Monthly Archives: September 2026

Review Card & Book Review- Edge Of Falling By Sophie Hamilton

One reckless lie was all it took to upend Avery Delgado’s teenage life. By saving Tanner Stone, she ruined her own chance of success and learned the hard way not to trust in love.

But when Tanner—now a hockey sensation—returns to Pine Springs, old sparks reignite. Their chemistry is undeniable, and Tanner isn’t shy about what he wants.

Avery’s walls are high, but as their summer fling burns hotter, she wonders if taking a risk might be worth it this time…

Until the threats start. Anonymous. Personal. Dangerous.

Someone wants Avery out of Tanner’s life, and they’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.

Avery helped Tanner all those years ago. Now he’s determined to unmask their enemy. And, as past wounds resurface and the pressure builds, Avery must decide if protecting her heart from Tanner is more painful than finally setting it free.

About The Author

My Review

This book is about second chances, buried guilt, and a love that refuses to give up despite years of distance and emotional walls. In this book, a professional hockey star reconnects with the woman who once protected his future, setting the stage for a slow-burn romance layered with trust, healing, and a touch of suspense.

Tanner and Avery’s shared past gives the story an immediate emotional weight. Avery once sacrificed her own reputation to save Tanner, and that lingering debt fuels his determination to finally prove himself worthy of her trust. Their reunion at a wedding sparks a gradual, believable rekindling that unfolds at a pace perfectly suited to Avery’s guarded heart. Tanner is irresistibly charming—sweet, persistent, and occasionally clueless in a way that makes his grand romantic gestures feel sincere rather than over-the-top.

The romance is complemented by a subtle mystery, as someone seems intent on keeping them apart, adding tension and momentum beyond the relationship itself. Hamilton balances humor, heartfelt emotion, and steamy chemistry with ease, creating a world that feels warm and immersive. With strong side characters and genuine emotional growth, this heartfelt sports romance delivers a satisfying, earned happily-ever-after.

Sports Romance

Second-Chance Romance

Slow Burn

Protective Hero

My Rating

Link To Purchase

Reality Dating Show Romance

Review Card & Book Review- Coupling Up By Jo Lyons

The most adventurous thing unlucky-in-love primary school teacher Libby has done this year is buy an air fryer. So when she finds herself trading places with her twin sister during the summer holidays, to be a contestant on reality TV show Love on the Island, she is way out of her comfort zone.

Jetting off to a villa in Mexico full of promiscuous muscle-mountains coupling up with glamorous women with frozen foreheads and hidden agendas, and a she-devil executive producer hellbent on exposing her to ridicule, should be her worst nightmare but somehow Libby does end up catching feelings… for the one guy who is forbidden fruit. Gorgeous, sexy, show producer Cameron.

Suddenly Libby’s summer is picking up. But she’ll be kicked off the show and lose her chance with Cameron unless she learns how to become a crazed, fame-hungry, media whore… and fast.

Yes, love is about staying true to yourself. But it’s also about taking risky leaps of faith.

About The Author

My Review

This book is about a shy primary school teacher who agrees to impersonate her reality-TV-star twin on a tropical dating show and accidentally finds herself falling for the one man she absolutely isn’t allowed to love. Chaos, comedy, and heartfelt growth collide in a sunshine-filled rom-com that balances outrageous premise with emotional sincerity.

Libby’s fish-out-of-water journey is the novel’s greatest strength. Watching her navigate influencer culture, villa politics, and scripted romance while clinging to her authentic self is both hilarious and endearing. Her chemistry with producer Cameron delivers a delicious slow-burn tension, full of witty banter and forbidden-romance stakes that keep pages turning. The twin dynamic adds extra sparkle, with Layla’s glamorous unpredictability constantly threatening Libby’s carefully balanced lie.

Lyons captures the energy of reality TV perfectly—dramatic contestants, manufactured storylines, and glamorous settings—while gradually peeling back the spectacle to reveal a softer story about confidence and self-worth. The pacing mirrors a dating show season: fast, messy, and addictive before settling into deeper emotional territory.

Light, escapist, and genuinely funny, this is a joyful summer romance that proves stepping outside your comfort zone might lead to the love story you never expected.

Forbidden Romance

Hidden Identity

Slow Burn

My Rating

Link To Purchase

Complicated Relationships

Happy Publication Day – 7 September 2026

Could You Be Mine? By Sophie L. Henderson

She’s the boss of the Vancity Tide lacrosse team. He’s the team captain—and the firefighter who’s never failed anyone. There are a hundred reasons why their steamy encounter has to stay a secret. But number one? Her dad owns the team…

Seren is on the brink of career disaster. The general manager job she’s worked her entire life for is about to slip away. The season is unraveling and she’s been given an ultimatum—make it to the playoffs or lose her dream job forever. But keeping her head in the game would be so much easier if she wasn’t falling for her star player. And he hadn’t told her he was falling too…

Brad Holt is the team captain. Nicknamed ‘Fixer’, he holds everything together, whether it’s on the lacrosse floor, at the fire hall or at home with his family. Being steady was his whole identity—until the night things crossed the line with Seren. Now he’s in a tailspin, failing in every arena that matters. All because she’s the one problem he can’t fix. And the one person who might actually break him for good.

