Abby Cohen is grumpy and she has reason to be. As the only Jew on her small town’s tourism board, she’s been 3.75 stars - Reviewed for Wit and Sin
Abby Cohen is grumpy and she has reason to be. As the only Jew on her small town’s tourism board, she’s been tasked with throwing a Hanukkah festival… in a few weeks, after Hanukkah, and maybe can it really be all about Christmas with some blue thrown in? Abby can’t say no, but she’s not about to let a Hanukkah festival become a Christmas festival in disguise so she turns to the only other Jew in the area for help: her most irritating customer, Seth Abrams. Seth is all-too-happy to help, but he needs something in return: a Nice Jewish Girl to bring home to his family for the holidays. Abby agrees to the bargain but of course, fake dating becomes something much more real as the two spend Hanukkah together in New York City.
Love You a Latke is an entertaining romance with a grumpy heroine, a sunshiny hero, and some lovely Hanukkah spirit. Abby is closed-off with walls that are miles high, covered in spikes…you get the picture. She grew up in an emotionally abusive household and hasn’t been able to open up as a result. When she left home, she also left the Jewish community and she feels the loss keenly. Going home with Seth brings that all back: the traditions, the sense of belonging, the history, and the joy. It was lovely to watch Abby get that part of herself back, to feel rooted in her community again. Seth is a sunshiny hero who has a problem with confrontation. I liked Seth, but I felt like we could have gone deeper into his character – I wanted a bit more from him. I absolutely adored his group of friends and how they absorbed Abby into their circle. As for the romance, it’s a foregone conclusion that Seth and Abby are going to fall in love. But while I absolutely enjoyed them together I did want a touch more to really take this book to the next level.
Amanda Elliot really brings the Hanukkah spirit to Love You a Latke and it’s one of my favorite things about this story. The Jewish representation is solid there were many things that delighted me throughout the story. It definitely made me want to brave the cold and celebrate Hanukkah in New York City.
There are a lot of things to enjoy about Love You a Latke. Abby’s journey is the heart of the book and it’s a road I liked travelling with her. Her romance with Seth may not have been as spectacular as I wanted, but it was still solid and Elliot didn’t inject any false drama to the story to detract from the happily ever after. All in all, this is a great read for anyone wanting a Hanukkah romance.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review....more
Brighton Fairbrook and Charlotte Donovan were instant best friends at age twelve when Brighton moved in next door. From frReviewed for Wit and Sin
Brighton Fairbrook and Charlotte Donovan were instant best friends at age twelve when Brighton moved in next door. From friends to lovers to fiancées, everything seemed to be going perfectly until their wedding day when Brighton left Charlotte at the altar. It’s been five years since then and the two haven’t spoken…until they find themselves going home with a friend for Christmas and discover themselves in the same place. The love, the spark, and the longing are all still there no matter how much Charlotte in particular tries to deny it. Is there a holiday miracle in the cards for two women who are so far apart yet so clearly made for each other?
Sometimes a book grabs your heartstrings from the first and doesn’t let go and that’s exactly what Make the Season Bright did for me. With Charlotte and Brighton’s story, Ashley Herring Blake has delivered a second chance romance that is bright, joyful, bittersweet, and just so lovely that I couldn’t put it down for a minute.
Charlotte and Brighton – Lola and Bright – endeared themselves to me from the very first. Charlotte is so achingly lonely that she broke my heart. She sees herself as forgettable and easy to leave and has put up walls to try and protect her fragile heart. She’s professionally incredibly successful but personally struggling. Brighton grew up with love, but she too is hurting. She’s at a crossroads, having lost her passion for music after her band dumped her. When the two of them meet again, it throws each off their stride. The love, the memories are strong and present even as they pretend not to know one another.
Brighton and Charlotte are both lovely, messy, flawed, and completely engaging heroines. They’ve made mistakes in their lives and with each other and continue to do so while they learn and grow. I loved their imperfections as much as their charms – it made them human and made me wish they were real so I could be friends with them. While Charlotte and Brighton have smoking chemistry everyone can see, that won’t solve anything (though it does make for some delicious tension). Love isn’t even enough to solve things and Herring Blake makes her heroines work for their happily ever after.
Make the Season Bright is about love, growth, letting down your walls and opening up in order to live a full life. It’s fun, sensual, joyfully queer, and sparkling with Christmas cheer. Quite simply, I loved this book. Charlotte, Brighton, and their friends all made me wonderfully happy and Herring Blake’s writing fully immersed me in their world. I cannot wait to enjoy Lola and Bright’s love story again and again and again.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review....more
The youngest Macquarie brother will be the one to finally break the curse or doom his home forever in The Highlander’s Reviewed for Wit and Sin
The youngest Macquarie brother will be the one to finally break the curse or doom his home forever in The Highlander’s Untamed Tempest. Heather McCollum brings her Brothers of Wolf Isle series to a close with Eagan Macquarie and Tessa Ainsworth, a mysterious woman with the power to change the course of the Macquarie clan.
