Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood

Problematic Summer Romance 

by Ali Hazelwood 

My Rating: 🟊🟊🟊

Spice Rating:  🌶

Blurb:

Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out her life.

Conor Harkness is thirty-eight, and Maya cannot stop thinking about him.

It’s such a cliché, it almost makes her heart implode: older man and younger woman; successful biotech guy and struggling grad student; brother’s best friend and the girl he never even knew existed. As Conor loves to remind her, the power dynamic is too imbalanced. Any relationship between them would be problematic in too many ways to count, and Maya should just get over him. After all, he has made it clear that he wants her gone from his life.

But not everything is as it seems—and clichés sometimes become plot twists.

When Maya’s brother decides to get married in Taormina, she and Conor end up stuck together in a romantic Sicilian villa for over a week. There, on the beautiful Ionian coast, between ancient ruins, delicious foods, and natural caves, Maya realizes that Conor might be hiding something from her. And as the destination wedding begins to erupt out of control, she decides that a summer fling might be just what she needs—even if it’s a problematic one.

My Review:

There’s something undeniably compelling about Ali Hazelwood’s writing. Whether I end up loving or hating one of her books, I’m never bored, and honestly, that says a lot. At this point, I’ve read three of her books, and I’ve had wildly different reactions to each of them. Some I’ve really enjoyed, others not so much, but none of that has stopped me from picking up the next one. At this point, I’m starting to think that says more about me than it does about her.

This book landed somewhere in the middle for me. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. It falls into that frustrating category of “fine, but forgettable,” where I can acknowledge that it was a decent read, but the characters didn’t leave a lasting impression. And for a romance, that’s a bit of a let down, because if the characters don’t stick with me, the emotional payoff just doesn’t hit the way I want it to.

That being said, I actually really enjoyed the plot. It kept me engaged, and I never felt like I was dragging myself through the story. Hazelwood has a way of writing that makes her books easy to consume, even when something isn’t fully clicking. I also found myself surprisingly attached to the side characters, her brother and the dog absolutely stole the show for me. In some ways, they brought more personality and warmth than the main romance did.

Overall, I’m left with a lot of mixed and slightly confusing feelings. This wasn’t a bad book by any means, but it also wasn’t one that will stick with me long-term. Still, true to form, it won’t stop me from picking up whatever Ali Hazelwood writes next.

My Brother's Teammates by Melissa Ivers

 My Brother's Teammates

by Melissa Ivers

My Rating: 🟊🟊🟊🟊

Spice Rating: 🌶🌶🌶🌶

Blurb:

What do you get when you cross a curvy seamstress with three hot hockey players? A pucking disaster.

My escape plan seemed foolproof - retreat to my brother's empty apartment after catching my ex with another man. But I stumble into an unexpected complication: his hockey player roommates...and I'm stark naked.

Despite my mortifying entrance, and against my better judgment, they’re willing to let me stay but with a few rules:

1. No funny business.

2. No telling the team captain - aka my brother - Harrison.

3. It's temporary until I can find somewhere else to live.

At first, the boundaries hold. But simmering tension and close quarters makes resisting temptation harder with each passing day. The simmering tension threatens to combust, blurring the lines we swore not to cross.

But how can we go back after crossing that line? And what happens when my brother inevitably finds out?

My Review:

This book? Oh, it was a good time, and honestly, that’s exactly what it set out to be. Think cozy, chaotic, slightly scandalous palate cleanser with just enough spice to keep you turning pages like you’ve got something to hide.

One thing about me? I will always show up for a why choose romance. They have me in an absolute chokehold. And this one delivers on one of my favorite tropes: multiple men who are completely, utterly, borderline unhealthily devoted to the FMC. I’m talking full worship mode. These men are not just in love, they are ready to build a shrine, light some candles, and dedicate their entire personalities to her. As they should.

And the setup? A little sister falling headfirst into a relationship with her brother’s three best friends/teammates? The drama practically writes itself. The tension? Delicious. The secrets? Oh, they are there, simmering in the background like a pot you forgot on the stove but somehow didn’t burn (yet).

