romancingthereader's reviews
1531 reviews

Shattered Innocence by Sara Cate

Go to review page

dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I haven't really paid attention to this series, but I can't turn down a chance to read anything new from Sara Cate. And this was short, sweet and perfectly smutty.

๐Ÿ“• ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: Shattered Innocence by Sara Cate

๐Ÿ“™ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Black Rose Auction character series. Book 5.

๐Ÿ“— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€: E-book ARC on Kindle. ๐Ÿ†“๏ธ on KU.

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฟ๐—ฒ: Fairytale retelling

๐Ÿ“” ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜€: FFM, Cinderella vibes, novella, taboo

๐Ÿ“– ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€: Birdie has been locked away by her step mother, and now she's being sold at auction to the highest bidder. Her step-sister tries to save her by begging the powerful Alaric Stone to intervene.

๐ŸŒŸ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„: Sara Cate books always hit the spot, and this came at the perfect time when I needed something short and perfectly spicy.

I liked the vibe of this book. Darkish, fairytale retelling with these taboo vibes. Very Sara Cate-ish to have it seem like a love triangle when in fact they all are very much into each other. And we all end in one spicy little happy family. 

The pages turn quickly on this one - so I highly recommend it to help reset if you're in a book slump, or for a busy weekend where you don't have time for something too deep. You'll find yourself in love with these ladies - and well, Alaric too :) 

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: 4/5 โญโญโญโญ

๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น: 3.5/5 ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ

๐‘ฐ ๐’“๐’†๐’„๐’†๐’Š๐’—๐’†๐’… ๐’‚๐’ ๐‘จ๐‘น๐‘ช ๐’๐’‡ ๐’•๐’‰๐’Š๐’” ๐’ƒ๐’๐’๐’Œ ๐’Š๐’ ๐’†๐’™๐’„๐’‰๐’‚๐’๐’ˆ๐’† ๐’‡๐’๐’“ ๐’‚๐’ ๐’‰๐’๐’๐’†๐’”๐’• ๐’“๐’†๐’—๐’Š๐’†๐’˜. 
Between the Pines by Amber Palmer

Go to review page

emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I love when a book lives up to the hype... and I had seen this book EVERYWHERE. ARC readers were going crazy, so I dropped everything on my TBR and picked Between the Pines on release day. 

๐Ÿ“• ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: Between the Pines by Amber Palmer

๐Ÿ“™ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Black Springs Ranch character series. Book 1.

๐Ÿ“— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€: E-book on Kindle. ๐Ÿ†“๏ธ on KU

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฟ๐—ฒ: Cowboy romance

๐Ÿ“” ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Second chance, hidden identity, ons, caretaking, he's loved her all along, small town romance.

๐Ÿ“– ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€: Josie escapes Texas only to find a hot grumpy bartender with a heart of gold in a small Tennessee town. But she can't trust her own judgement. A year later, Lincoln shows up on her family ranch to work with her father. But it soon becomes clear he's there to get her back.

๐ŸŒŸ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„: When I tell you the FOMO is real, I mean it. It seems like everyone applied for this ARC and I clearly missed it. And when the rave reviews started rolling in, I knew I had to read it ASAP.

And I motored through it... gobbled up every page like a romance-hungry hippo. It was all gas no brakes, and pure vibes. I loved it.

There's something about a man who pines for a woman and comes after her. I love when the FMC is a mess, and the MMC is just patient and teasing. Linc was the definition of a man written by a woman - sexy bar drinking, adorable two-stepping, and oh lord, the tension. I loved how this book was structured too - Amber Palmer wrote their five-day romantic beginnings so well that when the "1 year later" hit, I audibly gasped.

Loved every single second of this book, and can't wait for more in this universe.

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: 4.5/5 โญโญโญโญโญ 

๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น: 3.5/5 ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ
Till There Was You by Lindsay Hameroff

Go to review page

medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I liked the idea of this book, but didn't love the execution.

๐Ÿ“• ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: Til There Was You by Lindsay Hameroff  

๐Ÿ“™ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Standalone  

๐Ÿ“— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€: E-book on Kindle. ARC courtesy of NetGalley

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฟ๐—ฒ: Contemporary romance

๐Ÿ“” ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Rockstar, music as a love language, second chance.   

๐Ÿ“– ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€: Lexi is an aspiring chef married to her job when she meets Jake, an up-and-coming country singer. One weekend changes their lives, but they lose touch until Jake returns to New York looking to reunite.