Eagan loves his family but with everyone wanting him to fall in love and get married in order to break the curse, he’s chomping at the bit to leave. His bags are packed, he’s ready to set sail, and then he meets Tessa. The mysterious French beauty with a powerful voice is on Wolf Isle, waiting for her father to come back for her. Tessa is smart, talented, and a survivor, but she’s also deeply lonely. It’s lust at first sight for both her and Eagan and they have an easy chemistry that makes them an enjoyable couple to read about.
Tessa has no plans to stay on Wolf Isle and Eagan doesn’t want to be tied down, but the two of them can’t bear to be apart. The biggest obstacle in the romance is not just the two of them deciding if they want to stay on Wolf Isle and be together, but the dastardly French pirate Jandeau. The series’ main villain is back, as one would expect, and determined to destroy the Macquaries. How he plans to do so is not going to surprise readers, so really the tension is finding out how Tessa and the Macquaries will defeat him.
The Highlander’s Untamed Tempest is an entertaining romance with strong protagonists who know what they want and aren’t ashamed to go after it. I was rooting for Tessa and Eagan every step of the way and the result was a satisfying end to the Brothers of Wolf Isle series.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review....more
Fake dating leads to much more than a real relationship in Hers for the Weekend. Helena Greer wraps up her4.5 stars - Reviewed for Wit and Sin
Fake dating leads to much more than a real relationship in Hers for the Weekend. Helena Greer wraps up her Carrigan’s Christmasland trilogy with Tara, the Southern debutante lawyer/ex-fiancée of Miriam Bloom, and Holly, a waitress and baker with wanderlust in her veins.
I absolutely loved Tara. She’s an ice queen on the outside and wields her Southern charm like a whip, using her power and connections to do as much good as possible even though it’s slowly breaking her down. Inside, Tara is lonely, vulnerable, and doesn’t believe anyone could truly love and care about her. When she goes to Carrigan’s for her ex-fiancée’s wedding, Tara is immediately enveloped by people who it’s easy for readers to see care about her. I really loved watching Tara realize her value, that she doesn’t have to be needed to be wanted. It was a delight to see Tara come into her own over the course of the story.
Holly is the catalyst for that change. She sees Tara for who she truly is and appreciates the woman as a whole, even though she would never want to put up with the life Tara leads (and would require any wife of hers to navigate as well). Holly is sassy and sweet, easy to like and has great chemistry with Tara. But Holly has issues of her own that she’s never addressed and those are obstacles she will have to overcome as well.
Holly and Tara have fantastic chemistry and the sexual tension is delicious between them. It’s a bit disappointing with all the buildup to have things fade to black, but oh well. I really enjoyed watching Holly and Tara fall for each other. Their relationship grows in small moments and large as the two team up during the wedding festivities at Carrigan’s. And speaking of the winter wonderland of a locale, the Carrigan’s crew is heavily involved in this story. You don’t have to have read Season of Love or For Never and Always in order to follow along, but it does add to the world. Everyone adds to the story, especially when it comes to Tara’s personal journey.
Hers for the Weekend is fun and has some large personalities, but Greer doesn’t let those characters pull focus from Tara and Holly. I really enjoyed this romance and watching Tara and Holly learn that they could build a life that is what they want rather than what they think they should do to run for or make amends for the past. Tara in particular spoke to me and was a stand-out character. All in all, I found Hers for the Weekend to be a heartwarming read with a joyful queer romance and an abundance of welcoming characters.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review....more
After an antisemitic attack in her neighborhood, ceramicist Faye Kaplan is shaken. Having found her connection to her faitReviewed for Wit and Sin
After an antisemitic attack in her neighborhood, ceramicist Faye Kaplan is shaken. Having found her connection to her faith through magic, Faye is a practicing Jewitch. On a drunken night after the attack, Faye crafts a golem to protect her…one that happens to have all the qualities of her dream man inscribed on it. The next day, she accidentally runs into a guy with her bike. The man hits his head and awakens in the hospital with no memory. What’s a girl to do but take him home and help him recover? Greg turns out to be a great houseguest; he’s protective, funny, intelligent, kind, enjoys Scrabble…all the things Faye inscribed on her golem. Could it be coincidence or is magic at play?
Magical Meet Cute is a mix of fluffy magical romcom and serious, realistic trauma. It sounds like it shouldn’t work, but Jean Meltzer balances things fairly well, though for me – someone who actually enjoys fluff more as a rule – the heavier topics were more interesting.
