April has been a low book month all round; I haven’t read much and I’ve hardly bought anything either. The Kindle deals this month were not great for me. I’m trying to not buy too many books that aren’t already on my wish list, as let’s be honest, as readers we have way more books than we’ll ever be able to read. So I’m trying to limit myself.
Anyway, there were a few books I thought about buying, but often the length puts me off these days. I considered buying Pucking Around by Emily Rath as it’s been a long time since I read a ‘why choose’ romance, but it’s 700 PAGES. I’m sorry, no romance book needs to be 700 pages long. That’s actually insane. In my current headspace, this book would take me all month to read.
In Your Dreams by Sarah Adams
I’ve only read two of Sarah Adams’ books but she is an autobuy for me. I adored Practice Makes Perfect and The Cheat Sheet so much, I’m actually surprised I haven’t read another of her books by now.
I now own all of the books in this series so I should really get around to reading them at some point. As I mentioned above, I’ve read Practice Makes Perfect, but I’d love to go back to the start of the series, When in Rome, soon. I do love a sweet, clean romance. Don’t get me wrong, spice is great, but I live for the yearning of a clean romance.
Synopsis: Madison Walker left Rome, Kentucky, determined to prove she could make it in the culinary world. But after years of chasing success in New York, all she has to show for it is a shattered confidence and a desperate need for a fresh start. Coming home isn’t part of the plan—until an unexpected job offer lands in her lap, giving her a chance to rebuild everything she’s lost: the head chef position at a new farm-to-table restaurant in her hometown. The only catch? It comes from James Huxley, owner of Huxley Farm, her brother’s best friend . . . and the last person she wants to work for.
James has always played it safe, keeping his head down and doing what’s expected of him in the family business and never contemplating anything different—until now when Madison’s happiness is on the line. He’s loved her quietly for years, knowing she’s never seen him as more than an annoyance. Now that she’s back, he’s determined to change that–even if it means he can only ever be her friend. The one problem? His charming, wildly successful younger brother, Tommy, seems determined to win her over first.
Then Tommy is called away on business and Madison and James are tasked with launching the dreamy farm-to-table restaurant on their own. But as the town starts meddling in their relationship, Tommy’s pursuit of Madison grows more relentless, and Madison’s fears threaten to hold her back, keeping things strictly professional becomes impossible. And when an unexpected disaster on opening night collides with a long-simmering sibling feud, both Madison and James will have to face their biggest insecurities—and decide if love is worth the risk or if some dreams are safer left untouched.
Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree
I now own this entire series, which isn’t really a series – I think they’re all standalones. The synopsis does make this sound like Viv will at least be a small part of the story, which is cool. I enjoyed the cost vibes of Legends & Lattes, even though cosy fantasies aren’t really my thing. I do want to try reading more of them though. I’m not going to base my opinion of the genre on just a few books.
Synopsis: Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller’s life for decades, but now, in the face of crippling ennui, transplants herself to the city of Thune to hang out her shingle beside a long-absent friend’s coffee shop. What could be a better pairing? Surely a charming renovation montage will cure what ails her!
If only things were so simple…
It turns out that fixing your life isn’t a one-time prospect, nor as easy as a change of scenery and a lick of paint.
A drunken and desperate night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior surviving on inertia, an imprisoned chaos-goblin with a fondness for silverware, and an absolutely thumping hangover.
As together they fend off a rogue’s gallery of ne’er-do-wells trying to claim the bounty the goblin represents, Fern may finally reconnect with the person she actually is when there isn’t a job to get in the way.
Famously in Love by Emily Emmerson
After writing the second instalment in my ‘The Best Of: Books About Music and Performing Arts’ series, I’ve been on the lookout for more books about music. I do have a few on my to be read but I haven’t put them in a specific collection so I keep forgetting about them.
This book ticks a couple of boxes for me: music and fake dating. I haven’t read a fake dating book in a while so this is a book that could get bumped up to the top of my to be read collection. Does anyone else have a to be read collection on their Kindle that has books in the order you want to read them or am I being weirdly organised? I don’t always stick to it, but it definitely helps.
Synopsis: What do you get when a celebrity and a fan meet on a dating app?
Meet Jessy and Patrick.
All Jessy wants is to figure out what to do with her life. She hates her job, lives in a crappy London apartment and her love life is non-existent. . .That is until her twin sister begs her to join her newly launched dating app, Butterflies.
Lead singer and front man of These Exiles, Patrick just wants a break after coming off tour. But when he’s mistakenly arrested, his record label insists on doing damage control. Their latest scheme? Getting Patrick on the dating apps and into a relationship.
When Jessy and Patrick match on Butterflies, neither plan to actually meet. . . but then they literally bump into each other and chaos ensues. With their faces plastered all over the internet, and Patrick’s record label jumping on the publicity, the two find themselves unexpectedly ‘dating.’
Can they keep up the farce in front of the whole world, or will they start to believe their own lie?
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