Tilly Tait Winning Owen

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217708669-winning-owen?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=rRGJWg96ct&rank=2

Harper married her high school sweet heart at a young age after years of emotional abuse she discovers that he has been cheating on her with another woman in town along with that he has left her with a large mortgage. To get help with the mortgage she has a few friends move in to help cover costs and her brother's friend Owen comes over to help with yard work. Owen is no longer a young man she now notices him as "all man." Owen has always seen her as something more he has had a crush on his friends sister for years and at this point figures that is how it will always be... until one night when he ends up as a bachelor in the local charity auction and his dream girl Harper ends up with the highest bid he doesn't want to miss this opportunity to show that he can be so much more. Cute and sweet, quick read some spice this was the first book I read in this series and I would like to read the rest of the series to hear about the other friends and their auction won dates!

read this in 2024 as an ARC reader

friends --> more  * Brothers best friend  * some spice  * set in Australia  *Instant love

*FMC post divorce  *childhood crush  *small town  *Cinnamon Roll MMC

Kathleen Ayers: Sinfully Tempted

Sinfully Tempted read in 2024 

Book 2 for the five deadly sins 

In this book we see Tamsin Sinclair (oldest sister) try to make her way in the society that had shunned her and her family for so long.  Tamsin is beautiful like her mother who was an actress turned mistress and then wife to her father the Earl, this caused a lot of gossip for the ton.  Shortly after her father's death (in fact at the funeral) her evil elder half brother (on advice from his horrible aunt) banished his younger half siblings and their mother to a falling apart estate with little to no money to support themselves, Tamsin spends a lot of time feeling responsible for this banishment since she had recently punched a young lord for being a bit too forward, her and her siblings have to fight for survival for many years until receiving word that their evil brother passed away in a carriage accident.  

Tamsin and her family are now back in London and she is trying to fit in with society to not bring further shame to her family when they are finally getting back on their feet, she also wants to pave the way for her younger sister Aurora when she makes her come out in society.  One evening at a ball Tamsin decides to get some fresh air and get away from the stuffy over packed event.  While sitting alone on a bench she sees Hayden (Duke of Ware) who also doesn't care to attend these events he is shy and more interested in bugs than socializing with people.  Right now his true passion is moths and the one he has been looking for has landed right on Tamsin's skirts, being the socially awkward guy he is he keeps going after the moth... naturally while outside in the garden alone together they get caught in this "compromising" situation... would anyone actually believe he is hunting for a moth and it's really not what it looks like?  

In order to save their reputations the couple now have to pretend to be in a fake friendship/courting situation to dispel the rumors and gossip with the plan of the relationship ending after the gossip goes to someone else. Ware is large, again very awkward and at times rude, but he can also be sweet & caring we also find out that he wants to be nothing like his father and brothers who were all lecherous and died tragically, as the 3rd son he never thought he would be in the position to be the Duke and most of his child hood he focused on his other scientific interests.  Ware is related to Odessa (female lead from the first book) and they have been close since child hood.  

Ware and Tamsin are true opposites but they find over the course of their arrangement that they are drawn to each other.  We also find that Ware has been impressed with Tamsin since he was a boy... she did break his awful brother's nose after all.  

It was nice seeing Ware come out of his shell a bit over the course of the book as their relationship progressed and take charge of the power he was given as the Duke.  Tamsin a free spirit finds her match with Ware and comes to learn more about herself and her struggle with her feelings of guilt (for her families banishment).

Naturally there are others who do not want them to be together and they have some obstacles to overcome before they can find their happily ever after.  Some true laugh out loud moments, I really enjoyed this book and continued to read the series.   

historical romance *enemies/lovers  *fake relationship *some spice *opposites attract

*bullying from the ton snobs 

Lisa J Page: Just a Family Friend Tom and Libbie

 read in 2025

Young adult romance book age appropriate for those looking for something their teen could read.  Set in New Zealand.  Dyslexic friendly font. 

Tom Johnson is on the tennis team he's really good at it and is looking to get a full ride scholarship to a University in the USA in order to have a chance at a scholarship he needs to get his grades up in Statistics, the teacher wanting to see him succeed suggests that he get a tutor and the teacher has the perfect candidate:  Libbie she's 2 years younger but is a math wiz... she is also a long time friend of his family.

Libbie Ashton has had a crush on Tom since... well since forever he taught her how to play tennis when they were kids because he needed a partner for pairs, they spend time together with their families and she really enjoys being around him... could he ever see her as more than just a friend.

Some family drama ensues after the couple decides to give a relationship a try, will their family approve of their relationship?  Or is their relationship over before it even begins?  

