A Terribly Nasty Business

By: Julia Seales
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 300

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): After achieving her lifelong dream of solving a murder, bringing a killer to justice, and proving she is not, in fact, a morbid creep, Beatrice Steele feels like everything is finally falling into place. She's traded her etiquette-obsessed community of Swampshire for the big city of London, accompanied by her ever-trusty chaperone, Miss Bolton. They've settled in a lovely neighborhood, Sweetbriar, known for its proximity to the Sweet Majestic theater, picturesque pleasure gardens, and an unfortunate infestation of flying squirrels. But Beatrice's favorite part is that Sweetbriar is also home to D.S. Investigations, the new office she opened with the prickly, annoyingly logical Inspector Drake to solve the city's brutally thrilling crimes.

However, nothing is turning out how Beatrice imagined it would. Sir Huxley, famed gentleman inspector and Beatrice's former crush, is still considered the real investigator in London, so the only cases left for Beatrice and Drake are lost pets and spectacles. Not that Beatrice has much time for crime-solving, anyways, as her mother still expects her to find an eligible (rich) husband to protect their family from destitution. Beatrice is struggling to balance all the demands on her and begins to wonder if she can become a true detective in a city that feels full of false promises.

That is until a string of murders thrusts Beatrice and Drake into the center of a scandal that pits the neighborhood's wealthiest against the arts community, spreading fear and chaos throughout the city. As they follow the trail through bewildering ballrooms, secretive shops, and odd operas, Beatrice must survive threats to her partnership, her business, and her place in society to break the case - before it's too late.

First Impressions

I read the first book in this series for book club and it really made me laugh. I was excited to see that there was a sequel and I do love these covers. I think between the cover and the title I would’ve picked this up on first impression alone.

What I thought

This book was just as cute as the first.

Beatrice is back but this time she has left Swampshire for London. Miss Bolton is her chaperone as she lives in the city and works an investigative business with Detective Drake. But one of the caveats to her being in London is that she participates in the social season o find a rich husband to help support her family back in Swampshire. When a man is found murdered, an accused actor comes to Beatrice and Drake to help clear his name and find the real murderer. Beatrice, Drake, and Miss Bolton have to navigate an investigation and finding a husband all at the same time.

I love how these stories have a strong female lead in a time where women were not meant to be independent. All of the women in this book are bucking the stereotypes of society. Beatrice is observant and I love her skillset. I also appreciated that she started to make friends in this book. The world is being built more and more and I can see this as a long standing series.

The mystery itself is semi-predictable, but not in an annoying way. There is so much going on in the story outside of the mystery that I don’t find myself focused on trying to figure out who the murder is intensely. The will they or won’t they with Drake and Beatrice is still occurring which I enjoyed. I like how he seems to be a little baffled by Beatrice yet accepts her completely.

Seales does a fabulous job making characters and settings that pop off the page. Who else could make a city infested with flying squirrels seem plausible?

I haven’t ever read a story like this one before. It balances mystery, romance, and humor. I really hope that Seales continues this series, especially given how this book ended. If you are looking for a light read I highly recommend checking out the first book and continuing with this one. Even though there’s murder it’s not dark at all. I don’t know how she balances it all but she does and I cant wait to read more!

Dragon Fires Everywhere

By: Hazel Beck
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Graydon House
Pages: 368

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Newly-minted Historian of the soon-to-be-ascended Riverwood Coven Georgie Pendell has always played her part—so why does she feel like an outsider in her own life? Duped and dumped by her boyfriend, Georgie finds herself dismissing love as a fairytale. But when the words she reads aloud from an enchanted storybook free a dragon shifter, everything changes.
 
Georgie finds herself drawn to the dragon in ways she didn’t think were even possible for her, and her dragon, with his fiery golden gaze, all but claims Georgie as his own. But beneath his scorching intensity lies a secret, one that stretches back into the ancient past.
 
With the Joywood Coven still finding ways to upend the new order of the witching world, Georgie and her coven will need to prove themselves up to the task of being in charge, and right the wrongs their predecessors committed—if they can uncover the truth. Because something is missing. Something that will stop the Joywood once and for all. Something that only a Historian and an ancient dragon can find.

First Impressions

This is the 4th and final book in the Witchlore series. I was so excited to read this one and see how everything played out. I am partial to the purple so this might be my 2nd favorite cover in the series.

What I thought

Perfection. This book wrapped up everything within the series and I felt so satisfied.