๐ŸŒŸ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„: The cover and the synopsis all seemed right up my alley, but the way the plot paced really wasn't my jam.

This was one of those books that was perfectly fine - but when I really thought about it, didn't deliver. The idea of it was great - rockstar heart throb who is reckless and fun, a serious chef who falls hard and fast. But there was a LOT of back-and-forth. It seemed like every kiss or moment was met with a "but we can't work" argument, which was so often I started speeding through them. 

There were pieces that didn't get enough attention - Jake's Broadway aspirations, Lexi's feelings about her dad - and pieces that got way too much attention. It just didn't seem cohesive, and left me feeling... well, not a lot. I'm a little bummed, because I really thought I would enjoy this one.

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: 3/5 โญโญโญ

๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น: 2.5/5 ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ

๐‘ฐ ๐’“๐’†๐’„๐’†๐’Š๐’—๐’†๐’… ๐’‚๐’ ๐‘จ๐‘น๐‘ช ๐’๐’‡ ๐’•๐’‰๐’Š๐’” ๐’ƒ๐’๐’๐’Œ ๐’Š๐’ ๐’†๐’™๐’„๐’‰๐’‚๐’๐’ˆ๐’† ๐’‡๐’๐’“ ๐’‚๐’ ๐’‰๐’๐’๐’†๐’”๐’• ๐’“๐’†๐’—๐’Š๐’†๐’˜. 
The Favorites by Layne Fargo

Go to review page

dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I went back and checked. And this book was definitely not MARKETED as a romance. But the hype and positive reviews I saw were all from romance influencers. So let me save you the trouble. The Favorites is not a romance. And itโ€™s also been somewhat done before.

๐Ÿ“• ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: The Favorites by Layne Fargo

๐Ÿ“™ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Standalone

๐Ÿ“— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€: E-book on Kindle. Borrowed from Libby.

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฟ๐—ฒ: Womenโ€™s fiction

๐Ÿ“” ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Sports (figure skating), toxic af, angst fest.

๐Ÿ“– ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€: Kat and Heath are bonded in childhood trauma, and find success in the cut throat world of ice dancing.

๐ŸŒŸ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„: Listen, the expectations I had for this book were through the roof. I love ice dancing, the lore and romantic side of it. I love angsty books. I actually delayed reading until I was in the right headspace.

And I want to say, thereโ€™s something to be said that this book made me feel some sort of way. I literally yelled a few times toward the end. I was invested. So it was well written enough to do that. 

But a few things have me fluctuating between a 3 and a 3.5-star rating. Oneโ€ฆ itโ€™s terribly close to
Daisy Jones and the Six vibes, both in story telling and the will-they-or-wont-they vibes. Like DJ, it was based in pop culture lore, and had the same interview incorporated style. 

But the second reasonโ€ฆ I think the lack of Heathโ€™s POV, coupled with the lack of insight into his choices, made him almost unredeemable. Itโ€™s one thing to showcase complicated relationships and not black and white happy endings. There were SO many details left out by this being only in Kat and the interview POV. Not only did I not understand or like Heath, but I didnโ€™t even understand why Heath liked Kat, and thatโ€™s a travesty. 

End of the day, itโ€™s definitely not a romance, and it felt unfinished and messy to me.

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: 3.5/5 โญโญโญ

๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น: 1/5 ๐ŸŒถ
Pounded By Produce: An Unholy Romance by G.M. Fairy

Go to review page

lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Hereโ€™s a sentence I never thought Iโ€™d write: I knew since picking up that Bee Movie parody that GM Fairy delivers more than youโ€™d expect in a book. So Iโ€™m 0% surprised a book about two priests that turn into sexy vegetables was pretty good.

๐Ÿ“• ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: Pounded by Produce by GM Fairy

๐Ÿ“™ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Standalone

๐Ÿ“— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€: E-book on Kindle. ๐Ÿ†“ on LI.

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฟ๐—ฒ: Erotica

๐Ÿ“” ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜€: MMF, instalove, fated mates.

๐Ÿ“– ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€: Emily is down on her luck and takes a job working at a remote parish, where a spirit curses the parish priests to turn into vegetables until they fall in love.

๐ŸŒŸ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„: Two things can be true at once. Was this the weirdest thing Iโ€™ve read in 2025? Yes. Was it also well written and a solid read? Also yes.