The story is a cute quick read.  Dual POV but reads more like you are reading from a diary or day planner or even a school text book rather than a book at times and the dialogue is kind of awkward at times.  Lots of discussion surrounding homework and I think I would have liked more interaction between the couple surrounding their actual relationship but it is a high school romance.  The book also shows the same scenes from both characters point of view at times instead of moving forward with the book.  

Katy Archer: The Game Changer

 

Nolan U: Book 3 read in 2025

This book is about Casey who we have seen in the first few books as a one night stand play boy, he gets around with the girls on campus... and frequently and doesn't intend to see or call them again.  Even though our leading female Carolyn knows this she still has a huge crush on him and decides to shoot her shot at a party one night.  Casey being the kind of guy he is immediately is drawn to her then finds an empty room for some "fun" even though she is warned by her best friend and room mate not to expect much out of this encounter she does anyways after having the best bedroom experience of her life.  She gives Casey her number he is also blown away by the experience and makes the mistake of saying he will call her... he doesn't.

Over a month later we find that Carolyn is in a frenzy because her period is late, they used protection she is now pregnant... how could this happen?  While the story line from here is just ok for me, there are some trigger warnings if you want to read this book including the options available for our couple in keeping, putting the baby up for adoption or terminating the pregnancy.  

Casey is a walking red flag but we kind of knew that from the previous books. I did like how he went from a child himself to working on changing his ways throughout the book as he gets to know Carolyn better and realizes he can be "boyfriend" material.  red flag #1: he never calls Carolyn back  #2: he forgets her name just remembers the sexual experience and at times refers to her or her body parts in just an "ick" kind of way "Fun bags" mentions her as a puck bunny (no woman carrying your child wants to be called that).  #3 he has loads of tattoos and you find out early on that he has a tattoo to commemorate the most "memorable" ladies he has been with.  On Carolyn's side of the story writer  continues to refer to the Vagina as a "V-jay" same as she did in the first few books.  

I don't feel it's fair to bring up Casey being immature when Carolyn is shown to be just as immature and irresponsible throughout the book.  She's portrayed as wanting to be sexually active and explore this side of things while at college (which is fine) but she doesn't seem to understand that she should possibly be on a form of birth control to prevent this very issue she's now in since condoms are not a 100% sure way to prevent pregnancy.  I also didn't like that she has this huge decision to make about the baby and what she wants to do but a good majority of the book focuses on her pushing off making any decisions about this huge thing hanging over her head while she doesn't tell any of her family and continues to get closer to Casey.  

Carolyn also felt terrible with the way she was ignored by Casey yet she is doing the exact same thing to a guy who wanted to get to know her better (Ben) to the point of hiding when she sees him out in public so she doesn't have to talk to him.  

A lot of spice in this book as our couple takes "advantage" of the surprise pregnancy to have lots of unprotected sex, also discusses frequently how overly sensitive her body is due to pregnancy hormones. 

There is a scene in the book where Carolyn asks what a horrible smell is and Casey tells her that it is his recent smelly dump and she will have to get used to it because he is proud of his smelly poop and that's just who he is as a person.  

***possible spoiler

Leilani (the sensible room mate) discusses that Carolyn really needs to tell Casey at some point that he might not even be the father because she had relations with another guy the same week.  I felt this is where I started to like Carolyn less when she found out she was pregnant she went to tell the guy that she liked more and had a big crush on that he was the father... without even knowing for sure and ignored the other possible father completely.  The fact that she was hiding this from both potential fathers felt manipulative on her side and felt as if she was using the baby as leverage to get playboy Casey to stay with her.  I did have a harder time getting through the book after I found this out about Carolyn hiding this fact and just the fact that she is making poor decisions in general... maybe it's because I'm older now but this book was just so-so for me. 

surprise pregnancy// College Hockey// Dual POV// trigger warnings: discussion of abortion, adoption, keeping the baby, miscarriage. 

Nadine Millard: A Springtime Scandal

 Book 1 in A lord for all Seasons: read in 2025

Elodie Templeworth is the oldest of 4 girls a lot is on her shoulders as her family expects her to mind her manners by being the perfect lady and attracting an eligible suitor, her mother would be delighted if it was someone who had a title... this is mentioned multiple times in the book not sure why "everything" is up to her but ok.   

Elodie also has the responsibility of keeping her younger three sisters in line while her mother and father go about their business like it's not their job to watch after their girls.

