Category Archives: Book Review

Self-discovery & personal growth

Review Card & Book Review – One In A Million By Della Galton

One woman’s journey to wrestle with her past and find happiness 🗝️

Sarah-Jane Crosse, SJ to her friends, is desperate to avoid going to her parents’ ruby wedding anniversary party. She’s terrified of introducing her new husband, Tom, to her estranged sister, Alison, because the sisters have history. Alison covets everything that belongs to SJ.

With her anxiety spiralling, SJ knows she often has a couple of glasses of wine too many and after a disastrously drunken night she reaches out for help. However, sadly help does not begin at home. Tom is not supportive. Seemingly in denial he misses SJ’s distress calls, and SJ begins to second-guess herself.
Everyone drinks, right?
It’s hardly a massive problem?
She’s perfectly fine, isn’t she?

Meanwhile, her very supportive best friend, Tania, has a surprising secret and SJ is determined to help her out. But navigating through this lot isn’t easy.

With the help of an ever-faithful dog, a few reformed characters, and a lot of self-reflection and home truths, the future is looking a whole lot brighter for SJ and the statistics speak for themselves – she is one in a million…

About The Author

My Review

This book is about a woman standing at a crossroads, forced to confront the life she’s built and the truths she’s been carefully avoiding. One in a Million is a tender, emotionally rich novel about self-reckoning, resilience, and the quiet courage it takes to begin again.

SJ is a deeply relatable heroine—kind, anxious, imperfect, and doing her best to keep everything from falling apart. Her strained relationship with her sister, an increasingly fragile marriage, and her growing unease around her drinking are explored with sensitivity and compassion. Della Galton never judges SJ; instead, she allows her story to unfold gently, capturing the messy, uncomfortable space between denial and self-awareness with striking honesty.

The emotional core of the novel is its greatest strength. SJ’s inner monologue feels achingly real, especially as she starts to question habits she once brushed off as normal. Moments of heartbreak are balanced with warmth and hope: a steadfast best friend, a loyal dog, unexpected truths, and small acts of kindness that illuminate a path forward.

Ultimately, this is a story about choosing yourself—even when it’s frightening—and discovering strength where you least expect it. Moving, compassionate, and quietly uplifting, One in a Million lingers long after the final page.

Healing through friendship and second chances

Marriage in crisis

My Rating

Link To Purchase

Review Card & Book Review- I’m Looking For A Man In Finance By Sabrina Waldrof

Sparks fly when a journalist seeking the most eligible man on Wall Street goes head-to-head with the finance bro determined to get in her way.

Journalist Hallie Woods has a new assignment: date the hottest guy on Wall Street and document every moment for the magazine she works for. The only problem? Finance bros couldn’t be further from Hallie’s type.

But as Hallie reluctantly flirts her way through the Financial District, there’s one annoyingly handsome 6′5″, blue-eyed man who keeps getting in her way.

James Rossi is a typical finance bro on paper but a hopeless romantic at heart. After being burned by an ex-girlfriend who used him for his money, he’s also fiercely protective of himself and his friends. So when he realizes the new regular at his favorite bar is flirting with his colleagues as fodder for an article, he decides to sabotage her plans.

Hallie and James clash at happy hour every week. But soon their dislike for each other turns into something unexpected, and Hallie questions whether she wants her personal life spread across the pages of a magazine.

Hallie might have found her man in finance, but she also has a choice to make: publish the article or risk her career and invest in true love.

About The Author

My Review

This book is about ambition, unexpected connections, and discovering love in the most unconventional circumstances. I’m Looking for a Man in Finance follows Hallie, an aspiring food critic who seizes a career-making opportunity by dating finance professionals for a magazine feature. Her plan takes an intriguing turn when she meets James, a perceptive and principled man who knows exactly what she’s doing—and proposes a clever deal of his own involving five dates and his family’s beloved pizza restaurant.

While the story unfolds at a gentle pace initially, it allows the characters and premise to develop naturally. Once the narrative hits its stride, the chemistry between Hallie and James truly shines. Their banter is lively, their connection feels authentic, and James emerges as a refreshingly layered and thoughtful romantic lead who defies expectations.