The fourth book follows Georgina Pendell who is the Historian of the Ravenwood coven. In the previous books she was portrayed as ditzy and probably one of the women I was least interested in. Not that I disliked her, but she came off a little boring. However, this book take some turns and sucked me in immediately.

Georgie finds out that she is connected to Azrael, a dragon, as her soulmate. While everyone thought that witches only live the one life, the coven ends up finding out otherwise when it comes to Georgie, as well as magical creatures they thought didn’t exist.

I love the way this series deals with the world of magic. The Joywood coven is truly evil and seeing them plot and scheme n each book never gets old. I also love how at its core, the series is about love and togetherness and equality. While it may be categorized as a romance novel, there is so much more to it than that.

I also enjoyed how magical creatures were introduced in this installment. While every part of it was new, it didn’t come out of nowhere. It built throughout each book and made me want to re-read all of the other books to pick up on all of the details. The romance/relationship part of the story was interesting. It is sort of instalove but also not because of the whole past life thing. I do wish we had gotten a little bit more because at the end I didn’t quite feel their meant to be connection, but I loved Georgie’s growth and storyline overall.

It is so rare to find a series where you can recommend each and every book. I loved each book individually and as a whole. If you are someone who enjoys witchy/magic stories and also enjoy a hint of romance I would highly recommend this book. Even if you’re a little hesitant about either of those, I would say to give this series a shot.

Go Luck Yourself

By: Sara Raasch
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Bramble
Pages: 320

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Someone has been stealing Christmas’s joy, and there’s only one clue to the culprit—a single shamrock.

With Coal busy restructuring Christmas—and their dad now having a full midlife crisis in the Caribbean—Kris volunteers to investigate St. Patrick’s Day. His cover: an ambassador from Christmas to foster goodwill. What could go wrong?

Everything, it seems. Because Prince Lochlann Patrick, Crown Prince of St. Patrick’s Day, happens to be the mysterious student that Kris has been in a small war with at Cambridge. They attempt to play nice for the tabloids, but Kris can’t get through one conversation without wanting to smash Loch’s face in—he’s infuriating, stubborn, loud, obstinate, hot—

Wait—hot?

Kris might be in some trouble. Especially when it turns out that the mystery behind Christmas’s stolen magic isn’t as simple as an outright theft. But why would a Holiday that Christmas has never had contact with, one that’s always been the very basis of carefree, want to steal joy? Can a spare prince even hope to unravel all this, or will Kris lose something way more valuable than his Holiday’s resources—like his heart?

First Impressions

This is the sequel to Nightmare Before Kissmiss and I love this cover and title just as much. Add in the sprayed edges to match the holiday feel and I would happily put this book on my shelf. I would absolutely pick it up based just on the cover and title alone.

What I thought

I said it before and I’ll say it again, I need a never ending series in this world of holiday royals.

Kristopher, the second son of Christmas, is struggling to find his place after his brother Coal steps up with his royal duties as the heir to the Christmas throne. While at school, he pulls a prank on the boy who keeps stealing his study room, only to find out later that he is the Prince of St. Patrick’s Day. On top of that, they discover that St. Patrick’s Day has been siphoning off magic from the Christmas Day joy collector. Kris volunteers to go to St. Patrick’s Day to help the Christmas Court figure out who planted the device under the guise of apologizing to his arch nemesis.

Raasch balances political intrigue and romance unlike anyone I have ever read. She makes me just as interested in everything going on with the royals as I was in Lochlann (Loch) and Kris’ romance. I love a good enemies to lovers story and Loch and Kris have some great banter.

I didn’t quite love this one as much as the first, but I think that was because I got a little frustrated with Kris. He is dealing with a lot of self-image issues and anxiety and I frequently wanted to smack him across the face and tell him to get over it. Now, I think it’s realistic and I wasn’t annoyed with him because of that. Just that here were a few moments where I felt he got a tiny bit too whiny and I didn’t love it.

I did like how Raasch had so much of Coal and Iris in this book still. Kris played a big part in Coal’s book, so I was glad to see Coal still around so much. Plus it let me stay up to date on how he was handling the Christmas scandal from the last book. I am still so curious how this world will continue to function.

This book was honestly the perfect follow up to the first. I loved reading Kris’ story and I need Raasch to write Iris’. I wouldn’t recommend this one as a standalone because I think you need the history of the political scandal from the first story to really understand this one. This is a very fun read, especially as there aren’t many St. Patrick’s Day books!

