or note is that a lot of the steamy scenes take part in the flashbacks – ie. when the characters are just 16. This made me feel a bit uncomfortable at times so keep that in mind if it might bother you. Overall I really like K.A. Tuckers writing and will be reading more of her books.

Detour to Love – Amanda Radley

This is the first book by Amanda Radley that I have read.  It has received a plethora of praise and great reviews online but for me I just couldn’t get really into this book.  I love a good love story with passion and heat and this book just didn’t have that.  This is an LGBTQ love story which I was excited to read but it is very slow to develop, in fact by the time I had read 90% of it, I didn’t even know if the main characters were even that into each other.  There is also a very large age gap between the two female main characters – which is accentuated by the fact the Celia (the older of the two characters) keeps paying for things which in turn, for most of the book, gave me more of a maternal vibe than a love interest vibe with her.   The character development is great but for me it just wasn’t a passionate enough love story – and I don’t mean that in a steamy way (though it didn’t have that either).  

At First Sight – Hannah Sunderland

“Nell and Charlie feel a spark when they meet by chance in a cafe. But they don’t trade numbers, or surnames, so there’s no way they’ll meet again. But the next day, Nell’s phone rings at work. Somehow, impossibly, Charlie is on the other end. And he needs her help. Nell is about to save a life, fall in love … and risk everything for a perfect stranger.”

I could tell instantly that I liked this writers style and approach to story telling. I thought this book would be a lighthearted rom com but it was so much deeper than that. This book beautifully described first loves, second chances, second loves, and fate while also delving into issues like grief, spousal loss, and suicide. This book is unlike anything I’ve ever read, especially for a love story. When I finished the book I literally uttered the word ‘wow’. It was truly a heart breakingly beautiful story about love. I couldn’t put it down.

Across the Aisle – Stephanie Vance

This story centers around two DC lobbyists – Dallas McGrath and Grant Pierce – who are forced to work together to create a legislative compromise on a bill and issue they both feel passionate about. Neither one is willing or allowed to compromise but that all changes as they get to know each other.

This story is told from the alternating perspectives of both Dallas and Grant which I love as you’re able to see both characters feelings develop but I’ll admit it did take me a bit to get into this book. There is a lot of political jargon and alot of minor characters in the beginning which made it hard to keep it all straight. As I kept reading though the story simplified and I really enjoyed the flirting and chemistry between the two main characters. It’s filled with passion, honesty, misunderstanding, and sacrifice. I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves a classic enemies to lovers style book.

Such a Fun Age – Kiley Reid

I’m sure you’ve heard of this book as it’s been such a popular book since its release and for good reason. This book sums up very briefly as “a young black woman in an upscale grocery store is accused of kidnapping the white toddler whom she babysits” and the book then tackles everything that happens afterwards. This book takes on serious issues like race, white privilege, interracial relationships, racial profiling, wealth, millennial anxiety and white saviourism.

This book lacked the dramatic punch I was expecting (based on the description of the book) but overall I definitely think it is worth a read and maybe even a google afterwards as I learned so much more from reading online discussions and reviews. This is definitely a book to talk about.

The Off Limits Rule – Sarah Adams

This is the first book by Sarah Adams that I have read and I’ll admit I’ve already purchased her other titles because I loved this one so much. If you love an easy to read romantic comedy that’s filled with flirty banter and laughable moments than this book might be for you. Lucy is a single mom who is forced to move in with her brother to get her life back on track. She meets his best friend Cooper and they hit it off but try not to act on their feelings because of their relationships with her brother. I could really relate to Lucy also being a mom and sharing many of the insecurities she has and I just loved the unique take on this love story – Lucy being a mom and Cooper being a romantic lead who doesn’t think twice about that fact.

To Love and To Loathe – Martha Waters

If you’re someone who loves a regency era story and a romantic comedy then this might be a great book for you. I enjoyed a lot of aspects about this story – the two main characters have some intense chemistry and their love to tease relationship was full of flirtatious fun. It’s also a rom-com with a good amount of steam too. I also loved the way this book delved into the topic of marriage and how it can be so many different things to women of that era – whether it grants them freedom, constrains them, whether its done for money or love, or whether its a forced fate or a dream some will never have.

(Spoiler ahead) One aspect of the book that I didn’t love came near the end of the book when one of the main characters is told something in confidence regarding the sexual orientation of another character and very quickly tells the revelation to many of her friends. I really wished this part of the story was changed or left out as sharing this sort of information should never happen or be encouraged. It really made me dislike this character when I was really liking them until then.

Aside from that part, I did enjoy the writing style of this author and the story as a whole.

Tweet Cute – Emma Lord

Everyone’s been raving about this book and they’re right … it’s totally adorable. To sum it up very simply – 2 high school students unknowingly engage in a hilarious twitter war with each other in defence of each of their family businesses. Eventually their identities are revealed to each other and… well you’ll have to read it to see what happens ;). Overall it is a super cute Young Adult contemporary romance that’s super clean (aka no steam) and just so loveable. I’m definitely team #pepperjack.

The Little Orchard on the Lane – Tilly Tennant

This is the first book by Tilly Tennant that I’ve read. The setting of the story was always beautifully described by the author and made it feel as if I too was in the countryside along with the characters. The story is slow paced which I think perfectly mimics the slower paced lifestyle of the country setting. This is a love story but it’s also a story about a girl finding her family, herself and her place in the world. There wasn’t a lot of steam to the love story but I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves a nice, slow, feel good, heart-warming story of family and love.

Have you read any of these books? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

xo,

Rachel

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This post contains affiliate links. Some of the books in this post were gifted by the publishers and Netgalley. All opinions are my own as always. Thank you for supporting my blog.

See previous book reviews here and here.