That said, I do have one tiny, persistent thought when it comes to why choose romances: I personally love when everyone is… let’s say, equally invested across the board. Like if we’re all here, let’s ALL be here, you know? Give me a fully connected web, not just spokes on a wheel. But that’s more of a “me” thing than a flaw in the story.

Overall, this book knows exactly what it is and doesn’t try to be anything else, a fun, dramatic, slightly messy escape where the vibes are high, the men are obsessed, and the romance is doing the absolute most.

If you’re looking for something packed with tension, secrets, and enough drama to keep your eyebrows permanently raised, this one will absolutely hit the spot.

Savage Heir by Jagger Cole

My Rating: 🟊🟊🟊

Spice Rating: 🌶🌶

Blurb:

To know Ilya Volkov is to fear him. To defy him, lethal.

They call him The Wolf—ruthless heir to the most brutal crime family in the world. A tattooed, green-eyed devil. A seductive psychopath who trades in mind-games and leaves a path of destruction in his wake.

Except, I didn’t get that memo. I spit in the dark prince’s face.

Now, he wants to break me.

My plan involves a prestigious university, law school, and a golden future.

Ilya’s involves grinding me under his heel until I bend to his will. The harder I fight him, the deeper his claws sink.

The more I tell myself I hate him, the harder it is to resist him.

There’s a wolf howling at my door; huffing, puffing, and ready to blow my entire world down.

And pretty soon, he might just devour me whole.

This standalone, extra angsty Bratva academy romance is guaranteed to leave your kindle steaming. Step into the viper’s nest of Oxford Hills Academy and meet the Savage Heirs of Bratva kings and oligarchs.

Absolutely no cheating, no cliffhanger, and a happy ever after.

My Review:

This was a short, easy read that I finished pretty quickly, but if I’m being completely honest, it didn’t stick with me the way I hoped it would. I like to sit on my thoughts before writing a review because I think the true test of a book is how much of it lingers after you’ve closed it, and in this case, I found myself struggling to recall details not long after finishing.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it while I was reading. I did. It was entertaining in the moment, fast-paced, and had enough intrigue to keep me turning the pages. But once I stepped away from it, the story didn’t leave much of a lasting impression, which made writing a full, in-depth review feel a little out of reach.

One thing I know for sure is that the power dynamics just didn’t work for me. There’s a certain trope here, this idea of status, influence, and authority being used as leverage, that personally gives me the ick. I can’t get behind the whole “I am this” or “I hold this position, so you should listen to me” energy. No matter who you are or what title you carry, that dynamic just doesn’t appeal to me, and it created a bit of a disconnect while reading.

I also think this might be one of those cases where I’m just not the target audience. Whether it’s the age range, the lifestyle portrayed, or even the tax bracket these characters exist in, I couldn’t fully immerse myself in their world. Sometimes that distance makes it harder to emotionally invest, and I think that played a role here.

Overall, Savage Heir is definitely an entertaining, quick read if you enjoy high-power dynamics and a bit of escapism. It just didn’t quite resonate with me on a deeper level, but that doesn’t mean it won’t hit differently for someone else.

 Keep Me by Sara Cate

My Rating: 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

Spice Rating: 🌶🌶🌶

Blurb:

Their marriage of convenience is anything but…

All Killian Barclay wants is to be left the hell alone. He's had enough heartache to last a lifetime, and he has no more need for love—earning him the reputation of a broody Scot and eventually turning his famous ancestral home into a den of iniquity. It doesn't take long for tales of his raunchy house parties to reach the rest of his family, though, inspiring them to hatch a plan to shake Killian out of his routine.

New Yorker Sylvie Devereaux is tough as nails—as the daughter of famous yet neglectful parents, she's grown a hard shell and keeps everyone at arm's length. So when she sneaks into Barclay Manor during a trip to Scotland to get a glimpse of a famous heirloom, she doesn't anticipate facing off against the brutish, maddening Highlander who lives there. And she certainly didn't expect to ever see the bastard again.