The Deal (Off-Campus #1)

By: Elle Kennedy
Published Year: 2015
Publisher: Bloom Books
Pages: 400

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): She's about to make a deal with the college bad boy...

Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she's carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush's attention, she'll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice...even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date.

...and it's going to be oh so good.

All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he's worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he's all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn't take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn't going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.

First Impressions

I saw the special edition on the shelf at the library and it immediately caught my eye. I have had this book on my radar but continually forgotten about it. The first cover isn’t my favorite, but the style of the special edition is amazing.

What I thought

I LOVED this book. Flew through it in 2 days.

Hannah is a music major. Garret is the star of the hockey team. Hannah is one of a handful of students who passed the Ethics midterm. Garret is not. When Garret sees that Hannah passed, he tries to charm her into tutoring him so that he can continue to play hockey. She is having none of it, until he comes up with an offer too sweet to turn down. She tutors him, he uses his social status to get her crush to notice her and make him jealous.

This book is sort of enemies to lovers and has the banter that I love. Hannah and Garret’s chemistry was amazing. They both have their issues and it was beautiful watching them open up to one another. I appreciated that their relationship wasn’t surface level and it had me rooting for them the whole time.

The book does warn that rape is a central plot point. I think that Kennedy does a nice job handling it. It never felt overly graphic or cheapened to a plot twist. I also loved the other hockey boys. They were perfectly ridiculous in the fun way that college boys can be. It makes me look forward to reading their stories in the rest of the series.

One other thing I really liked about this book was how Hannah and Garret had their own stories in addition to their romance and relationship. Everything about this book felt fleshed out and not just fluff. While there were some minor things that annoyed me, like the constant referrals to how tiny Hannah was but how amazing her boobs were, overall this book might become a new favorite.

I can’t wait to read the next books in the series. They’re also making this into a show and I’m really looking forward to it. I’m not a hockey fan, but even though hockey is central to the story, you don’t need to know anything about it. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a light fun romance with banter.

Book Club March 2026

By: Emilia Hart
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 337

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): 2019: Lucy awakens in her ex-lover’s room in the middle of the night with her hands around his throat. Horrified, she flees to her sister’s house on the coast of New South Wales hoping Jess can help explain the vivid dreams that preceded the attack—but her sister is missing. As Lucy waits for her return, she starts to unearth strange rumours about Jess’s town—tales of numerous missing men, spread over decades. A baby abandoned in a sea-swept cave. Whispers of women’s voices on the waves. All the while, her dreams start to feel closer than ever.

1800: Mary and Eliza are torn from their loving home in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship heading for Australia. As the boat takes them farther and farther away from all they know, they begin to notice unexplainable changes in their bodies.

A breathtaking tale of female resilience, The Sirens is an extraordinary novel that captures the sheer power of sisterhood and the indefinable magic of the sea.

What I thought

While the cover is pretty, I wasn’t very excited by this book when I read the summary and I feel like it met my low expectations.

This book has 3 different POVs across 3 different timelines. Mostly, we follow Lucy in February 2019. She leaves school to go spend time with her sister after a bad sleepwalking event. We also have the perspective of Mary from the 1800s. Lucy is seeing Mary in her dreams, so all of the stories we get of Mary are supposedly what Lucy is dreaming. Finally, we have Julie’s POV in 1999. Julie is Lucy’s older sister and Lucy finds Julie’s diary, which is what we get. When Lucy does show up to Julie’s house unannounced, Julie is missing. So there is a mix of mystery of why is Lucy dreaming about these women and where did Julie go?

I found this book to be so boring. There is so much going on, yet none of it sucked me in. Comber Bay has had multiple men disappear, which, based off of the title of the book is obviously due to supernatural forces of Sirens. Yet for some reason Hart writes the story as if we’re supposed to not know how/why these men go missing. Then there is the mystery of why Lucy is dreaming about Mary and why she is sleepwalking. Again, I found the reason to be very obvious and predicable. I think the only thing that semi-surprised me was finding out where Julie has been. And it wasn’t even that I was surprised by where, but more so why she was gone for so long.

If this had not been a book I was reading for book club, I could’ve stopped reading it at 50% and not felt any regret. It’s not that it’s necessarily a bad book, I just found the story to be so slow and predictable that I was never drawn to pick the book up. I also feel like Hart tried to create too much mystery and suspense and could’ve made it more exciting by pulling things back a little bit.

