Must-Read Small Town Romances | Top Ten Tuesday

It’s been a while since I participated in Ten Top Tuesday, which is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, but I wasn’t sure what to post, and when I checked the topics for this month, this week’s topic “books set in X” really caught my eye. So I decided to make a list of romance books set in small towns that I have read and loved in the last couple of years. I kind of cheated and included books in a series just as one entry on the list, so there are more than 10 books in this list, but I couldn’t pick just 10.

After Hours on Milagro Street and Full Moon over Freedom by Angelina M. Lopez

Both of these books are set in a small town in Kansas and they have a big Mexica-American family at the heart of the story, some paranormal elements, female characters that go through a lot of character growth, and really sweet but steamy romances. In After Hours on Milagro Street, there’s an opposites attract romance with forced proximity. In Full Moon over Freedom, there’s a second chance romance between childhood friends.

Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage

This is set in a small town in Wyoming and if you like cowboy romances, the brother’s best friend trope, two main characters with tons of chemistry, and a reformed bad boy, this book is for you!

Curves for Days by Laura Moher

This book is set in a small town in North Carolina and it’s a slow-burn romance with two plus-size characters, it includes the grumpy/sunshine trope and there’s a big focus on the healing and character growth of the heroine.

Built to Last by Erin Hahn

This is set in a small town in Michigan. It’s a second-chance romance between childhood sweethearts, and it’s a perfect example of a low-angst, low-conflict romance book done right.

Bet On It by Jodie Slaughter

This is set in a small town in South Carolina, and it’s a romance between someone running TO a small town and someone running FROM a small town that has to come back. It’s a friends-with-benefits, interracial romance with a plus-size female main character.

Lovelight Farm, In The Weeds, and Mixed Signals by B.K. Borison

These books are set in small town in Maryland. Lovelight Farms is a friends-to-lovers romance with a fake-dating plot. In The Weeds is a second-chance, grumpy/sunshine romance, with forced proximity. Mixed Signals is a friends-to-lovers, sunshine/sunshine romance with a little fake dating.

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care and Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

This series is set in a small town in Oregon, both books are sapphic romances and deal with complicated family relationships. Delilah Green includes the sister’s best friend trope and one of the main characters is a single mom, and Astrid Parker is a rivals-to-lovers romance.

Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez

A big part of this is set in a small town in Minnesota. It’s an opposites attract romance where there’s an age gap and the woman is 10 years older than the guy, and it deals with heavy topics such as past abusive relationships.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

A big part of this book is set in small town in North Carolina and it’s an enemies-to-lovers romance between two people who work in the publishing industry.

All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata

Set in a small town in Colorado, and it’s a slow-burn romance, with a grumpy/ sunshine dynamic, a single dad as a protagonist and a bit of forced proximity. It has a very outdoorsy vibe and there’s a lot of hiking.

Is there any particular setting that you love in books, like a specific city or country, large city or small towns, beaches vs snowy places?

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April 2023 Wrap Up: lots of books but overall not a good reading month

This post it SO LATE, but I had a work trip during the first week of May and I didn’t have enough time to leave this post ready before going. Still, it’s late but it’s finally here. While I read a good amount of books in April, I didn’t have the best reading month in terms of quality, even if I had a few really good 4 stars, the other things I read were so mediocre that I felt my reading month overall was not that great. Hopefully May will be better (even if I have not read a single book so far).

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson (4 stars): This book was atmospheric and sensual, there wasn’t a ton of world-building but just enough to be interesting.. Most of it was slow-paced, but there was enough tension and anticipation, so I wasn’t bored at any point, and by the end, it picked up the pace and there was a lot more action. The characters were interesting, the story was compelling, and even if everything got resolved a little too neatly, I didn’t mind it. My one issue was the romance, it was insta-lovey, I tried to accept it as a representation of the allure of power and newness. But I could never really understand the connection and how quickly feelings developed between characters, I couldn’t understand what they saw in each other. Nonetheless, their scenes were still compelling and I liked how that storyline wrapped up.

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher (4.5 stars): This was a fantastic take on an atmospheric and creepy haunted house story, with a touch of southern gothic in its exploration of racism, the mix of realistic and supernatural elements, and the “remote” southern community. The tension and dread were there, I actually felt scared and anxious while reading it, and this book had compelling characters that react very realistically to the situations there find themselves in. My one issue with this is that the second reveal was a bit disappointing and once it took place the book lost the tension it built throughout the book.

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Casimano (3.5 stars): This was still a quick, easy read, with characters that are easy to root for, and good writing. It was as ridiculous and full of convenient situations as the other two, but the plot wasn’t that entertaining, they spend most of the book in the middle of nowhere conveniently getting some clues, and honestly, it felt like the author wanted to keep Finlay’s story going but wasn’t sure where it should go. Also, Vero’s impulsiveness started to annoy me a little bit, and with the hints of where the next book is going I’m scared that it’s going to get worse, but I hope not.