The emotional stakes rise beautifully toward the end, adding tension and depth that keep the pages turning. Hallie’s journey of balancing career ambition with matters of the heart is engaging and relatable, making her growth especially satisfying. Overall, this is a charming, modern romance that blends humor, heart, and meaningful character development, delivering an enjoyable and memorable reading experience.

Fake Dating

Opposites Attract

Career vs. Love

My Rating

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Small-town romance with emotional healing

Review Card & Book Review- The Cherry Crush Flower Shop By Harper Graham

Zoe Hart is right where she belongs: in her cozy Maple Falls flower shop with her cat Whiskers. But her oldest friend (and secret crush) Jackson is back in their small town too. And most of all, she longs to be in his strong arms. So when her hopelessly romantic mom bets on them being Couple of the Year at the Spring Festival, Zoe finds herself fake-dating the friend-zoned guy she’s always wanted…

When Jackson returns from military service, even working on his llama sanctuary can’t

heal him. But Zoe is the only person who can truly make him smile. He’d do anything for her… even pretend to be dating for the Spring Festival. There’s nothing fake about his feelings as he crushes his lips to hers. But there’s no way she’d really want a broken man like him, would she?

All eyes are on them as the town prepares to vote for Couple of the Year. But when a hidden wildflower meadow becomes their escape, real passion blooms amid falling cherry blossom. Will the magic of spring turn their make-believe romance into true love forever?

About The Author

My Review

This book is about finding courage, healing old wounds, and letting love bloom in the most ordinary, small-town moments.This book introduces Zoe Hart, a florist holding her life together with determination, humor, and her scene-stealing cat Whiskers. When wedding chaos strikes, her longtime best friend—and secret crush—Jackson Hawthorne steps in, setting the stage for a tender friends-to-lovers romance.

Heather Graham shines with character-driven storytelling. Jackson is a compelling hero: a veteran struggling with PTSD, torn between his feelings for Zoe and his fear of hurting her. His emotional distance feels frustrating at times, but painfully realistic. Zoe, meanwhile, is strong, vulnerable, and deeply relatable, especially as she grapples with fertility concerns and dreams of a future that feels increasingly uncertain.

Their emotional baggage is handled with care and sincerity, allowing their connection to unfold naturally. The fake-dating mishap sparked by small-town gossip adds humor and charm, while side characters—especially Krista—enrich the story with warmth and support. Cozy, heartfelt, and emotionally satisfying, this romance feels like a warm hug, perfect for readers who love gentle love stories with depth, growth, and genuine feeling.

Best friends to lovers

Fake dating

My Rating

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Review Card & Book Review – The Diamond Puck- Up By Lauren Landish

NHL enforcer Griffin Mahoney has spent years protecting his team on the ice—and his heart off it. The one woman who makes his stone-cold exterior melt? His best friend’s sister, Penny Lee. But when a stolen ring entangles her with the Mob, Griffin’s protective instincts override his promise to stay away.

As a custom jewelry designer, Penny transforms family heirlooms into modern treasures. She’s always thought her brother’s best friend was grumpier than a bear with a hangover—until she discovers the brooding hockey player’s hidden soft side. Their undeniable chemistry catches them both off guard, even as danger circles closer.

With Stanley Cup playoffs looming, Mob threats escalating, and her overprotective brother ready to cross-check them both into the next season, Griffin and Penny’s path to happiness is anything but smooth. Together they’ll discover that true love, like diamonds, can withstand any pressure—and shine even brighter for it.

About The Author

My Review

This is about a fast-paced, witty hockey romance that blends enemies-to-lovers banter with light suspense and plenty of heart. This book pairs sunny, creative Penny Lee with grumpy NHL defenseman Griffin Mahoney, whose mutual irritation has been simmering ever since Penny’s hockey-star brother introduced them five years earlier. Their sharp chemistry crackles from the start, making every interaction feel lively and fun.

Penny’s career as a custom jewelry designer adds a fresh twist, especially when her prized five-carat antique ring becomes the center of chaos. The ring’s accidental mob connection propels the story into an entertaining race against time, forcing Penny and Griffin to work together despite their long-standing antagonism. The suspense element is playful rather than dark, keeping the tone light while raising the stakes just enough to stay engaging.