Faye is a trauma survivor. She came from an abusive household and though she’s caring and loving, she has high walls to protect herself. She lives with a disability that is a constant reminder of what she survived, and the disability rep is well done. With the rise in antisemitism her trauma response is triggered, and Meltzer handles this heavy topic very well. I really connected with this part of the story, of the small and large ways antisemitism affects people. It’s not something you see in romances and generally not something covered in-depth and I really appreciated the time and care Meltzer took with this topic.
Magical Meet Cute is also a romcom with a quirky dog, nosy friends, and hijinks. For the most part the blend of the heavier and lighter moments work, though I will say that the book isn’t quite as light as the cover and blurb make it out to be. I enjoyed the mystery of whether Greg was a man or a golem, but I do wish it had been resolved a bit earlier to give the romance more time to breathe and develop. The rom of the romcom could have used a bit more work because the chemistry wasn’t as strong as I would have liked. Greg was a wonderful hero, protective and caring to the max. Faye was an interesting heroine, complex and skilled both as a ceramicist and Jewitch. But she also has a few traditional romcom heroine quirks to her that didn’t always work for me.
I struggle with rating Magical Meet Cute because I was so-so on the romance. However, the parts of the book that work really work. The Jewish, Jewitch, and disability representation are solid and the examination of antisemitic attacks through the eyes of the victims really meant something to me. There’s emotional honesty in these plotlines that really stand out and make me recommend this story.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review....more
Anna Bennett brings her Rogue to Lovers trilogy to a close with It Takes a Rake. The youngest of the Bell3.75 stars - Reviewed for Wit and Sin
Anna Bennett brings her Rogue to Lovers trilogy to a close with It Takes a Rake. The youngest of the Bellehaven Belles takes center stage in this friends/rivals-to-lovers romance.
Kitty Beckett wants two things: to become a successful architect and to find a partner who she will never be in danger of falling in love with. Kitty has severe abandonment issues and with her closest friends seeming to be moving along in life without her, she is determined to put her career first and never be hurt by a husband who could leave her. Then her old nemesis comes back into town and threatens to make Kitty examine what she truly wants out of life.
Leo Lockland has been away from Bellehaven Bay for four years but one thing that hasn’t changed is how much he yearns for Kitty. Now he’s back and the two of them are teamed up for an architectural design competition. He'll help Kitty with her calculations and in exchange, she will help him win the “mystery woman” who has his heart. Leo knows it’s a risk that may backfire when Kitty learns it is she he’s in love with, but it’s a risk he has to take. He’ll let him turn her into a rake if that’s what’s necessary to win her over.
Leo is an absolutely endearing hero. He’s so sweet and kind and I loved that he wasn’t a dashing rogue at heart. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to change him and worried Kitty’s attempts to alter a perfectly delightful man into a rake would take away from what made him such an appealing hero. What happens I’ll leave readers to discover but suffice it to say that Kitty’s lessons make her look at her old friend and competitor in a way she rarely allowed herself to do in the past.
Kitty was a bit harder for me to connect to, mostly because she was intent on keeping her walls up high. I liked watching her lower them, however, but Leo has his work cut out in order to get her to trust him. Their romance is slow to start because both of them are holding something back, but Bennett makes things work out in an organic manner, resulting in a satisfying happily ever after.
Though It Takes a Rake is the third book in the Rogues to Lovers series, it can easily be read as a standalone. I liked seeing where Poppy, Keane, Hazel, and Blade are now, and how they come together to support Kitty, but it wasn’t necessary to enjoy Leo and Kitty’s story. All in all, this was a sweet romance that had some bumps in the road to an ending that was quite lovely.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review....more
A bachelorette party at the Down and Dirty turns from a rowdy night out to a horrible tragedy when one of the 4.5 stars - Reviewed for Wit and Sin
A bachelorette party at the Down and Dirty turns from a rowdy night out to a horrible tragedy when one of the brides is murdered. Everybody loved Erin and her fiancée – they have a tight circle of friends and no one can imagine who would do this. But someone in their inner circle did. Lieutenant Eve Dallas doesn’t know Erin Albright, but she will come to as she stands for her and finds the killer in Passions in Death.
Within the more case-centric In Death stories, there are two kinds of tales: one where it’s a race against time and others like this one that have a more measured pace. This story is the latter and it’s a nice breather to the more tense installments while also being a compelling story on its own. The crime Eve, Peabody, and company are trying to solve is engaging because the victim at the heart of it seems so likeable, was on the verge of a joyous occasion, and as Eve notes, it was a crime that was committed not just of passion but of a meanness, a pettiness that adds its own flavor of cruelty. I liked watching Eve and Peabody do the legwork, consult others and work the case. I especially liked that Eve was torn between suspects and her reasoning kept me switching back and forth as well.