As the final games of the season loom over Seren and Brad, and a clip of a heated kiss goes viral, their carefully crafted defence crumbles around them. With seconds left on the clock, a win could change everything. But if they lose, they lose it all…

Review Card & Book Review- All The Truth In My Lies By Elisabet Benavent

Six best friends on a bachelorette road trip. One RV packed with secrets.

Blanca’s September wedding is the perfect excuse for one last adventure, so Coco, Loren, and Aroa rent a camper and plot a week of sun splashed beaches, campsite dinners, and dancing till closing time. Marín and Gus jump onboard at the last minute. It should be idyllic—if only the truth weren’t riding shotgun.

Coco and Marín are the kind of roommates who make life look easy. Too bad Coco is in love with him. To keep it hidden, she pretends she’s still hung up on her ex, Gus… who seems to be writing love poems to someone he won’t name. Marín and Aroa’s breakup? Messier than anyone admits. Blanca should be glowing for her fiancé, yet she’s miles away. And Loren—poor Loren—knows more than he should and can’t tell a soul.

What starts as a carefree farewell becomes a pressure cooker of almost confessions and half truths. As the miles roll by, the stories they’ve told about themselves start to crack, and each of them has to choose what to protect: the friend group they’ve always been—or the person they might finally be brave enough to become.

With Benavent’s trademark mix of sparkle, tenderness, and razor sharp honesty, All the Truth in My Lies is a friends to lovers slow burn, a found family drama, and a summer road trip you’ll feel in your bones—about how telling the truth can break a heart…and how it just might be the only way to mend one.

About The Author

My Review

This book is about a tangled web of friendships, secrets, and complicated relationships that test how honest people are willing to be with themselves and each other. A close-knit group of friends reunites for a road trip to celebrate a wedding, only for long-buried truths and emotional baggage to surface along the way.

The novel is instantly engaging, pulling readers into a whirlwind of drama, romance, and shifting loyalties. With multiple perspectives and a lively cast—including Coco, Marin, Loren, Blanca, and Aroa—the story explores how adulthood doesn’t magically solve insecurities, jealousy, or unresolved feelings. The messy dynamics feel intentionally heightened, creating a page-turning, binge-worthy experience reminiscent of a gripping TV drama.

While the characters can be impulsive and flawed, their struggles with honesty, growth, and self-discovery keep the story compelling. Themes of friendship, love, and personal accountability run throughout, offering moments of reflection beneath the drama. Entertaining, emotional, and packed with twists, this novel will especially appeal to readers who enjoy complex friend groups and high-stakes relationship drama.

Wedding Road Trip

Secrets & Lies

Messy Friendships

My Rating

Link To Purchase

Happy Publication Day – 6 September 2026

The Day Our Lives Collided By Laura Pearson

How do you know when you’ve met your soulmate?

It’s the first day of term, and the lives of three new university students are about to collide. They’re going to introduce each other to more friends too. People who will be in their lives forever.

They’re young when the weddings start. Tash and Adam seem destined for each other, only 22 but with a baby already on the way. Even when a chance remark from Adam’s best man about their other friend, Hayden, puts everything at risk.

By the time the second wedding comes around, everything’s changed. And even more by the third…

Because it turns out, our soulmates aren’t always who we think they’ll be. And life has a funny way of switching things around. Just when you least expect it.

Review Card & Book Review- Where Happy Begins By Maxine Morrey

When Emmeline Buchanan grows weary of her city career, she decides to make a huge change by taking a job as a gardener at the gorgeous stately home, Ashington House. Sure, she may have told a little white lie about having a horticultural degree, but this is her summer to embrace happiness.

Welcomed with open arms by the lady of the house, Emmy is looking forward to a season of flowers and sunshine. So she is flabbergasted when Lady Penelope, desperate to save face with a nightmare neighbour, announces that her son, Edward, the Lord of the Manor no less, and Emmeline are engaged.

Desperate to keep her job, Emmy agrees to keep up the pretence, but as the summer days draw longer and she spends more time with Edward, she realises she may have made a big mistake. Because under the veneer of a slightly awkward country gent is hidden a devastatingly handsome and heart-achingly kind man. How is Emmy meant to walk away when the summer draws to an end…

About The Author

My Review

This book is about a fresh start that turns into an unexpected fake engagement at a charming English manor. Emmeline leaves her advertising career behind to become an under-gardener at Ashington Manor, where a spontaneous announcement from Edward’s mother suddenly places Emmeline and Edward in a pretend engagement that slowly begins to feel real.

