Monthly Romance Reviews: September 2019
This post contains affiliate links.
So August was this most epic month of romance reading ever, and in September, I decided to mix it up a little, which means I don’t have two parts of romance reviews for you. But I did read a fair amount of lovely romance books this month for you to peruse, so let’s dive in!
The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai: So we started off with a bang because this book is incredible. I love Alisha’s storytelling, and this book brought it to another level. I love a rich heroine, I love sassy friends, and I love frank discussions of CTE (did you know romance is leading the discussion on CTE? Yeah, put that in your pipe and smoke it.). Alisha has a way of plotting angst, so much happens in her books, but her characters are still real and believable and relatable. I am seriously looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series. Also, this cover is gorge. Kickin’ it off with 5 stars!
I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella: Alright, so Sophie technically falls under the category of “women’s fiction” (formerly known as chick lit), but this one has a strong romantic arc so I’m going with it. What I loved about this one is the interweaving of family angst. Each character is vivid and unique, yet they come together as a totally realistic family. I also loved the meet cute in this book because it was unlike anything I’d seen before. I love Sophie’s writing style so she’s always a must buy for me, and I really enjoyed this one. I gave it 4.5 stars.
Smitten by the Brit by Melonie Johnson: I reeeeaallly wanted to love this book. I enjoyed the first in the series, Getting Hot with the Scot, but this one did not live up for me. I found the main characters to both be on the boring side (though I did love all of the Shakespeare references) and I found the conflict to be lackluster. Also, for a book published by one of the Big Five, there are A LOT of errors in the book. Multiple times the heroine is referred to by the wrong name and they were so prevalent, they pulled me out of the story. I like Melonie’s voice so I will read more by her, but this one was disappointing. It only gets 3.5 stars.
Love at First Like by Hannah Orenstein: Another one that’s technically women’s fiction but reads like romance. I really liked this one because social media (in particular Instagram) plays a huge role in the book, and it plays a similarly large role in my main manuscript I’m working on right now so I was into that angle. This is definitely a book for millennials, but that’s what I loved about it. The romance angle isn’t the center of the story, but it’s there and it’s sweet and I liked the ending. I gave it 4.5 stars.
How to Hack a Heartbreak by Kristin Rockaway: I loved the concept of this book, but I didn’t fully enjoy it because I didn’t love the hero. I really enjoyed the final fourth of the book, but I found the beginning hard to get through. I liked the idea of Jerk Alert (a website where women can post about their bad experiences with online dating to warn other women), but the characters and the relationships themselves fell kind of flat for me. Also, trigger warning for some serious sexual harassment in the workplace. Like it made me uncomfortable serious. Overall, it gets 4 stars from me.
Bridge Kingdom by Danielle Jensen: This is not a book I would have picked up on my own, but it was in a book box, and ultimately, I’m glad I read it. It should be stated upfront that this book does not have an HEA, but it is part of a series. This one is a fantasy romance about a woman who is sent to live with her enemies as the bride of their king. She is supposed to be acting as a spy for her father, but of course, as she spends time in this other kingdom she learns her father is the bad guy and she falls in love with the king. There is nothing new about the storyline, but the world-building is great and I will definitely read the next one. I gave it 4.5 stars.
Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center: Ugh, this one tugs on the heart strings. There is A LOT of angst in this book, and some dark moments (both hero and heroine are firefighters so there is built in danger), but the relationship between the two of them is so sweet. This heroine kicks some serious ass, and this hero is super cinnamon roll, and that’s a combo I can’t resist.
Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean: Here’s what I wrote in my notes about this one: “WTF. Why is everything she writes so fucking good?” So that should tell you all you need to know. Just being totally honest, I couldn’t tell you most of the details of the plot of this book, but it doesn’t matter because Sarah’s characters and their chemistry are so good they could just sit there together and it would be fantastic. Another 4.5 stars for Sarah.
Wicked Sexy Liar by Christina Lauren: In some ways, this book feels like an add-on since the original three in the series are about the three friends and their quickie Vegas weddings, but I really liked this one. The couple is a little young, but I liked their characters, and despite the age, it felt mature. In particular, I liked London’s struggle with figuring out how she fits in to a group of girls who have been friends for years, because I feel like we’ve all been there. I love CLo and they can really do no wrong for me. I gave this one 4.5 stars.
New Orleans Rush by Kelly Siskand: I remember loving the cover of this book when it came out, but I actually went back and picked it up because Kelly is a mentor for Pitch Wars, and I wanted to read her work before submitting my manuscript to her. What I liked about this book was the banter and the relationship between the hero and the heroine. The plot is a little bit bananas, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I just found it to be a little unbelievable at times. But it had lots of twists and turns and it was a fun read. Overall, it was a 4 star read for me.
Acting on Impulse by Mia Sosa: First, I want to say that I think part of the reason I had a hard time getting into this book was because I was reading it on my iPad, which I don’t normally do. I got a free download of it at RWA and it had been on my TBR list, so I jumped on it. But I typically only read on my iPad at night when I’m ready for bed, so that might have been part of the problem for me. In general, I’m a fan of famous heroes or heroines, because I love the entertainment industry, but this one just didn’t do it for me. I didn’t fall in love with either character, and so it felt like a miss. I gave it 3 stars.
Honestly, it was another pretty stellar month of romance reading! I’m continuing to find more authors and subgenres that I totally love, and if I could, I would spend all my time reading romance (stupid real life, getting in the way). Stay tuned for more!