At fifty-nine full-length books into the series, Eve and Roarke are fairly settled into their marriage but that doesn’t mean things are less interesting. I love watching them grow together and this case puts them in a more reflective mode over marriage and partnership. J.D. Robb doesn’t bring us any dramatic highs or lows in this story and that’s just fine by me. The longer I sit with it the more I like this story.
Most of the In Death books can be read on their own, but I will warn that if you don’t like spoilers then you should be up-to-date before starting Passions in Death as past cases (and whodunit) are mentioned. I admit, being a longtime fan is also why I so enjoyed the quieter character moments, the bonds of love and friendship weaving throughout the background of this story. It’s not just Eve and Roarke who continue to grow, it’s their circle as well. Any time spent in the world Robb has created is a delight and this trip was no exception.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review....more
Author Jen DeLuca leaves the Ren Faire circuit behind for a small, specter-filled town in Haunted Ever After. Nick andReviewed for Wit and Sin
Author Jen DeLuca leaves the Ren Faire circuit behind for a small, specter-filled town in Haunted Ever After. Nick and Cassie’s story is sweet, fun, and absolutely charming.
When Cassie uprooted her life and moved from Orlando to the small coastal town of Boneyard Key, she expected some changes…but none quite so dramatic as the ghost in her house. Nick has lived in Boneyard Key all his life and is very aware that ghosts are more than something used to get tourists’ money. So when Cassie bursts into his coffee shop, Hallowed Grounds, for a latte and a power source, the idea that a ghost may be tinkering with her electricity doesn’t faze him. It's Cassie that knocks him off his feet and for Nick, who hasn’t had a real relationship in a long time, that’s saying something.
Cassie and Nick are both charming, likeable characters. Cassie is at a crossroads in her life and she’s taking things in a new direction when she moves to Boneyard Key. I liked watching her find her place in the town and among the ghosts. It was fun learning about the supernatural residents of Boneyard Key; as much fun as it was meeting the living breathing residents of the town. Nick, in turn, is a sweetheart of a hero. He’s kind, a little vulnerable, and like Cassie is easy to be charmed by. Their romance is a slow burn one that is delightful. DeLuca saves the majority of the high drama for the ghosts, but what happens there I’ll leave readers to discover on their own.
Haunted Ever After is the first book in the Boneyard Key series and it’s an entertaining start. I loved the town DeLuca built and the supporting cast definitely has me looking forward to more haunt-filled love stories.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review....more
Primal Mirror is a story of survival and of love conquering evil. Auden Scott is the daughter of two form4.25 stars - Reviewed for Wit and Sin
Primal Mirror is a story of survival and of love conquering evil. Auden Scott is the daughter of two former Psy Counselors, but her abilities weren’t the telepathic kind her parents wanted. She has survived her parents, but didn’t come out of it unscathed; something was done to her brain that causes blank spots and times where it feels like she’s not entirely herself. She is also pregnant and desperate to save her baby from whatever plans her mother had set in motion before her death.
RainFire alpha Remi Denier doesn’t quite know what to make of his new neighbor. The first time he meets her she’s eerily blank, then next time a heavily pregnant woman ready to fight for her unborn child. Remi is a protector at heart and he and his pack will do anything, risk anything to help Auden and her child. But Remi’s drawn to Auden on another, far more personal level. What will happen to the two of them as her mother’s plans are uncovered? And how can they fight an threat that is taking place inside Auden’s mind?
Remi is a hero who is easy to fall for. He’s kind, protective, and has worked hard to make his new pack strong and whole. Auden is more complex. Her brain injuries and what was done to her make her unpredictable. Primal Mirror is a bit slow to start because Auden isn’t always herself. The mystery of what was done to her and why unravels over the course of the story and I was rooting for Auden to beat the odds and destroy the evil plan her mother put in place. Remi and Auden are characters whose core is love – they will fight for those they love until their last breath. They make a great couple but their love story is understandably slow to build, given Auden’s mental state.
Primal Mirror isn’t just about Auden and RainFire’s survival. It’s about the survival of the whole Psy race. The PsyNet is continuing to fail and it’s incredibly tense throughout the story as characters we’ve come to love over the course of the series struggle to save as many people as possible. It’s doomsday time for the Psy and there’s a pall cast over the story by the imminent threat of millions of lives lost. How things work out and what the future looks like, I won’t spoil, but I am curious to see how Nalini Singh continues things for the Psy race.
Primal Mirror is the eighth book in the Psy-Changeling Trinity series and while you don’t have to have read all the books to enjoy Remi and Auden’s story, you definitely need to be familiar with the world to follow what’s happening in the overarching storyline of the Psy. In Primal Mirror, Singh continues to weave an intricate web of characters, connections, and powers that is utterly absorbing. I adored Remi and Auden and I’m very much looking forward to seeing where Singh takes the Psy-Changeling world next.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review....more
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