Yet just weeks later, she's approached by Killian's family with a proposal—move to Scotland and marry Killian to improve his playboy reputation, and after one year, she'll walk away with ten million dollars. Sylvie agrees, even knowing that their plan is more deceptive than he realizes. But as she grows closer to Killian and the end of their year together, she has to Is the love of a good man with a dark soul worth keeping, or is she willing to break Killian's heart now that it's well and truly hers?

My Review:

HA! I absolutely devoured this book. Like, consumed it, obsessed over it, thought about it long after I finished. Because tell me… what’s not to love about a broody Scottish man battling severe anxiety? I’m not even going to pretend to be chill about it, I was down bad. Completely gone. Every complicated, messy, kink-laced inch of him had me hooked.

And listen… I thought I had limits. I thought I knew where my boundaries were when it came to jealousy and possessiveness, but this book? It pushed right up against them in the best way. A little tension, a little “mine but not quite”? Yeah… it did something to me.

The FMC is chaotic no doubt about it but I got her. Deeply. She’s messy because she’s hurting, masking trauma with humor and impulsiveness, and honestly? With parents like hers, who wouldn’t be a little unhinged? They were truly awful. The kind of awful that makes your skin crawl.

Now, fair warning: this book comes with heavy triggers. It doesn’t shy away from trauma or the messy, uncomfortable work of healing. If you’re not in the space for that, this might not be your read. But if you are? It hits hard. The kind of story that makes you pause, reflect, and maybe even see pieces of yourself in places you didn’t expect.

And the setup? Delicious chaos. The book kicks off with the FMC in Scotland with her painfully forgettable boyfriend (seriously, I couldn’t tell you his name if I tried, he’s that irrelevant). She breaks into a house, yes, breaks in to snap a photo of a typewriter tied to his family. Already unhinged behavior, and I was here for it.

But that’s where she meets him. The MMC. And from that moment on? It’s a whirlwind.

We get fake marriage, tension so thick you could cut it, and a relationship built on irritation, lust, and undeniable pull. Throw in a crumbling old manor, scandalous parties, and a deeply fractured family that has no idea how to love each other properly and it’s pure chaos in the best way.

This book is messy, intense, uncomfortable, and addictive as hell.

And honestly? It was perfect.

 Bourbon & Lies by Victoria Wilder

My Rating: 🟊🟊🟊🟊

Spice Rating: 🌶🌶

Blurb:

In Fiasco, Kentucky, there is one rule: never fall for a Foxx brother. Any woman who did, ended up dead—or so the rumor goes. Townies call it a curse. But I’ve lived it, and I won’t survive it again.

I’m not a cop anymore, but I’ve seen enough danger to know that Laney Young, the beautiful stranger who just showed up in my small town, is running from it. She’s lying about where she came from and what she’s doing here.

I don’t want her near my family or the quiet life I’ve made for myself. But my brothers have other plans. Now she’s everywhere–working at my distillery, living in our guest house, calling me ‘cowboy’ and skinny-dipping in my horse trough.

But it’s the way she dishes out attitude from that pretty mouth of hers that has me wanting things I’ve sworn to myself I’d never want again. I should push her away, forget how her lips taste, and ignore how she makes me want more out of life again.

When her past shows up and mingles too closely with mine, her lies begin to unravel. The rules don’t matter anymore. I mess up, dig too far, and get too close. Only two things have the power to keep her safe now: bourbon and lies.

My Review:

This book was such a fun ride, equal parts sweet, swoony, and just the right amount of spice. I love a good cowboy romance when it’s done right, and this one absolutely delivered. The plot was easy to fall into, the romance felt natural, and I found myself completely along for the ride from start to finish.

I listened to the audiobook while reading, and let me just say… the male narrator? Whew. His voice was smooth like satin but had that rough edge like bourbon poured over ice. Yeah, I said it, and I stand by it.

One thing that really surprised me was how much I liked the FMC. In books like this, I usually struggle with female leads who come off immature or overly dependent, but not here. She was smart, capable, and had her own sense of self outside of the MMC which made the relationship feel so much stronger. And honestly? Even if she wanted to make him her whole world, I don’t think he would’ve let her. We love a man who keeps things grounded.