An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten (3 stars): This was ok for me. The narrative voice is engaging and the stories are entertaining, but something prevented me from completely loving this, I think it may be because this is a collection of short stories, which I don’t usually love, and I found the reasons for the murders in this book a bit dumb, a lot of them were problems that could have been easily solved another way.

Small Favor by Jim Butcher (4 stars): It took me a little while to get into this, mainly because there were repetitive descriptions that messed with the pace. But once I got into it, I had a lot of fun. I usually feel like these books are formulaic, but this one broke away from the mold, at least a little bit. I liked where the plot went, there were so many amazing side characters from previous books present in this and some interesting villains were back as well. Also, I appreciate that we are getting more information and a better idea of the looming danger that has been heavily hinted at throughout most of the series.

Turn Coat by Jim Butcher (4 stars): I’m so glad these books are stepping away from the formula. This is the third book in a row that I’ve felt it’s really good. I loved that this book shows more of the world, the political conflict, and the different players involved in the big mystery of this series. And I loved that so many of the side characters from previous books keep showing up and that there’s character development happening for a lot of them.

Built to Last by Erin Hahn (4 stars): This is a perfect example of low angst, low conflict, little plot romance book done right. The main characters were likable, and their chemistry was amazing; the steamy scenes were really good, and there were some good side characters. Even if not a lot happens, the storyline surrounding the home renovation show was interesting enough. I was scared that the author was going to add some unnecessary conflict at the end but they didn’t. Overall, a very solid romance.

Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley (3,5 stars): I usually like low-angst romances with little plot, but in this case, something was missing and I wasn’t thoroughly engaged. Still, it was entertaining enough, I liked the main characters, their dislike to like dynamic, and the way their relationship slowly developed, and the writing was good too. I was not the biggest fan of the conflict at the end, I saw it coming and I wish we could have skipped it, but at least it was solved quickly. And in terms of the third act break up, the reason behind it was kind of dumb, so I was a bit disappointed by that.

Funny Feelings by Tarah Dewitt (3.5 stars): I didn’t love this as much as most people seem to. While the characters and their chemistry were really good, the book dragged at certain points and I didn’t love the conflict at the end (full review).

A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan (3.5 stars): I really liked both of the main characters in this book, he is serious and analytical but a softy on the inside, and she is warm, friendly, and hardworking, their dynamic works really well, they have great chemistry and I loved seeing them become friends and then lovers throughout this book. There’s not a lot of plot in this, at times I found the book a bit boring, and the final conflict was unnecessary because there already had been a conflict that made sense to the story, so why dragged it out with another thing.

The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest (3 stars): The connection between the main characters was easy to see and root for and there was some good character development. But I was frustrated by the fact that Nick was lying by omission for most of this book, and that kept taking me out of the story. Also, the story dragged a bit for me. (full review)

What were the best and worst books you read in April?

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April 2023 TBR: hoping to make progress on book series

I have a goal this year of finishing or catching up to as many series as I can, I have a whole spreedsheet dedicated to tracking this, and I recently shared a blog post talking about some fantasy series that I want to make progress on this year. I don’t want to lose sight of these goals, so I’m going to try to make a lot of progress in April. I hope I wasn’t too overly ambitious.

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin: I finally read the second book in this series in February, two years after reading the first one. I don’t want another 2 years to go by before I finish this series, so I’m reading it right away. The

The Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowaki: It’s time to read this final book in this series even if I’m a little nervous that it won’t be a satisfying ending because the last few books have felt like set up and it’s time to see if this book delivers it or not.

Small Favor by Jim Butcher: I read book 9 last month and surprisingly I ended up really enjoying it, so I want to keep reading the next few books before I lose steam.

Cazadora by Romina Garber: I loved the first book in this series and my library finally got the audiobook for the sequel, so it’s time to read it and finish this duology.

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson: I finally read The Year of the Witchling in February and I really enjoyed it so I’m excited to read more from Alexis Henderson.

Finlay Donovan Jump the Gun by Elle Cosimano: I’m next in line for the audiobook on my library, so it’s finally time to read it! I liked the first two books in this series so much and I can’t wait to see what new trouble awaits Finlay.

Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley: a common theme in this tbr: my library got some new books that I was looking forward to. Haven’t read anything by this author before, but this sounds so fun.

Built to Last by Erin Hahn: I have been meaning to read this book for a while, because it sounds so good and it has gotten pretty good reviews as well, and I finally decided to include it on one of my tbrs.

What are you planning to read in April? Have you read any of the books I put on my TBR?

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