What Book Club Thought

This was interesting. My friend who picked the book felt very similar to me. She struggled with reading it and also felt like she would’ve stopped reading it had it not been for book club. One of our members liked the book except for the chapters about Mary, whereas another member really liked the chapters about Mary and less so about present day. We had a lot of discussion about plot holes with the whole siren/mermaid storyline as well as the fact that it kind of felt like this could’ve been two different books because of the disconnect with the past and the present. We did have a lot to discuss because of the issues we had with the book which did lead to good discussion about the plot and the conflicts within it. While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book because of how I felt, if you or your friends are into this type of story, it could lead to some interesting discussion.

The Nightmare Before Kissmas

By: Sara Raasch
Published Year: 2024
Publisher: Bramble
Pages: 357

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Nicholas “Coal” Claus used to love Christmas. Until his father, the reigning Santa, turned the holiday into a PR façade. Coal will do anything to escape the spectacle, including getting tangled in a drunken, supremely hot make- out session with a beautiful man behind a seedy bar one night.

But the heir to Christmas is soon commanded to do his duty: he will marry his best friend, Iris, the Easter Princess and his brother’s not-so-secret crush. A situation that has disaster written all over it.

Things go from bad to worse when a rival arrives to challenge Coal for the princess’s hand…and Coal comes face-to-face with his mysterious behind-the-bar hottie: Hex, the Prince of Halloween.

It’s a fake competition between two holiday princes who can’t keep their hands off each other over a marriage of convenience that no one wants. And it all leads to one of the sweetest, sexiest, messiest, most delightfully unforgettable love stories of the year.

First Impressions

When I first heard about this book it sounded like so much fun. Royals? Halloween? Christmas? Then I saw the cover drop and felt a little less enthused. Something about it just looked so cheesy. But then my friend bought it and I knew I needed to read it.

What I thought

This book was so much more than I expected!

Nicolas, “Coal”, is the heir to the Christmas throne. Hex is the heir to the Halloween throne. In this world, each holiday is its own kingdom with its own royals. King Christmas/Santa comes to an agreement with the King of Easter that Coal should marry Iris by Christmas Eve. Neither Iris nor Coal are into each other in that way. In fact, Coal’s brother Kris is the one who has a crush on Iris. When Halloween comes to object to the union of Christmas and Easter, Santa offers them to opportunity to bring Hex to the castle to try to win Iris over. Little does he know, that Coal is more of Hex’s type.

So I definitely expected there to be a fun romance between Christmas and Halloween. What I didn’t expect was the political intrigue and palace deception! I enjoyed the depth to the story and am fascinated by all of the holidays and how their politics play into their existence.

Coal is, of course, the slightly uninterested/reckless heir to the throne. A few years ago he made a big mistake with the best of intentions, and ever since then he has stepped back from his role as heir. However, now that he is being forced to marry his friend, he finds himself learning more about what is really going on behind closed doors.

The romance with Hex was so good. Their chemistry was immediate and leapt off the page. I do wish we got more of Hex’s backstory and maybe even an opportunity to see him in his element, but I loved him with the whole gang. In fact, I enjoyed every character in this book and can’t wait to read each of their stories. I know the next book focuses on Kris and I’m a little sad it wasn’t Iris first, but I’m looking forward to jumping back into this world.

While the cover may be cheesy, this book is anything but. If you’re looking for a Christmas story with a little bit of meat on its bones, I highly recommend picking this one up.

This book felt like a meatier version of Red, White, & Royal Blue. I feel like RW&RB focused more on the romance and not as much as the politics whereas this one had the political story more fleshed out with just as much romance. I cannot wait to see how the holiday royal worlds develop and see how Coal manages with taking over Christmas.

This Book Made Me Think of You

By: Libby Page
Published Year: 2026
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 416

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel/

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): When Tilly Nightingale receives a call telling her there’s a birthday gift from her fiancé waiting for her at her local bookshop, it couldn’t come as more of a shock. Partly because she can’t remember the last time she read a book for pleasure. Mainly because Joe died five months ago…
The gift is simple – twelve carefully-chosen books from Joe, one for each month, to help her turn the page on her first year without him.
Tilly sets out on a series of reading-inspired adventures that take her around the world. But as she begins to vlog her journey, her story becomes more than her own. With help from Alfie, the bookshop owner, her budding new following and her friends and family, can Tilly’s year of books show her how to love again?

First Impressions

I love the cover of this book. Give me a book about books and I will immediately pick it up. When I read the summary it reminded me of PS I Love You by Cecelia Ahern which I loved (both the book and the movie). The concept immediately spoke to me and I knew I needed to read this book.

