Since the Latinx Book Bingo ended on October 15th and I posted a wrap-up, I decided to talk about the books I read in the last two weeks of October in my November wrap-up. The only issue was that I read too much during those weeks, because of that, I’m posting my october/november wrap up divided into 2 parts, one where I talk about all the romance books I read (this post!) and another where I talk about all the other books.
So here are my thoughts on all the romance books I read in the last 6 weeks, which are mostly 2023 releases:
Better Hate than Never by Chloe Liese (between 3.5 and 4 stars): I had a hard time getting into the story. I don’t like when the hero is mean to the heroine because he likes her but doesn’t want to, men who can’t appropriately deal with their emotions really frustrate me. Nonetheless, once he started to try to make it up to Kate and they started to be tentative “friends” I started to like the book a lot more. I really liked Kate and the portrait of her ADHD, I enjoyed the way the romance was developed after the initial tension, I liked the steamy scenes and the demisexual representation, and I appreciated how the conflict was handled because both of them actually behaved like adults and communicated with each other.
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez (4 stars): I loved the start of this book. There’s a misunderstanding between the main characters when they first meet and I loved the way it was handled, how Briana slowly realized that Jacob is actually an anxious cinnamon roll and they become friends writing letters back and forth. I think they have chemistry from the very beginning, I really appreciated the anxiety representation, I loved the friendship between the main characters and once they started to fake date things got really fun. I had a bit of an issue with the second misunderstanding that happened later on, the miscommunication frustrated me a little bit, but I think it was understandable and I also liked the fact that it didn’t get dragged on for too long.
Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon (4 stars): This is a traditional romance with a lot of thematic depth, it heavily deals with mental health (anxiety and OCD) and does it really well. I really appreciate that this showed a first time that wasn’t that good because sex is not always fantastic from the very beginning and while it made for some awkward moments, it also led to some honest and healthy conversations about sex and also to the sex lessons trope, which was well-executed. The two main characters had such a sweet connection. they had a great relationship based on honesty and things between them got really steamy.
Full Moon Over Freedom by Angelina M. Lopez (4 stars): I loved the main character, Gillian, and the character development she goes through was my favorite part of the book. I loved the side characters, as well as how the Latinx community is represented and the importance heritage has on the story. The writing is fantastic. The romance was sweet and there were some really good steamy scenes. My one issue is that the hero, Nicky, was not as fleshed out as Gillian, so at times I wasn’t completely invested in the romance because of that.
The Seven Year Split by Ashely Poston (4.5 stars): This is a romance with a time travel element that has great main characters that have a ton of chemistry and the tension between them is incredible. It has a really sweet romance, particularly, their interactions in the past timeline. The time travel element kept me engaged the entire time wondering when the hero was going to find out and what was going to happen. I also appreciated the journey that the heroine goes through dealing with her grief and deciding what she wants to do with her life. The only reason this doesn’t get 5 stars is that I wish the main couple had more moments together in the present timeline.
The Nanny by Lana Ferguson (3.5 stars): I liked this even if I had some issues with it. The main characters had great chemistry, there were some good steamy scenes, the hero’s daughter was adorable and I loved her relationship with the heroine. My issue with this is that it was too long so it dragged at certain points, especially because they get together early on and there’s a big portion of the book that it’s them together while the heroine tries to hide part of her identity and not much else is happening.
Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage (4 stars): The main characters had amazing chemistry from the beginning and I loved seeing the development of their relationship from dislike to love. I think the author did a good job of showing how Emmy went from distrusting Luke to seeing how caring he was. I loved the fact that they were there for each other and they communicated with one another. There’s not a big, dramatic conflict in the story, there’s a bit of external conflict and it’s solved rather quickly, and I appreciated that. My one issue with this is that Luke had a couple of behaviors throughout the book that I didn’t love.
Friends Don’t Fall in Love by Erin Hahn (3.5 stars): This was ok but it wasn’t really memorable. I loved the fact that the friendship between the main characters felt believable, the romance was sweet and there were some really good steamy scenes. Nonetheless, this dragged. I usually love slow-burn romances, but in this book, the main characters were not communicating with one another, they were assuming a lot of things about the other’s wants and expectations and that’s the only reason they weren’t together and that went on for a little too long and it started to be frustrating.
Codename Charming by Lucy Parker (3.5 stars): I’m feeling very conflicted about this book. The main couple was so sweet, they understood and comforted each other, they communicated and there was a lack of unnecessary conflict between them, and the steamy scenes were really good. I loved the grumpy/sunshine dynamic and the slow-burn romance. Moreover, even when it was a low-angst, low-conflict, slow-paced book, I was entertained the whole time. Nonetheless, it made me uncomfortable that it’s established very early on that the hero is ugly – which I appreciated because we need more protagonists who don’t look like movie stars- but this fact was repeated so many times by every single character in almost every single page of this book, so I feel like it was overdone and it reduced the hero to his appearance which I think was the opposite of the message that it was trying to send.
A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Caña (4 stars): Both main characters were loyal and they were willing to fight for the things that are important to them. The relationship Saint had with his daughter was adorable and the trust and love that Lola builds with her was a highlight of the book. This does a good job of talking about gentrification and activism and also about the importance of not prioritizing our causes over our happiness and instead finding a balance. While this wasn’t that steamy, the characters did have great chemistry and banter from the beginning. The author does rely a little too much on the feelings the characters had for each other when they were younger and sometimes the development of their relationship in the present felt like it came out of nowhere. Nonetheless, I appreciated that they quickly cleared up the misunderstandings of the past and, by the end, they had serious discussions and they had to think about how they were going to make their relationship work in the present.
The Honeymoon Crashers by Christina Lauren (3.5 stars): This was a fun, quick novella. While the relationship developed a little too quickly, I appreciated that there were some very romantic moments and also some steamy ones.
A Walk in the Park by Rebekah Weatherspoon (4 stars): This was a sweet story. It had two likable main characters and even if the way they met was a bit hard to believe, I really liked how their relationship developed from sharing a dog as two strangers to falling in love. I also appreciated that we get fat representation of the hero and the heroine.
Crimes of Passion by Jack Harbon (4 stars): The grumpy/ sunshine dynamic worked really well in this, the two main characters are so different but they have common interests and I loved seeing them go from dislike to like. I loved the way the podcast element was incorporated into the story. My only issue is that there was an argument at the end and some things were said that I think needed more groveling to be forgiven and that did not happen. But overall, this was a very fun read.
Coming Home by Kennedy Ryan (4 stars): This was a sweet story. I’m usually not a huge fan of second-chance romances but in this case, it worked because it felt realistic, both characters went and lived their lives (got married, divorced, one had a child) and then they found themselves again in their 40s and decided to give the spark and chemistry between them a chance.
Bookish Wanderess 