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this one and will definitely be continuing the series. If you’re into broody cowboys who would burn the world down for their woman, with a mix of romance and a touch of suspense, this book might be exactly what you’re looking for.

Promised to the Orc by Sue Mercury

 Promised to the Orc

by Sue Mercury

My Rating: 🟊🟊🟊

Spice Rating: 🌶🌶🌶

Blurb:

I’ve been promised to an Orc Guardian.

He’s coming for me soon and I will have no choice—I’ll have to leave the realm of humans and marry the huge, fearsome beast known as Gregor the Slayer.

Orc Guardians are said to be cruel and unfeeling. I struggle to accept my lot in life, and I won’t lie—I’m tempted to run and hide. But deep down, I know I wouldn’t get far, and the last thing I wish to do is bring down an orc’s vengeance upon my village… or upon myself.

I soon learn that while Gregor has a fierce, vengeful side, when it comes to me, he can be gentle and… sweet. He’s also intensely protective and possessive of me.

But we come from different realms, and his world is so very different from my own.

Will I survive marriage to a big, growly orc?

My Review:

This was a short, fun read that reminded me exactly why monster romance has such a devoted fan base. If you’ve ever wondered what the appeal is, this book honestly shows it pretty well. It has all the elements people fall in love with—the fierce protectiveness, the tenderness, and the deep care the MMC shows for the woman he chooses.

Gregor is exactly the kind of hero you want in a story like this. He meets Catrin before realizing she’s actually promised to him, but the attraction between them is immediate and impossible to ignore. There’s something instinctive about the way they’re drawn to each other. Catrin doesn’t fully understand what’s happening to her at first, but she can’t deny how safe and comfortable she feels when Gregor is near—and watching that connection grow is part of the charm.

For such a short story, it still manages to sprinkle in a bit of action along the way, keeping things interesting while focusing on the growing bond between them.

Overall, it’s a quick, enjoyable read that delivers exactly what you’d want from a monster romance: a protective hero, a sweet connection, and just enough adventure to keep things exciting.

The Half King by Melissa Landers

The Half King

by Melissa Landers

My Rating: 🟊🟊🟊

Spice Rating:  🌶🌶

Blurb:

A king by day. Shadow by night…

The Great Betrayal changed everything for the Allied Realm. Long ago, the kingdom’s noble houses rose up against the goddess... and for their treachery, the firstborn of each noble family was cursed.

One with perilous beauty.
One with destructive knowledge.
One with insatiable bloodlust.

But the royal house Mortara received the worst affliction of all. For while the king exists during the day, he fades into nothingness at night...until his twenty-first birthday, when he will be lost to the shadows forever.

Now an acolyte has arrived at court. Like all the second-born children of the Allied Realm, she’s destined to serve the goddess and become a Seer...only Cerise Solon has no gift of foretelling. In fact, she has no magical gift at all.

Instead, she’s surrounded by courtiers and priests—smiling sycophants whose hearts are filled with secrets and lies. And at the center of it all sits His Majesty Kian Hannibal Mortara, with his haunting eyes, sharp tongue, and an unerring ability to send her pulse skittering at the worst possible moments.

Falling for him is unthinkable. Because the king is the last of his line, and as the specter of his twenty-first birthday—and the full force of his curse—approaches, the kingdom holds its breath.

But there’s only one way to save a dying king... and it lies with the one person who’s hiding the biggest secret of all. Cerise.

My Review: 

I finished this book about five days ago, and oddly enough, while I remember enjoying the experience of reading it, a lot of the details have already started to blur together.

The story takes a little while to get moving. The beginning felt slow, and I found myself waiting for the plot to really grab me. But once things started picking up, I became much more invested and then the ending absolutely wrecked me.

That cliffhanger? Cruel. The kind that leaves you staring at the last page thinking, well… now I need the next book immediately.

I’m always drawn to stories that revolve around curses, and this one definitely delivered on that trope. Pair that with a capable, intelligent FMC, and it made the journey enjoyable even when the pacing lagged a bit.

Even if the finer details didn’t stick with me as much as I expected, that ending alone has me ready for book two.