Listen, this isnโ€™t that deep. But I chuckled a bunch and I got out of my reading funk. Justโ€ฆ donโ€™t read this if youโ€™re religious in any way. Thank you *bows out*.

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: 3.5/5 โญโญโญ

๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น: 4/5 ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ
The Rake OR The Orca Who Met His Match in a Selkie Desiring Revenge by Kass O'Shire

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Knock me over with a feather - this book I found based on just character art gave me the best little journey ever.

๐Ÿ“• ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: The Rake OR the Orca Who Met His March in a Selkie Desiring Revenge by Kass Oโ€™Shire

๐Ÿ“™ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Shades of Sanctuary character series. Book 3.

๐Ÿ“— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€: E-book on Kindle. ๐Ÿ†“๏ธ on KU

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฟ๐—ฒ: Fantasy/paranormal romance

๐Ÿ“” ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Opposites attract, accidental mating, pirate vibes, she takes control.

๐Ÿ“– ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€: Elspeth escapes capture by elves only to end up in the jaws of an orca shifter, Aegir. When the pair unintentionally triggers the selkie mating bond, they set out on a journey to free Elspethโ€™s family and break their accidental connection.

๐ŸŒŸ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„:  So here I am one day, scrolling Instagram, when I come across this character art of this giant, thicc man. And I go to find out more information, and I find out HEโ€™S AN ORCA. 

I picked up this book - the third in a series I havenโ€™t read, by an author I donโ€™t know - and couldnโ€™t put it down. It was so much fun, and such a unique story, which I donโ€™t find so often anymore. 

The setting was unique and detailed, but the world building was well done enough that I could follow along without confusion. And the plot itself was paced really well.

But what I really loved were the characters. Aegir was a resistance spy who could shift at will, and had lost a bit of his true self by always being undercover. Elspeth was recovering from trauma. They both have incredible banter and connection, and the undercurrent of not knowing what is real or what is the bond. I loved that they were both so earnest and careful with one another. In a story that had tension and twists, the romance was truly cozy and I LOVED that. I laughed and swooned accordingly. 

I canโ€™t wait to read more in this universeโ€ฆ. But may I recommend starting by checking out the art? Word has it, you wonโ€™t be able to resist.

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: 4.5/5 โญโญโญโญ 

๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น: 3/5 ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ
The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I love every Abby Jimenez book I pick up. But novellas are tougher to master - and somehow this is the third of hers Iโ€™ve read and given five stars to.

๐Ÿ“• ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez

๐Ÿ“™ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Standalone

๐Ÿ“— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€: E-book on Kindle. ๐Ÿ†“ on KU.

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฟ๐—ฒ: Contemporary romance

๐Ÿ“” ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Meet cute, forced proximity.

๐Ÿ“– ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€: Charlotte and Seth are stuck in their neighboring apartments when the stairs are accidentally removed by a construction crew.

๐ŸŒŸ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„: Seriously, Abby Jimenez should be studied. Somehow she manages to get everything I need into 85 pages - great characters, excellent banter, a few swoony moments and even a couple of great side characters.

The Fall Risk was a pleasure to read.

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: 5/5 โญโญโญโญโญ  

๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น: 0/5 
Homebound by Meredith Trapp

Go to review page

emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The cover reeled me in. The story made me stay.

๐Ÿ“• ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: Homebound by Meredith Trapp

๐Ÿ“— ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐——๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€: E-book on Kindle. ๐Ÿ†“ on KU.

๐Ÿ“˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฟ๐—ฒ: Small town romance

๐Ÿ“” ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐˜€: Friends-to-lovers, single dad, heโ€™s loved her all along.

๐Ÿ“– ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€: Wyatt comes home for the summer with his baby daughter in tow, pushing his way into Dakotaโ€™s life as she tries to make it on the bull riding circuit. 

๐ŸŒŸ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„: I had to give this one a four on all vibes.

This book checked some major boxes for me. I love an unapologetic queen of an FMC. Dakota was no-nonsense wild woman. Wyatt was a golden retriever, hopelessly in love - and I loved how both of them met in the middle.

Spice was great. There wasnโ€™t too much outside drama. The moments with Wyattโ€™s little girl were adorable. 

Thereโ€™s a couple of missing pieces - mainly, making Wyatt a pro hockey player but not letting that play much into the plot overall at all. But I enjoyed the book overall, so it hit the four-star mark for me.

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: 4/5 โญโญโญโญ

๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น: 3/5 ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