A Brewed Awakening by Pepper Basham
This is the type of book that I probably wouldn’t have looked twice at if it wasn’t an audiobook. Plus, I’m always on the look out for books with food as a central theme and as this features a tea shop and a pub owner, it looks like a perfect fit. I suppose time will tell with that though.
I’ve actually had this ARC for a while now but I constantly forget about audio ARCs as they are only available in the Netgalley app and who even remembers to check that? They should make it possible to browse and request books in the app, I definitely wouldn’t forget about them then.
I haven’t read any reviews for this book but when adding it to my Goodreads I did see that it has a high average rating, so that makes me hopeful.
Synopsis: Daphne dreams of Mr. Darcy. Finn serves up pints and rock music. Can opposites attract when a tea shop princess meets her pub-owning rival?
In the charming mountain town of Wisteria, North Carolina, Daphne Austen clings to tradition like cream to a scone. She’s built her life–and her late grandmother’s tearoom, Tea Thyme–around all things English: delicate china, Jane Austen novels, and the comforting predictability of routine. The only thing threatening her perfectly ordered world? The loud, aggravatingly handsome Brit opening a pub next door.
After his ex-wife broke his heart and his business partner nearly destroyed his career, Finn Dashwood packed up his six-year-old daughter and left England behind. He’s looking for a fresh start, and the last thing he needs is a fussy, tea-obsessed neighbor criticizing his every pint and playlist. It doesn’t matter that she’s ridiculously kind (to everyone else) and that his daughter is utterly fascinated by her. Finn’s heart is not open to being broken again.
But disagreements turn into prank wars and then a competition when a high-profile wedding needs a last-minute caterer. The townsfolk are thrilled–Wisteria hasn’t seen this much excitement since the county fair lost a goat.
When the wedding demands both sweet and savory fare, Daphne and Finn are forced to put down their swords and pick up their serving trays. Between burnt pastries, brewing tempers, trending hashtags (#SipsAndSpats, anyone?), and one very adorable little girl, rivalry soon gives way to reluctant friendship–and maybe something that feels suspiciously like chemistry.
Can a tea shop princess and a pub owner with a past mix their lives as seamlessly as clotted cream and jam . . . or will their differences keep them steeped in rivalry forever?
Love Catch by Laura Langa
Oh would you look at that, a sports romance – not hockey this time though. No, it’s another sport I know absolutely nothing about. This also has a very good average rating, which actually surprises me a little. Sports romances tend to sit more in the middle of the road 3 star rating area, so the fact that this has over a 4 gives me a lot of hope that it will be a great read.
I’m a sucker for books with lists. Which is an incredibly niche sub trope but I’m obsessed. I love a goal and I’m the type of person that gets a real boost of joy when I tick something off a to do list.
I actually have another book by this author on my to be read so it will be great to start with this one to see if I’d be interested in purchasing their other work.
Synopsis: Jilted at the game. Roommates by chance. Catching feelings by accident.
Humiliated after my MLB fiancé called off our engagement—in the middle of a baseball game, I did what any rational, rule-following girl would do: I climbed on top of the dugout to give him a piece of my mind.
I just didn’t expect to slip—or fall straight into the arms of Trevor Chapman.
Awkward? Totally. Except the team’s veteran catcher also happens to be my roommate. Trevor’s protective, patient, and ten years my senior—but I’m the one sharing custody of his rescue calico and handling the personal taxes for half of the Waves lineup.
To shake off my post-breakup funk, I make a list of adventures—and rope Trevor in. With every item we cross off, it’s harder to ignore that I’m catching feelings faster than Trevor snags fastballs.
I’ve already been burned by a Waves player, so letting myself fall again feels risky—even when Trevor has always been there to catch me.
Love Catch is a closed-door sports romcom featuring a jilted bride, her protective MLB roommate, and one very sweet calico rescue cat.
It’s perfect for readers who love playful banter and sizzling kisses with no third act breakup!
The Love Playbook series—where swoony athletes, laugh-out-loud romance, and happily-ever-afters meet adorable rescue animals who steal the show. Each book in this multiauthor series is a standalone, full-length, closed-door romcom featuring a different sport and an adorable pet! Books can be read in any order.
Wired Different by D.C. London
This looks like a graphic novel I would have benefitted from reading as a kid, even though I had no idea I was neurodivergent until I was an adult. Obviously I haven’t read it yet so it could have horrific stereotypes, but let’s hope not.
Synopsis: How do you find your place in a neurotypical world when you are “wired different” and don’t fit in? Sometimes, you have to make your own place.
Quirk never wanted friends, but the discovery of an old pink hoodie turned his world inside out. This young bot quickly stumbles into a group of neurodivergent robots like him: a nervous, obsessive bot fixated on the former human civilization, a hyperactive giant who never stops talking, and a frantic bot plagued by sensory issues. In a post-human world where psychology has been banned, these four have no words for what makes them different. With no knowledge of autism, ADHD, anxiety, OCD, or sensory processing disorders, the group inadvertently starts a neurodivergent acceptance group in their school. It took founding the Wired Different club to realize they’re not broken, just wired different.
Their small support club unlocks freedom for other bots to come forward and find community, but it also unleashes misinformation, distrust, and fury. As more students find hope, more parents push back. And when the cost of ignorance becomes painfully clear, the group must decide if acceptance is worth the battle.
A graphic novel about neurodivergence, belonging, and accepting that different doesn’t mean defective.
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