The novel shines with cozy small-town charm, warm family dynamics, and the irresistible appeal of the fake-dating trope. The manor setting feels welcoming and picturesque, and the supporting characters add humor and heart to the story. Emmeline’s journey is driven by her desire to find her place in the world, and her insecurities make her relatable as she learns to trust both herself and the people around her.

Edward brings a gentle, steady romantic presence, and their relationship unfolds in a soft, slow-burn way that emphasizes emotional growth and self-acceptance. The story focuses as much on personal confidence and belonging as it does romance. Overall, this is a light, uplifting read full of warmth, charm, and feel-good escapism.

My Rating

Link To Purchase

Review Card & Book Review – June Baby By Shannon Garvey

Some summers never leave you.

At seventeen, Ruth lost her mother to cancer, and her father, unable to handle his grieving daughter, shipped her off to Block Island with nothing but a name scribbled on the back of a receipt: Diana Beckett. Diana, a renowned photographer, took Ruth in for the summer, and Block Island became Ruth’s refuge, a place of beauty and creativity, a place where she could nurture her dreams of being a writer, a place where she could fall in love for the first time—with Diana’s nephew, Charlie.

Now, at twenty-seven, Ruth has spent the last ten summers living and working among the lucky few who get to vacation in this wealthy beach town, and the rest of the year just scraping by, yearning to return to the place where she feels safe and unburdened. But then Ruth’s world is upended by tragedy again. Desperate for an anchor, she reaches for the person she’s been pining for since she met him—Charlie—who has his own startling revelation to share. And when another surprise comes in the form of a box left to Ruth by Diana, its contents raise questions about just how well she knew the two women who raised her. Torn between what to believe about her past, and what her future might hold, Ruth is faced with another choice: does she dare to rewrite her story entirely?

About The Author

My Review

This book is about grief, longing, and the messy process of figuring out who you are when life refuses to move at the pace you expected. Ruth arrives on Block Island at seventeen after losing her mother and being abandoned by her father, finding refuge with the enigmatic Diana Beckett and forming a deep connection with Diana’s nephew, Charlie.

A decade later, Ruth is still returning to the island each summer, emotionally stuck and unsure how to move forward. When Diana dies and Charlie reappears engaged, Ruth’s fragile sense of stability unravels, forcing her to confront unresolved grief, nostalgia, and the fear of being left behind.

The novel excels at capturing the quiet ache of an existential mid-twenties crisis. Ruth isn’t always likable, but she feels deeply authentic, and her flawed choices make her journey compelling. The pacing is slow at first, yet the emotional payoff grows steadily, delivering powerful moments that linger long after reading. Atmospheric writing makes Block Island feel alive and intimate. Tender, raw, and introspective, this is less a romance and more a heartfelt exploration of healing and belonging.

Childhood Friends

Second Chance Connection

Found Family

Grief & Healing

My Rating

Link To Purchase

Missing Person Investigation

Review Card & Book Review- You Can Tell Me By Melinda Leigh

On the three-year anniversary of true crime writer Olivia Cruz’s horrific kidnapping, she’s scheduled to walk her podcaster friend Zoe March through the crime scene, but Zoe fails to show. Olivia knows Zoe would never stand her up—not today.

Zoe’s husband, who claims she never came home the night before, has reported her missing. But marital conflicts make the police suspect she has left him. Olivia thinks otherwise. The police aren’t looking for Zoe, so Olivia begins her own investigation. Retracing her friend’s last steps, she finds Zoe’s phone and a text with one chilling word: Run.

It soon becomes apparent that Zoe has been keeping secrets, and with her true crime podcast, there’s no telling what she has unearthed. To find her, Olivia must dig into her friend’s past. Did Zoe vanish to escape a killer, and is Olivia walking into a deadly trap?

About The Author

My Review

This book is about a true crime writer forced to relive her worst trauma when a friend disappears under suspicious circumstances. Olivia Cruz is approaching the third anniversary of her kidnapping when podcaster Zoe March vanishes before a planned meeting at Olivia’s former crime scene. When police fail to act quickly, Olivia, her niece Nicki, and private investigator Lincoln Sharp launch their own search only to uncover secrets that make the case far more dangerous than expected.

This novel blends fast-paced suspense with emotional depth, especially through Olivia’s struggle with PTSD. Her hyper-vigilance, need for control, and determination add authenticity and heart to the investigation, making the stakes feel intensely personal. The multiple viewpoints keep tension high, and the author excels at creating vivid, immersive scenes without sacrificing pacing.

While the villain may be somewhat predictable, the story compensates with strong twists, gripping action, and a compelling mix of mystery and romance. Themes of trauma, trust, friendship, and found family run throughout. Overall, this is a tense, engaging start to a new series that promises plenty of intrigue and emotional resonance ahead.

True Crime Mystery

Trauma & Healing

Found Family

My Rating

Link To Purchase