What I thought

This book was exactly what I expected it to be and was wonderfully executed.

Tilly lost her husband 6 months ago. In January, she received a call from the local bookstore letting her know that her husband’s birthday gift to her was a year of books after he was gone. Tilly has to come to the book shop each month to pick up the book. While doing so, she slowly starts to crawl her way out of grief as well as rediscover herself.

I loved the concept of this. Having lived through grief, I can be a little critical of books here that is s central plot point. I felt like the way Page wrote about grief and Tilly at the beginning of the book was more relatable and realistic. As the book went on it felt a little too picture perfect. I wish there had been more conflict of Tilly dealing with her grief and less about her dealing with love. Even though I know in this story they’re intertwined. There were moments I loved, like when she went to visit her in-laws. But then that fell by the wayside and was never mentioned again.

I also loved the book recommendation throughout the book as well as the books that Joe leaves for Tilly. Each one is thoughtful and I liked seeing how they influenced Tilly to move forward in different ways. Alfie was one of my favorite characters. I enjoyed how his story connected with Tilly’s but that he had his own things he was dealing with. There was a minor miscommunication trope towards the end of the book I feel we could have easily done without, but I did appreciated how things worked themselves out.

Is this my favorite book I’ve read that has dealt with grief? No. But did I enjoy the story regardless? Absolutely. It doesn’t mock grief or deal with it poorly. I just feel like it occasionally faded to the background.

This book was so cute and well written. I feel like it would be a great book club book. If you enjoyed PS I Love You, I think you will enjoy this book. I also would say if you’re a reader who likes books about readers, this would be the book for you. I’m curious to look into more of Page’s books because I did enjoy her style a lot.

And the Crowd Went Wild

By: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Published Year: 2026
Publisher: Avon
Pages: 352

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): After a mortifying—and very public—humiliation, Dancy Flynn is desperate to find sanctuary far from the crowd. But where can a washed-up sex symbol hide? How about making an unannounced appearance at the secluded lake house of the sweet, sensitive high school boyfriend she hasn’t seen in almost twenty years?

But Chicago Stars quarterback Clint Garrett is no longer the kid Dancy remembers. Now he’s a gridiron superhero, still holding a massive grudge against her for breaking his teenage heart. With no room in his life for either complexity or distractions, he banishes Dancy to a refurbished old railroad caboose tucked away in the woods…and out of his sight.

Except Dancy’s not good at staying invisible. Her efforts to rebuild her career clash with Clint’s desperation to regain his focus, all made more challenging by a rescue dog, a local woman in trouble, a meddling mother, an ex with an agenda…and the sizzle of rekindled emotions.

As Dancy attempts to get her life on track and Clint tries to get his groove back, can these two one-time lovers navigate their rocky pasts and complicated present to find themselves…and each other?

First Impressions

Susan Elizabeth Phillips was one of the first romance novelists that I read. I remember picking up her books in high school or college and really enjoying them. She really opened the romance world to me. I was excited when I saw that she was coming out with a new novel as I haven’t read anything by her in a while. I do love the cover as it’s not the very common cartoon cover that has taken over the romance world, but I don’t know if it would’ve caught my eye off the shelves.

What I thought

This book is the latest installment in her Chicago Stars series. This is a football romance series that I’ve read at least a handful of in the past. They aren’t connected in a way that you need to read one to understand the other, but more that there are characters that pop up from other books.

Dancy is an actress who is on the brink of a breakdown. Clint is the quarterback for the Chicago Stars. Dancy and Clint dated in high school until she broke his heart. Now 20+ years later, she shows up at his door as a safe place to hide after her ex humiliates her at an event.

I don’t know if my tastes have changed, but I found this book to be a little boring and predictable. There was also a little bit too much going on in terms of dramatic events. Like there’s a storyline about a character who is with an abusive man and Dancy saves her from him, and even though that’s essentially one scene, he then has a chapter or two from his point of view. It just seemed very unnecessary to the rest of the book.

I did like the chemistry between Dancy and Clint but I didn’t quite understand it. They haven’t spoken since high school and now she just randomly shows up at his house for refuge? And then they are immediately attracted to each other again? It threw me off. But I did like how their relationship developed and how they addressed the issues that they had.

I was a little disappointed with this book given how much I remember liking her previous ones. I didn’t dislike it enough that it has turned me off of her as an author, but it wasn’t one of my favorites. I think it was a very basic romance novel and I wish there had been something to give it that extra spark.