In comes Christian Harrison, Viscount of Brentford he is recently back to the country after time abroad and is visiting his relatives in the country there is nothing to do there and while he plans to go back to London soon he visits the local country dance where he runs into Elodie while everyone else might see a prim and proper miss he has an encounter where she shows she has some sass and fire inside it doesn't hurt that she's also very beautiful but why is she in charge of keeping her younger sisters out of trouble one is clearly a shameless flirt and the other girl is drinking far too much and walking off with some local guy where is their mother?  

Due to this situation with the sister Christian and Elodie find themselves in a "compromising" situation but nothing happened and Christian isn't going to be forced into marrying this woman he just met over a non-issue.  Elodie's mother having other ideas tells the Viscount that he should be coming over to make marriage arrangements to not ruin their family name.  

Christian speaks with his cousin about the situation (who has had a thing for Elodie for ages he is a local farmer) the cousin says that he should do the right thing by offering for her but he had already went over to the house that morning and told Elodie's parents nothing happened and she isn't ruined because no one will be talking about it it was just a few people who even knew and they were all planning to be discreet... except someone wasn't it is now all over this small town that the perfect daughter is possibly "ruined."  

Elodie is beside herself her parents are discussing the options for her while she's there but not involving her in any of the plans and she is tired of not having a say in what should happen, she decides to escape to their London home to allow for this "scandal" to blow over... that and she has no interest in marrying Christian's cousin who has come to call shortly after Christian left that morning.  So she does something very un-Elodie like she packs her bags and with her sisters help hides in Christian's carriage if he is trying to ditch her after causing part of this problem he owes her right?  he can get her to London.

On this trip of course the Viscount finds her but they are already further away and in a storm so agreeing to help her get out of town they grow closer together maybe even fall for each other.  Very minimal spice, some drama, and some general misunderstandings that could be cleared up quickly with a conversation but often is pushed off for later.  Over the course of the book you realize that while Elodie watches over her sisters they look out for her just as much.   

Was a cute quick read with some humor and I plan to read the rest of the series, I really loved her sisters and I'm looking forward to their stories. 

Kelly Anne Blount: I Hate you, Fuller James

 Read in 2023

I don't read young adult books too often but I bought this book after it popped up in an ad for me and I wasn't disappointed.  This was a cute quick read following Wren who is a super smart girl that ends up with a horrible nickname of "wrentainer" and who gave this name to her... well Fuller James of course.

Fuller is cute and popular he is a star basketball player and really is there anything that isn't going his way... well he apparently isn't that great at AP lit and in order to be able to play a really important game (College scouts are there and he needs this game to impress them) he needs to get his grades up and quick in comes Wren who is volun-told that she needs to tutor Fuller and get his grades up prior to this important game as a side note it has to be a secret because the other guys on the team can't know there is a possibility their star will be sitting on the side lines it wouldn't be good for their game (morale).  

At the beginning of the book you can see why Wren might "hate" Fuller especially when he makes a shady bet with his buddies that she would be upset if she found out about.  But he truly is a sweet kid he just needs a chance to show that side of himself to Wren by the end of this book you are rooting for Wren and Fuller to get together.  

Also has a sweet grand gesture that will have your heart melting just a bit especially if you loved those 80's rom coms.

Enemies to romance -->  age appropriate teen romance with a bit of humor.  

Katy Archer Hockey House V-Cards

 Prequel to the Nolan U Series read in 2025:

Decided to read this because I had started the series, I pushed through to finish it but this is exactly what it says 4 college Hockey bro's sitting around and talking about their first time including all the awkwardness that can occur.  You don't need to read this to read the series as it doesn't really add anything to their individual stories (from the ones I have read so far).  It's more of an extra book to advertise for the individual books in the series after each book it has a link for that guys individual story.  

Spice in each story and read at your own discretion.

Ethan's first time is as a college freshman when he gets to Nolan U he runs into an older sorority girl who likes to take charge and teach young guys a thing or twenty.

Liam is ever the protector and agrees to be one of his best friends first (she is his too) so she doesn't end up getting with a jerk just wanting to get more girls on his list, they are both in high school after this he decides that he isn't a one night stand kind of guy and only wants to have sex when it's meaningful.

Casey is ever the player he ends up going out to celebrate getting the hockey scholarship to Nolan U by getting a tattoo, the slightly older (young 20's) Asian tattoo artist takes a liking to him and gives him his first tattoo and another new experience. 

Asher the rich kid is at a family party when he runs into a beautiful older lady (turns out to be a friend of his mom's... they went to high school together) she is 44 and he is a senior in high school.  This lady is in the middle of a divorce and even though she is beautiful she is not feeling it at the moment due to her soon to be ex-husband leaving her for a 22 year old.  She ends up with an upsetting phone call and ends up in his room he goes to comfort her... 

It's a shorter book just don't think it was for me.