Griffin is a classic grump with a soft center, and watching him slowly fall for Penny’s warmth and optimism is deeply satisfying. Penny, meanwhile, is capable, clever, and refreshingly confident. Lauren Landish balances humor, romance, and action beautifully, delivering a quick, charming read that’s easy to devour and leaves you eager for more from the series.

Enemies-to-Lovers

Forced Proximity

Grumpy x Sunshine

My Rating

Link To Purchase

Celebrity × Ordinary Person Romance

Review Card & Book Review – Secretly Yours By Katie Talbot

Seven years ago, Paul Easton broke my heart. We were inseparable—until one humiliating yearbook photo and one terrible night blew everything up.

Now he’s a superstar, and his gorgeous face is everywhere. On movie posters. On talk shows. On my nerves. As for me? I’m a New York City journalist, and I’m thriving, in case anyone’s keeping score.

So when I land the assignment to write an exposé on him, I say yes. Not to reconnect. To show him how much better off I am without him.

At first, everything goes according to plan. I’m detached and professional.

Until he smiles. Until his dog decides to adopt me. Until we stumble into a long-buried Civil War-era mystery . . . and start solving it together.

Now I’m trying to write the story that could make my career—while pretending I’m not still hopelessly in love with the boy who taught me what heartbreak feels like.

This was supposed to be revenge. Instead, it might just be my second chance.

About The Author

My Review

This book is about second chances, unresolved feelings, and the quiet power of emotional honesty between two people who never quite got over each other. Secretly Yours follows Scarlett, an investigative reporter whose career is hanging by a thread, and Paul, her former best friend and teenage crush—now a glossy Hollywood star. When Scarlett’s final shot at saving her job requires writing a gossip piece about Paul, the past they never confronted comes rushing back.

What truly shines is the emotional depth. Katie Talbot takes her time unpacking Scarlett’s anxiety, regret, and vulnerability, making her feelings feel immediate and real rather than skimmed over. The reconnection between Scarlett and Paul is tender and thoughtful, built on conversation and understanding instead of melodrama. Paul is especially refreshing: emotionally open, kind, and radiating total golden-retriever energy—a welcome change from the brooding stereotype.

The supporting cast adds warmth and humor, from Winnie’s disastrous dating life to the wonderfully eccentric Uncle Ignatius, who steals every scene he’s in. Light, heartfelt, and genuinely engaging, this is a sweet, fast-paced romance that delivers emotional payoff without overstaying its welcome.

Second Chance Romance

Friends to Lovers

My Rating

Link To Purchase

Holiday romance / vacation romance

Review Card & Book Review- Ex On The Beach By Phoebe MacLeod

She heads to Jamaica for rest and relaxation and ends up starring in her own tropical rom-com, featuring an ex she can’t escape, and sparks that refuse to stay on holiday 🌴💘

Tori needs a holiday. London is cold and grey, work is manic, and after a regrettable New Year’s Eve hookup with her ex, her best friends won’t stop pushing her onto dating apps. So when a colleague offers Tori the last spot on a Jamaican getaway, she doesn’t take much persuasion.

But paradise comes with a twist. Not only is she forced to share a room with grumpy, recently dumped Robert, but her ex has turned up too, hand-in-hand with his new girlfriend. Ten days in the sun suddenly looks like ten days of torture.

Still, Tori is determined to make the most of her situation. And who knows, with sun-kissed beaches, poolside views, and a charming hotel piano player, this trip might just turn into the escape she didn’t know she needed…

About The Author

My Review

This book is about a New Year’s Eve that goes spectacularly wrong and sets off a sun-soaked chain of awkward, funny, and surprisingly heartfelt events. Tori begins the year with too much champagne, a brutal hangover, and the horror of waking up next to her deplorable ex. She escapes quickly, convinced things can’t get worse—only to be proven wrong when a last-minute Caribbean trip lands her sharing a room with someone else’s freshly dumped boyfriend, while her smirking ex and his girlfriend turn up too.

Phoebe Macleod leans into the chaos with warmth and humour, placing Tori in one cringe-worthy situation after another while letting her optimism and resilience shine. The alcohol-free resort is a clever contrast to Tori’s disastrous night, and the beach bar scenes add charm and sparkle. Gabriel is an absolute highlight—gentle, intriguing, and refreshingly grounded—while Throbbert brings much-needed comic relief. Any, on the other hand, is spectacularly irritating, though clearly written that way to stir things up.

Light, escapist, and emotionally satisfying, it delivers laughs, second chances, and a thoroughly enjoyable ending.

Forced proximity

Second chance at love

My Rating

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Dual timeline / generational story

Review Card & Book Review- You Belong With Me By Beth Moran

A woman who stopped believing in romance. An Island worth fighting for. And a love she never saw coming ✨

Three times a fiancée but never a bride is not a claim to fame Bluebell Beddoes is proud of. But she is taking it as a sign…

Sworn off romance, instead the love of Blue’s life is the beautiful Isle of Siskin. Her home from birth, her community and now her job with the wildly successful podcast Only on Siskin. Her life is full and her future is set.

So, when the peace on Siskin is threatened with being destroyed forever, Blue knows she has to act. There are secrets from the past that may be able to save the future of the island, and only Blue can get to the bottom of them.

When handsome and mysterious Jonathan White arrives on Siskin, Blue is unsure if he’s here to help or hinder. But when it becomes clear Jonathan holds the key to unlocking the past, Blue will have to learn to trust again or risk losing everything she loves…

About The Author

My Review

This book is about community, belonging, and the quiet ways love,romantic and shapes who we become. This is set on the wonderfully vivid Isle of Siskin, where podcaster Blue Beddoes and her formidable mother Goldie rally the islanders to stop a mega-resort threatening their way of life. Their plan hinges on uncovering long-buried truths about Jack’s Place, from elusive natterjack toads to a disputed inheritance.

The present-day story sparkles with warmth and humour, especially as fiercely independent Blue teams up with charming environmental consultant Jonathan White. Their slow-burn connection is full of witty banter, gentle romance, and laugh-out-loud moments, particularly around Blue’s insistence that she definitely does not need a man.

Running alongside this is a poignant dual timeline set in the 1950s, following Sorrel and Calvin Griffin. Their love story is tender and bittersweet, deepened by the knowledge of Calvin’s lonely future.

Beth Moran’s writing shines with heart, humour, and emotional depth. The close-knit island setting feels utterly real, the characters are deeply lovable, and the quietly Christian values are woven in with subtlety. It’s a comforting, uplifting read that lingers long after the final page.

Slow-burn romance

Small-town island community charm

My Rating

Link To Purchase

Domestic drama with secrets

Review Card & Book Review- Other People’s Marriages By Caroline Finnerty

Two couples. Four sides of the story. A hundred ways to break their families apart 💔

Every Tuesday night, two couples see the same therapist for marriage counselling. At 8pm, as Liv and Jay are leaving their session, they see Maya and Hugo waiting to go in.

When their young boys start at the same school, things are initially awkward, but as the women get to know one another, they become friends, sharing the fractures in their respective marriages. Soon, they are confiding their deepest secrets.

Then Liv and Jay’s son comes home from school upset, saying that Maya and Hugo’s son is bullying him. There’s no choice but to confront the issue, but what should be a civil conversation between grown-ups soon takes a turn. As the delicate threads holding their relationships together start to unravel, they are all left to question the foundations that both their marriages and friendships have been built on.

About The Author

My Review

This book is about the quiet unraveling of two marriages and the unexpected bond that forms when secrets begin to surface. This is a subtle yet gripping exploration of friendship, fidelity, and the stories couples tell themselves to survive.

The novel opens with an awkward meeting in a therapist’s waiting room, where Liv and Maya slowly develop a connection that feels tentative but deeply real. As they share the cracks in their respective marriages, their conversations become the emotional heart of the story—raw, intimate, and uncomfortably honest. Finnerty excels at showing the contrast between outwardly polished lives and the private disappointments simmering beneath.

Tension escalates when a conflict between their sons at school forces long-suppressed issues into the open. What should be straightforward quickly turns messy, exposing blurred boundaries, simmering resentments, and fragile trust. The author handles these moments with empathy, never tipping into melodrama, but allowing the emotional consequences to land naturally.

What truly stands out is the lack of judgment. Every character feels flawed, human, and believable. With shifting perspectives and moral ambiguity, the novel keeps you questioning loyalties until the end.

Thought-provoking and emotionally rich, this is a compelling, quietly powerful read about how easily certainties can fall apart.

Marriage in crisis

Female friendship

My Rating

Link To Purchase